Page 14 of I'd Never Date my Best Friend's Brother

“Nothing. I told you before that—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Both you and Evie keep telling us that nothing is going on, and yet I’ve never seen you or her so awkward around each other.”

I run my hand through my hair and blow out a big breath. “It’s—”

“Seriously!” Sean interrupts me. “I’m calling bull. My sister is never angry. And she was so angry last night that she couldn’t control herself. Until the mistletoe.”

I shake my head while I try to figure out how to answer him. How do I explain this situation to him? I guess I’ll just start from the beginning. “When we were helping you with Jessica, something changed between us. But…”

“I KNEW IT!” Sean yells.

“But,” I start again. “We never really talked about what actually ‘changed’ or what it meant.” Thinking back, we initially started to text more because we were helping Sean, but then we started texting more in general. I’d reach out and share something that I thought Evie would enjoy. She’d send me a text about something funny that happened at Bake My Day.

I started showing up at the bakery more frequently to visit. I found that I just couldn’t stay away from her. Evie and I had always been friends, but it started to become more than just friends with Sean and Jess.

“Then I went to DC and told her I thought it would be smart to stop whatever it was.”

“Ahhhhhh.” A light of understanding shines in Sean’s eyes as he grins. “You broke up with her.”

“NO! We weren’t dating,” I protest. My heart slams against my ribcage as the truth of what he’s saying hits me.

“Yes, you were.” He says quietly. “Do you remember what you told me when I finally realized I was in love with Jessica?”

“I told you everyone already knew how you felt.”

“Exactly.” He slaps me on the back…hard. If I didn’t know how enthusiastic Sean gets when he’s planning something I would think he was angry with me. I massage as much of my back as I can reach as he continues. “We all knew something was going on with you and Evie. Granted, I was a bit distracted, but I noticed a change. You and Evie just seemed more…in tune.”

“In tune?” I ask, narrowing my eyes and tilting my head toward him. I sit on the bench, needing something solid underneath me for this conversation. Sean sits next to me.

“Yeah. You and Evie have always easily understood each other. You’re both so similar, but something was different.”

“It doesn’t matter what ‘it’ was.” I use my fingers as air quotes, my head hanging. “It’s obvious she hates me now.”

Suddenly, Sean bursts out laughing, and I glare at him. He raises his hands up as if in surrender. “She doesn’t hate you, she’s hurt, Jamie. You all but ran across the country. Can’t you see that from her perspective, you ran from her?”

I rest my elbows on my knees and drop my head in my hands. I groan as I realize he’s right. “But how do I fix it? You saw her last night.”

“Yeah, I saw that she wanted to kiss you, and you kissed her on the cheek.” He laughs. “The look on her face had us all shocked. The control you showed was impressive but stupid.”

“I know.” I groan as I rub my hands up and down my face. “I’m so bad at this.”

“You’re not bad at this; it’s just hard transitioning from friends to more. There is definitely something more between you. But I need to know something before I help you.”

“Who said I want—”

“Of course you want my help,” he interrupts, waving his hand in the air. “Are you in love with Evie?”

My stomach drops, and my mouth goes dry. Am I in love with Evie? Her smile flashes across my mind. Her laughter rings in my ears. A lightness comes over my body, and a smile spreads across my face. Yes, I am. Of course I am.

“Perfect.” Sean slaps me again.

“Ouch! Can you stop hitting me so hard? Otherwise, I might start to think you’re angry at me for falling for your sister.” I rub my back again.

“Nah, but I am angry at you for hurting her.” He grins sheepishly at me.

“Fair enough,” I say, still rubbing my shoulder. “So what’s the plan?”

“Maid of honor and best man duties.” His smile is so big that I think his face might crack. I groan and rub both my hands up and down my face before running a hand through my hair.

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