"What can I say? I like order."
"It's actually kind of hot."
I nearly drop the spatula. "Yeah?" Heat crawls up my neck, and I focus hard on making the omelets.
"Totally." She's grinning now, clearly enjoying making me flustered. "Who knew Wyatt Dalton would be the domestic type?"
"What can I say? I'm full of surprises."
After breakfast, I take her home so she can change for work. The drive is comfortable, with her hand in mine and soft music playing on the radio. When I pull up to her house, she leans over and plants a sweet kiss on my mouth. "Thanks for last night. All of it."
"Thank you." I kiss her again, not wanting to let her go. "See you at the brewery later?"
"Definitely."
I watch her walk inside, waiting until the door closes before leaving. As I drive, my mind won't let go of last night—the rightness of it, waking up with her in my arms, and the fact that I already want her back in my bed.
And then the guilt hits: I just slept with Danny's little sister. I broke the ultimate bro-code.
My gut’s churning by the time I pull into my driveway, and I know what I have to do. I dig out my phone and dial Danny's number, even though it's barely 7 AM Pacific Time.
He answers on the fourth ring, his voice groggy. "This better be fucking important, Wyatt. I was sleeping."
"I need to talk to you."
"It’s ten in the morning there, which means it's seven in the goddamn morning here."
"I may have betrayed our bro-code."
There's a pause. "Man, what are you talking about?"
"You know. Our rules of engagement."
"Wyatt, I swear to God, if you don't start making sense in the next five seconds, I'm hanging up and going back to sleep."
I take a deep breath. "I went on a date last night with Merri, and one thing led to another. I had sex with your sister, okay?THAT’swhat I’m talking about."
The silence on the other end is deafening. Then, suddenly, Danny starts laughing. Not just laughing but howling so hard I have to hold the phone away from my ear.
"It's about damn time, dude!"
I blink. "What?"
"You two have been circling each other like dogs in heat for years. I was wondering when you'd finally pull your head out of your ass and do something about it."
"You're not mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad? Merri's a grown woman who can make her own decisions, and you're my best friend. If anything, I'm relieved you finally figured out you're into each other."
"But—"
"The bro-code says you don't hit on your friend's sister without being serious about it. Are you serious about her?"
Am I? I think about Merri in my kitchen this morning. About the way she laughed at my terrible jokes and how right it felt to have her in my space and in my bed.
"Yeah," I say. "I am."
"Then we're good. How's that beer coming along?"
