Page 57 of Falling For My Best Friend's Brother

And now, not even thirty minutes after we were done with the final presentation, Cornerstone was finally ours. Did I mention how crazy this was?

“Well, believe it,” Stacy responded, grinning cheekily. “Fortune has finally smiled down at us.”

“Fortune smiled at the right fucking time, man. I’d almost lost hope,” Sean added.

I would never admit it out loud, but I had too. It had been difficult to keep faith when everything felt like it was working against us.

“Well.” I slapped Sean on the shoulder. “Guess it all worked out in the end, huh?”

He chortled. “Guess so. You guys wanna celebrate? I know a place where we can get amazing shawarmas.”

“Free food? Count me in,” Stacy said.

I shook my head. There was only one place I wanted to be. “I’m out. Gotta head home.”

Sean gave me a knowing look, wiggling his brows. “You’ve been running home a lot lately, man. Might it have something to do with that smoke show you had on your arm that night?”

Stacy laughed and I rolled my eyes.

“We have work to do. I want you both in the office early tomorrow with a clear head, Sean.” I said firmly. “No drinking. Happy celebrating.”

I headed for my car, feeling a surreal lightness settling over me. Months of hard work culminated in the few minutes it took to drive out of Cornerstone Corp’s garage and down the busy streets of New York. By the time I reached the apartment, the victory felt real enough to savor.

My celebration started the moment I closed the door to the apartment. I hadn’t even dropped my keys when Lindsay barreled into the living room, sensing victory without a single word. I met her wild-eyed excitement, and before I could say anything, she whooped.

“So, you got it?” she demanded.

“Cornerstone is ours,” I confirmed, fighting back a grin.

For a split second, silence filled the air, like the moment before a dam breaks. Then, chaos. Lindsay rushed forward, nearly tackling me in a hug that felt like old times, back when everything was fine and nothing in the world was heavy enough to keep us down.

“I knew you’d crush it!” she shouted into my ear, and I had to laugh, holding us both upright or she’d have dragged us down to the tile floor.

“Oh, Lindsay, you have no idea how much this means to me,” I choked, my voice thick with emotion. “I almost gave up.”

My sister’s arms around my neck tightened. “I’m so happy for you, Knox. You deserve it all. Everything good in life, you deserve it. Dad would be so fucking proud of you.”

Moisture pricked behind my eyes and a single tear ran down my face even as I shut them.

I hope so,I thought. There hadn’t been a day in nine years when I didn’t miss him. If Dad was here, then maybe things would have turned out a bit differently for me. But I couldn’t complain, mostly because it was pointless to do so. Stacy had it right. Fortune finally smiled down at me.

I smelled the lavender before I opened my eyes. Nina appeared, her hair packed into a messy bun on top of her head and her shirt stained with coats of paint. Her expression was quizzical as she gazed at Lindsay and I wrapped in a tight embrace, like she couldn’t tell exactly what the emotion was in the room. All I wanted to do was celebrate with her, alone and naked, and then maybe we could go somewhere fancy. I could afford it; I signed a contract today.

Breaking the hug, Lindsay looked back at Nina with a wide smile before nodding at her. “He got it.”

“Shut up!” she yelped, instantly running toward me and jumping into my arms. I let out a bark of laughter as I caught her,realizing that this was all I’d looked forward to from the moment the contract was given to me.

Holding Nina, seeing the look in her eyes, all of it. The joy in my heart could have exploded the damn thing. Her eyes were soft as they shone down at me, full of pride and everything else I’d been running from.

“You’re the best, Knox Coleman. I told you you would get it. You’re very persuasive. Plus, you deserve it.”

Her words rang around us, genuine and packed with affection. In that second, all I wanted to do was kiss her. Nina must have read my mind because she moved before I did, crashing her lips onto mine.

Fuck. This was it—what people spend their entire lives searching for. Someone who could make their hearts flutter and their cheeks hurt from smiling so damn much. I kissed her back, one hand in her hair and another around her waist, savoring the moment I’d barely let myself hope for.

Then the sound of a gasp snapped me back to reality like a slap. We broke apart with a jolt, turning in unison toward Lindsay, whose grin had slipped into pure shock, eyes wide as she took in the scene. I’ve never seen eyes so big in my entire life.

Fucking hell.I’d totally forgotten that she was still here. I glanced at Nina, my heart thundering. Her eyes swelled in horror, as if she’d only just realized what she’d done.

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