Page 6 of Dating Her Brother's Best Friend

“Caroline, wait!” I call after her, the words not loud enough to cross the space between us. I fumble out of my seat and push my way to the door. But out in the Texas night, she’s already disappeared.

I stop under the pub’s sign, looking around for her, feeling a sense of helplessness settle into the pit of my stomach. I really fucked this whole goddamn situation up. I need to set things straight. It’s time to get what’s been left unsaid for far too long out in the open.

I drag myself back inside, the warmth and buzz of the pub now feeling a shade colder. Asa’s seated at our table observing mewith a careful blend of curiosity and amusement as I flop back into my chair, my posture heavy with unspoken words.

“Did you catch her?” Asa asks, although I sense he knows the answer.

I shrug, trying to dismiss the concern lacing my thoughts. “Do you see her standing here?”

“No need to be a dickhead.” Asa leans back, fixing me with that steady gaze of his. “You know, it’s about time for you two to stop dancing around what you feel for each other.”

The statement hangs in the air around us. It takes a second for it to fully sink in, and when it does, I can’t hide my surprise. “Wait, what?” I stammer.

He shakes his head sadly. “C’mon, how long have I known you? You think I haven’t noticed you’re head over heels for my little sister? It’s been obvious for a while now.”

I blink, processing the words that shift everything slightly left of center. “You knew?” I ask, trying to cling to something solid as my thoughts spin around me.

Asa shrugs, feigning nonchalance but betraying a hint of affection for our shared history. “I’ve been waiting patiently for you to grow some balls and tell her how you truly feel.”

His bluntness is something I’ve always admired. Right now, it’s both a comfort and a kick that I probably deserve. “I didn’t realize it was so obvious,” I mutter, wondering why he hasn’t taken the opportunity to kick my ass yet. “I’m a goddamn idiot.”

Asa chuckles, but there’s zero pity in it. “Yes, you are,” he agrees, but there’s that familiar twinkle of mischief in his eyes. Thenhe fixes me with a look that manages to be both brotherly and daring. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

I draw in a deep breath, trying to anchor myself in the moment. “I think I need to talk to her, and soon. Tell her everything. No more hiding.”

CHAPTER 3

CAROLINE

“You are such an idiot, Caroline Steele,”I whisper to myself, throwing myself down on my couch as another wave of tears threatens to roll down my cheeks. I fight them back, trying desperately not to cry, even though every part of me wants to curl up in a ball and sob.

I left my heart somewhere back there at Midnight Brew, shattered into pieces on the floor. And the absolute worst part is… he was right there, watching it break.

The whole point of concealing my identity was so he never knew it was me until I had a chance to show him that he could love me, too. I didn’t want him to see me as Asa’s little sister. I didn’t want that label hanging over my head. For once, I just wanted to be a woman to him, someone he could get to know without the threat of my brother or our history as “just friends” hanging over us. By the time we went on our date, I wouldn’t just be Asa’s little sister or “one of his buddies” to him anymore. I’d be someone he could see himself dating, see himself falling in love with.

And it was all for nothing. I didn’t even get past the first email.

Of course, he hasn’t been sitting around all this time, waiting for me like I have been for him. While I was off at college and graduate school, he fell in love with someone who isn’t me.

And now, I have to spend the rest of my life watching him love her. She’ll wear his ring. She’ll have his babies. She’ll be the one who knows what it’s like to go to sleep in his arms and wake up next to him.

Jealousy is a petty, corrosive emotion, but I feel it anyway.

I guess that’s what I get for letting myself believe in fairy godmothers. I should have packed the fairytales away years ago.

I drag my phone out of my pocket, my bottom lip quivering as I quickly tap out a text.

Me

I’m calling the whole thing off. He’s in love with someone else. Sorry I wasted your time.

I don’t wait for the woman who runs the dating agency to respond. I just turn my phone off, curl up… and let myself cry.

I must crymyself to sleep because a soft knock on the door jolts me awake a while later. I scrub my hands down my face as I sit up, trying to get myself together. It’s probably one of my brothers coming to check on me. They’re always breathing down my neck.

I stumble to the door, not even bothering to check the peephole, and throw it open.

My heart collides with my breastbone when I see Jeremy leaning against the porch railing, his baseball cap pulled down low over his cobalt eyes, his square jaw set, and his hands shoved deep inside the pockets of his faded jeans. The way his Henley stretches over his broad chest isn’t fair.

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