Stuck Between Two Hotties: My Stepbrother Stole My Christmas
BLURB
Lena Hale thought heartbreak couldn't get worse until she walked into a luxury restaurant with a Christmas gift in her hand and found her boyfriend on a date with another girl. Broken and humiliated, she flees home for the holidays, hoping her mother's new marriage will give her a quiet place to recover.
Instead, she walks straight into a nightmare.
Her cheating ex, Bryce Carter, is waiting at the mansion...
as the beloved nephew of her new stepfather.
And her new stepbrother, Cassian Ward, the cold, quiet son who sees too much and says too little can't seem to look away from her.
Trapped together for Christmas, Lena is forced to face the boy who broke her and the man who's slowly undoing her in ways she doesn't understand. Bryce wants her back. Cassian wants her safe. And Lena wants to forget she still feels anything at all.
But secrets run deep in the Ward family...
and desire runs deeper.
And this Christmas, falling for the wrong brother might be the most dangerous mistake she's ever made.
Chapters
Share
Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Lena's Pov
Airports always smell like coffee, cold air, and goodbyes.
Today, they smelled like something else too:
Escape.
I needed distance from Bryce, distance from that restaurant, distance from the version of myself who let her heart get stepped on for two straight years. So the moment my flight began boarding, I shoved my emotions into my carry-on bag and prayed they wouldn't burst open midair.
As I settled into my window seat, I let my head fall back and exhaled.
Tomorrow I'd pretend Bryce Carter didn't exist.
Tomorrow I'd be the girl who survived the worst kind of heartbreak.
Tomorrow I'd step into a new house, a new family, a new "chapter" at least that's what my mother called it.
But tonight?
Tonight I felt like a cracked ornament someone dropped on Christmas morning.
The intercom crackled. "Flight attendants, prepare for departure."
I closed my eyes, hoping sleep would take me.
It didn't.
Instead, every detail from last night sharpened again: Bryce's lazy smile across from that girl, the way her fingers brushed his wrist, the half-laugh, half-sigh he used to make only with me. The bright, bold red lipstick she wore the kind I never had the confidence to try.
And then the worst part:
To us, he'd said.
My stomach twisted.
No more.
No more replaying his betrayal.
No more giving him space in my mind.
By the time the plane landed, I'd sworn three things:
1. I would not cry in front of my mother.
2. I would not mention Bryce's name.
3. I would not let anyone treat me like a fragile ornament again.
The airport in Wyoming was smaller, quieter, colder. I zipped up my coat and dragged my suitcase behind me, searching for the car my mother said would pick me up.
Then I saw him.
A massive man in a suit, holding a placard with my name: Lena Hale.
"Miss Hale?" he asked as I approached.
"That's me."
He nodded once, took my suitcase like it weighed nothing, and led me to a sleek black SUV. I climbed in, sinking into leather seats that made me feel instantly underdressed.
As the car pulled away, snowy landscapes blurred past. Pine trees. Cabin roofs. Twinkling lights. Actual Christmas vibes if my chest wasn't a war zone, I might have enjoyed them.
"Your mother is very excited to see you," the driver said, breaking the silence.
"Really?" I laughed softly. "She's excited to critique me."
He didn't respond. Probably trained not to.
Twenty minutes later, the SUV turned into a long driveway lined with white lights and garlands. At the end stood a mansion tall, elegant, covered in fresh snow and enough decorations to make Santa jealous.
I swallowed.
This wasn't just a house.
This was a statement.
As soon as I stepped out, the front doors opened and my mother rushed out, coat flaring dramatically.
"Lena!" she cried. "Sweetheart!"
I barely had time to prepare before she wrapped me in her signature too-tight hug.
"Hi, Mom," I croaked.
She stepped back, eyes scanning me like I was luggage she was inspecting for damage. "You look thin. And pale. Are you eating well?"
"Uh...yeah."
She sighed, already dissatisfied. "We'll fix it. Come inside."
I followed her into the sweeping foyer, overwhelmed by chandeliers, glossy floors, and the warmth radiating from the fireplace. Everything smelled like cinnamon and pine needles.
"Where's... your husband?" I asked, unsure how to refer to him yet.
"Oh! Adrian is in his study finishing a call. He's thrilled to meet you." She smoothed her hair. "And oh! You'll finally meet Cassian too."
My new stepbrother.
The mysterious son she hadn't said much about, except that he was "intense" and "not very social." Which could mean anything antisocial genius or future serial killer.
Great.
Before I could ask more, footsteps echoed down the hallway. A tall man entered the foyer broad shoulders, salt-and-pepper hair, warm smile.
Senator Adrian Ward.
"So this is Lena," he said, voice deep and steady. "Welcome, sweetheart."
I shook his hand, surprised at how gentle his grip was. "Thank you. It's... beautiful here."
"We're happy to have you." His smile widened. "Cassian should be down any minute. He's been looking forward to meeting you."
My stomach fluttered. Why?
Why would a stranger my stepbrother look forward to meeting me?
Mom beamed. "Let's get you out of that coat and oh! Here he is!"
I turned.
And the world... shifted.
Cassian Ward descended the stairs like he controlled gravity effortlessly, silently, every step deliberate. Tall, broad, wearing a black sweater that made his eyes look darker. His hair was messy, like he'd run a frustrated hand through it ten times before coming out.
But it was his expression that stopped me cold.
Sharp. Controlled.
A face carved from shadow and quiet storms.
And when his eyes met mine..
Something inside me pulled tight.
Dark eyes.
Unreadable.
Like he could see things I didn't say.
"Lena," he said.
Just my name.
But the way he said it...
deep, low, almost like he was tasting it...
I swallowed hard. "Cassian?"
He nodded once.
But he didn't smile.
Didn't look away.
Didn't soften.
He just watched me.
Mom, oblivious, clapped her hands. "Well! Now that everyone's met we can start decorating tomorrow! Adrian and Cassian haven't put up a single ornament."
Cassian's jaw twitched.
Adrian laughed. "Some of us aren't festive."
My mother leaned closer to me. "Cassian's always like this. Don't take it personally."
But Cassian's eyes were still on me...
and nothing about that gaze felt impersonal.
I shifted, throat dry.
Adrian gestured to the staircase.
"Your room is ready upstairs. Make yourself at home."
As I grabbed my suitcase, Cassian stepped forward, blocking the bottom of the stairs unintentionally or maybe intentionally; I couldn't tell with him.
For a heartbeat, we were too close.
Too aware.
He spoke softly so only I could hear.
"Rough day?"
My breath caught.
He could see it on me?
The exhaustion, the heartbreak?
"Something like that," I whispered.
His gaze flicked down my face slow, intentional then back to my eyes.
"Tomorrow will be better," he murmured.
It wasn't a promise, but it felt like one.
I nodded, unsure what to say, unsure why my chest felt warm.
As I climbed the stairs, I felt his eyes on my back steady, unreadable, almost protective.
And for the first time since Bryce shattered me, I wondered if maybe just maybe something good waited on the other side of this heartbreak.
But I didn't know yet that Cassian Ward wasn't the kind of man you eased into.
He was the kind you fell into.
Dangerously.
You may also like
8.7
For three years, Blair Guzman poured her resources into turning a broke waiter into an Oscar-winning actor, letting the world believe they were a couple just to keep him under her control.
But the night he won his Oscar, he publicly betrayed her by kissing Kiana—Blair’s estranged, rival sister.
Kiana and her mother brought the scandal right to the Glover family dinner table, trying to humiliate Blair.
"You're just mad because he dumped you for me," Kiana sneered in front of the entire family.
Instead of crying, Blair ruthlessly dismantled them, exposing how their cheap tabloid stunt tanked the family's corporate value.
Impressed by her cold logic, the family matriarch handed Blair the ultimate voting power, but it was a trap.
The matriarch immediately used Blair's elevated status to force her into an arranged marriage with a notorious, debt-ridden playboy just to secure a European shipping lane.
To her family, she was never a daughter—she was just a premium asset to be traded to the highest bidder.
What her greedy family didn't know was that Blair had already made a terrifying deal.
She was secretly married to the ruthless billionaire Butler McIntyre—a man who demanded absolute possession of her body and soul.
Now, her family's arranged parasite and her secret devil of a husband were on a collision course, and the wreckage was going to be spectacular.
7.3
WARNING ⚠️: This book contains sex scenes and mature contents not fit for readers below 18+.
If you love steamy romances and emotional stories, this book is the one.
By day, Damon follows her rules in the kitchen: chopping, kneading, burning his fingers, and surviving her sharp mouth.
By night, she follows his.
Damon Blackwell is a cold, dangerous billionaire who hates Christmas, women, and anything that smells like joy. Haunted by tragedy and trauma, and memories of the girl he once loved and lost, he lives like a machine: money, control, and pleasure without attachment.
Then his grandparents and three ruthless brothers dare him to do the impossible:
Live like a normal man for 12 days to Christmas: no staff, no luxuries, no protection, no control and no bad temper. He has to change and be easygoing with investors.
Fail, and he loses the biggest business deal of his life.
Indulgence is over for him.
The only place Damon knows he can grab survival? A small-town Christmas cooking competition hosted by that one woman who broke his heart years ago.
Merry Steele never expected to see Damon again. The man she left without a word. The man who haunted her dreams after she broke his heart back now stands in her kitchen offering a deal she can't refuse:
Cook for him. Sleep with him. Pretend to be his fiancée until the end of the year.
The pay is tempting. The temptation is even greater.
Before Christmas, can they resist the heat, desire, and lingering love they once shared and keep it strictly business?
As family obligations, enemies, and a high-profile Christmas ball close in, Damon and Merry must correct old heartbreak, passion, and dangerous feelings.
Will Damon ever forgive his fuckmate?
Can Merry resist the billionaire who once stole her heart... or will old flames burn hotter than ever under the snow, the lights, and the Christmas feelings?
9.1
What would a woman do if one day she is waiting for her husband to tell him the news of her pregnancy but he comes home with another woman who is pregnant with his child?
........
Ariadne had a perfect life until her mother died in a car accident and her father remarried, bringing a stepmother and stepsister into her life. Once adored by all, Ariadne became an eyesore to everyone, including her father. Her stepmother and stepsister took everything from her.
However, she lost it when their eyes fell on Xander, the sole heir of the richest family in the country and her childhood love. When rumors of Crystal, her step sister and Xander's dating spread, Ariadne used her everything to force Xander into marrying her.
Despite pouring her heart and soul into the marriage Ariadne failed to make Xander reciprocate her feelings. Their loveless marriage came to an end when Crystal returned in their lives.
With a broken heart, Ariadne left the city with a secret and rebuild her life.
Five years later, she returned as a successful interior designer to design her ex-husband's new mansion. But this time, what she saw in Xander's eyes for herself was not hatred. It was something else.
She came face to face with the same people who had wronged her in the past. They still held resentment towards her. But this time Ariadne vowed to strike back at her bullies.
Many secrets were revealed in the process that made Xander regret his past actions. He determined to win Ariadne back.
BUT Will Ariadne be able to forget their past and get back together with Xander or She will choose someone else?
8.5
Hadley married into the Jacobson family, a ruthless Wall Street empire. Her prenuptial agreement was absolute: she wouldn't touch a penny of the family wealth until she produced an heir.
But one rainy night, she used a copied keycard to enter a secret Tribeca penthouse, only to find her husband tangled in bed with a famous actress.
When she slapped the divorce papers in front of him, Cleveland didn't apologize.
"The party who files walks away with nothing. You will die in this position."
He tore the documents to pieces. To protect his flawless public image, he forced Hadley to attend family galas, smirking coldly while his grandfather publicly humiliated her for her "barren" stomach. When Hadley finally fought back and confronted his mistress, Cleveland snapped. With a single phone call, he froze her bank accounts, revoked her access to their home, and left her stranded in a cold parking garage.
She had given up her independence for a man who treated her like a useless breeding machine. He thought he could erase three years of her life in an instant, confident that his money made him invincible.
But Cleveland didn't know she was holding the ultimate weapon to destroy his precious legacy. As he received a frantic call about his mistress and rushed to his SUV, Hadley finally screamed the agonizing secret she had hidden for years.
"I can't give you an heir! It's over!"
Watching his taillights disappear into the dark, Hadley prepared to burn his empire to the ground.
9.1
Isabella thought she had the perfect life as the wealthy Conrad family heiress, complete with a loving childhood sweetheart.
Until she woke up drugged in a hotel bed, blinded by paparazzi flashes, as her fiancé pointed a shaking finger at her, screaming that she had drugged and seduced him.
"She threatened to ruin Kaylie if I didn't sleep with her!" he yelled to the cameras.
Kaylie, the newly discovered biological daughter, stood in the doorway weeping perfectly.
Within hours, Isabella's adoptive father publicly severed all ties, froze her assets, and kicked her out into a violent thunderstorm.
Fleeing the city, her car's brakes suddenly failed.
As Isabella lay dying in the crushed metal of her Porsche, Kaylie strolled up with a pristine umbrella and a genuine smile.
"The mechanic was quite expensive, but cutting the brake lines was worth every penny," Kaylie laughed.
Isabella coughed up blood, her heart turning to ice. Her twenty years of family, love, and loyalty had been nothing but a cruel joke, destroyed by a calculated frame-up.
She died suffocating on absolute betrayal and unadulterated hatred.
Then, she gasped for air.
She wasn't dead. She was sitting in the driver's seat of her car, staring at her flawless reflection in the rearview mirror.
It was exactly four years ago—the day the real heiress first arrived.
A chilling smirk curled the corner of Isabella's mouth. This time, she was going to rip their lives apart from the inside out.
9.0
Carli followed an anonymous text to a dark garage, only to find her fiancé of seven years tangled with another woman in his Porsche.
She smashed his window, threw her engagement ring at his face, and walked away.
But the betrayal didn't stop there. Her own family sided with the cheater. Her father slapped her across the face so hard she bled, demanding she hand over her late aunt's trust fund.
"If you don't do exactly as you're told tonight, I will freeze every credit card in your name," her father roared.
Forced to attend the exclusive Gutierrez family gala, Carli watched her ex-fiancé parade his cheap mistress to humiliate her, while her stepsister tried to publicly ruin her.
Suddenly, a violent screech echoed as the massive crystal chandelier above them snapped from the ceiling.
In a split second of pure instinct, Vaughn shoved his mistress to safety and threw himself to the ground, completely abandoning Carli to be crushed.
Staring up at the plummeting glass, Carli felt the crushing reality that her entire life had been surrounded by monsters.
But the fatal impact never came.
A massive force yanked her into a hard chest, shielding her body entirely from the explosive shrapnel.
Carli opened her eyes to find Fletcher Gutierrez—the ruthless billionaire king of Wall Street and the masked stranger from her reckless one-night stand—bleeding heavily over her.
Feeling his warm blood on her hands, Carli knew the game had just changed.