Page 61 of I'd Never Date my Brother's Best Friend

Jessica

Sean is beginning to annoy me. More importantly, I’m annoyed with myself. I must have read Sean’s signals wrong because that’s the only explanation for this situation. Somewhere along the way I blurred the lines between friendship and attraction because what I feel for Sean goes way beyond the surface, and it’s too late to come up for air. But I’ll be darned if I let him walk all over me because I made the mistake of falling for him.

I’ve always been a strong girl, and right now, that’s what I’ll be.

“Listen, Sean, I appreciate your input in my dating life and your efforts to get me this far, but it’s time for you to step back and let me handle it from here.”

Sean narrows his eyes at me. “Oh, really?”

“Really.” I nod. “You’re being condescending and annoying, acting like you know what’s best for me.”

“I probably do,” Sean fires. “I mean, everyone knows that.”

“Hey guys–” Evelyn raises her arms, but I stop her.

“Hold on, Evie. Your brother here thinks he’s the spokesperson of romance. I agree that you might be knowledgeable in some areas, like setting people up for dates and all, but come on, you don’t know everything.”

Sean’s jaw starts to tick, and I shrug. “Did I hurt your feelings?”

“No, actually, you didn’t.” He smiles, and it’s so shiny and white that I’m blinded for a moment. “I’d be stupid to believe that you—a girl who reads and writes thrillers for fun—would know more about romance than me. Come on.”

I burst into laughter. “Jessica…” Evelyn’s call has a warning note, and as my best friend, she knows that my laugh is a precedent to something mean. She’s right.

“And you think you’re a better romantic because you’re a celebrity lover boy, hmm?” I ask. “Because you act in cheesy romance movies and host romance shows? Is that it? I watch all your shows, and let me tell you, as interesting as they are, they don’t reflect real life. They’re fake. They’re ordinary and definitely not real. You’re a fool to think you know anything about love based on the movies you act in or the characters you play.”

There’s a heavy silence between us until Sean laughs. “Okay. Fine. Let’s agree that I don’t know anything about love based on the movies I act in, but guess who has gone on more dates than they can count? Me. Guess who has dated women of different calibers based on their charisma alone? I have.” He points to himself. I shake my head at him, but he doesn’t stop there. “And there’s you, who hasn’t been on any dates since technology hit planet Earth.”

“Sean!” Evelyn calls, but he shrugs. “What? She started it. I didn’t see you cautioning her when she went on her rants, so let me be.”

“Come on, Sean,” Evelyn calls. “Stop it.”

“Nah, let him get it off his chest. Seems like he’s been holding this in for a long time.”

“I have nothing against you, Jessica,” Sean says. “But if you’re not going to let me help you, that doesn’t mean it’s because I’m not qualified to. It’s because you’re hardheaded, and everyone knows that.”

I don’t respond to him, and we stare at each other momentarily. Suddenly, I rise to my feet, and Sean does the same. “Where are you guys going?” Evelyn asks, walking around the table to stand before us.

“I’m going home,” I answer.

“Home,” Sean says.

Evelyn runs a hand across her face. “I can’t with you two,” she snaps. “You’re both acting like children. Can you both sit back and talk this out?”

“No!” Sean and I chorus.

“Look Evie,” I turn to my friend. “There’s nothing to discuss, okay? I’m not upset with Sean. I’m just glad we’re on the same page.”

Evelyn glances at Sean and sighs. “Okay. Since you’ve both decided to leave at the same time, let me walk you outside.”

Sean and I flank Evelyn as she leads us out of her office, through Bake My Day, and onto the street. Sean embraces his sister. “I’ll catch you later. Okay?”

She nods at him, and he walks briskly toward his car.

“Bye, Jessica,” he says carelessly, slipping into the driver’s seat. I don’t dignify him with an answer. Instead, I hug Evelyn. “See you later, Evie.”

“Jess–” she grabs my hand. “You know Sean didn’t mean anything he said, right?” She searches my face. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but he’ll come around.”

“Whatever. You’re acting like I care.” Evelyn groans in frustration.

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