Page 47 of Never Kiss Your Brother's Best Friend

I hold up the small cooler I brought. “How about a quick break?”

“Sure.”

We walk to the far end of the square and find a spot under the canopy of a large oak trees. I take out sandwiches and some drinks.

“Ham? Turkey? What’s your pleasure?” I see him stifle a comeback by biting his lip. I quickly realize the error in my wording.

“What I meant say is, ‘Which type of sandwich would you enjoy eating?’”

“Turkey, please.” His eyes are still twinkling.

He throws a few chunks to Buddy, who greedily gobbles them up, then sits patiently waiting for more. This is clearly a learned behavior. Mr. Softy has been feeding him table scraps. Hmm, I may have to change his nickname.

“So, I wanted to apologize. I should have responded to your text right away. I wanted to—”

“But Peter… He told you about Celia,” he cuts in.

“How did you know?”

“He invited me over for dinner last week. I thought he wanted to let me have it, but we ended up having a really good talk. He said he told you about her.”

I let out all the breath I’ve clearly been holding. “Yes, it just really took me by surprise. I couldn’t believe you had a fiancée that I didn’t know about. I know we hadn’t talked in quite a few years, but that was quite the shock.”

He nods his head. “I’m sure it was. I didn’t really have chance to tell you about it, but I would have.”

“I know.”

He takes my hands in his, tracing the lines of my palms. “You can trust me, Emma, I promise. I’ll never keep anything from you.”

No one has ever taken my hands like that before. He’s so gentle, and he has such a delicate touch that speaks volumes and cuts straight to my heart. I almost don’t want to respond and distract him from what he’s doing, but I have to.

“I’m.” I hesitate. “I’m just not ready. Peter said I was rushing into this after my breakup and maybe he’s right. We need to back off a little.”

He immediately releases my hands. Darn it, that’s what I was afraid of. But I can’t play both sides.

“It’s fine,” he answers but looks hurt.

“Sterling.”

“No, really, it’s okay. You’re worth waiting for. It’s been twenty years, so what’s a little more time? I’ll be right here when you’re ready.”

He brushes the hair off my forehead, then kisses it softly before standing. He motions to Buddy who follows him back to the raffle.

It takes everything inside me not to call him back.

Chapter twenty

STERLING

Whew, that was rough. Pretending I was fine when Emma said she wanted to slow things down tore me up inside. But at least we're talking, which is more than we’ve done all week.

Maybe slowing down is the right move for her, given that she’s gone from being dumped by her long-term boyfriend to kissing her brother’s best friend who’s been off-limits for years in a span of a few weeks.

Oh, and then there’s the finding out I had a fiancée thing. I guess that really is a lot to take in at once.

So, I’ll do what I promised her. I’ll wait. But it’s not going to be easy. At least for today, I have a distraction. It’s all about selling tickets and getting one step closer to the shelter. “Right, Buddy?” I reach down to give him a scratch.

The raffle wages on until the last drop of light leaves the sky. We’ve all been on our feet for close to twelve hours at this point, with only the small break for lunch. But it’s been totally worth it. My cash box is overflowing, and the fishbowls are stuffed with tickets.

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