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This is the scary thing about having a best friend. They can read your thoughts and sense your emotions. I’d had friends before Molly came into the picture … but no one could read me the way Molly can. It’s like there’s this invisible thread between us, linking us together. I’ve never felt this pull to anyone else … ever.

“Okay.” I say through gritted teeth. Closing my eyes, I inhale a long, deep breath and blow it out slowly. Then I sit next to her on the couch, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees. “I’m so sorry he hurt you, Molly. What can I do?”

“Call my mother and tell her to stop wasting her breath trying to convince me to give Todd another chance?” She says with a groan, dropping her head back against the couch and looking up at the ceiling. “She can just get over her ridiculous dream of me and her best friend’s son getting married.”

“You know I will, just give me her number.” I rest my arm on the couch behind her. I’d give anything to wrap my arm around her and pull her into me … but this isn’t the time. The feel of her body against mine would definitely make me feel too friendly toward my best friend. That pesky eyebrow wants to go rogue and shoot up again, but I smooth it with the back of my hand.

She lifts her head and turns her blue-eyed gaze on me, the force of it making my heart speed up. “I know you would.” She brings one hand up to pat my shoulder. “Hopefully, my mother and Todd will leave me alone. Oh! And maybe he’ll move back to Massachusetts where he belongs?”

I smile wistfully to myself. Todd moving far away would be my dream come true. “We can only hope.”

“Mildred is going to blow a gasket about this … especially with the wedding coming up in a few weeks.”

I grimace, thinking back to our college graduation. Mildred wore a red sequin dress and heels so high they looked like stilts. To me, it seemed like she couldn’t handle having the attention on her sister for even one day. Now that she’s a bride, I can’t even imagine how unbearable she must be.

“She’s marrying Todd’s cousin, right?” I ask, remembering Molly’s sister is marrying a Du Pont.

“Yep. Preston. And Todd is Preston’s best man.” She angles her face to the side and looks up at me. “Todd and I are supposed to enter the ceremony together, hand in hand.”

A growl rumbles quietly in my throat before I can stop it. I’m hoping she didn’t hear it.

“Preston is a good guy, though,” Molly says, “Don’t hold his relation to Todd against him.”

“I can’t believe your parents even allow you to hang out with me. Seeing as I’m not a Du Pont.” I nudge her with my elbow and she smiles for the first time since she walked through my front door.

“Their only beef with you is that you’re only a millionaire and not a billionaire. You peasant.” She purses her lips, trying to look serious.

I give her a pointed look. “Not a billionaire yet.”

She laughs, the sound making my smile grow even bigger than it already was. I love how we can roast each other. “Um, I think you’re forgetting that I run the business and finance side of your so-called ‘prospective billion-dollar company.’” Her hands go up in air quotes and I laugh. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your billionaire status isn’t happening anytime soon.”

“Alright, little miss negativity,” I concede. “But it’s not impossible.”

The following morning, my alarm goes off at seven. Way too early for a Saturday morning. But when my congressman brother, Madden, has time to squeeze me into his hectic schedule, I jump at the chance to hang with him.

I slip on my comfiest jeans. They’re distressed and give me that “model off-duty” look. Pairing it with my D.C. Eagles hoodie that Madden got me, my casual look is complete. Never would’ve pegged my buttoned-up oldest brother as a hockey fan, but Washington D.C. has changed him. Or at least I tell him so, just to annoy him. Being friends with your siblings once you’re all adults is pretty cool, but I haven’t hung up my annoying little brother hat completely.

Striding from my master bedroom into the living room, I smile to myself when I see the mess of ice cream cartons, popcorn kernels, and hot cocoa mugs scattered about. Evidence of my and Molly’s impromptu movie night last night. The mess makes my house look cozier and more lived-in. Despite living here for a few years, I don’t have a lot of furniture or pictures on the walls. Actually, the only picture I hung up is a painting Molly gifted me when I bought the house. It’s of a large Highland cow, and it hangs front and center above my mantle.

I named him Cowlvin.

Molly stayed later last night than I thought she would. Maybe she just didn’t want to be alone. No complaints from me, though; I finally had the chance to introduce her to a classic Christmas movie: Die Hard. Since meeting Molly in college, I’ve introduced her to most of my favorite movies. She made me sit through the six-hour adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, so I don’t feel too bad.

I wink at Cowlvin before grabbing my truck keys from the coffee table and heading to breakfast.

With one last refreshing inhale of the wonderfully freezing-cold morning air, I open the front door of the quaint brick building that houses one of our favorite breakfast cafes. Everyone keeps their heaters way too high during the winter, so I’ll soak up the chill before I inevitably start sweating to death. The overhead bell jingles, and one of the waitresses smiles at me and says good morning. I nod politely before looking around for my brothers.

Immediately, I spot Madden at our usual corner booth. I'd recognize the confident set of his broad shoulders from a mile away. Plus, he’s the only person I know who’d be wearing a dress shirt on a Saturday morning. What I wasn’t expecting was that it’s not our brother-in-law sitting next to him, but Madden’s wife, Odette.

I walk over to greet them, smiling at my sister-in-law, who’s dressed casually compared to her husband. Her red hair is up in a messy bun and a chunky green sweater swallows up her tiny form.

“Where’s Drew?” I ask.

Madden bristles, like there’s a bad taste in his mouth. “He texted five minutes ago saying he’s busy newlywedding.”

I cringe and Madden shivers dramatically. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“I didn’t inquire. I don’t want to know.”