Page 1 of Dating Her Brother's Best Friend

PROLOGUE

"Well, this is interesting."

"What?" My best friend lifts her gaze from her computer to stare at me.

I shift in my seat, clearing my throat to read the email that just hit my inbox. "Dear Fairy Godmother... that is what people call you, right?"

My best friend’s lips twitch at the nickname. It was her doing. Now, it's stuck.

"I'm sure you probably think I'm writing to ask for help finding my perfect match, but I already know him. Jeremy Head is everything I've ever wanted. I've been in love with him for so long. There's just one problem. He doesn't see me the same way. To him, I'll always be his best friend's baby sister. Which is why I'm writing you. I could use a fairy godmother to help me show Jeremy what's right in front of him before it's too late and the man of my dreams ends up becoming someone else’s husband. Please, help me. Desperately yours, Caroline."

"Jeremy Head," my best friend murmurs. "Good guy."

"She must be Caroline Steele," I muse.

"It makes sense. Jeremy is Asa's best friend." My best friend narrows her eyes at me. "Are you going to help her?"

I consider it for a moment. Usually, I do the matchmaking. That's how it works. But this wouldn't be the first time I've colored outside the lines a bit. When Josh Brunts practically demanded that I help him, I made it work. But that was because he was already the man I had in mind for his assistant, Lyric Riser. This is different. But no less intriguing.

"Caroline is amazing," my best friend says quietly. "And she just got back to town. You'd do it for me."

She's right, darn it. I would do it for her.

I hit the button to reply to Caroline's email, my decision made. If she wants her happily ever after with Jeremy, I'll do my best to deliver. But this one is going to take a little bit of finagling…

CHAPTER 1

CAROLINE

“You can do this,”I mutter to myself, staring at the little cursor blinking at me from my laptop. “It’s just an email.”

Ha! Right. It’s only the most important email I’ve ever written… and I don’t even know where to begin. What are the rules for getting the man you’re secretly in love with to fall in love with you when you’re pretending to be someone else so he doesn’tfind out that you’re his best friend’s baby sister until it’s too late? If there’s a playbook for that scenario, I must have missed it.

The town matchmaker who helped me concoct this grand plan, my Fairy Godmother, wasn’t much help in deciding what to say, either.

You can do this, Caroline. Just be your charming self.

As if that’s doing me any good! When Jeremy finds out that I’m the one emailing him, he’s going to flip out. The last thing I want is to violate his trust, but I’m desperate at this point. I’ve been in love with him since the day my brother, Asa, introduced us. Unfortunately, he doesn’t see me the same way.

If I can’t change his mind, I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving him from afar. And I made a promise to myself when I came home that this would be the year I make that man mine. It’s time to follow through.

I exhale a deep breath and start typing.

Jeremy,

I’ve had a massive crush on you for years. There are so many things about you that I admire—your service to the country, your dedication to your friends, your generosity, and the way you’re always the first to show up for those in need. You have inspired me even when you didn’t know you were doing it, set me on fire, and made me imagine what the future could look like.

If you’re curious… have dinner with me tomorrow night?

Yours,

??

“Miss Steele, what’s a dis-brup-tive PITA?”

I startle, glancing up from my email to find Jeremy’s nephew, Simon, standing in front of my desk, his little face scrunched up as he reviews the sticky note clutched in his hands.

“Um, I’m not sure,” I lie, holding out my hands for the note that got him sent to my office. “Let me see it.”

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