Текст книги "Falling For My Best Friend's Brother"

Автор книги: J. S. Cooper

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

Chapter Two

There’s No Such Thing as a Love Spell

You know that saying. The one about a watched phone never rings? Well, it’s not true. My phone has been ringing off the hook all morning. The only person who hasn’t called me is the one person I want to call me. I’ve had calls from the local satellite company telling me I needed to switch from cable. I told them I’ll switch if they can promise that I only have to pay a dollar a month for the next ten years. She cursed at me and then hung up when I told her I wanted a new 50” TV as well to sweeten the deal. I also had a call from my dentist. Well, his receptionist called to tell me that I’d missed my last two appointments and that I needed to come in for a cleaning. Yeah, right. Not anytime soon, Dr. Rosenberg. The last time I needed a cleaning, I had several cavities that needed to be filled. I’m still paying off that bill. Thanks for nothing, $300-a-month insurance premium. And of course, I also had a call from my dear old grandma, wanting to know when I was getting married and giving her great-grandbabies. I told her she can go to the local park and see some babies there, but she wasn’t amused. So yes, I’ve had a lot of calls today, but none from Aiden, the man I really wanted to hear from.

Aiden Taylor is Liv’s oldest brother. I’ve known him since I was a little kid, and I’ve had a crush on him since I was ten and he was sixteen. Not that he ever gave me the time of day. I was always his annoying kid-sister’s best friend. Well, almost always. There was one time that I was more than that. One time that we shared a moment that I’ve relived every day of my life since it happened. Only it’s not something I can talk about with him. Not at all. I’m lucky that he still talks to me after that little episode. And we’re the only ones who know. Well, we were the only ones who knew. Until very recently. I didn’t tell Liv at the time, and she’s my best friend. I wanted to tell her. I really, really did, but how do you tell someone something like that? How do you tell your best friend that her brother was right, and that you’re the bad influence that no one wants in their kids’ lives? I guess I should be grateful that Aiden never said anything. I suppose he was embarrassed as well or something. I mean, it’s not exactly something you shout out to the world. “Hey, Liv, I slept with your best friend. In fact, I took her virginity.” Yeah, he didn’t say that. And I didn’t tell Liv, either. How could I tell her that I’d crept into her brother’s bed with the hopes of seducing him? How could I tell her that we’d made love and that it had been the best night of my life? I didn’t know how to tell her, and then I’d felt too guilty to bring it up, but now she knew and I honestly didn’t feel better. I knew now that the one person I really needed to talk to about that night was the one man who wanted nothing to do with me.

“Alice!” Liv shouted as she walked into the apartment. “Where are you?”

“I’m in the living room!” I shouted back and then lowered my voice. “Why are we shouting by the way?”

“I’ve had a brilliant idea.” Her eyes were sparkling as she ran into the living room. She clapped her hands and did a little dance as she grinned at me, her enthusiasm for her idea refusing to be quelled.

“What’s the idea?” My eyes narrowed as she finally stood still.

“I have a way for you to start talking to Aiden again.”

“Oh?” My heart raced at her words. I looked up at her and studied her face carefully. “A good idea or a harebrained idea?”

“Alice,” she pouted, her eyes looking at me wickedly, “since when have I had harebrained ideas?”

“Since you became my best friend.” I giggled and shook my head at her. Unfortunately it was true. We both seemed to have spur-of-the-moment ideas and plans that always seemed to get us into trouble. To be fair to Liv, I was the one who usually had the really stupid ideas, but Liv had been giving me a run for my money lately.

“We’re going to join a flag football team.”

“Say what?” I frowned.

“Flag football,” she said excitedly. “Xander was telling me about it. He’s going to be on it, too.”

“Okay,” I said, not feeling as excited. “How is this going to help me get Aiden?”

“He’s going to be playing on the same team.” She grinned. “It’s going to be perfect.”

“I don’t know about this, Liv.” I chewed on my lower lip. “Do you really think me playing football is going to win any guys? I’m not exactly the queen of anything sporty.”

“Trust me.” She grabbed my hands. “That’s not the only plan I have. That’s just step one.”

“Step one?” I groaned, but my stomach was doing flip-flops in excitement. I wasn’t a huge football fan, but if joining a team meant I would get to see Aiden weekly, then I was all for it.

“Oh yeah, baby.” She grinned. “I’ve come up with a surefire way to make sure you and my brother get together.” The look on her face looked so satisfied and excited that I held in my second groan. I didn’t want to rain on her parade, but I’d also had a surefire plan once and it had blown up in my face.

“What’s your surefire plan?” I asked weakly. There were times that I didn’t love that I had rubbed off on Liv so much. When we were younger, Liv was innocent and quiet and I was the rabble-rouser, always looking to get into something. I always had a plan or a scheme, and they had never worked out as I’d planned them to.

“You’re going to go to the flag football games with me and Xander. You’re going to look pretty and flirt with all the attractive single men. You’re going to be nice but not overly friendly to Aiden. You’re going to let him see what he’s been missing all these years.”

“You think he’s even going to care or notice?”

“I’m positive of the fact.” She grinned. “Now that I know what happened between the two of you, I understand the dynamic between you both a lot better.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes.” She nodded. “I always wondered why he used to look at you with such protectiveness, but also with a kind of possessiveness and jealousy.”

“He treats you the same way.” I rolled my eyes, but my hopes were rising.

“Nope.” She laughed. “Yes, he is overprotective and a bit of a jerk, but he’s never acted jealous when I’ve talked about another guy and he’s never acted possessive or upset when he’s seen me with another guy. He couldn’t care less. You know he told me he’s glad I’m dating Xander because now Xander can worry about me.”

“Yeah, but he’s just saying that. He loves you.”

“Yes, he loves me. I’m his sister.” She grinned. “But he has feelings for you as well. Feelings that are about more than being your honorary big brother. I bet he’s confused.”

“Confused about what?”

“He’s confused that he had this night with you all those years ago that he enjoyed, but feels guilty about it and now he’s not sure what to do.”

“You think so?” I asked hopefully.

“Yeah, I really do.” She nodded. “The problem is he still sees you as a teenager. You need to show him you’re a woman now.”

“And flag football will do that?”

“You, in some short-shorts running down a field, with hot guys chasing you as your long blonde hair flies in the wind, will do that.” She grinned again. “Come on, Alice, you know how guys are.”

“But what about Scott? And what about my Facebook message?”

“Ah, forget them. They mean nothing.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” She nodded.

“What do you know?” Xander’s voice filled the room, and I groaned.

“What are you doing here?” I asked accusingly, and he laughed.

“Nice to see you too, Alice. I’m taking my girlfriend out to dinner. Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” I looked at Liv and she grinned.

“He was parking the car,” she explained. “I left the door open for him to come in.”

“Oh, okay. I was wondering if you gave him a key already.”

“Would you have a problem with that?” Xander teased me. “I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t.” I shook my head at him.

“I bet you wouldn’t mind if Aiden had a key, though.” He winked at me. “Maybe this time he can be the one to slip into your bedroom and bed.”

“Liv!” I screamed as my face went hot. “You told Xander?”

“Xander!” Liv turned to him with angry eyes. “What were you thinking?”

“What?” he asked innocently.

“Why would you tell Alice that I told you?” She sighed and looked at me with apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry, but he wanted to know what was so important that I’d kick him out last night.”

“So you told him?” My jaw dropped. “I can’t believe you told Xander that I lost my virginity to Aiden.”

“You had sex with Aiden?” Xander’s voice sounded shocked, and my heart froze as I looked into Liv’s eyes.

“You didn’t know?” I frowned at him and then looked back at Liv.

“I didn’t tell him everything.” She sighed. “I didn’t want to tell him everything. I just told him that you slipped into Aiden’s bed one night and kissed him.”

“Sex is a bit more than a kiss.” Xander laughed and looked at me. “Well, well, well, Alice Waldron, the more I learn about you, the more intriguing you become.”

“Argh. Whatever.” I groaned and blushed again.

“Now I need to know exactly what went down.” He laughed and looked at Liv. “And I thought we got together under crazy circumstances.”

“Well, at least you guys got together.” I sighed. “Aiden didn’t give me the time of day after our night together.”

“It wasn’t exactly the same, though, was it, Alice?” Liv spoke softly. “I mean, he didn’t know it was you at first.”

“Don’t remind me.” I groaned and put my face in my hands. “I’m so embarrassed. I should just forget everything. There’s no way that Aiden will ever be able to get past that incident.”

“You never know,” Liv said and beamed up at Xander as he kissed her cheek and rubbed her back. I wanted to gag at how lovey-dovey they looked. “What do you think, Xander?”

“I think I need to know exactly what happened.” He looked at me and his green eyes turned from laughing to a more serious expression. “I know you might be embarrassed, but trust me: I can tell you if it’s as bad as you think or if it’s not as bad as you think.”

“I’m just embarrassed.” I looked down at the ground.

“It’s not as bad as hooking up at a wedding with a stranger,” Liv said.

“Yeah, it’s not as bad as going back to a strange man’s hotel room,” Xander continued in a serious voice. “And then nicknaming him Mr. Tongue.”

“Xander!” Liv hit him in the shoulder.

“Don’t you mean ‘Mr. Tongue?’” He grinned at her.

“I think she means Mr. Miracle Tongue.” I laughed.

“Whatever.” Liv blushed. “You’re both gross.”

“That’s not what you said this morning,” Xander said in a loud whisper, and she hit him harder.

“Shut up, Xander.”

“You two!” I laughed. “Fine, I’ll tell you what happened, but only because I want to know if you think I even have a chance. And if I should join the flag football team.”

“Flag football team?” Xander frowned. “What?”

“Liv told me that Aiden is joining a team and that we should join.”

“She what?” He turned to Liv. “You never told me that you wanted to join when I mentioned it earlier.”

“Well, I didn’t decide until recently.”

“Uh huh, sure you didn’t.” He shook his head. “So you two are signing up?”

“Perhaps,” I said at the same time as Liv.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea, Liv.” I shook my head. “I know you think it’s a surefire plan, but surefire plans don’t always work out.”

“What’s a surefire plan?” Xander narrowed his eyes and looked at Liv. “Liv?”

“Nothing.” She smiled innocently. “I just want Alice and Aiden to interact on a weekly basis so that he can see what he’s missing.”

“Hmm,” Xander said with a small frown.

“And she wants me to wear short-shorts,” I added. “Which I don’t think is a good idea.”

“Short-shorts?” Xander laughed and shook his head. “That’s your plan to get a man? Shake your ass in front of him?”

“I didn’t know I was trying to get a man.” Liv pursed her lips up at him. “But I guess I can wear short-shorts as well.”

“Don’t you dare,” he said as he looked down at her ass for a few seconds. “Your big butt is mine and mine alone.”

“My big butt?” Liv’s voice dropped, and I grinned to myself. It was about to go down. Xander had no idea what he’d set into motion. Liv hated her butt, and I knew she did not consider his comment a compliment.

“Yeah,”—he slapped her ass lightly– “I like big butts.”

“You what?” Her voice rose, and I swear daggers were flying from her eyes into his heart, stabbing him softly.

“I like big butts,” he said and shrugged. “But your big butt is for me to enjoy, not every Tom, Dick and Harry on the football field.”

“I do not have a big butt!” she squealed and immediately started doing squats. “Take that back.”

“Take what back?” Xander looked confused, and I burst out laughing as Liv moved up and down with an annoyed look on her face. “Also, you’re doing those squats all wrong. Your form is off.”

“What?” she snapped.

“You shouldn’t be bending your back like that. You should—”

“Shut up, Xander.” She looked at me. “Can you believe he just told me I have a fat ass?”

“I cannot believe it.” I looked at Xander. “Shame on you.”

“What?” He threw his hands up with a confused look on his face. “I never said you had a fat ass. I said you had a big butt. A big butt that I like—love, even.” He groaned at the murderous look on Liv’s face. “Let me just shut up now.”

“Yeah, you need to just stop.” Liv stood up straight and stretched her arms out. “Ow.” She made a face and looked at me. “My legs are aching.”

“I’m not going to say you should work out more, then,” Xander said with a smirk, and we both hit him on the arm. “Ouch, girls!”

“Alice, are you ready to tell my asshole of a boyfriend what happened with Aiden so we can all decide upon a plan of action?”

“Whoa, wait!” Xander frowned. “I’m not here to help you two come up with any spells or trickery, but more to give my advice.”

“We’re not witches. We don’t cast spells or trick anyone.” Liv rolled her eyes.

“You could have fooled me,” he said with a straight face. “Brock and Jock?”

“Oh, get over them.” Liv shook her head and looked at me. “Are you sure you want a boyfriend, Alice? Do you want to put up with all of this?”

“I wouldn’t mind.” I sighed wistfully and looked over at Xander. “I know you said he can be a pain, but sometimes it’s nice to have a little pain.”

“What have you been telling her?” Xander winked at Liv and she groaned.

“Not enough, obviously,” Liv started up again and stopped herself. “Anyway, enough about you and me. Alice, I want you to talk about your story.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I groaned. “This is so embarrassing and almost unbelievable.”

“Don’t worry, Alice, there’s nothing you can tell me that I wouldn’t believe,” Xander said. “And I’ve heard stories from Liv about the two of you, so trust me when I say that I can believe it all.”

“Thanks.” I made a face. “I’m not really sure that that’s a compliment.”

“Enough already,” Liv said. “Xander is just looking to get himself into trouble.”

“Okay,” I said with a sigh and then closed my eyes. “I guess I should start at the beginning.” I opened my eyes and looked at an expectant Xander and my face flushed as I opened my mouth to begin my story. The story of how I’d seduced Aiden Taylor, the older brother of my best friend in the world.

And then my phone rang. And my heart stopped beating for about three seconds as I stared. It was the call I’d been eagerly anticipating for the last six years. And I had absolutely no idea why he was calling.

Chapter Three

Sometimes a Girl Just Has to Sneak into a Bed

I have had a crush on Aiden Taylor since I was ten. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, how can you have a crush on a boy when you’re ten and he is sixteen? Trust me, it is very, very easy. Aiden Taylor has always been handsome. And when he was sixteen, he was the stuff of every school girl’s dreams. His now-dark hair had been a dirty blond then, and longer, almost like a surfer’s, but he’d been on the baseball team. His bright blue eyes had always been full of mischief and he’d always treated me as an annoyance, just like he’d treated Liv, but I hadn’t minded. In fact, I’d loved it. I loved spending time with him. I loved it when he let us play video games with him. I loved it when he’d tickled me or played board games with us. Aiden had been the bossy older brother, but he’d also made time to hang out with us. It had been easy to daydream about him becoming my boyfriend. Not that it was ever going to happen. I was too young for him, and he hadn’t seen me as anything other than his sister’s best friend. That was, until the summer after he’d graduated from college. He’d come home for the summer with his girlfriend, Lisa or something. I could still remember the first time we’d laid eyes on each other that summer. It had been a magical moment. I was sixteen, about to turn seventeen, and he was twenty-two. We hadn’t seen each other for about two years, as his college schedule had kept him away except for holidays like Christmas, and even then he’d only been home for a few days.

Walking into the Taylor house that summer and seeing Aiden was like the first time you see a mountain or the ocean. It’s a breathtaking, miraculous and awe-inspiring experience. But the walking into the house wasn’t the best part. The best part was when Aiden looked at me. It was magical. It was one of those moments that you live to go through. Everyone should have a moment like that at least once in their life. I can remember it clearly. I’d walked into the living room, and he’d looked up casually to see who it was. And his eyes had lit up in appreciation for ten glorious seconds as he looked me up and down. In that moment, I’d been Alice Waldron, beautiful swan, and he’d taken in all of my glory. His eyes had met mine and for a few seconds, he’d smiled at me, with a flirtatious, sweet smile that had flipped my heart over a million times as if I were an Olympic gymnast. And then Liv had run into the room and given me a hug, and he’d become his old bossy self, acting as if he had been personally assigned as our warden and we were his inmates.

I’m not exactly sure how I came up with my plan. It wasn’t something that I’d thought about for a long time. I hadn’t spent my years plotting how to seduce Aiden Taylor. Not at all. I think it really came to me in the moment, out of jealousy and excitement. You see, it had killed me that Aiden wasn’t alone that summer. Especially as I knew that Lisa was beautiful and easy. Okay, I didn’t know if she was really easy, but I assumed she was. Of course, she was sleeping in a separate bedroom, but that didn’t stop them from sneaking off and making out—something that had made me extremely jealous. Then one night, Lisa had given me a note and asked me to give it to Aiden. Of course, I’d opened it and read it. And of course, I’d seen red as I read it furiously. Lisa had stated that she was going to sneak into Aiden’s bedroom that night at midnight. She told him to keep the lights off and to have protection ready. She said she didn’t want to disrespect his parents, but she needed him badly and didn’t want to go another night without him. She also said, which made me smile, that she was sad that he didn’t think their relationship was going to work out and that she still loved him, even if he was technically no longer her boyfriend. This made me grin for days. Of course, I’d seen them arguing, but I’d had no idea that they had broken up. That meant I still had a chance. Of course, I was conveniently forgetting that I was in high school still and he had just graduated from college. That seemed to be of no real importance to me. You should know that I did hand Aiden the note. And he screwed it up in his hand and threw it into the trash. I did what I thought I should do, and I told Lisa that Aiden didn’t want her to come to his room. She seemed upset, but accepted it calmly. I did feel a bit guilty as I heard her making a call for someone to pick her up. Though my guilt left when I saw a hot Tom Cruise lookalike arriving about thirty minutes later and kissing her like he’d been away at war and hadn’t seen her in years. Lisa left so quickly that I felt bad for Aiden, as she hadn’t even told him goodbye. Well, not really that bad. And I can’t say that’s exactly what gave me my idea, but it was definitely one of the reasons I thought I was pretty brilliant. My plan was pretty simple: I was going to sneak into bed with Aiden, and we were going to snuggle and kiss and I was going to seduce him. And it had worked. I’d snuck into his bedroom around midnight wearing nothing but a long T-shirt. I’d slipped into his bed and put my arms around his naked chest and pressed myself up against him.

“You shouldn’t be here.” He groaned sleepily as his fingers had grabbed mine.

“Shhh.” I’d kissed his back, and ran my feet down his muscular legs. The hair on his legs had tickled my smooth skin, and I’d moaned at the feeling of being so close to him. His hand ran up and down the side of my legs and he’d groaned before turning over. The room had been pitch dark and as he rolled me onto my back and kissed me, I’d been scared that he’d figure out it was me and get mad. I was pretty sure that Aiden didn’t know that Lisa had left because he had gotten home late that night and gone straight to his room. His tongue had entered my mouth swiftly, and I’d kissed him back with such ferocity that I’m sure he must have been shocked. He’d paused for a moment and pulled away from me and then whispered, “Damn, you shouldn’t be here.” I had grabbed his head and pulled him back down to me and wrapped my legs around his waist. At the time I’d thought he was talking to Lisa, but now—now I wasn’t really sure if he’d known that he’d been talking to me, Alice. If he’d known it was me and he’d still gone ahead, that must mean something, right? That night had been crazy and passion-filled and when he’d entered me, I’d cried out in pain and ecstasy. He’d been the perfect lover: attentive, caring, dominating and skilled.

The next morning when I’d woken up, he was staring at me angrily. I can still remember the shock and disgust in his icy blue eyes. I’d gulped and blushed and hurried out of the bed, waiting for him to say something, anything, to let me know everything was going to be okay. But he’d said nothing. Not then and not ever. Not until recently. And now, well, now all I wanted to do was to repeat that night. But this time, I wanted to play for keeps. This time I wanted to seduce my best friend’s brother and make him fall in love with me. And I was willing to do almost anything for that chance with him. And what I really meant was whatever it took.

***

“Hello, Alice?” His voice was hesitant and strong at the same time, and I felt as if time had stood still. My fingers gripped the phone and my face grew warm as I realized that Aiden was on the other end of the line. I looked at Liv and mouthed, “Oh my God, oh my God” to her several times. “Alice?” he repeated again, and I shook my head, trying to get over my shock.

“This is Alice,” I said in a prim voice, sounding like some Victorian matron from an old black-and-white movie.

“It’s Aiden,” he said in a husky voice, and I swear to God that I would have started jumping up and down if Xander hadn’t been sitting in the same room as me, looking very bemused.

“Who?” I said childishly, and I saw Xander rolling his eyes.

“Aiden Taylor, Liv’s brother.”

“Oh, hi, Aiden. How are you?” I said stiffly as I grinned at Liv who was grinning back at me. Xander was looking back and forth at our expressions with an even more bemused look, and I knew he was thinking to himself that it didn’t take much to make us happy.

“I’m good.” Aiden cleared his throat. “I was actually just calling to see if Liv is okay?”

“Liv?” I said stiffly. Huh? What was he talking about?

“Yeah, I tried texting her a couple of days ago, and she hasn’t responded, so I figured I would check with you.”

“She’s fine,” I said and put my finger up to my lips as I looked at Liv. “Hold one second, please,” I said quickly and pressed mute. “It’s Aiden. He said he’s tried contacting you and you haven’t answered,” I whispered to Liv and she frowned.

“Uh, no.” She shook her head. “What is he talking about? I just spoke to him this morning.”

“Oh.” I shrugged my shoulders. “So he’s lying? Should I tell him you’re here with me now?”

“Yeah.” Liv nodded. “Tell him that I’m here and that I said I spoke to him this morning.”

“Okay.” I was about to unmute, when Xander shook his head and sighed.

“Do you two have absolutely no clue?” He stood up and walked toward me. “That’s still on mute?”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“Good.” He stopped in front of me and his green eyes pierced mine. “Listen to me carefully. Do not tell Aiden that you know that he’s lying. He obviously used that as an excuse to call you. You should be thanking your lucky stars, not accusing him of lying.” He shook his head and looked back at Liv. “I have no idea where you are getting your advice from.” He turned back to look at me. “Get back on the phone and ask him something. Be nice. Be sweet. Be happy to hear from him. Don’t accuse him of lying. Don’t have an attitude. Don’t talk about kissing Scott or seducing him when you were sixteen. Stick to topics that are safe for now. Do you hear me?”

“Yes.” I nodded meekly.

“I don’t know why he’s calling you,” he said with a serious face. “Maybe he got hit in the head and actually likes you.”

“Xander!” Liv screeched.

“I’m sorry.” He laughed and looked at her. “But really, I think I got hit in the head as well.”

“Why’s that?” She frowned.

“‘Cause I’m dating you.” He grinned at her, and she just shook her head and mumbled something. “But you know I love you. That’s why I’m letting you move in with me.”

“What?” I froze and looked at Xander and then Liv’s pink face. “You’re moving in with Xander?”

“Oh, boy.” He bit his lower lip and stepped back. “You didn’t tell her?” He looked at Liv and she glared at him.

“I’m sorry, Alice. I was going to tell you. And it’s not for—”

“We’ll talk later.” I made a face at her and then unmuted the phone. “Sorry about that,” I sang into the phone, my heart racing as I thought about Liv moving out.

“That’s okay,” Aiden said stiffly. “Where did you go?”

“I had another call,” I lied. “I just got asked out on a date.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, this guy I met last weekend. His name is Sylvester,” I said and I could see Xander rolling his eyes as if he couldn’t believe I was going down the lying road again.

“Sylvester Stallone?” Aiden asked and I laughed.

“Funny—not,” I said. “I didn’t say Rambo called me.”

“That’s good. I don’t think I can take Rambo on.”

“Oh?” My heart felt as if it were going to pop out of my chest then. What did he mean he couldn’t take Rambo on? Did that mean he liked me? Did he want to date me? My stomach was doing somersaults.

“Yeah.” He laughed. “He might not like you getting calls from guys, even if they’re just friends.”

“Oh yeah,” I said, suddenly deflated. “That’s true.”

“Anyway, I also just wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Okay?”

“After our Facebook chat the other day,” he said softly. “I wasn’t sure if I’d upset you.”

“Why would I be upset?” I squeaked out.

“I realize we’ve never really spoken about that night,” he said awkwardly. “And I wanted to apologize for what happened.”

“You wanted to apologize to me?” I said stiffly. The moment felt surreal, and then the room started to spin. How was it that he was calling to talk about that night just when I was talking about that night as well?

“I should have known better.” He sighed. “I shouldn’t have let it continue once I knew.”

“Once you knew what?” I said softly, my face burning in shame.

“Once I knew it was you in my bed.”

“You knew?” My jaw dropped. “Before the morning?” Excitement and hope ran through my veins at his words.

“Of course I knew, Alice.” His voice was husky. “How could I not have known?”

“But …” My voice trailed off. “I didn’t know you knew before the morning.”

“I wasn’t proud of myself.” He sighed. “But yes, I knew.” He cleared his throat. “I knew as soon as you got into the bed and wrapped your arms around my chest. Actually, I knew as soon as you walked into the bedroom. I could smell your strawberry fragrance hanging in the air as soon as the door opened.”

“I, uh—I don’t know what to say,” I squeaked out. I had loved that strawberry spray and the matching strawberry lotion. I’d worn them both so much that my mom had asked me if I wanted to move to a strawberry patch.

“I shouldn’t have brought it up. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said softly. “I know we’re older now and we had some awkwardness recently, but I wanted to reach out and let you know that I consider you a part of the family, Alice, and I hope you know that.”

“Thanks,” I said softly, my head spinning. I was so confused. Why was he calling me? Did he like me or not? And what did he think about that night we’d spent together? Did he ever think about it? And did he ever think about me? Did he wish that he could have another night with me? Or did he wish that he could have many more nights with me?

“Anyway, I should go now,” he said cheerfully. “Tell Liv to text me back or call me when you see her. I hope to see you soon.”

“Where are you going?” I said, knowing I sounded pitiful, but I didn’t want the conversation to end.

“I have a date,” he said. “I’m taking her to a Degas exhibit.” He groaned. “Don’t I sound boring?”

“No,” I said lightly as my heart lurched.

“You’re too sweet, Alice,” he said, his voice sounding sexy as hell. “I just hope Elizabeth enjoys it.”

“Elizabeth Jeffries?” I said, unable to stop myself.

“Yes, how did you know?” He sounded surprised.

“Good guess,” I said and then sighed. “But I have to go. Talk to you soon.”

“Oh, okay. Bye, Alice,” he said softly, and I hung up. I looked at Liv and Xander and I knew that I looked like a sad case because that was how I felt—really sad and sorry for myself.

“What’s wrong?” Liv jumped up and ran toward me. “What did my brother say? God help me, but I’ll kill him if he was a jerk.”

“He has a date,” I said softly, my voice cracking.

“You did just tell him another guy had called you,” Xander said and closed his mouth as Liv glared at him.