No Regrets (A Stepbrother New Adult Novella) Read Free

one man coming around. She dedicated her life to Olivia, and raised her into the woman she was now. A twinge of guilt rushed through her. Her mother deserved some happiness no matter how distasteful Olivia thought it was for her to date.
    She tossed her things into her car, thoughts about the upcoming party prominent in her mind. All her mother told her was to bring a nice dress. The drive home soothed her. She loved to go home on breaks from school. She was in her final year—the home stretch, so to speak. Soon, she would be able to get her life together the way she really wanted it. Then and only then, would she consider a plan for a family one day, and a husband. It was still a foreign concept to her, to share one’s life with another person. What would that even be like?
    As she pulled up to the house, she smiled to herself. Even outside, she could smell the food her Mom was cooking. Food always meant ‘comfort’ at home. She and her mother would spend all of their Saturdays cooking up one concoction after another.
    Liv made her way inside as she glanced at the shiny black sedan parked in the driveway.
    “Mom…Mom, you in here?” She turned the corner and found her mother locked in an embrace with a tall man who had his arms around her comfortably. Liv cleared her throat loudly.
    “Livie!! Oh, Liv is here.”
    Her mother hugged her tightly, and once they separated, Liv noticed how vibrant her mom looked. Wearing a smattering of dark colors and with her hair flowing, she was beautiful.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in, I was just…well, I mean, I was…”
    Thankfully, her mother interrupted her. “Oh no, dear, not at all. Richard and I were just talking about you two.” She circled around the table to set out napkins and glasses for four.
    “‘You two’? What are you talking about?” She scrunched up her nose, lost in thought.
    Her mother waved her hand in the air. “Nothing, nothing. Why don’t you go on upstairs and change for dinner, dear? Oh no! I completely forgot to buy the sugar for the icing.” Her mom looked so forlorn, Olivia didn’t have the heart to let her down.
    “I’ll run down to the store, Mom, it’s no big deal.”
    She dragged her suitcases up the flight of stairs to her old room. The moment she went inside, her stomach lurched. Everything was gone. All of her pictures from grade school, her trophies for the Spelling Bee in 5th and 6th grade—it was all gone, apparently neatly packed away in the boxes along the wall. It was as though this had become someone else’s room. The only thing that remained the same was her bed. She put her things down, and drove a few miles down the street to the local market.
    Why would her mother pack her things up like that? She would definitely ask her as soon as she got back home. She pulled into the parking lot and silently shot daggers at a red convertible taking up two parking spots. Some people were so inconsiderate. She found her way to the baking aisle before she saw him.
    She knew almost immediately that he was the owner of the convertible. He was tall—very tall—and had short, black, wavy hair. He was dressed impeccably: black button down shirt, dark jeans, and black (obviously expensive) shoes. Something about the way he carried himself made her almost turn around and head back to the car.
    What was wrong with her, anyway? He was just some guy, after all. She pushed her glasses up her nose and walked down the aisle while she looked for the sugar. As she turned to leave, she noticed that he was behind her. He gave her a quick once over and a half smile.
    “I’m sorry to bug you, but can you help me with something?” He sounded harmless enough.
    “Sure, what can I do for you?” He moved a little closer to her, and she breathed in his aftershave.
    “Well, I’ll be honest, I need some sugar, but I don’t have the faintest idea of what kind I need. I mean, there must be five different types here.” He ran a hand through