Page 3 of My Brother's Best Friends

I sigh. “Sorry. I’m out of sorts and taking it out on you.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he says. “It took me hours to unwind after my flight, and mine was a lot smoother.”

There’s a moment of silence and I lean against him. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and gives me a reassuring squeeze. The elevator doors slide open, and we pile in with my bags crowding our feet.

“Before we get to your room,” Bryan says, drawing a deep breath.

“What?” I ask.

“I have some friends who’ll be sharing your suite. I hope you don’t mind.”

“As long as I have a bed to crawl into for the rest of the night, I’m good,” I tell him.

“Of course,” he says. “You still have your own bathroom—there’ll just be other people in the common areas.”

“That’s fine,” I say. At this point, I don’t care if my suitemates are circus clowns, as long as they can stay quiet for a few precious hours.

“Great,” Bryan says.

The elevator glides to the second floor and opens onto a common area nearly as grand as the lobby. Bryan turns left and leads me down a hallway fit for Buckingham Palace.

I take a moment to appreciate the splendor. Tomorrow morning, I’ll wake up in the lap of luxury and truly be able to enjoy my surroundings. I can’t wait to sink into the comforter and stretch out on a ten-thousand-dollar mattress.

Bryan pauses where the hallway splits. “One more thing,” he says. “I’m sorry—you’re exhausted, and this is terrible timing.”

I raise an eyebrow.

He sets my bags down and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a tiny velvet-lined box and flips it open, revealing a stunning diamond solitaire on a gold band.

My brain jolts back to life. This must be why Bryan asked me here.

“Holy smokes. Is that what I think it is? You’re proposing to Callie?” I gasp, flinging my arms around him. “I’m honored you’d want me here for this!”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, sis,” he says.

I take the box from him and lift the ring out for a closer inspection. The cut is perfect, and the gold band is neither too thick nor too thin. I slip it back into its cushion and hand it over.

“It’s perfect,” I say. “I’m sure she’ll say yes.”

“I hope so,” Bryan says, worry creasing his brow.

“Are you kidding?” I ask, giving his arm a gentle pinch. “She loves you. You know that.”

“Still… What if she has something else in mind for the proposal?” he asks, panic edging his voice. “We’ve never really talked about it. What if she wants a waterfall? Or a beach at sunset with a thousand candles? I chose this place because she’s always raving about the mountains in winter, but now I’m second-guessing everything. What if I blow it and she decides she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life with me?”

“That’s ridiculous,” I tell him. “You’re overthinking this, Bry. First, that top-grade rock alone would earn you an instant yes. Second, she loves you so much you could propose with a cereal-box toy ring and she’d still say yes.”

“You could’ve led with the ‘she loves me’ part instead of the ‘she’s going for the diamond size’ part,” Bryan says, half smiling.

I laugh. “I stand by my words. And you know it. These are just proposal jitters, big brother. From what I’ve seen, this place is perfect—a ski chalet in the mountains is a ten out of ten on the romance scale. Plus, I’ve heard you two tossing around baby names and even preschool options. She’s ready to settle down, and you’re her guy. Now, where’s this suite so I can get horizontal ASAP?”

Bryan laughs. “Don’t let your suitemates hear you talk like that.”

“Why? Who are they?” I ask, suddenly suspicious.

“You remember the Anderson triplets?” Bryan says.

His innocent question, tossed out as if it were completely irrelevant, hits me like a runaway train. It feels like a kick to thegut, and I fight not to double over. I brace a hand against the wall, the cold marble grounding me.

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