Page 49 of Never Kiss Your Brother's Best Friend

Emma doesn’t look like she loves the spotlight. I think she’s already had enough of it for one day. She quickly picks up Buddy. “Thank you, Sterling. But let’s not forget this little guy. If he hadn’t decided to trip us at the festival, none of this might have ever happened.”

“To Buddy.” Zoe raises her glass. “To Buddy,” we all echo.

The rest of the night is super casual, just sitting around chatting and joking with each, talking about the other events coming up. Peter and Linda eventually head down to the water, while I hang back with the dog. I don’t really want him down there in the dark. Or at least that’s the excuse I’m telling myself about why I’m staying here.

Mia makes her way up to the deck and pulls up a seat beside me. “You gonna swim?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t want to make things uncomfortable for Emma. She told me today that she wanted to slow things down, so I’m trying to give her some space.”

Mia sighs and looks down at the water. Emma and Zoe are trying to dunk each other, laughing hysterically.

“We’ve been teasing her about you since the wedding. We see the way you look at her.”

I can’t help but smile. “You noticed that, did you?”

“Just a little. But I can’t blame you. She’s amazing, always has been. She’s just got this magnetic personality that pulls you in. You almost have no choice.”

“Tell me about it.” I pick Buddy up and put him in my lap. I’m not sure I’m up for a heart to heart right now, but Mia doesn’t look like she’s in any hurry to go back down by the lake.

“She told us about the kiss.”

My head snaps in Mia’s direction. “Really? I’ll have you know she made the first move.”

“She mentioned that. Emma really does like you. She has since you were teenagers.”

“What? She’s never told me that. I thought I was the only one with a crush.”

Mia shakes her head. “This is ridiculous. So neither of you knew that you had crushes on each other back then?”

I laugh. “Nope.”

“Well, I can tell you, her crush never went away. She thought it was gone since you two hadn’t seen each other for so long, but her feelings all came rushing back. She tried to deny things at first, but Zoe and I knew better.”

I look down at the water and Emma is waving up at me to come join her. I shake my head as Mia continues.

“The way you two reconnected was just a little overwhelming. Hang in there. She’ll come around. There’s something really special about the two of you together. You’ll find your way to each other when the time is right.”

Mia turns toward the water, where Emma has recruited the rest of the crew. Now they’re all waving at me to come down.

“You realize she’s not going to stop waving until you come hang out with us, right?”

I pet Buddy on my lap. “He looks pretty comfortable, I don’t want to disturb him.”

Mia stands and snaps her fingers at Buddy, then starts walking down to the lake. “Hey, boy, wanna make Sterling come down to the water and play with the other kids?”

Buddy immediately hops off my lap and starts trotting after her. Traitor.

I’m going to have to figure out how to be around Emma and be just friends with her for now. There’s no time like the present, I guess. I jump off the deck and start sprinting toward the water. Buddy immediately starts chasing me and we leap into the lake at the same time.

I do a cannonball and soak Emma with my splash. When I get up from the water, she’s giggling, her face lighting up. I love that I can make her smile. I guess that’s going to have to be enough for right now.

Chapter twenty-one

EMMA

The raffle was amazing. I didn’t think we’d make much from it, but we did. And, Sterling and I were able to hang out as friends for the night without it being too awkward. It was a win-win.

I’m at my brother’s house today organizing the list of silent auction items and addressing invitations to mail out to some local leaders in the area so they can spread the word.

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