Page 44 of I'd Never Date my Best Friend's Brother

My body hums with the sound of my name on his lips. I turn around and almost bump into him. The scent of him envelops me and I have to do everything to keep my eyes from closing as I take a deep inhale and breathe him in.

“You look great.” He leans in to kiss me on the cheek, then opens the door for me. The place where his lips landed tingles, and I have to stop myself from lifting my hand to that cheek. “I was planning to get here before you but as you can see, that didn’t happen.”

“No worries.” I dismiss his concern by waving a hand in the air. “I’m a little bit early.”

The smell of coffee, the warm air, and the buzz of chatter hit me as soon as I step into the coffee shop. Jamie puts his hand on my back and steps up next to me.

“Why don’t you grab a table, and I’ll go get our drinks?”

The warmth in his brown eyes as they roam my face has my insides buzzing. When he meets my gaze, I can see the gold and green flecks dancing in his eyes. I nod my head and watch him as he walks toward the counter to place our orders.

My hand is resting on my scarf, but I seem to be frozen in place. I can’t help but admire Jamie’s tall, broad frame, confidently walking up to the counter and talking to the barista. The deep baritone of his voice grabs my stomach and pulls.

He turns to me and smiles. A slow grin creeps across my face in response. Finally, my feet lose their heaviness, and I walk toward a table.

Jamie is back with our drinks just as I’ve taken off my coat.

“Peppermint Latte with no foam.” He slides the coffee to me, and our hands meet. My entire body zings with energy at the touch.

“Thank you.” I smile into his eyes, then take a sip and moan. “Perfect.”

He places his coffee on the table as he takes off his coat and places it on the back of the chair. After he sits, he takes a sip of his coffee. “Mmmmm. This is delicious. It really does taste like Christmas in your mouth.”

My eyes widen, and I laugh. “You didn’t just say that!”

“But it does!” He says seriously. “I used to think Sean was being overdramatic when he would say that, but he wasn’t.”

“Oh, geez.” I roll my eyes at him, and he laughs at me.

I take another sip of my drink and chuckle as I think of his words. I would die before I admit this to him or my brother, but if Christmas had a taste, it would be this latte. I stare at the top of my cup to keep him from seeing the smirk trying to cross my lips.

He reaches out and grabs one of my hands, surprising me. When I look up at him, I can see any joking is gone. The look in his eyes is earnest.

“Evie, when I ended things with you, it was because I was scared. I know that I told you that I wasn’t sure how long I would be gone, but that was a lie.” His eyes flick to our hands, and then he meets my gaze again. “My dating track record isn’t the best, and when things shifted with you, it was—”

“Unexpected,” I interject.

“Very unexpected.” A crooked smile crosses his face. He chuckles and nods his head. “But in the best way.”

He looks at me intently, and I feel my stomach start to churn; I don’t know why I’m feeling nervous, but I am. Suddenly, his expression softens and I release the breath I was holding.

“I was so very afraid that I would mess things up like I always do and I knew I couldn’t do that with you. You deserve the best. I just wasn’t sure I could be that for you.” He pulls my hand toward him, laces his fingers with mine, and breathes out a heavy sigh.

I want so badly to let him know that it’s okay now, and I understand. But there is some intuition that holds me back. It’s as if I know he needs to finish without my help. So I sit quietly and wait for him to continue.

“I regretted what I did before I even left town. I thought about it over and over, but I didn’t know how to fix it. I was ashamed of myself for being such a coward and hurting you like I did. But at the same time, I didn’t want to hurt you by not being able to really commit to what was happening between us.” He lifts his eyes to mine, and I see a slight gleam in them. “Plus, Sean would’ve had my head.”

Tears sting the back of my eyes, and I squeeze his hand. “Liam would’ve been there too,” I tease.

“Hmm. Maybe I should be more afraid of Liam than Sean,” he chuckles. “Sean likes to act tough, but Liam actually is.”

“I won’t tell Sean you said that.” My lips quirk.

“I’d appreciate that.” He laughs, then his expression softens, and his gaze pins mine. The sincerity in them makes my breath catch. “Work kept me really busy. I was so busy that I had little time to think of anything, but anytime something happened, you were the one I wanted to tell. You were the first thing I thought of when I woke up and the face I saw as I closed my eyes when I fell asleep. If I had any downtime, I would think of you and how stupid I was. I just hope that you can—”

“Jamie, I do forgive you,” I say earnestly, not able to stay quiet any longer. “I was hurt with how you left, but I think there was a part of me that understood why you did it.”

The look in his eyes is a combination of relief, regret, and gratitude.

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