Page 49 of I'd Never Date my Brother's Best Friend

I sip my coffee. “I went on a date yesterday.”

“What?” Her eyes widen. “With one of the men from the speed dating event? You work fast, girl.”

“With Sean.”

Evelyn’s mouth falls open, and I can tell she’s trying hard to grasp what I’ve just told her. I don’t blame her; it’s hard for me to grasp, too.

“Is there a Sean from the dating event?” She asks eventually, making me laugh.

“No. Your brother.”

Our eyes meet. “You went on a date with my brother?”

“Yes.”

A shocked gasp leaves her lips, and I raise a hand to quell her oncoming tirade. “Before you start, let me explain what happened.”

“You don’t need to explain anything to me, Jess,” she says sweetly. “If that’s what you want, then please go for it. I love you both so much; as long as you’re happy, I—”

“Girl—” I cut her off. “Will you stop and listen to me?”

When she’s quiet, I take another sip from my coffee. “It wasn’t a real date or anything. It was like a lesson, you know what I mean? A fake date.”

“A fake date?” She echoes. “What does that even mean?”

“You know how Sean said he’d coach me and all that stuff?”

“Yes.” Evelyn nods, her eyes shining with interest.

“So Rick called a few days ago, asking me out on a date. Rick is one of the guys from the speed dating event.”

“Okay.”

“So Rick called, asking me on a date. I panicked because I’ve never been good at dating, and I wanted the one with Rick to work out, so I went to Sean. He suggested we go on a fake date to help me out.” I take another bite out of my sandwich. Evelyn’s eyes are narrowed, and she’s giving me a look full of mirth.

“Oh, I see.” She nods. “So the date was to help you out. It wasn’t like a real date or anything.”

“Exactly.”

“Oh, I see.” She nods again. “That means there was no dressing up and he didn’t pick you up or anything. Right?”

“No, we did that,” I answer reluctantly. “It was like a real date, I mean, that’s the point. He bought me a dress; oh Evie, it was the most beautiful dress.” I take out my phone and pull up a picture I’d taken of myself in it in front of the mirror before Sean came knocking.

Evelyn smiles at the picture. “That’s an expensive dress. Sean bought you this? For the date?”

“For the date, yes. He also dressed up. We went to this five-star restaurant in town. Blossom.”

“That’s a costly place,” Evelyn comments.

“Very. I was shocked when we ended up there. I mean, why would he spend so much money on a fake date?”

“I know, right?” Evelyn chuckles. “One would think it’s an actual date.”

I narrow my eyes at Evelyn. “What’s your problem?”

Laughing, she says, “Nothing. I’m just saying. Did you have a good time?”

“Yes. It was fun.”

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