Page 74 of Flirting With My Brother's Billionaire Best Friend

“Your head floats?” Langston laughs. “Sounds like one of those campfire stories Hayden likes so much.”

I smack his chest, which is so rock hard it hurts my hand. “Ow.” I rub it. “You know what I mean.”

“I do, actually. Because I feel the same way. Floating head and all,” he says.

“This is why I adore you. Because you can joke around with me like this.” I wrap my arms around his neck.

“That hasn’t really changed.” He loops his arms around my waist and kicks the front door shut.

“I’m glad. I think I’ve probably always loved you, although I may not have realized it. And it’s the joking that does it for me.”

He glances down over his shoulder. “It wasn’t my hot tushie?”

I laugh. “That too. And your kind heart. Watching you with your boy really impacted the way I saw you. I mean, I always knew you were a great guy who was kind to others and took the time to say hello to your mom’s knitting club friends, but when I saw you as a dad, even when it was unexpected and brand new, that’s when I really started to fall harder and harder. Because I never expected to have a family, but when I saw you with yours, it was like this new possibility had opened for me. There was this boy who needed so much love, whose mom might not be around this time next year. I wanted to be there for him. And that never changed, even when we broke up. I knew I’d always be someone Hayden could rely on. He’s stolen my heart.”

“How could he not? He’s the sweetest boy ever,” Langston says.

A yowl sounds from the kitchen, followed by barking.

“Sounds like Sausage and Noodle have met,” Langston says.

“That’s right. You’ve never brought him over here before.”

He shrugs. “There never really was a reason to.”

“Then why bring him today?”

“Because today you and I are a couple. And there’s nothing stopping us from having a future together. I figured this was the next step in our relationship. Letting our pets meet.”

“Makes sense. But it doesn’t seem to be going well.” There’s a loud crash coming from the kitchen. “We should probably go see what that noise is.”

Langston and I rush into there to see the dinner I’d worked so hard on all over the floor with Sausage and Noodle both happily eating it. “Oh, no! I’d covered it and everything. Good thing I put it in a metal dish instead of glass.”

“What is this?” Langston asks, gesturing to the dinner splattered all over my floor like some kind of modern art.

“Spaghetti sausage bolognese.”

“Noodles and sausage? No wonder they like it so much.”

I laugh. “You do have a good point. I should have known better than to make such a meal.”

“Wait a second.” Langston eyes me. “You made this?”

“Yes…?”

“Is it safe for the animals to eat?”

It takes me a minute to figure out what he means. And when I do, I scowl at him. “Very funny! I’m sure it’s not that bad. I’ve been taking lessons with my chef.”

“I heard about the cookies you made.” Langston grimaces. “Word gets around, you know.”

“We don’t even know if this dinner is gross or not,” I defend myself. “I’ve probably improved since then.”

“You’re welcome to scoop some off the floor and give it a try. You might have to fight the animals for it though.”

“Ew.” I walk over to the dish on the floor. “Look, there’s a little still in here.” I scoop a little out with a spoon and taste it. “Oh!” I run to the garbage and spit it out.

“You know Sausage probably had his head in that dish, right?”

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