Page 7 of I'd Never Date my Best Friend's Brother

I glance down at my sweater and smirk. I look back up to Jessica. “Is it really a good thing to have such bad taste?” I ask and give her a kiss on the cheek. “How are you doing? I read your latest book. It’s fantastic.”

“You did?” I smile and nod while sneaking a glance in Evie’s direction as she rearranges the items on the table. I feel my lips pull up as Jess’ voice draws me back to our conversation. “Wow! I’m glad you enjoyed it. The next one’s going to be even better.”

“You’re already planning the next one?” My eyebrows shoot up, and Jessica grins.

“Writers are always planning their next books.” She winks at me, and my eyes widen. Who is this happy person, and what has she done with my sister?

“Sean is good for you.” I put my hand on her shoulder and smile as I watch her eyes light up as they land on Sean.

“Speaking of him—” her eyes dance. “I see he’s standing under the mistletoe.” I glance in Sean’s direction and notice the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. Jessica beelines over to him and interrupts the conversation he’s having with Liam by putting her hands on the side of his face and kissing him. His and Liam’s surprise has me laughing.

Her surprise at what he does once he recovers is even funnier. Prone to the dramatic, Sean wraps his arms around Jessica’s waist, dips her, and kisses her thoroughly. The two of them have everyone laughing and cheering.

My eyes turn to Evie, and I find her watching Sean and Jess with a small smile, too. She glances in my direction, and our gazes meet. My heart slams into my chest. She quickly looks away and goes back to fiddling with the items on the table. She’s pushing things around like she’s rearranging, but I know that it’s a sign of her being nervous. She has a tendency to need to keep herself busy when she’s anxious.

I smooth my pants with my hands and make my way over to her. With every step I take toward her, my heart beats faster and louder until it’s the only sound I hear.

“Hi, Evie.” I sheepishly smile at her. Her shoulders slowly rise and fall as she takes a deep breath. I feel some of the tension in my chest release as I realize she’s nervous, too. I can’t ever remember feeling this awkward around her. She turns to face me, and her eyes sparkle with anger. I force a smile on my face. “Once again, you pulled off the best ugly sweater.”

“Hi, Jamie.” Her tone is cold and hard. Evie, who is always full of joy, stares at me with cold eyes. Just then, her eyes drop to my sweater, and her eyes widen. When she meets my gaze again, I see a question lingering, and then her lips tug up a bit. “Nice sweater.”

One thing I have always loved about Evie is her disposition. Like Sean and Liam before the military, she’s easy to laugh and quick to see the good in life. I am praying that that character trait will help me get into her good graces.

“Thanks. Someone very special gave it to me as a gift,” I say softly. “Someone I’ve missed every day since I’ve been away.” I watch her mouth fall open, and her eyebrows shoot up.

“I—”

“Evie! That sweater is hideous. I love it,” Liam interrupts as he leans in and gives his sister a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He then peruses the table and grabs a plate. “This spread looks great. Are you sure Jessica got this together?”

Evie and I both laugh and then look at each other, surprised as if we’ve never laughed before.

Liam, with his focus on the table, doesn’t even notice the tension between us. “I’m starving. Penny? Are you hungry?”

“I am,” Penny responds as she makes her way over to the table and puts her hand around Liam’s waist. “Oh, I love pigs in a blanket.”

I don’t know Penny very well; Liam was always spending time outdoors when we were growing up, so I only saw her occasionally at the O’Connells’. I can’t help but smile at the two of them. Maybe Sean isn’t the only romantic.

I look back to Evie, and the smile falls from my face as I watch her quietly head back into the kitchen. It wasn’t the greeting that I was hoping for, but it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. Evie is not by nature a mean person, nor does she stay mad at people for long, and the look on her face when she glanced at the sweater I’m wearing has my heart stuttering.

Evie may be trying to act unaffected by my presence, but the truth is she isn’t. My stomach grumbles and I grab a pig in a blanket. I feel a small smile creep upon my face as I feel a tiny flicker of hope come to life.

Chapter 5

Evie

My heart is racing, and I feel tears prick at the back of my eyes. I put my hands on the counter and squeeze my eyes shut. I slowly breathe in a deep breath and then let it out, trying to settle my nerves and pull myself together, but Jamie’s words float in my head.

Someone I’ve missed every day since I’ve been away.

He missed me? My stomach churns, and my heart squeezes like it’s caught in a vice. He’s missed me?!

Yeah, he missed you so much that he didn’t even bother to call or text. Yup. That’s definitely how someone shows that they’re missing you.

Doubt swirls in my mind. If he really did miss me, why didn’t he at least send me a text? I shake my head. There is no way that he missed me. But the way he looked at me when he said it has my stomach swooping.

Jamie has never had an easy time talking about his feelings. It’s so strange that he’s friends with Sean, who is overly expressive. But then again, look at Jess and me, grumpy and sunshine. That’s what our classmates would call us. I smile at the memory.

Jamie and I never talked about what was happening between us, but we both knew there was something going on. We had always been friends, but it wasn’t until we were helping Sean and Jessica that something changed.

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