Crush by Caitlin Daire Read Free Book Online

I couldn’t stand him after our first encounter and no matter how much I told myself he was the kind of guy my Mom had warned me about, I hadn’t been able to stop myself from being crazily attracted to him.
    There, I said it. I truly loathed to admit it, but I had an all-out ridiculous crush on him.
    Douchey frat-boy or not, he was sexy as hell, and hardly a moment had gone by in the last couple of days in which I hadn’t been thinking of his muscular body pressed up against mine in that pool. I’d barely even been able to breathe throughout the entire wedding ceremony because of those invading thoughts. Brad had been standing so close to me, and every time he turned his head even slightly, I could feel his gaze on me out of the corner of his eye. Something about it made me feel…naked. There was no other way to explain it, and every time it happened, I felt another unwelcome rush of heat between my legs.
    Having a little crush on him like this was totally inappropriate, and I didn’t want it to be happening. He was my stepbrother now, and even though he’d done the mature thing and apologized to me about the pool incident, I still thought he was an arrogant ass in most respects. All he ever seemed to talk about with my Dad was how much freaking money he was looking forward to making several years down the track. Seriously, hadn’t anyone ever taught him that money wasn’t everything?
    I’d figured there was only one thing I could do to stop my stupid crush. If I put on a mask of pure disdain around him, then maybe my body would eventually catch on and stop screaming at me to go for him. So far it hadn’t worked at all, and I’d gotten the impression that my surly attitude actually amused him. But it was early days yet.
    Tamara put the pink dress back on the rack and picked up a red one instead.
    “I think I like this one better,” she declared before turning to me. “So anyway, how are you adjusting to your Dad suddenly getting married? It’s crazy, right? I couldn’t believe it when you called and told me.”
    I shrugged and inspected a white silk shirt. “It’s fine, I guess. Karen seems really nice.”
    She snorted. “Mia, I do like to shop, but I’m not buying your bullshit for a second. I can tell when you’re not happy about something. So spill.”
    I let out a reluctant smile. As usual, she was right. She had a real talent for being able to read my facial expressions and determine my mood, and she was very rarely wrong. It wasn’t just Brad who was bothering me; it was the whole wedding.
    Don’t get me wrong, I was happy for my Dad, and Karen really did seem great. I was still a little annoyed that they’d sprung it on us at the last-minute, but the main issue was something more serious. When Dad had been dancing on the sand with Karen after the ceremony, he’d looked at her with the exact same blissfully loving expression which had once been reserved for my mother, and try as I might, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that Mom’s memory was slowly fading before my very eyes with the event of Dad remarrying. It was a heavy load to carry around on my mind.
    Talking to Tamara would probably help, so I explained it all to her in a halting voice, and her face softened. “Oh, Mia…just because he’s moved on doesn’t mean he’ll ever stop loving your Mom,” she said.
    “I know, and I’ve told myself that a hundred times. But I still can’t help feeling this way. It makes me feel even worse that I can’t tell my Dad about it, because I don’t want to spoil his happiness. I just feel so guilty. I’m a bitch, right?”
    Tamara slid the red dress onto her left arm and came over to me before slinging her free arm around my shoulder.  “I get it. It’s okay,” she said. “You’re not a bad person for feeling like this. But don’t worry, your Mom’s memory will always be there. I think you just need some time to adjust to all the new things going on.”
    “Yeah, I guess.”
    We