Off Limits, My not so stepbrother

The morning after the wedding felt like waking up inside a dream I didn’t want to end.Sunlight streamed through my curtains, soft and golden, reflecting off the little pin-on bouquet Daniel had made for me last night. My sea-green dress was thrown across my chair, my slippers kicked under the bed, and my hair was still pinned in tiny curls that had half-fallen apart on the dance floor.It was perfect.For the first time in years, the house didn’t feel too quiet. It felt… full. Warm. Like I finally had more than just Dad to call family. Like I belonged to something bigger than the two of us and our tiny apartment life.I stretched lazily and checked the time, 7:42 a.m.Which meant Daniel was definitely still asleep.I smiled to myself at the thought. He always stayed up too late after big events, pretending he wasn’t exhausted, then crashed like he’d been tranquilized.I washed my face, tied my hair up, and tiptoed out of my room so I wouldn’t wake him. Maya and Dad had gone for their

I didn’t answer him.Not because I didn’t want to, but because my body had already made the decision for me, and my mind was scrambling to catch up.I like your name.It was such a stupid thing to be undone by. Three simple words. Softly spoken. Not even flirtatious. And yet they followed me down the hallway, into my room, into my chest, settling somewhere deep and inconvenient.I shut my door and leaned against it, pressing my forehead to the wood like it might ground me.Get it together, Anna.He was Daniel’s brother. Maya’s son. Temporary. Off-limits in every possible way that mattered.And still.I changed slowly, deliberately, like I was trying to shake him off with each movement. Shorts. A loose T-shirt. Hair tied up. I stared at myself in the mirror and didn’t recognize the girl looking back.Her cheeks were flushed.Her eyes were too bright.Her thoughts were not innocent.Dinner was announced from downstairs not long after, Dad’s voice carrying up the steps. I hesitated befor