Stepbrother Backstage (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 3) by Colleen Masters

Sophie thing, what am
I to make of that? So lost am in my own thoughts that I barely even look up as
I reach the summit of a high hill that overlooks the lake.
    That is, until I find that I am once again not quite alone
out here.
    Luke and Sophie are sitting side-by-side on a smooth, flat
rock, looking out at the gorgeous sunrise view. They’re wearing running clothes
and clutching coffee mugs, their other belongings spread out around them.
Little do they know that this is our second run-in this morning. Trying
to play it as cool as it possible, given the situation, I take a step forward
and make my presence known.
    “Oh, hey you guys,” I say tentatively.
    They whip around to face me at once, wearing identical
plastered-on smiles. I have to struggle to keep from laughing at how borderline
deranged their expressions look. It’s only when they turn around to face me
that I notice my sister’s flushed cheeks and glassy eyes…not to mention the
fact that her sweatshirt is on backwards.
    What have we here? I think to myself, looking back and forth
between them.
    “Hey Anna,” Luke says casually, “You ’ re
up early.”
    “So are you,” I reply, glancing at his untied shoelaces.
    “We were out for a run,” Sophie says quickly, “Gotta work
off all the meat and potatoes Mom keeps making, right?”
    “Mhm,” I mutter, fidgeting with my camera. I raise the
device to my face and look away, trying to keep my cool. Do they honestly think
that they’re pulling one over on me right now? Sure, their heavy breathing and
flushed skin could be the result of a vigorous run, but I get the
feeling that a different sort of vigorous activity may have been going on just
before I arrived.
    What I don’t understand is why that makes me so angry .
    “ Well, I ’ m
probably gonna head back,” Luke goes on, gathering his stuff.
    “I might just walk back with Anna,” Sophie says pointedly,
catching my eye, “If that ’ s cool with her, I mean.”
    “Sure,” I tell her, concentrating solely on my camera. What
else am I gonna say?
    “See you back there,” Luke murmurs to Sophie. I can
practically hear the lovesickness in his voice.
    “See you later,” she replies, her voice tight and anxious.
    I don’t turn around as Luke makes his way past me into the
woods. I’m too busy trying to get a hold of myself. It would be pretty
hypocritical of me to judge Sophie for getting it on with a Hawthorne boy. It’s
not our particular relationship with the Hawthorne’s that has me fuming about
this little scene. It’s that Sophie never mentioned a thing to me about her
true relationship with Luke. I’m guessing this fling isn’t exactly new. That,
coupled with the fact that she just tried to hide it from me once again has me
super pissed off. And more than a little hurt. I guess we really have grown out
of confiding in each other.
    “I ’ m ready for my close-up,” Sophie
grins at me as I swing my lens around to capture the sun-warmed sky.
    “You ’ re such a ham,” I tell her
bluntly, turning away from her once more, “What are you, already withdrawing
from the spotlight after one week away from acting school?”
    “You know me,” she laughs, a bit manically, “Always the
attention hog. Middle child syndrome. You understand.”
    I don’t share in her laughter, mostly because her love of
attention is part of what’s making me see red. She’s been carrying on this
thing with Luke right under our noses and isn’t even making the effort of
keeping it a secret. Does she want the entire family to find out so she can be
at the center of another big drama? Can we go two weeks without Sophie
concocting another scandal to shove in our faces? I know I’m being unkind,
thinking of my sister this way, but I can’t help it. Maybe what I’m pretty mad
about is that seeing her here with Luke, I understand how fucked up it is of us
to get involved with Hawthorne boys. Our mom is just settling in out here with
John. Could their