Superficially, we maybe looked a little alike, both slim with dark hair, but where she was tall and slender, I was short and athletic.As for our personalities….They were pretty much opposite.
She was reserved, while I was outgoing.She liked to read, whereas I preferred playing around with makeup and doing flips.
“Where’s Finn?”I asked, noticing that neither she nor her husband, Nate, were holding their baby.
“Mum and Dad are babysitting for a couple of hours,” Nate said.
“Nice.That gives you two a chance to get out of the house.”
It also explained why neither of my bosses were here tonight.Heather and Eugene Braddock owned the bar where I worked part-time and usually liked to hang around in the evenings—especially on Fridays.
“Yeah, and Mum loves having baby time.”He grinned crookedly, and even though he was, technically, identical to Max, it did absolutely nothing to me.
“Bailey,” someone called from the bar.
I sighed.“Back to it, then.”
As I retreated, I heard Toby, the youngest brother, say, “Hey, Max.Dated anyone recently?”
My ears perked up, and I released a breath as Max said he hadn’t.Thank God.I could live with him not seeing me romantically, but having to watch him with someone else would be a nightmare.
But was he not dating because he chose not to, or was it because he was in love with his brother’s wife?
I shut down that thought before I started spiraling.Best not to dwell on what feelings Max may or may not have for Grace.
When I got to the bar, Darcy, one of the local firefighters, was waiting for me with another guy.The stranger was in his late twenties with dark hair, stylish stubble, and eyes that were the wrong shade of blue.
“Heineken?”I asked Darcy.
He nodded and gestured to the other man.“This is my cousin, Beau.”
“Hi, Beau.”I grabbed a pint glass for Darcy, cracked the top off a bottle of Heineken beer, and slid both toward him.“What can I get for you?”
One side of Beau’s mouth hitched up, and a dimple appeared.“How about your number?”
I laughed.“Maybe if you behave yourself until the end of the night.”
He held my gaze.“I think I can manage that.In the meantime, I’ll have apple cider.”
I poured his drink, and Darcy paid.As the men retreated, I couldn’t help but wonder once again why I had such an easy time flirting when I didn’t care about the outcome, but with Max, I froze up.
At this rate, he’d never see me as more than his little sister’s best friend.
TWO
MAX
“You’re such a suck-up,” Nate grumbled as I added a decent portion of Bailey’s homemade superfood salad to my plate.
“I like healthy food,” I replied, refusing to rise to the bait.“Bailey’s salad is both delicious and nutritious, so eating it is a win-win.”
Not to mention that it was probably the closest I’d ever get to her serving me a meal.On the evenings I got home late from work, I might, occasionally, fantasize about how lovely it would be to have Bailey waiting for me and to be able to share a meal with her as we discussed our days.
Yes, my fantasies were very vanilla and probably made me sound like a boring old man.Compared to Bailey, that was a pretty accurate assessment of what I was, which was why my fantasies would remain just that.
Fantasies.
I followed Nate outside and onto the deck.We were at our parents’ house for the regular Braddock family Sunday brunch.Since we were well into spring now, Dad had set up a pair of tables end to end for us to eat at while enjoying the warmth of the sun and the slight breeze.
