Page 77 of Falling for my Brother's Best Friend

Twenty-Four

Savannah

On Friday night, I sit down at Lard Have Mercy to have dinner by myself. Yes, I’ve put it off all week, but between work and organizing the charity event, I’ve been swamped, so Liam gave me a pass. As long as I did it before the end of the week, it was okay.

The place is pretty empty for a Friday night. There’s just me, two families, and a few people on the stools. I take a picture of the empty bench seat across from me and pull up a text message thread I have going with Liam.

Me: Care to join me?

Three dots appear right away, and I wonder how he can be so fast when he’s at work.

Liam: You got this. Enjoy your own company.

I put my phone on the table, happy that Holly’s mom, Karen, isn’t working today because then I’d be having dinner with her.

Splurging—on calories at least—I order a burger and fries along with a strawberry milkshake, then I pull out the magazine I brought. I purposely didn’t bring something business-related. I flip the pages, reading articles about how to make your eyes pop, all about the fall trends to get excited about, celebrity news, and what used to be my favorite—astrology. I used to love reading my horoscope back in high school.

Scrolling my finger down the page, I find Virgo.

Venus enters your sign on Wednesday, making all your wishes come true—and perhaps a romantic one in particular? The weekend boosts your love life in a major way.

Love. Romantic partner. I’m not sure about a partner, but I’m growing tired of not having Liam, that’s for sure.

I start an article about sex positions that’ll give you mind-blowing orgasms. If only I needed the advice. Lately, all roads lead to sleeping with Liam. Pretty soon, I suspect, we’re not going to be able to hold back, so I better make sure I can compare to all the women who came before me.

“Excuse me?” A small voice interrupts my thoughts.

I glance at the end of the booth, shut the magazine, and slide it off the table into my lap because there’s a little girl standing there, and she doesn’t need to be traumatized.

“Hello,” I say with a guilty voice.

“Are you Savannah Bailey?”

I look around and locate the girl’s parents two booths over, smiling at our exchange. “I am.”

Is she going to slap me? Is she going to tell me I stole money from her family and now she has to sell all her toys and wear hand-me-downs?

“Can you please sign this?” She slides over one of the paper placemats and places a pen on it.

I glance at her parents with confusion. “Why do you want me to sign it?”

“Because my mommy told me that you’re an amazing businessperson. I’m going to run a company one day.” She leans forward. “I’m sorry about your parents.” She draws back again and puts her hands behind her back. She can’t be more than seven, maybe eight. “Mommy says everyone thought you were going to fail, but you didn’t. That if I was looking for a real-life hero to look up to, you should be her.”

My eyes well with tears and I look at the mother and mouth, “Thank you.”

She nods, but she really has no idea how much I needed to hear this as our company sits in limbo, barely profiting for the last couple of months. Not that anyone knows that but Grandma Dori, a couple guys in finance, and me.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Paisley.”

“Well, Paisley, you just made my night.” I scribble her name and “The future is female,” then I sign my name.

She reads it when I hand it over. Her eyes widen. “Thank you, Mrs. Bailey.”

I smile. “It’s Miss Bailey, and you’re very welcome.”

She runs over to her parents, and I give them a little wave. I feel embarrassed yet still honored. I look around to see if someone set me up. This feels like something Liam might do to make me feel better about myself, but there’s no one in sight.

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