Chapter 1Cassie was about five seconds away from throwing her clipboard directly at Jace’s face.The house smelled like fresh paint and her stepdad’s expensive cologne—a combination that was already giving her a headache. It was ninety degrees outside, the movers were late, and her mother was text-panicking from across town.And then there was Jace.He was stretched out on the bottom three steps of the grand staircase like he owned the place. Which, technically, his dad did. He had a pair of giant headphones around his neck, his black t-shirt was faded to gray, and his long legs were sprawled all the way across the hardwood, completely blocking the path to the front door. He hadn't looked up from his phone once in the last twenty minutes."Jace," Cassie said, stopping right at the edge of his sneakers. "Move your legs."He didn't move. His thumb just scrolled casually down his screen."Jace. Seriously. I'm not playing." She tapped the top of her sneaker against the toe of his boot. "The truck is going to be here any minute. Move."Slowly, Jace tilted his head back against the banister. He looked up at her through messy dark hair, his slate-gray eyes completely deadpan. There was no anger in his face. Just a massive, irritating wall of pure indifference."The front door is four feet wide, Cassie," he said, his voice a lazy, low drawl that made her teeth grit. "Walk around.""I shouldn't have to walk around you. You’re blocking the entire hallway.""Then trip over me. See if I care." He went right back to his phone.Cassie let out a sharp, frustrated breath. This was how it always was with him. For the six months their parents had been dating, Jace had treated her like an annoying fly he couldn't be bothered to swat. She was trying to hold everything together, to make this stupid blended-family thing work, and he was just... a bump on a log. A very tall, very frustrating bump."You're pathetic, you know that?" Cassie said, crossing her arms. "Your dad is paying thousands of dollars for this move, my mom is stressed out of her mind, and you can't even stand up to help?"Jace sighed, a soft, huffing sound. He locked his phone and tossed it onto the step above him. Then he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, looking at her properly."Did they hire me?" he asked calmly."What?""The movers. Am I getting paid?""No, but—""Then I’m not helping," Jace said, his voice entirely too level. "Your mom wants to play house. My dad wants a wife. You want to run around like a drill sergeant because you have control issues. I don't have any of those things. So I’m sitting.""It's called being a decent human being, Jace!""No, it's called you being uptight." He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her messy ponytail and the sweat dampening the collar of her t-shirt. "Look at you. You’re vibrating. It’s boxes, Cassie. Calm down.""Don't tell me to calm down." Cassie stepped closer, her stubbornness flaring hot in her chest. She hated how he made her look like the crazy one, how his calm demeanor made her look hysterical. "You’re just a lazy, spoiled brat who thinks the world revolves around his boredom."Jace’s eyes narrowed just a fraction. The lazy, unbothered look slipped, revealing something much sharper underneath. He stood up.Cassie hadn't realized how close she’d gotten until he was fully upright. Jace was over six feet tall, and he used every inch of it now, stepping directly into her space until she had to tilt her chin up just to look him in the eye. He smelled like mint and soap, and he was standing close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off him."You think you have me all figured out, don't you?" Jace said. His voice dropped an octave, losing its casual edge."I know what I see," Cassie said, refusing to back down. Her heart was suddenly doing a weird, erratic flip against her ribs, but she’d die before she let him see it. "I see a guy who doesn't care about anything. Who thinks he’s too cool to try.""Maybe I just don't care about your stupid little checklists," Jace murmured, taking another half-step forward. His chest almost brushed hers. The nonchalance was entirely gone, replaced by a strange, heavy focus that was directed completely at her. "Maybe I think you use all this fake busywork so you don't have to deal with real life.""My busywork keeps things running," Cassie shot back, her breath coming a little faster now."Keep telling yourself that." Jace looked down at her lips, then back up to her eyes. The air between them suddenly felt thick and hot.Cassie’s brain told her to step back, to walk away, to go check on the truck. But her legs wouldn't move. She loathed his arrogant mouth and the way he looked at her like she was a problem he didn't want to solve. But standing this close, with the house completely empty and her nerves already frayed, she felt a sudden, terrifying jolt of pure physical awareness.He wasn't just her annoying new stepbrother. He was a guy. A dangerously attractive, cynical guy who was currently crowding her against the banister."Get out of my face, Jace," she whispered. Her voice lost its sharp, angry edge, turning low and breathless."You walked over to me, Cassie," he reminded her, a slow, dangerous smirk finally tugging at the corner of his mouth. He leaned down slightly, his breath warm against her cheek. "You're the one who keeps pushing. You're the one who’s obsessed.""I am not obsessed with you—""Then stop looking at me," he whispered, his gray eyes boring into hers. "Stop trying to pick a fight. Because you're not going to like what happens if you actually win."He stared at her for one more agonizing second, long enough for Cassie to feel her entire body go tense. Then, just like that, he stepped around her. He slid his hands into his pockets and walked casually down the hall toward the kitchen without another word.Cassie stood frozen by the stairs, her skin tingling, her face burning. She looked down at her clipboard and realized her fingers were gripping it so hard her knuckles were white.She hated him. She truly, deeply hated him.But as she heard the distant sound of the fridge opening, Cassie forced herself to breathe. The tension in the room hadn't gone away; it had just shifted into something heavy, dark, and dangerous.