Page 20 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

Do a good deed.

Heck yeah.

I’ll be the best wingman Joey has ever had. Mark my words. By the time I’m through with him, he’ll be head over heels in love.

Chapter 6

Joey

“He’s straight,” I say, dropping my tool bag near Iggy’s feet.

My cousin blinks at me slowly, not looking remotely awake enough for this conversation.Hell, neither am I. I’ve spent the last two nights tossing and turning, replaying every single interaction I’ve had with Brad, wondering how the fuck I could have gotten it so wrong.

My gaydar has never been this faulty.

Finally, Iggy sets down his thermos of coffee and braces a hand on the ladder beside him. “We’re talking about Brad?”

I nod.

“The guy from the gym?”

Another nod.

“The one who gave you his number and told you to text?”

I cringe. “He was being friendly.”

“That’s…quite friendly,” Iggy points out.

He’s not wrong. The thing is… “I can’t fault the guy, Iggy. He’s… I don’t know how to explain it. He’s justgood. He wantedto make a friend, and he doesn’t even realize how half the stuff he says sounds. Andfuck, I just like him, okay? I do, and I know it’s a bad idea, but…”

“But?” Iggy prompts.

I groan. “I told him we could remain friends. And he’s trying to set me up.”

“The straight man you’re crushing on is going to find you a date?” he says flatly.

“Iknow, okay?”

“Do you?” Iggy says, finally cracking a small smile. He laughs lightly, shaking his head.I know the feeling.“You realize this is going to blow up in your face, right? Like…the more time you spend with this guy—”

“Iknow,” I repeat. “But he’s just… He’s just Brad.”

“That literally means nothing to me.”

I sit on an overturned bucket and drop my head into my hands, scrubbing my face. A second later, Iggy’s palm lands on my shoulder.

“There, there,” he says, patting me twice.

“I’ve never crushed on a straight guy before, Iggy. I thought I was smarter than this.”

My cousin crouches down in front of me. We look a lot alike. Same dark brown hair and eyes. Same easy-to-maintain stubble. Even similar builds. “Are we positive he’s straight?”

I let out a breath. “He says he is, which is all that matters.”

My cousin thinks on that for a moment before nodding. “And you’re determined to be his friend?”

I groan again. “Yes?”

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