Naughty

(This is romance! Romance! First-person romance!)

Also known as: I Became the Daughter-in-Law of the Man My Mom Went on a Blind Date With; I Thought of You as a Little Brother, but You Insist on Calling Me Mom

That day, I went on a blind date with my mom's potential match to vet him. He was a high-quality middle-aged man, divorced and remarried.

Forty-five, with a full head of hair, an imposing air, and a refined, gentle manner.

Most importantly, he was rich.

I figured that with my mom's circumstances, she probably wasn't good enough for this uncle.

But opportunities belong to those who take the initiative.

So I asked him directly: “Uncle, do you have a son? I think I'd make a pretty good daughter-in-law for you.”

The uncle fell silent for three seconds. “My son is eighteen this year.”

Me, who had just celebrated my twenty-fifth birthday: “Never mind, then!”

Later, the blind date's son, an eighteen-year-old college student, backed me into a corner and delivered that classic line from the fake-stepmother genre:

“Why is it okay for my dad, but not for me...”

I grabbed him by the collar in return. “I didn't say you couldn't, but...”

I ground my teeth.

“Have you memorized your vocabulary words today? If you don't behave, your big sister won't pick you.”

- Older woman/younger man, she's 25 and he's 18

- Fake stepmother trope. The logic is weird, but don't mind me! As long as it's sweet!

- Short story in the older sister's first-person perspective

- Sob, I meant to open a preorder page, but ended up starting the story instead. The editor says I can't delete it, so I can only post a short story here. Have a laugh.

Theme: Loving yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.