Page 1 of Falling for my Brother's Best Friend

One

Savannah

Early Wednesday morning, I tiptoe down the hall wearing a towel wrapped around my body, slide into my bedroom, and slowly close the door. Once it clicks shut, I release the breath I’m holding, hoping I was quiet enough not to wake Liam.

Getting ready while trying not to make any noise is harder than dragging Grandma Dori out of Lucky’s Tavern on dart night. I’ve managed to avoid Liam these past few days by being out of the house before he wakes up, and I don’t plan on running into him today.

Slowly sliding hangers over the metal bar, I select my most loose-fitting outfit from the closet. After Austin’s wedding on Saturday—with the heat index the highest it’s been in three summers—I’m bloated. Once I’m dressed, I comb through my long blonde hair, hoping it air dries enough to throw up in some sort of updo before I leave.

I make my bed, hang the damp towel on a hook on the back of the door, then grab matching heels and close my closet. I turn to leave, but before I do, I walk back over to the bed and slide my hand along the comforter to smooth out a wrinkle.

I grip the door handle and turn it slowly, halting at the sound of movement in the hall. I hear a groan and the sound of someone using the washroom down the hall without the door closed. My shoulders sag in relief. Denver.

I sneak a peek as he walks out of the bathroom, still half asleep in a pair of boxers, scratching his junk.

Just what every sister wants to see.

He walks back into his room and shuts the door.

I slide out of my room and tiptoe down the hall as fast as I can, carrying my heels down the stairs into the kitchen area. I place my shoes with my computer bag and purse on the table by the front door, setting my keys down quietly so I can quickly grab something to eat from the kitchen and get the hell outta Dodge.

As I open the fridge door to grab a yogurt, shivers race up my spine with the sound of the front door opening and closing. He’s already up, not fast asleep in his room as I’d hoped. I close the fridge door and turn around.

“Aaaahhhh!” I jump back, startled to find his big body already leaning against the counter with his arms crossed.

Damn him.

“Good morning, Savannah,” Liam says with a cocky smirk.

“Stop it.” I peel back the lid of my yogurt, eyeing the spoon drawer he’s currently blocking.

This is exactly why I was trying to sneak out. Liam Kelly is my brother’s best friend, very often the bane of my existence, and unfortunately too hot for my own good. He’s also my landlord for the foreseeable future since my insurance company’s contractor is taking his sweet-ass time fixing my place after the flood.

“What?” he asks.

“You and that look.”

“What look?”

I want to scream at him for making this uncomfortable. How many people hook up at weddings? It’s a common occurrence, so there’s nothing special about us messing around after Austin and Holly’s wedding reception.

“The look that says you just caught your prey,” I say.

“And you think you’re my prey?”

“No.” I glance at the drawer again.

He follows my vision, his smirk only widening further. His T-shirt is sweaty and clinging to his muscles, which means he woke up earlier and left to work out. But he always keeps his door open when he’s not in his bedroom and it was definitely closed when I left my room to come down here. Did he set me up in order to talk about what happened Saturday night?

I glance at the fast food straw on the counter, next to an empty fry container. Denver. But that straw might work for my yogurt.

“Do you want to be my prey?” he asks.

“No. Why would I?”

“You seemed to enjoy it the other night.”

I inhale a sharp breath. “That was a mistake. A drunken mistake.”

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