Page 18 of I'd Never Date my Brother's Best Friend

I whip my head in her direction and narrow my eyes in warning, but my mother isn’t looking at me because she’s busy warning Jamie.

“Oh?” Sarah O’Connell shakes her head at me, her gaze soft and pitiful. “Why? What’s wrong, honey?”

“Nothing.” I smile at her. “I’m perfectly fine. My mother is just exaggerating, as usual.”

“No, I’m not.” Mom says to me before turning to Sarah, “Jessica has been having the worst spell of writer’s block. And I think it’s caused by all the relationship problems she’s been dealing with recently.”

“Mom!” I shout, appalled. Jamie and Sean dissolve in laughter, and I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole. Evelyn throws me a pitiful look, although I can see she’s trying to hide her laughter out of loyalty to me.

“What?” My mom sighs. “Jessica is such a beautiful girl. I don’t know why she hasn’t found a stable boyfriend yet.”

“Mom!”

“No one wants to date a grump,” Jamie says. “Maybe if she stops frowning all the time, she’d have an easier time getting a boyfriend.”

“I don’t need your advice,” I snarl at Jamie. “You haven’t had a serious relationship since high school; who are you to give me relationship advice?”

Jamie gasps. “Well, I’m not looking for a serious relationship; you are. I’m not the one going on blind dates; you are!”

“Jessica has been going on blind dates?” Sarah shakes her head. “Oh, dear.”

“What’s wrong with blind dates, Mom?” Evelyn asks.

“Nothing, really. But Jessica deserves a well-planned out date with a man she loves.”

“Your blind date can turn into a man you love,” Evelyn argues. “It’s only called a blind date because you're meeting the man for the first time without having ever laid eyes on each other. If you like each other, you can always plan another date.”

Sarah nods, but it’s evident she doesn’t buy her daughter’s explanation. “Okay. So what happened with the blind date?” She asks me. “Did you like him?”

“Yes,” I lie. But I should have known that Jamie and Sean would not let me get away with it.

“That’s not true.” Jamie laughs. “She hated him. He only wanted to talk about himself.”

“Oh, dear.” Sarah shakes her head. “You’ll hardly find a wonderful man on a blind date. They’re always men that other women want nothing to do with. That’s why it’s called a blind date.”

“Mom, where are you getting this information? I don’t agree,” Evelyn says. “But that’s fine.”

“You guys, come on—” Sean suddenly raises his arm to calm the room. “Can we stop talking about Jessica’s love life? Or the lack of it?”

The whole room bursts into laughter again, and I glare at Sean.

“Look, you’re frowning again,” Sean shakes his head. “You must learn to smile if you want to keep a man, okay?”

“If I have to smile like a Cheshire Cat just to keep a man, then maybe I don’t want him,” I fire. “I’m fine on my own.” My attention is now on my mom. “Okay, Mom? I’m fine being alone. Thank you very much.”

My mom is about to respond when a shrill noise cuts through the conversation. “That’s my phone,” Sarah pushes up from the floor and walks to the dining table. Her face lights up when she picks up the device.

“It’s Liam.” She takes the call. “Hi, Liam.”

Sean and Evelyn quickly scramble to their feet and rush toward their mother. Although I’m annoyed with Sean, as usual, I find it cute that he’s so excited to talk to his younger brother. Sometimes, I wonder how they cope without Liam. Growing up, Liam was the favorite child, the baby everyone doted on, until he grew into a teenager and refused to be babied anymore. Jamie can be the most annoying human being in the world, but one thing I know is that I couldn't live without him being in my life. He’s been a significant pillar of support, and I’d be a mess if he disappeared for one day, let alone years.

“Liam, the Stewart's are here too,” Sarah says, and I look up to see her waving the phone in our faces. Liam is on the other end of the screen, in casual army wear, looking handsome and more mature than I’d ever seen.

“Jessica?” He calls, grinning. “Is that you? You look so beautiful. I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Laughter bubbles out of me before I can stop it. Liam has always been the younger brother I never had, but right now, it looks like I’m the younger sibling. There’s a wisdom and weariness in his eyes that calls out to me.

“Liam?” I take the phone from Sarah. “Are you okay?”

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