His Riveting Stepbrother

Chapter 1 (Mother’s Matchmaking)

“Welcome again, Mr. Raymond.” My mother welcomed the guest.The same burly man was in my living room again. He filled up the velvet armchair with his terse behind. The seat on which only my father sat. Mother was perched at the edge of her chair, wiggling her buttocks on the corner like a dog scratched on its neck. How could she let this man defy my father? Dad was never around when this big and intimidating man visited.The first time I saw Don Raymond, I understood why people feared him.He stood at the far end of the grand hall, dressed in a dark suit so perfectly tailored it looked like a second skin. Everything about him was polished—his sooth hair slicked back without a strand out of place, his sharp jaw set in stone. His presence filled the room without effort.When he turned to me, I felt it. His gaze on me was cold, unreadable. I caught my mother’s eye when the man made me turn around for his inspection. Then without another word, he nodded to her and made his way into the fa...