Falling for my Brother's Best Friend Read online

  Falling for my Brother's Best Friend

  Piper Rayne

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  © 2019 by Piper Rayne

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  Cover Photo: Sara Eirew Photography

  Cover Design: Okay Creations

  Line Editor: Joy Editing

  Line Editor: My Brother’s Editor

  Proofreader: Shawna Gavas, Behind The Writer

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  * * *

  Falling for my Brother’s Best Friend

  Let’s say you’re an independent, self-sufficient woman who runs the family company and you find yourself falling for your little brother’s best friend. Now, more than ever, you need to count all the reasons why you need to abandon falling.

  * * *

  Abandon Falling #1 – He’s a womanizer. Hasn’t had a serious relationship a day in his life and changes women more often than he changes his sheets.

  Abandon Falling #2 – He’s never serious. He cracks one-liners, mostly at your expense.

  Abandon Falling #3 – When things go wrong, he seems unfazed and always remains in control. It’s so annoying.

  Abandon Falling #4 – He has tattoos. Lots of them. Everywhere. Not to mention, he owns a tattoo parlor. (Damn it! Why doesn’t that sound like a bad thing anymore?)

  Abandon Falling #5 – There’s a growing list of how different you two are. You can’t get along for fifteen minutes—a lifetime together would land one of you in prison.

  * * *

  Keep repeating those reasons and drown yourself in work. Pretend you don’t notice his good qualities or how enticing he looks without a shirt, and do not, I repeat, do not agree to live with the man while your place is being repaired from flood damage.

  * * *

  Trust me, even the strongest of us can only forego temptation for so long.

  Contents

  The Baileys

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Epilogue

  Cockamamie Unicorn Ramblings

  About the Author

  Also by Piper Rayne

  The Baileys

  Austin Bailey - 33 years old

  (Biology Teacher/Baseball Coach)

  Savannah Bailey - 31 years old

  (Runs Bailey Timber Corp)

  Brooklyn Bailey - 28 years old

  (Runs Essential Oil Company)

  Rome Bailey - 26 years old

  (Chef)

  Denver Bailey - 26 years old

  (Bush Pilot)

  Juno Bailey - 25 years old

  (Matchmaker)

  Kingston Bailey - 22 years old

  (Smokejumper)

  Phoenix Bailey - 20 years old

  (Student)

  Sedona Bailey - 20 years old

  (Student)

  One

  Savannah

  Early Wednesday morning, I tiptoe down the hall wearing a towel wrapped around my body, slide into my bedroom, and slowly close the door. Once it clicks shut, I release the breath I’m holding, hoping I was quiet enough not to wake Liam.

  Getting ready while trying not to make any noise is harder than dragging Grandma Dori out of Lucky’s Tavern on dart night. I’ve managed to avoid Liam these past few days by being out of the house before he wakes up, and I don’t plan on running into him today.

  Slowly sliding hangers over the metal bar, I select my most loose-fitting outfit from the closet. After Austin’s wedding on Saturday—with the heat index the highest it’s been in three summers—I’m bloated. Once I’m dressed, I comb through my long blonde hair, hoping it air dries enough to throw up in some sort of updo before I leave.

  I make my bed, hang the damp towel on a hook on the back of the door, then grab matching heels and close my closet. I turn to leave, but before I do, I walk back over to the bed and slide my hand along the comforter to smooth out a wrinkle.

  I grip the door handle and turn it slowly, halting at the sound of movement in the hall. I hear a groan and the sound of someone using the washroom down the hall without the door closed. My shoulders sag in relief. Denver.

  I sneak a peek as he walks out of the bathroom, still half asleep in a pair of boxers, scratching his junk.

  Just what every sister wants to see.

  He walks back into his room and shuts the door.

  I slide out of my room and tiptoe down the hall as fast as I can, carrying my heels down the stairs into the kitchen area. I place my shoes with my computer bag and purse on the table by the front door, setting my keys down quietly so I can quickly grab something to eat from the kitchen and get the hell outta Dodge.

  As I open the fridge door to grab a yogurt, shivers race up my spine with the sound of the front door opening and closing. He’s already up, not fast asleep in his room as I’d hoped. I close the fridge door and turn around.

  “Aaaahhhh!” I jump back, startled to find his big body already leaning against the counter with his arms crossed.

  Damn him.

  “Good morning, Savannah,” Liam says with a cocky smirk.

  “Stop it.” I peel back the lid of my yogurt, eyeing the spoon drawer he’s currently blocking.

  This is exactly why I was trying to sneak out. Liam Kelly is my brother’s best friend, very often the bane of my existence, and unfortunately too hot for my own good. He’s also my landlord for the foreseeable future since my insurance company’s contractor is taking his sweet-ass time fixing my place after the flood.

  “What?” he asks.

  “You and that look.”

  “What look?”

  I want to scream at him for making this uncomfortable. How many people hook up at weddings? It’s a common occurrence, so there’s nothing special about us messing around after Austin and Holly’s wedding reception.

  “The look that says you just caught your prey,” I say.

  “And you think you’re my prey?”

  “No.” I glance at the drawer again.

  He follows my vision, his smirk only widening further. His T-shirt is sweaty and clinging to his muscles, which means he woke up earlier and left to work out. But he always keeps his door open when he’s not in his bedroom and it was definitely closed when I left my room to come down here. Did he set me up in order to talk about what happened Saturday night?

  I glance at the fast fo
od straw on the counter, next to an empty fry container. Denver. But that straw might work for my yogurt.

  “Do you want to be my prey?” he asks.

  “No. Why would I?”

  “You seemed to enjoy it the other night.”

  I inhale a sharp breath. “That was a mistake. A drunken mistake.”

  “I wasn’t drunk.”

  I step toward the drawer and jut out my hip. He could be a gentleman and step aside, but he doesn’t.

  “I don’t think you were drunk either,” he says.

  I stare into his bright blue eyes then let my gaze drift down his tattoo-covered arms that aren’t hidden by his Smokin’ Guns Tattoo Shop T-shirt. I remember when he shot those T-shirts out of a handheld cannon blaster at the last Founder’s Day Parade. They were a hit, as is everything he does in Lake Starlight. Young and old, people love him.

  “It doesn’t matter whether I was or wasn’t. It changes nothing. We’re not—”

  “Spare me the lecture, I have it memorized.” He pushes off the counter, the blue of his eyes lighting with humor. “The fact remains that you couldn’t resist me.”

  Liam Kelly couldn’t be any fuller of himself. Yes, he’s hot, but if he thinks I’m going to sleep with him just to be tossed aside like one of his Smokin’ Guns groupies, he’s wrong.

  I open the drawer, grab a spoon, and slam it closed. I whip around to face him. “What do you want from me?”

  He opens the paper that was sitting on the counter and takes a seat on a breakfast stool. “Nothing, Savannah. That’s your problem. You always think everyone wants something from you.”

  He’s got to be kidding me.

  “Because everyone does. Everyone always wants or needs something from me. Ever since I was nineteen, it’s been Bailey Timber or Austin or Grandma Dori or this town. You wanna see the list of people who depend on me?” My phone dings in my purse as though it’s agreeing with me. I don’t need to look at the message to know that it will be someone who needs something.

  He continues to read the paper, cool and collected, while annoyance grates at me as if I’m a chunk of cheese.

  He has no idea what it’s like to have all the responsibilities of the second oldest Bailey. The one who was chosen to take over the family business. I can’t even remember who I was before my parents died.

  After a minute of me staring daggers into the side of his head, he says, “I said I don’t want anything.”

  “And you’re lying.” I shove a spoonful of yogurt into my mouth.

  He lowers the paper. “You’re right. I’m lying. I’d like you to admit that you weren’t drunk on Saturday.”

  I throw my hands in the air. “Seriously? What does it matter to you?”

  The paper falls from his hands and he leans back. I soak him in once again, pushing back the memories of what it felt like to have his hands all over me.

  He says, “It’d be nice to see you be honest with yourself for once.”

  “Why? So you’ll feel better? Are you looking to up the caliber of woman in your bed from giggling girl to sophisticated woman?” I heap another spoonful of yogurt into my mouth.

  He narrows his eyes. “You know what Saturday was. Tell me you didn’t enjoy it.”

  I clean off the spoon and put it in the dishwasher before throwing away my yogurt container. “What was it then? If you remember, I ran out of the room.”

  I’m starting a fight I can’t win. We didn’t fall into bed while stripping off each other’s clothes in a drunken haze. We had a heavy make-out session like horny teenagers. His words of praise for my body have repeated in my head ever since, but I can’t live in some fairyland where I’m the one woman who could make him change his ways.

  “If I have to tell you, then you’re not worth it.”

  His words cut deep, as he meant them to. Rarely does Liam say anything without thinking it through. That’s where he differs from my brothers. The three of them may be best friends, but Denver and Rome say whatever, whenever without thinking of the consequences. Liam though, he chooses his words wisely and with purpose.

  My phone dings again and I sigh. “Fine. I need to get to work.” I slide on my heels and swing my bags over my shoulder, digging my cell phone out of my purse.

  “You gotta bear all that weight, right? I mean, the success of everything rests on you.” His back is to me. He’s stripped off his T-shirt and is digging through the fridge.

  I stand in place, staring at him. My shoulders fall, my bitchy attitude faltering. I hate that we’re like this. “You just don’t understand… I mean, the company and the family. Grandma Dor—”

  “Don’t worry, Sav. I’m a big boy.” He raises his hand, his back still toward me. “Have a great day.”

  Defeat consumes me. I wish I could break the distance, place my hands on his hips and cast a trail of kisses up his back, taste the saltiness of his skin and trace his intricate tattoos with my tongue. Instead, I spin on my heel and slam the door behind me.

  My phone dings again.

  “For the love of God, who wants something now?” I yell, thankful Liam lives miles from neighbors.

  But my anger dissipates when I open the text message thread with my sister and see a picture of her and Wyatt inside a chapel in Las Vegas, their left hands raised. In full Brooklyn fashion, she writes Guess What? Followed by another text.

  Brooklyn: Time to plan a reception, Maid of Honor. YAY!

  I stare at the phone before looking back at the house one more time. Liam would be the best kind of distraction to make me forget that I’m going to die alone after watching all my siblings get their happily ever afters.

  Two

  Liam

  The door shuts behind Savannah, and I slam the fridge door out of pure frustration.

  “Whoa, what did the ketchup do to you?” Denver walks into the kitchen wearing only his boxers, his hair poking out in a million different directions.

  This is the first I’ve seen him since the wedding. I have to assume he was holed up in bed with someone all day and night after the wedding. My friend is awesome, but he needs to get his shit together.

  “Coffee?” I change the subject, noticing Savannah’s to-go coffee mug sitting by the pot. “Don’t make me throw this at you” is inscribed in a girly script on the side. Juno never lets an opportunity to razz her sister pass, and Sav’s past birthday was no exception.

  “Definitely.” His head hits the table.

  I fill our coffee mugs and sit next to him with the paper. “First you go missing at the wedding, then you don’t return until late last night?”

  He picks up his head to give me his classic I-got-some smirk.

  “Who was it?” I ask.

  “A repeat.”

  I run the guest list through my mind, but it’s still hard to narrow the options down because it was the first Bailey wedding and practically the entire town was in attendance. Then a tiny brunette pops to mind. “Mindy?”

  His smile grows and he sips his coffee. “She still loves it when I—”

  I hold my hand in the air. “We’re not sixteen, desperate, and horny anymore.”

  “You’re not horny?”

  I cock an eyebrow.

  “Don’t shoot me that look. I get that you respect that Savannah is living here, but your dry spell has been going on since before she moved in.” He sips his coffee.

  How do I tell him my dry spell is by choice, not necessity, and that it’s only been thirty-six hours since a woman was in my bed? And that woman was his sister.

  Savannah is like an itch on my back I can’t reach. I’m not exactly happy with myself for still being pissed off that she ran out of my bedroom on Saturday night when we were making out. We were seconds away from quenching the thirst we both have for one another. Savannah may be in denial, but I know that whatever is brewing between us isn’t going away.

  “The tattoo shop is busy, and I don’t have time.” I stand to dump out the rest of my coffee. Might as well showe
r and head to the shop to do the books since we don’t open until later.

  “It’s funny.” He meets me at the sink. “I was thinking, when I was at Mindy’s house—”

  “You slept with her at her parents’ house?” Last I heard, Mindy had moved to Vancouver.

  “She stays above the garage.” He shrugs and leaves his mug in the sink while I put mine in the dishwasher.

  “Did you sit down with her parents for breakfast?”

  “No,” he scoffs. “We stayed in bed. Stop trying to make me forget my original thought.”

  “It’s so easy though.” I pluck his cup from the sink and add it to the dishwasher because we both know he won’t.

  “Har-har. So you and Savannah…? Buzz Wheel reported about you two.”

  Of course Buzz Wheel had something on Savannah and me leaving Austin’s wedding together. I hate that online gossip blog. “I drove her home.”

  “Good. Not that I’m a dick of a best friend who’d say you can’t date my sister, but I was hoping this whole dry spell wasn’t because you had the hots for her.”

  “You’re delusional. I gotta shower.” I head for the stairs.

  “Are you dodging me?” he calls.