Page 39 of Love Never Happens with your Brother’s Best Friend

“Sorry. I know. It sounds nuts.” I shake my head, smile, and look away. “I couldn’t. I couldn’t just go over and interrupt. I feel stupid saying this now.” I push my hair behind my ears. “I didn’t know how you would react. I didn’t know what to say. I looked at you with the gorgeous women at the bar and… Brodie, you’re a big star… And I’m not even sure if you’re going to remember me… Then my friends are like, ‘Hey, isn’t that Brodie Kent? Let’s go and say hi.’ But I just couldn’t. I feel like a complete idiot. So, I finish my drink, make an excuse, and leave the bar.”

“Seeing you at a party? That would have been amazing. I would have loved that.” Brodie sits up close to me. “Rita, of course, I would remember you. Anywhere at any time. Man, you were at that party and didn’t come over to see me? I’m gutted.” Brodie smiles his sexy sideways smile, then shyly looks away. “I don’t know if you know, but you were my first crush.” Brodie lifts his gaze. Our eyes lock and I’m drawn in by the warmth I see there. “We kissed here that day after school.” He shakes his head and looks away. “You might not remember but I sure do.”

“Oh, that kiss,” I say flippantly as I pick up the daisies and toss them away. “We were young. The kiss was just that. A kiss. Wasn’t it?” I shrug. “It meant nothing.”

“Rita. It might have meant nothing to you, but…” Brodie shakes his head again and laughs. “You are the hardest person to get through to, Rita Carmichael.” He flops back down on the grass. An arm covers his eyes. “So, if you had come over to say hi that night. What did you imagine I was going to say, huh?”

“I don’t know. Said hi. Introduced me to your friends. Said something like, ‘This is my best friend’s little sister from my hometown. Nice to see you, Rita. I’m busy. Good night.’ Something like that?”

“Oh, really? I don’t know about that.” Brodie sits up again. “This is how the scene might have played out, if you went ahead with the hello…” He clears his throat theatrically. “We’re going to do this. Right here. Right now.”

“Okay.”

“Rita. Imagine we’re at that party in New York. What did you want to say to me at the bar? Go.”

“Hey, Brodie. It’s me, Rita. We went to school together. Remember?”

“Rita! Hey. Of course! These are my friends, insert girls’ names here, I forgot who I was with, so we’ll just imagine… Right. Back to us. At the party… Rita Carmichael, how are you? You look amazing. It’s so great to see you. Are you here with anyone?”

“Yes. My friends are over there, at the bar.”

“I’m so pleased you came to say hi. Perhaps I could get your number and we can hang out.”

“Sure. That would be great.”

“Are you living in New York?”

“Yes.”

Brodie leans closer until our foreheads are touching.

“Then I would say something like, ‘Rita, would you like to dance?’”

“No, you wouldn’t! Ha! Liar.”

We both fall back down on the ground, laughing. I turn my head to look at Brodie, shielding my eyes. Then roll onto my side, my head cradled in my hand, supported on an elbow. Brodie mirrors my pose. He smiles as he plucks a daisy then gently pushes it into my hair.

“No. You’re right,” Brodie says leaning in close. He strokes my cheek. “I hate dancing.” He looks deep into my eyes. “I wouldn’t say anything. I would just do this…” Brodie brushes his lips over mine in the lightest most exquisite way, sending a rush of electricity shooting to my fingertips and toes. He pulls away slightly and then presses his lips firmly on mine. Our kiss intensifies and I fall backward into the sweet, fragrant grass. Brodie follows the direction of my fall, his lean muscular torso against mine. Our kiss deepens. The world spins. And I forget everything.

Chapter 20

Brodie

Stretching out on the grassy riverbank after a swim is as close to heaven as it’s possible to get. I shield my eyes and look over at Rita. She rolls onto her stomach and begins to pluck pretty white daisies. Her lightly tanned skin is still wet and shimmering in the bright sunshine. I happily relax in the warmth of its rays.

Then Rita tells me about a party in New York when she saw me with some girls at the bar. She was too shy to come and say hello. I’m shocked. She said she didn’t know how I would react. Well, I show her exactly how things would have gone if she had come over to say hi that night. I kiss Rita. And I don’t want to stop.

If the grassy riverbank is close to heaven, then kissing Rita is actual heaven. It’s the most wonderful perfect feeling in the world. The touch of her soft lips on mine is strawberry-sweet. I melt into her arms and breathe in her skin. She responds to my caresses. I bury my face in her damp hair and luxuriate in the curve of her neck. This is the moment that I have imagined since our first kiss here, all those years ago. But I have pushed the idea away as an impossible dream. Now, the dream is real, and I wish I could stay kissing Rita on the riverbank forever. But the sun is going down. Rita shivers. I hold her close and kiss the top of her head.

“We should get going,” she says dreamily reaching up to touch my face. I kiss her fingertips.

“I don’t want to,” I say cradling Rita’s face and kissing her again. “Let’s just stay here.”

“Stay here on the riverbank.”

“Yes. We’ll be fine. We have a tent and dehydrated soya protein. And I’m sure I could catch a fish.”

Rita pulls away and laughs. “You? Catch a fish?”

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