Page 1 of Smitten With My Brother's Best Friend
Prologue
Any day now.
After leaving the Navy SEALs, Morris surprised everyone by becoming a florist in the small town of Aster Falls. After learning about the Aster Tree, he started tending to it every year. He’s been looking after the special tree for 15 years. Tending, believing, and waiting. The Aster tree is ancient, much older than anyone Morris knows, but the tree is special to him. And it’s that time of the year again—time for the magic to happen.
A flower blooms, and it’s unlike anything he’s ever seen. It is scientifically impossible because the Aster tree has only one variant and produces only purple flowers. But this flower is pink and beautiful. It’ll die soon, so Morris harvests it and places it in a flowerpot close to the tree.
By the following day, the flower will be gone. Nothing really special lasts forever. But Morris knows. He knows that by the next day, the flower will be gone. But it doesn’t completely disappear. A petal will survive and find its way to the right place. Somewhere Morris never bothers to find. But somewhere, love will soon bloom.
Chapter 1
(Maverick)
______
“We’re back, bitches!”
I shake my head as I walk past the dumbass looking around with a goofy smile on his face. I breathe in the fresh air. It smells like home, and it’s good to be back.
Three months.
After a long and stressful mission, we’ve been given a three-month leave, and we all fully intend to use it wisely. Most of my teammates are gone. They’ve left for their various homes in other cities and towns. But for myself and Adam, home is Aster Falls. And although I’ll never admit it out loud, I missed the place.
“Oof!” I say when Adam suddenly throws an arm around my neck. I glare at him, and he responds with a grin.
“Ease up, Mav. We’ve been gone for two freaking years. The least you can do is smile.”
“You have three seconds to get your arm off me,” I tell him, and he immediately does.
I fight hard not to smile. It’s nice when your best friend knows what you’re capable of and is scared to piss you off. I love the guy like a brother, though, and I would never do anythingto hurt him except for the occasional punch. We both know who the better fighter is.
I level a look at him.
“I am happy to be back, but my happiness is on the inside, asshole.”
“It always is,” he mutters.
I shove him playfully, and he chuckles. We head out of the base and begin our walk toward the town—one of the perks of living near your workplace. After a 30-minute walk, we arrive in the city, and my best friend immediately ditches me.
“You can find your way home alone, right, Mav? I’m gonna go see my baby,” he says enthusiastically before walking away without waiting for my answer.
His baby is his girlfriend of eight years.
Eight whole years of his life spent devoted to one girl. I can’t imagine it. I don’t see myself ever being so invested in one person. Heck, my longest relationship was two months. I’m not anti-love or anti-relationship. I believe, I really do, plus Adam has proven it’s possible. My problem is that I don’t think anyone will be able to wait for me like Lisa waits for Adam.
We’re Navy SEALs, and sometimes we’re gone for years. We might not be able to contact our loved ones, and we could even come back dead. It’s scary and amazing that Lisa is so brave regarding Adam. They’re in love, and I wish I could say I know how that feels, but I don’t.
