Page 37 of I'd Never Date my Best Friend's Brother

“Steve!” Everyone growls at him.

“You said you were going to be on your best behavior,” Faith chastises.

“Well, you didn’t tell me it was going to be below zero.” He pulls his trapper hat further down around his ears.

Evie's dancing eyes meet mine and the smile lighting her face makes my mouth go dry.

“We can’t have you freezing. Let’s head over for some hot chocolate and then to the special fire pit that Sean arranged for you all to play a game of Christmas bingo.”

“Sean is the sweetest boy!” Alisha says.

“He’s definitely special,” Tom chimes in.

I watch as Evie walks them in the direction of the hot chocolate stand, warmth spreading throughout my chest. I have a lopsided grin on my face when she turns and meets my gaze. Her eyes are sparkling, and she beams a smile at me.

Just when I didn’t think I could fall any more in love with her, I do.

A few hours later, I look around to see that everyone is enjoying themselves. The s’mores stand has just been set up. People are heading over to grab some graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate before heading back to the fire pits.

A flash catches my eye, and I see my mom and dad kissing under the mistletoe in front of the picture of Main Street. My mom sees me looking and waves at me. I wave back and smile.

It's amazing that everyone has been staying warm. The wind has died down, lessening the chill. I find myself searching through the people, looking for Evie like I’ve been apt to do all night. She keeps moving from group to group and ensuring no one needs anything.

Finally, I find her sitting with Liam and Penny. I look to the left and see Sean and Jessica laughing and playing bingo.

A grin creeps along my face, and I shake my head. I still can’t believe that the famous Sean O’Connell plays bingo. He never fails to surprise me.

I look back toward Evie, Liam, and Penny to see Penny and Liam heading to skate. I feel a warmth spread through me and glance at Evie just as she looks away and takes a sip of hot chocolate.

At that moment, I realize that I haven’t seen Evie on the ice. I head over to the rental booth and grab the ice skates that Jessica and Sean had set aside for both Evie and me. I head over to where Evie is sitting, and when she sees me, her eyes widen, and she vehemently starts shaking her head back and forth.

“There is no way I’m putting those on,” she says, pointing at the ice skates in my hands. I take the seat next to her. I notice the rubber mat around the fire pit, far enough to not catch on fire but close enough to stay warm for people to put on skates without their feet freezing. I marvel at the details that Jacob has gone to to make everyone comfortable.

“You know it would make Jessica happy if you skated,” I say using the bride as a reason to get her on the ice.

“You mean so she and everyone else can laugh at me as I fall.”

“I won’t let you fall, Evie.” I glance up at her as I tie the laces of my one skate and see an uncertain look on her face. “I promise, Evie. I won’t let you fall.”

“I’m still scared.” She says it so softly that I barely make out what she said over the music and laughter, but she grabs the skates and starts to put them on.

I put my hand on her arm and wait until she looks up at me. “I promise you will not hit the ice once while we’re out there.”

The worried look in her eyes is still there, but I see her take a deep breath, blow it out, and watch as determination replaces it.

“Attagirl.” I smile at her as I put on my other skate.

When I’m finished lacing up, I wait for her to finish and then stand.

“Walking on the skates is a bit weird, but just do your best to walk normally.”

“From what I remember, that was the easy part.” Her laugh shakes a little bit.

We get to the entrance of the ice, and I step on and immediately turn to look back at her. She has both hands on the side entrance to the ice, and she looks terrified.

“Evie,” I say, trying to get her to focus on me. When she looks up, my heart cracks a little. I want to remove that fear and have her feel completely safe. I stretch my hand out to her. She looks at it before meeting my eyes again. “Do you trust me?”

I see so many emotions flash through her eyes, and my mouth feels filled with cotton. My heart is pounding so loud it’s like a dull roar in my ears. Her eyes meet mine again, and my stomach swirls.

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