Page 52 of Falling for my Brother's Best Friend

I glance at the Buzz Wheel article but don’t read it. No need to hear what Lake Starlight thinks about Liam and me. “It was just a dinner. He apologized. I stayed at his house—in my own room.”

“Of course he apologized, he wants in your pants.”

I sit in the chair adjacent to the couch and remain quiet.

Juno finally looks over and her shoulders fall. “I didn’t mean it like that. I mean… I’m just upset. She made me organize the kitchen.” She cringes. “She rearranged where my silverware goes.”

“Is it by the dishwasher now? I never understood why you had it on the opposite side of the kitchen.”

She throws up her arms and blows out a breath so deep, her bangs fly up. “What does it matter? It’s my house.”

“I’m just saying, it’s more convenient—”

“You’ve turned into her.”

“No, I haven’t.” Grandma Dori has the self-confidence of a lioness fighting a lion. I have the roar of a lioness but the self-confidence of a cub.

“You know what she wants to do tonight?”

“Go to the grocery store?” I guess.

Juno narrows her eyes at me, and I giggle because I razz her non-stop about how pathetic her empty fridge is. I understand Kingston and his bachelor ways, but I was surprised at Juno.

“It’s sexist that you think just because I’m a woman, I should have a stocked fridge.”

“Sorry for being sexist. In all honesty, Liam has a full fridge.”

“Because you’re there.”

“That’s not true. But he is different than I thought.”

A low spark lights up her bored eyes. I’m giving the happily-ever-after queen reasons to believe in true love again. “How so?”

“He’s just being a good friend. That’s all.”

She holds up her phone. “A funny friend, huh?”

I throw my pen at her and she catches it effortlessly. “Don’t tell anyone?”

Usually I’d go to Rome to discuss something I don’t want the other Baileys to know, but Liam is his best friend. That puts an awkward spin on the whole scenario.

“I won’t.”

She probably will.

I sigh. “I’m not saying I like him or anything. But we called a truce on the whole thing.”

“And what exactly is the whole thing?”

She shouldn’t know about Austin’s wedding night. We didn’t sleep together, but we were physical. “The whole him always coming after me thing. Making fun of me.”

Her eyebrows fly up on her wrinkled forehead. “You mean like in the fifth grade when boys make fun of the girls they like? Is that what Liam was doing?”

“Maybe? I guess.”

“My philosophy with you two is sleep together and get it over with. Then the world will return to order again.” Juno picks up her phone, thumbing through either her emails or Snapchat. She’s obsessed with both.

I attempt to make sense of what she’s saying, but I’m not sure I can. “Meaning?”

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