Page 35 of I'd Never Date my Best Friend's Brother

The smile on my face is so big I fear my cheeks will crack, but the thought of Jamie in a top hat has me laughing all over again. He looks back at me with narrowed eyes that contain a mischievous glint, and my smile gets even bigger as he takes a step closer to me, squeezing my hand.

“Listen here, Miss O’Connell. Your little Santa hat is a tad ridiculous, too.” I pretend to glare at him but his next words have my heart stopping and struggling to breathe. “But nothing can truly take away from how beautiful you are. And you are the most beautiful creature I have ever laid my eyes on.”

My mouth falls, and I stare at him. The tension between us crackles. My heart stutters before it starts pounding so hard against my ribcage that I think it must be visible to anyone looking at us.

“This is beyond anything that I ever could’ve imagined.” Jessica breaks the trance that I’m in with a hug. My hand falls from Jamie’s arm and I immediately miss his warmth. “And your hat looks adorbs.”

I hear Jamie snicker and I choose to ignore him as I relish in Jessica’s excitement.

“I’m not sure one of my movie crews could’ve done better. Where’s Jacob? I’d love to thank him.” Sean grabs Jamie’s arm and makes him take him to Jacob.

My lips lift at the corner, and my eyes follow him. He looks back over his shoulder and meets my gaze. My stomach flutters at the grin he flashes me.

I’m pretty sure that any remaining ice around my heart has melted. In fact, if you look closely, you can see the steam from it as it puddles on the ground.

“So?” Jessica interrupts my thoughts.

“So?” I meet her dancing gaze with narrowed eyes.

“You and Jamie.” She points between me and her brother’s back as she nudges my shoulder. “So?”

I can’t stop my face from heating or the slight grin that crawls across it.

“YES!” She yells, and everyone looks at us, including my brother and hers.

“Shush,” I say, grabbing her arm and pulling her away. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Oh, come on, Evie. It means everything.” She pulls my arm into the crook of her elbow and smiles at me. “You and Jamie are perfect together.”

I open my mouth to say something, but she cuts me off.

“Come on and show me around this glorious winter wonderland!”

I can’t help but smile at the excitement I feel for the night ahead as we begin our trek around the ice rink before everyone else arrives.

Chapter 18

Jamie

I hear Sean and Jacob’s voices as they talk, but have no clue what they’re saying. My focus is all on the woman walking with my sister.

When I first saw Evie tonight, I was thankful I was sitting down. My breath caught, and my heart started racing. A small grin tugged at the corner of my mouth as I saw the hat Jessica made her wear.

When I finally got out of the car, I was too far away to hear what she and Jacob were saying. But somehow, I caught a faint whiff of the familiar scent of vanilla. Tonight, though, it was mixed with cinnamon. How is it that even with fires burning and hot chocolate in the air, the one thing I can smell is Evie?

“I made sure to tone down the mistletoe a bit.” Jacob’s voice comes into focus as he tells Sean about the mistletoe. “But don’t worry, there are plenty of locations with it hanging around. Many are clearly out in the open but you won’t see them immediately unless you're looking.”

“Great. Thank you.” Sean turns to me and puts his hand on my shoulder, looking toward Evie and Jess. “She looks beautiful.”

“Exquisite,” I whisper.

“I can’t believe I’m marrying her in two weeks.” His words register, and I shake my head. A small laugh escapes me when I realize Sean is not talking about Evie. Sean is as distracted as I am by the woman he loves.

The sound of car doors pulls my eyes from Evie, and I turn to see my parents, the O’Connells, and Penny and Liam. Laughing happily as they walk toward the rink. I can see my mom pointing to the fire pits and Mrs. Stewart pointing out all the lights.

Sean and I head over to them, and my gaze is again pulled toward Evie. I catch her gaze before she quickly shifts to greet our families, and my chest tightens.

Jessica’s voice floats through the air as she greets everyone with a smile that could light the night. I feel a smile lift my lips at seeing her so happy.

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