Brandon’s knee bumps against mine, and I peek at him. He flashes an apologetic smile before finding everything else in the room more interesting than me.
This doesn’t feel right, being here with him, while I’m thinking about another man that has no business always being on my mind. I don’t like Brandon the way I adore Aiden, and I have no clue when things shifted. Being here with him feels as though I’m doing him a favor. I’d rather be at home with the man I love, teasing him about something silly he does or says. I want to curl up with him on the couch and watch a scary movie to get in the mood for the Halloween party in two weeks in the creepy cabin in the woods that he swears isn’t haunted.
My heart skips a beat, and a blush crawls up my neck as the truth I’ve been running from slaps me in the face.
Oh, fuck. I didn’t just catch feelings for Aiden. I’m in love with him, and I can’t smother the feeling anymore. It’s overwhelming, to the point where it’s hard to breathe, and I need him here with me. I don’t know what to do. He said not to fall for him, and I’m an idiot for doing exactly that.
Brandon’s gaze slips to me, and his cheeks turn a light shade of pink. “You’re making me shy, looking at me like that.”
I blink and face away from him, my hand inching to the spot behind my ear and scraping my nail against my scalp. I didn’t realize I was staring at him while coming to that startling epiphany.
“I think I should go,” I mumble.
His eyebrows shoot up his forehead, and he leans forward over the table. “But we just got here. We still haven’t gone to the movies like we planned.”
“I’m in love with my boyfriend.” I glance at him, gauging his reaction before looking away.
Brandon frowns and cocks his head. “I thought you were going to break up with him?”
“I don’t want to.” I drop my hand into my lap with a sigh. It’ll happen eventually. Things will end between Aiden and me, and he’ll move on to his next fling. And I’ll have to watch him treat the other woman the same way he treated me, making her believe he’s genuine.
Brandon eases backward and folds his arms over his chest. His knee bumps against mine as he stretches his legs. “We aren’t doing anything wrong by hanging out, you know.”
“Do you like me?” I ask. It doesn’t go over my head that just a little over a month ago, I was too afraid to ask him this because of my fear of rejection. Now? I hope he says he doesn’t like me, but I have a feeling he does, which will only make me feel worse for leading him on.
“Of course I like you,” he says, aghast. “How can I not? You’re beautiful, funny, charming?—”
“This is a date, Brandon,” I say. “You paid for my drink and you’re taking me to the movies. I love my boyfriend, and I don’t want to lose him. If we were hanging out as friends, that’s one thing. But I can’t be here with you like this. I’m really sorry.”
“You were just complaining about him the other night and saying how big of a jerk he is. And now you’re in love? Damn.” He sighs and glances away. “I get it. Love makes you blind, and I want the best for you.”
“I’m an idiot,” I mumble, a lump forming in the back of my throat.
Brandon’s head whips toward me, repulse twisting his features. “Hey, you’re not an idiot.”
He doesn’t understand, and he never will. I’m an idiot because I fell for my brother and broke his number one rule, andI don’t know if he feels the same way. Especially not after what I heard yesterday.
There is no happy ending for us.
“Does he know?” Brandon asks.
I shake my head.
Sympathy softens his features. “You should talk to him.”
I side-eye Brandon, the sour feeling in my stomach worsening.
That has got to be the worst idea. Tell Aiden that I’m in love with him? My brother would shut down and end everything between us. I’d be in the same situation as all of his previous flings before me.
“Yeah, I’ll do that,” I say instead of telling him the truth. He’ll argue with me and want to know why I can’t tell Aiden. I shove my chair away from the table and stand. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Brandon leaps to his feet and follows me toward the door. “I can take you home.”
“That’s not necessary, but thanks.” I stop and tilt my head to look up at him. “I really am sorry for leading you on.”
He frowns. “You don’t need to be sorry, Nova. You did nothing wrong.”
I force a smile, even though I still feel like crap for playing with his feelings, and now he thinks he was the one who messed up. “If you say so.”
