Page 2 of Falling For My Best Friend's Brother

The room I chose was down the hall, the closest to the bathroom. The other room was in between my room and Lindsay’s room. Since it was going to be empty, we’d most likely turn it into a storage room or maybe an office space for our new side business when we finally got down to it.

I began to arrange my clothes into the large wardrobe, my mind trailing back to Lindsay's brother, Knox Coleman. It was such a shame that he was so… boring. Obviously, I didn't know him well enough to jump to conclusions about his idiosyncrasies, but from the little I’d heard from Lindsay plus the few times we’d crossed paths, he always seemed to be brooding with a constant blank expression on his face.

Lindsay and I had been friends since we were sixteen, and I could confidently say that I'd never seen the man smile.

Maybe it was because he was almost a decade older than us, and we had nothing in common. Knox had never spoken to me, and while I knew he doted on his little sister as best as he could, they didn’t talk as much as siblings should.

I paused, shrugging at the thought, before returning to folding my jeans and placing them on a shelf. How would I know how much siblings were supposed to talk? I was an only child, after all. My parents had one kid and decided it was too much work to try for another. The only person in my life I considered a sibling was Lindsay.

Either way, her older brother was a snob. I might have had a crush on him when I was sixteen, but all that was childish silliness. In fact, once I got into college, I barely thought of him unless Lindsay mentioned him, which she rarely did.

Just as I finished with my first box, Lindsay strutted into the room, looking strangely excited. She plopped down onto thewooden tiles cross-legged, one elbow on her thigh, holding her head up.

I narrowed my eyes. “Why do you look so happy?”

She sighed dreamily. “Because I just got off the phone with my brother.”

“I figured that when your phone started ringing and you said, ‘It’s my brother.’”

Lindsay chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but that’s not why I’m happy. Apparently, he’s between hotels right now because he’s having some renovations done at his house, and I figured it’s a great opportunity for us to bond. So, I told him we have a spare room.”

My body froze as I gawked at her. “You did what?”

Blinking, Lindsay stilled. “Oh, shit. Shouldn’t I have said that?” Then she pressed her lips together in a guilty look, eyes shining with regret. “I shouldn’t have offered without asking you first. Shit. I’m sorry, Neens. It’s just… ever since my dad died, you know how Knox’s been. I didn’t think. When he mentioned how he’s staying at a hotel, I immediately thought of spending time with him and—”

“Lin. You’re doing that thing again where you ramble on whenever you feel bad.” I bit the inside of my cheek, sighing. Lindsay’s dad’s death was a touchy topic, and I knew more than anyone the rift it had caused in the Coleman family.

“You already told him to move in, right?” I asked.

She nodded, eyes glistening. “I could call him and tell him not to come.”

I gave her a wry smirk. “We both know you won’t do that.”

A shy smile appeared on her lips. “You don’t know that.”

We both did. Lindsay grasped onto every chance she got to spend time with her brother, and I wouldn't deny that it was always nice to look at him.

Still, I was apprehensive. I mean, we’d barely moved in. Having a third person in the house could be weird, especially one as irritable as Knox. But what choice did I have? I couldn’t say no. Lindsay would act like she was okay with my decision on the surface, but deep down, I know she would be sad. The last thing I wanted was to take away an opportunity to spend time with her brother. She was already going through an ugly breakup.

“It’s only going to be for a short period, Neens. Two months, tops,” Lindsay promised in a small voice.

Glaring at her softly, I sighed. Two months wasnota short period, but I would have to put on my big girl pants and deal with it. It was a big place, anyway, and Knox was a busy man. The chances of us bumping into each other were slim. Even if we did, I knew he wouldn’t have anything to say to me. Besides, Lindsay was here to act as a buffer if anything happened.

“Fuck it,” I said. “Fine. He can stay.”

Lindsay squealed, jumping up from the floor to wrap her arms around me. “Yay! Thank yousomuch, Neens.” She placed a sloppy kiss on my cheek, and I gagged. “The three of us are going to have so much fun.”

Raising my brows, I snorted. “I sincerely doubt that.”

“You’ll see. Knox is pretty cool once you get to know him.”

“I’ve known you for seven years, Lin. If there was anything cool about your brother, I’d have seen it by now.”

She laughed. “Touché.”

“When is he coming?” I asked.

“Next weekend. He said he has some things to take care of first.”

---