Page 18 of Falling for my Brother's Best Friend

“You know how Savannah is. Neurotic to the tenth degree,” I say.

Savannah’s eyes narrow to the smallest slits, and the door opens again with Phoenix’s entrance.

“Here you go.” She drops a bottle of water fresh from the fridge in front of me and plops down in the chair on the other side of me before slipping off her shoes and putting her feet on the table again.

Dori sighs. If Savannah could take her eyes off me, she’d give the scathing look normally reserved for me to her sister.

“Thanks, Phoenix.” I crack open the bottle and offer it to Savannah, whose head rears back as if I offered her monkey brains. “No?”

“No,” she confirms.

“You looked hot.” I shrug.

She rolls her eyes and focuses on her grandmother in order to get our meeting started.

“So, Liam, we brought you in today because we’d like you to be part of the committee for the Bailey yearly charity event. You know there are plans for an addition to the library to expand the children’s section. I don’t have to tell you how near and dear that is to me, and I can only trust certain people with this endeavor.”

I’d do just about anything for the Baileys. They’re my second family, but this couldn’t come at a worse time. Not only is the tattoo shop busy, but Wyatt asked me to be his pseudo best man for the reception. Plus, it means more alone time with Savannah.

“I’ll do it,” Phoenix volunteers.

I think she’s only considering the entertainment portion of the event. The girl would throw a huge party and generate no money.

“That’s okay, sweetie, you’re needed here.” Dori smiles at her, but everyone in the room, probably including Phoenix, knows why Dori isn’t taking her up on her offer.

“How big is the committee?” I ask.

“Just you and Savannah.” Dori grins at her granddaughter like “come on, it’ll be fun.”

Savannah’s clearly not on board, which I suspect has more to do with me than the work the event will entail.

“What are you thinking? Silent auction? Do we want a dinner or a lunch? How formal will this be?”

This isn’t my first time helping with charity planning. My mom was the go-to helper until she moved away. I can’t blame her. When your best friends die, you tend to want to escape.

“I trust that you and Savannah can plan an amazing event that will get the funds needed for the library extension. I think we should keep this upscale though. Let’s do a theme dinner with a silent auction, but we need specialty items. Big ticket items. Unique items.”

I nod. “I can go around to the local businesses, recruiting.”

Dori points at me. “That’s where I knew you’d excel. Savannah can handle the where and when as well as the decorations.”

“You think I can’t handle deciding on white or ivory linens?” Phoenix interrupts, turning Dori’s attention her way.

While Dori politely turns Phoenix down once again, I turn my gaze to Savannah. She’s looking at where her fingers twist in her lap.

“You’re game for this? I’m shocked.”

She side-glances at me but responds to her hands instead of me. “I don’t have a choice.”

“You always have a choice.”

She raises her head and turns to me fully, giving me the scathing look I’m becoming immune to. “You don’t understand.”

“Tell me again what I don’t understand.” Before she can release that annoyed breath, I continue. “Oh right, how much pressure you’re under? How it can only ever be you who makes things happen? Someone might think you were the president with how often you use your responsibilities as an excuse to avoid things that scare you.”

She gives me a bland look and turns to look at her grandmother. “Are we done? I have calls to return.”

Dori’s head swivels in Savannah’s direction. “If you two think you can take it from here, we can be. I know you might be limited with what you can accomplish until after Brooklyn and Wyatt’s reception, but I wanted to get it on your calendar, Liam.”

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