My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 404

Chapter 404

“No,” I said flatly, “I would’ve adjusted the angle.”

Gianna walked farther into the room barefoot, drying her hair absently with another towel she had thrown over her shoulder.

My eyes dragged over her automatically, “You hungry?” I asked.

Her head snapped toward me instantly, then her expression changed slightly. “…Maybe.”

I pointed toward the desk, “Food’s coming.”

Her eyes narrowed immediately, “Really?”

“You act like I haven’t met you before.”

She looked offended, “I don’t eat that much.”

I laughed outright this time, “Mess, I watched you eat cold leftover pasta directly from the container at four in the morning.”

“That was one time.”

“You dipped garlic bread into ranch dressing.”

“It was good.”

“You ate mozzarella sticks while sitting on the kitchen counter in your pajamas.”

She blinked at me. “That sounds completely normal, but why the hell do you even know all this?”

I looked at her flatly, “I run the security system in the house, Gianna.”

I rubbed a hand over my mouth, still laughing quietly under my breath. Gianna walked closer finally before dropping into the chair beside mine with a tired groan. She tucked one leg underneath herself carefully, wincing halfway through the movement.

I noticed immediately, “So it is from the running, right?”

She glared at me instantly, “I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

“After tonight? Maybe a little.’

I smirked faintly and slid a bottle of water across the desk toward her. She took it without arguing.

For a while neither of us said anything.

But none of that was what made my stomach tighten slightly.

It was the file in her hands.

Fuck.

I recognized the dark folder instantly.

Gianna slowly looked up at me, her face had gone completely blank.

“What’s that?” I asked anyway, even though I already knew.

Gianna let out a quiet breath through her nose filled with disbelief.

She sat down sideways in the chair, one bare leg tucked beneath her, damp hair falling over one shoulder. Her phone rested against her thigh, the Black Veil app still open on the screen. The soft voice reader continued scanning lines from the folder in her lap.

She lifted the file slightly between us, “You tell me.”

I stayed near the doorway for a second, towel hanging around my neck, water still dripping slowly down my back from the shower.

The robotic voice from the app continued reading.