Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) Read Online Free

have brought an apple or something?
    “ But you might be, if you don ’ t course correct. And soon, ” he goes on perplexingly.
    My
brow furrows as I look up at him from my measly height of five six.
    “ Sorry, I ’ m not sure what you ’ re
talking about, Prof, ” I laugh lightly.
    “ I ’ m
talking about the effort you put into this class, Ms. Porter, ” he says bluntly, “ Or rather, the lack of it. ”
    My
half smile fades away as I realize this meeting is going to be a lot less sexy
than I ’ d hoped.
    “ With all due respect, ” I say, drawing myself up under his condescending gaze, “ Econ. 101 wasn ’ t exactly my priority this semester. I didn ’ t have a lot of effort to spare. ”
    “ Yeah, that was pretty clear, ” he shoots back, cocking an eyebrow at me. “ You barely turned in any of your assignments, you were
late more often than not, and I ’ m not convinced you ’ ve to listened to a word I've said these past few
weeks. ”
    That ’ s because I was too busy checking
out that fine ass of yours, I think, face reddening with embarrassment. I don ’ t
mind being called out on failing at something I care about deeply. But being
scolded for not putting effort into something totally irrelevant to me really
grates.
    “ Look. Luke. Can I call you Luke? ” I ask, cutting the bullshit.
    “ By all means, ” he replies, looking amused.
    “ I honestly couldn ’ t give less of a shit about this class, ” I tell him, “ I ’ m
just here to fulfill my graduation requirements. I ’ m a performer. That ’ s
what matters to me. That ’ s what I spend my every waking hour
trying to get better at. ”
    “ I understand being passionate about
your hobbies, ” Luke cuts in, “ But it ’ s important to —”
    “ Performing isn ’ t a hobby, ” I snap, “ It ’ s what I plan to do for the rest of
my life. ”
    “ That ’ s
what I used to think about sports, too, ” Luke replies condescendingly.
    “ Well, that ’ s a totally different story. No one really gets to be
a professional athlete, ” I say, crossing my arms.
    “ No one really gets to be a
professional actor either, ” he shoots back, “ It doesn ’ t sound that different to me,
Sophie. ”
    I
stare up at Luke, my jaw clenched tightly. In about three minutes, this man has
shattered my esteem of him into a thousand pieces. I should have known that
someone like him would turn out to be a total asshole. No one man could be as
gorgeous and brilliant as he is and still be a good person. That must be a law
of physics or something.
    “ I ’ m
sure you ’ re not used to hearing this, Luke, ” I say, all joking aside, “ But you have no idea what the fuck you ’ re talking about. ”
    “ There ’ s
no need to get upset, ” he tells me, “ I thought you could use a bit of honesty from someone
at this school. It ’ s a shame to see someone as bright
as you waste her potential. ”
    “ Let me guess. You think I should
abandon my dreams, sell out, and become an upstanding citizen like you? ” I shoot back with a laugh. “ Thanks, but I ’ ll pass. ”
    “ We ’ ll
see, ” he shrugs.
    “ Yes. We will, ” I say resolutely, turning on my heel, “ Enjoy the rat race, Prof. ”
    I
storm out of the lecture hall, leaving Luke Hawthorne behind in the dust. My
hands are shaking with indignation. This guy doesn ’ t know the first thing about what I do. What could a
MBA-toting jock know about art, or expression, or inspiration? I can ’ t tell if I ’ m more outraged by his assumptions
or disappointed that he ’ s just another macho asshole. As an
assertive woman, I ’ m used to men trying to tear me
down to make themselves feel more important. It was ridiculous of me to imagine
that this guy would be any different.
    As
I burst back into the warm afternoon, I swallow a huge gulp of fresh air and do
my best to calm down. This guy ’ s opinion of me doesn ’ t matter. I ’ ll never see him again in my life.
I should