Smash_ A Stepbrother MMA Romance(9)

As I stood there alone on the stoop, staring at the door, I felt angrier than I ever had in my life up to that point. How arrogant did he have to be to think a woman would lie about being married to him? What possible reason could I have for that? I was fuming, ready to storm inside and beat the living crap out of him.

He was so damn cocky, so damn full of himself. That asshole was probably thinking about how much of a psycho I was being or something. I was so mad I could scream.

And yet, seeing him again had dredged up a bunch of feelings, stuff I had thought was long-buried. As soon as his helmet was off and I got a look at his chiseled face, his muscular body, and his piercing blue eyes, I knew that I was happy he was back. I wanted him to take me up into my bedroom and make me feel the way he had back in paradise.

And then reality came crashing back when I realized that he was my stepbrother. And also my husband.

I took a deep, calming breath. That asshole really did think he was so amazing that somebody would lie about being married to him, but the joke was on him. All I needed to do was show him the marriage certificate, which I could easily print off my laptop.

Lunch came first. I had to get through the next hour or so, and then I could prove the marriage to Cole. And I couldn’t let Cindy and Dad find out about anything. For one, I had kept it from Dad for a long time already, but more importantly, they were dealing with enough scandal already. They didn’t need their irresponsible daughter married to her equally crazy stepbrother.

Except I wasn’t crazy. I was just married to my asshole stepbrother.

As I pushed open the front door, I could still barely believe that was true.

“Lots of hard work,” Cole was saying as I walked into the kitchen

Cindy turned to me. “Cole was just telling us about his time in Thailand.”

“He was training with a master fighter out in the jungle,” Dad said a little too reverently.

“I’m sure it was hard,” I replied, uninterested.

“I’ve had harder,” he said, grinning at me.

I rolled my eyes at him and Dad gave me a look.

“Anyway,” Cindy said, “let’s go into the dining room.”

We filed in and took our seats at the table. In the kitchen, I heard some staff bustling around, getting the meal ready. I felt a little weird about having staff suddenly, but apparently Cindy had insisted on it. Dad and I had gotten along just fine without having servants, but I wasn’t about to say anything.

“Looks great,” Dad said as the food was served.

“My first real meal in a long time,” Cole said.

“Really? What did you eat out there, bugs?” I asked him.

“Sometimes, sure. Mostly vegetables, though.”

“No talking about eating bugs at the table,” Cindy said. “Plus, you didn’t really eat bugs. Did you?”

Cole grinned and just began to dig into his food without answering. Cindy sighed, taking small bites of her salad. Dad gave me another look, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. It was probably pretty obvious that I was annoyed with Cole, but how could I explain it to him? Better to let him wonder.

“So, Alexa,” Cindy said, “how’s school?”

“It’s good,” I answered. “Can’t complain.”

“Berkeley, right?”

“Yep.”

“Smart girl,” Cole said. “Must be nice. Makes your father here proud, I bet.”

“Very proud,” Dad said.

“Where did you go to school?” I asked Cole, knowing the answer.

“Nowhere,” Cindy muttered.

“Nowhere is right,” he said loudly, ignoring her. “I skipped the bullshit and went right into training.”

“Must be rough. Being an uneducated person, I mean,” I said acidly. I knew I was being a jerk, but I was just too annoyed with him to care.

Dad and Cindy both stared at me.

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” Cole said simply, as if I hadn’t just insulted him. “It’s easier since I’m married, you know?”

Dad looked at him. “I didn’t know you were married.”

I cringed. Dad was taking the bait. I gave Cole a look but he ignored me.

“Oh yeah, Frank, I sure am. Married to fighting, I mean. She’s a crazy mistress, but I love her.”

He was looking at me the whole time he was speaking, and I wanted to throw my fork right in his eye.

“Ah, that’s good,” Dad said. “It’s good to love what you do.”

“Even something so violent and dangerous,” Cindy said.

“Maybe dangerous, and definitely violent, but people do crazy things all the time.” Cole looked at me. “Right, Alex?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I spat back. “I’m too busy, you know, being a normal person.”