Page 1 of Loving My Brother's Best Friend

1

ETHAN

The rain outside is light, falling softly enough that I don't bother with an umbrella as I head inside. Boston can be chilly this time of year, but I run hot, and a little water clinging to my hair as I enter the restaurant doesn't bother me.

Being here bothers me, though. Damn Ryan and all the nonsense he puts me up to.

The restaurant is an old Italian joint, but the entire thing has been shut down for the speed dating event. Instead of the scent of garlic and tomatoes when I walk in, I'm hit by the smell of perfumed burning candles and roses, of which there are at least six in vases on every table.

I cringe.

This is not my scene. This is so far from being my scene, and I'm here on a challenge.

I've been single for a long damn time, and as my friends all start to pair off, they're growing annoyed with my unending bachelorhood. It's not like I've chosen it on purpose; it's just how things have played out for me. But when Ryan challenged me to go to a speed dating event, I laughed it off at first. Then he said he'd leave me alone about dating if I did it, and that had been reward enough to give in. Or at least I had thought so at the time.

Now, as the host of the speed dating night—a tall woman with a short blonde bob—announces the rules, I realize maybe the challenge is a lot harder than it seemed.

"We're going to go around the room clockwise," the host says, her voice carrying a slight Southern accent. "Everyone will have two minutes to get to know each person before moving on. At the end of the night, we'll email you the information for anyone you've matched with. And remember, love is a game. Don't be afraid to take a risk. You might find a winner."

Her smile is bright and her expression open, but I can't help the grimace that twists my mouth.

This is a terrible idea. Why the hell did I agree to this?

The sound of scraping chairs has me glancing to the side, and I watch as a petite brunette woman stands up and comes toward me. She smiles shyly, and her brown eyes are warm as she takes a seat across from me.

"Hi," she says, her voice quiet.

"Hey."

"I'm Amy."

"Ethan."

"So, Ethan, what do you do?"

And that's how it goes. I talk about being an architect, about how I've just moved back to Boston, and I try to come up with an answer to the most asked question of the night—what am I looking for in a woman?

The other questions are easy enough, but that one is a problem. I don't know exactly what I'm looking for. I just want a connection, some compatibility that tells me I can be not just a partner but a friend to my chosen woman for the rest of our lives. I don't make friends easily. My stoic nature and extremely dry sense of humor aren’t a hit with many people, so the few friends that I do have are incredibly valuable to me.

First is Amy, who obviously isn't into me, and next is Martha, who might be a little too eager. By the time the bell rings for the next switch, I'm considering how hard I'm going to punch Ryan for setting me up like this.

All that annoyance drains out of me when the next woman takes her seat.

I haven't seen Natalie in ten years. She was eighteen the last time I laid eyes on her, which means she's now twenty-eight to my twenty-nine, and good Lord, time has been kind to her.

My mouth is dry as she gives me a confident smile. Her honey-blond hair is long and braided, falling over her shoulder. She's wearing glasses that do nothing to hide the intensity of her grass-green eyes, a nose ring winks on the right side of her nose, and her cheeks are flushed a pretty pink.

"Natalie," I breathe, barely believing my eyes. "What in the hell are you doing here?"

"Speed dating," she says simply, tilting her head to one side as she looks me over. Approval flashes over her expression. "I thought that much was obvious."

I've been in love with Natalie since we were kids and I started hanging out with her brother almost every day. Ryan would be annoyed when Natalie would bother us, but I always welcomed her, fascinated by how different she was than the other girls I knew. Natalie was tough, unafraid to get dirty, loved to play video games with us, and was never afraid to speak her mind. I almost broke down and asked her out before I left town to go to college, but I didn't want to put a strain on our friendship, my friendship with Ryan, or her future relationships.

Seeing her here, a decade later, I feel a familiar spark of attraction. She's even more gorgeous than I remember. Her green sundress matches her eyes and dips low enough to show off the pale, freckled skin of her cleavage.

"No, I mean, what are you doing in a place like this? You could have anyone you wanted," I blurt the words out before I can stop myself.

A sly grin slides over her face. "Are you trying to say you're surprised I'm still single, Ethan?"

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