Page 29 of Marrying My Brother's Best Friend

“It’s not important,” I say to him instead. “What matters is that you were right. I shouldn’t have dragged Gracie into my mess. I made her leave. She doesn’t belong here.”

Jace doesn’t reply, and I nudge towards the drink in his hand. “Pour me some of that, will you?”

“Isn’t it too early for that?” he questions, eyeing me suspiciously.

“You brought the drink though,” I retort, hating the ache in my heart and the lump thickening in my throat, making it difficult for me to say anything.

Jace finally pours me some and slides me the glass before filling his.

“What happened? Why did you fly all the way out here without calling me first?”

“Thought I’d talk to my best friend,” he shrugs. “I missed you and figured with all that’s happened over the past few weeks, we should talk.”

I lick the droplets of brandy off my lips after taking a sip, and Jace delivers the final blow with his words. “We should talk about Gracie and what you’re going to do about your feelings for her.”

“What feelings? What are you talking about?”

I set my glass on the table and clear my throat to hide the huskiness in my voice.

“Cut the crap, Trevor. We’ve been friends a long time and I’m done pretending I don’t see the way you look at her. You two have been in the media a lot these days and it’s clear that you have feelings for her. The only one who doesn’t know Trevor is into Gracie is Trevor and Gracie themselves. The entire world is raving about you two and what, you just let her go home?”

“What does it matter?” I eye Jace suspiciously. “I thought you were against it anyway, so what’s your deal?”

“I’m against you hurting my sister, Trev,” he answers. “And let’s face it, you don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to women. You have a new date twice a week, and Gracie’s not that kind of girl…”

My dry chuckle stops him from saying anything else, and my lips twist to a corner as I say. “Trust me, I know what kind of girl Gracie is.” That’s what makes this so difficult in the first place.

“Trevor…”

“Can we talk about something else, please?” I snap. “I made a mistake, okay? I shouldn’t have brought her to New York to help with my stupid plan when I knew very well that I wanted her. I should have stayed away…I screwed up and ruined things, and now she probably doesn’t want to ever see me again. I know all of that, okay?”

I comb my fingers through my hair and rub a hand over my face. “I just …You know my past, Jace. My mom, my dad…You know what love did to her. I can’t let that be my story too, because what if I’m just like him? What if…” My throat tightens, and I can’t bring myself to say the words running through my mind.

“You’re not your father, Trevor. I know that, and Gracie she…She cares about you, Trevor, maybe even too much. You want to know why I’m here? Why I showed up here after she left? It’s because she was worried about you, and even while she’s hurting, she still didn’t want you to be alone.

“I know you don’t want to turn out like your father, or end up losing yourself like your mother, but you can’t live your life, and make all of your choices based on that fear, Trevor. There are some people worth risking everything for…You should know that.”

Jace sighs, walks to me, and pats my shoulder before leaving the kitchen. I’m left alone with my thoughts and my mind buzzes with memories of the times with Gracie. I knew I would never get over it.

Chapter 17

Gracie

I’m staring at the bookshelves that morning when Natalie walks in and shocks me out of my solemn mood. She laughs when she walks around my table and takes the free seat opposite mine.

“What’s happening?” she asks with her usual smile, then flips her hair over one shoulder. It’s my first day back at work after returning to Golden Bay two days ago, and it feels good to be back in my safe space. I spent the past two days working on my book. It’s getting harder to work on my characters when their story feels so similar to mine. I want a happy ending, but then my main male character, Nate, is the kind of man who doesn’t believe in love just like Trevor.

I’ve decided to take a deep breath and let it sit for a while. I’ll come up with something to continue on when I get back to it. I can’t let my experience with Trevor break my belief in love. I’ll give my characters a happy ending somehow. That I’m sure of.

“Nothing much,” I answer before closing my laptop. “Got here early, made myself a cup of cappuccino as usual, and got to work. It feels good to be back.”

“Hey, Gracie,” an employee greets me as they waltz into the bookstore.

“Hi, Gracie,” another greeting follows.

I catch Natalie’s wide grin again before she says. “Everyone’s excited to have you back. They think Trevor will be here soon too, and he can help with the store’s publicity. There’s nothing small-town folks love more than a cozy spot to enjoy a book, coffee, and some hot gossip. You’ve certainly made headlines these past few weeks, my friend.”

“It’s a shame Trevor won’t be coming here anytime soon,” I say to Natalie with a light shrug. “He’s injured.”

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