Page 11 of Never Fall For Your Brother's Best Friend

"He reads romance too? Is Stuart looking for his happily ever after?" She waggles her eyebrows at me, and I roll my eyes.

"He doesn't read romance. Mostly spy thrillers and legal fiction which I can never pass up."

"That sounds like you went on a date with my grandma. Was there any spark at all?"

I sigh and sit down hard onto the end of my bed. "None. I really wanted there to be a spark, but I felt like I was on a date with my brother." The phone call I had with Mason afterwards was more fun. I didn’t tell him the date had already happened. I didn’t want to talk about Stuart.

"He looks perfect for you on paper but if it's not there, it's not there."

I shrug and sigh. Someone knocks on the door.

"That must be the handsome firefighter here to give you an unlimited budget to buy the wardrobe of your dreams. Too bad he isalsolike your brother." She smirks and I ignore her as I open the door for Mason.

As soon as I see him standing there in uniform, smug look on his face, I can't help but take a deep breath in. The woodsy scent of his aftershave and just him makes me want to melt into a puddle of hormones. Why couldn’t Stuart make me want to melt into a puddle of hormones?!

"Are we going to stand on the porch and stare at each other all night, or are you going to let me in?”

I feel the heat in my cheeks as I stand aside and let him in.

"You look fresh out of one of those firefighter calendars." Leah grins and waves her hand in front of her face.

"Thanks. I've been thinking about talking to the guys about doing one to raise money for the firehouse."

"Only if you don’t include my brother. I don’t want to stare at Jack as Mr. March and shudder every time I walk past."

Mason laughs. "We will omit Mr. March from your calendar. There are plenty of women who would like to see Jack oiled up with his shirt off.”

Leah sighs and we turn and look at her. "What, it's okay for me to admire fine male forms even if one of them is your brother. He isn't related to me." She smirks and I just roll my eyes.

"If it is male and breathing, you think he's attractive."

"Guilty." She shrugs and Mason laughs.

"Some things around here never change." He pulls out his wallet and hands me a shiny black card. "Do some damage, Emily. You are doing me a big favor. Well, two now that you agreed to have lunch with Coach. Don’t hold back, I can afford it, I promise. And remember, every dollar that you spend goes back into the local economy."

"Don’t worry, I will make sure she does some serious damage. So we're talking a gala, a silent auction and a brunch? Brunch is like breakfast and lunch, right?"

"Yes, and the brunch is casual of course, but the other two events are black tie. Get whatever you need for the weekend. Buy yourself an entire new wardrobe, I don’t care. This is a huge ask and I really appreciate it."

I take the card and slip it into the back pocket of my jeans. No matter what he says or how much I want to help the boutique, I'm not going to buy an entire new wardrobe.

"You ladies have fun. Oh, and Leah, get yourself something nice too." He winks at her and she laughs.

"Hot damn, I can't wait to spend some of that football money." She punches her fist in the air and Mason just shakes his head as he walks to the door.

He stops with his hand on the doorknob and gives me a long look over his shoulder and smiles at me one more time before walking out the door.

"Hey, am I missing something here? This is just a friend doing a friend a favor, right? That look had a little heat in it.”

"You are seeing things. We are just friends like always. Now let's go see what Clarissa has in store for us.”

"Oh wow Clarissa, this place is gorgeous. You didn’t have to do all this for me."

The lights in the shop are low. Vases of fresh flowers are on tables, the air fresh and floral. A large mirror with an ornate gilded frame sits next to two racks full of sparkling gowns and a table filled with shoes and accessories.

"It was so much fun and makes it a little more special. I know that you two aren't romantically involved but it will be fun to try on all that sparkle. I also ordered lingerie from La Perla at Mason's request. He said you deserved to feel luxurious from the inside out.”

Mason thinking about my underwear makes me blush. “Thanks, I think?”

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