Page 47 of I'd Never Date my Best Friend's Brother

She blows out a big breath and slowly shakes her head. Her blue eyes dance at me, and my heart stutters.

“Seriously,” she chuckles. “I am not joking.”

“I know you’re not. All I can do is promise you that I will talk about things with you in the future. I can’t say that I will do it perfectly, but I will make sure to do it.” I cover our hands again, and I lean in. “Being without you was awful and something I don’t ever want to do again. If that means I need to work on talking about my feelings and making decisions together, then I will do that.”

A slow grin spreads across her face as she leans closer to me. “I’m going to hold you to that, Mr. Stewart.”

“I’ll count on it.”

I move my face closer to hers but hold back. The movie Hitch pops into my head as I realize that I moved in ninety but am waiting for Evie to close the gap. I watch her eyes intently, feeling completely exposed but, for the first time, completely safe.

When she closes the distance, and her lips touch mine, every part of my body hums. I have never been so grateful for anything in my entire life. The love of this woman is more than I deserve, and I have no intention of taking it for granted again.

“Thank you,” I whisper against her lips.

“For what?” She pulls back her eyes wide.

“For loving me. For giving me another chance. And for accepting me as I am…which is a complete mess.”

Her lips curve into a smile and she leans in to give me a brief but meaningful peck.

“You’re welcome.”

Ding.

Evie’s phone goes off, startling both of us. She reads it and jumps up.

“I’m late! It’s almost 11:15. I gotta go.”

She shoves her chair back, throws on her coat, and starts to run out the door. I notice that she forgot her drink. “Evie!” I call, and she turns around to see me holding up her cup.

“Thank you.” She comes back to me, grabs the cup, and turns to run out again. But then she stops and turns back to me. She walks back to me, lifts her hand to my face, and kisses me. “I’ll talk to you later?”

All I can do is smile and nod. I stand there grinning like a schoolboy as I watch Evie leave.

“It’s about time you settled down, Jamie Stewart!” I turn to see who said that and find almost every eye in the shop looking at me. I feel my face heat.

I wave at everyone, put my coat on, and head toward the exit. The chuckles that follow me make my face heat even more.

“Small towns,” I groan, shaking my head and chuckling as I let the door close behind me.

Chapter 23

Evie

The bell on the door rings as I rush through the entrance of the bridal shop.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” I immediately say, but I stop and gasp as I see Jess standing on the platform. Tears burn the back of my eyes. “Jessica! You look breathtaking.”

Her eyes are glassy, too, and her facial expression is soft as she meets my eyes through the mirror.

I look around and see my mom, Lenny, and Penny all sitting looking at Jessica with smiles on their faces.

Jessica is stunning. I don’t have to wait long before the expression on her face changes.

“Soooo,” Jess coos. “Tell us about you and Jamie. We are dying to hear about everything, especially after that kiss last night.”

“I thought the ice was going to melt,” Penny teases. A sparkle in her eye.

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