Brother's Best Friend: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Read online

  Logan grinned. “You know him oh so well.”

  Amber shook her head and started putting things back into the fridge. “Unfortunately, I do, and all of his nasty habits. I can only imagine what will happen when he falls in love with one of them one day. Poor girl.”

  They both laughed, knowing how much Amber adored her brother, but how much of a hot mess Jordan was most of the time. Logan eyed Amber again, this time feeling the strength of the liquid courage coursing through him. He stood up, a bit wobbly, and walked over behind Amber, sliding his hands around her waist from behind and leaning down, whispering into her ear. “I figured it would be a good time to tell you how fucking sexy I think you are. I’ve always thought it, and my dreams about you at night are too hot to handle sometimes. I can’t hold it back any longer.”

  Amber turned around and faced him, looking into his big green eyes. She put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him back with a smile. “Go eat your sandwich; you are drunk and confused. Trust me, we will laugh about this in the morning.”

  Logan sat back down sheepishly, knowing there wouldn’t be any laughter on his side.

  2

  Amber

  Taylor took a sip of her iced tea and pulled her hair up into a knot on the back of her head. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkling as she recanted the tale of a romantic night with her boyfriend, Casey, the week before. Amber was leaning forward on one hand, smiling at her best friend, so glad she was happy.

  “It was nuts, seriously girl. It was way more than I expected from him,” Taylor gushed.

  Amber grinned. “He doesn’t come off like the romantic type that’s for sure, but he is probably different behind the scenes.”

  Taylor blotted her lips with her napkin. “He was when it came to this. I mean, he knew it was my first time and that I wanted it to be special. He laid down roses, he lit candles, and he was so gentle with me.”

  Amber picked up her head. “So, it didn’t hurt?”

  Taylor shook her hand from side to side. “I mean nothing like what they tell you it’s going to feel like. We’ve messed around a lot over the years, though. It definitely was special losing my virginity to my high school sweetheart. I swear, we are going to be the minority of couples that make it through college in one piece. At least I really hope so.”

  Amber waved her hands. “He adores you. He waited patiently for four years and then went out of his way to make it amazing. He wouldn’t have done all that if he wasn’t planning on forever with you. Guys these days are too impatient. They know they can go out and get it wherever, so it takes some caring to do what he did.”

  Taylor sighed with a smile. “I know. He’s the best.”

  Amber cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “Besides all the excitement of the first time, how was he?”

  Taylor leaned forward and stretched her hands nine inches apart. “He was more than adequate if you know what I mean, and he definitely had the motion of the ocean to go with it. I had two orgasms by the time we were done with the first round.”

  Amber gasped. “The first? How many times?”

  Taylor shrugged with a smirk. “Several. It’s like once the first time is done with there is no holding back. All the inhibitions are out the window.”

  Amber playfully fanned herself with her napkin. “I wouldn’t even know what to do. I would be fumbling all over the place.”

  “Nah, once you’re in it you kind of feel your way through it. Plus, it was the first time for both of us, so a couple elbows were thrown and laughter was involved. It made it all that much more special.” Taylor smiled as the waitress approached, refilling her drink.

  Amber sat up and waited for the girl to walk away. “Well, maybe in college I’ll figure it all out. My life has been an endless stream of preparations to get into school.”

  Taylor grumped. “Yeah, but there has to be someone in your sights, right? I mean, some guy that makes you feel tingly all over, gives you butterflies when you see him? This is your last free summer for years. I mean, people usually come home from college in the summer, but I know you. You’ll be taking summer classes just to get through it faster.”

  Amber lifted her eyebrows. “Well, summer classes are cheaper, that’s for sure. And you know how my dad likes it when I say cheaper. Anyway, I have to prepare for Yale, entrance exams, and the summer assignments I’ll have. I won’t have any time for summer romance. What’s the point anyway? It will end in tears, on his end, and me just wishing I had studied more.”

  Taylor laughed. “You are crazy. You do have emotions in there I’ve seen them. All I’m saying is, don’t let life pass you by because of school. You are more than capable of meeting someone and doing well at Yale. I know this because of all the extracurricular you did in high school, coupled with becoming the class valedictorian.”

  Amber rolled her eyes. “Extracurricular is way different than a relationship. I just have to stay in super hyper focus mode for one last summer, and then I will have everything I worked so hard for. Once I’m there I can open my eyes to beyond that. I know you think I don’t think about these things, but I do. I want a family one day, a husband, maybe some kids, but I have time. If mister right just landed on my doorstep it’s not like I would send him away, but there hasn’t been anyone amazing enough to draw me away from what I’m focused on.”

  Taylor took a bite of her salad, nodding her head. “I know, I get it. I am super proud of you for being the person you are. You are so damn driven. If I had even a quarter of that fight I would be going to Yale with you, but instead me and Casey are going to do the local college circuit and get a place together. We don’t want to be apart and neither one of us has the motivation that you had. In fact, I’m starting to think you sucked the high school dry of it.”

  Amber laughed as she picked up her sandwich. “No, I just didn’t get caught up in the sparkly stuff, you know? I didn’t want to be a fool and think I could have it all. So I gave up certain things. I don’t regret it, at least not yet. I’m too busy picking out Yale hoodies and preparing for freshman English Lit in the fall.”

  Taylor reached across and touched Amber’s hand. “I’m going to miss you. We’re all going to miss you. Your brother will be lost and Logan will be sad, too. Everyone loves you.”

  Amber blushed. “I’ll miss you guys too… actually… never mind.”

  Taylor lifted an eyebrow. “Uh, no. What were you going to say?”

  Amber put down her sandwich and wiped her hands. “It’s just something weird that happened last night, but I don’t want to blow it out of proportion.”

  Taylor leaned forward excitedly. “Oh my God. Tell me, what is it?”

  Amber took in a deep breath. “So last night, or this morning, really, Logan came in at like three AM completely plastered. He rounded the corner and almost fell right over me. I took him into the kitchen, made him a sandwich, got him some water, and we talked. It was just normal conversation, nothing crazy. My brother had gone off with some girl for the night.”

  Taylor scoffed. “Of course.”

  Amber giggled. “Anyway, I went to put the sandwich stuff in the refrigerator and the next thing I know, I feel Logan’s hands around my waist. He was telling me about how sexy I was, how he dreams about me and so on.”

  Taylor’s mouth dropped wide open. “Oh my God! What did you do? Did you kiss him? Tell me you kissed him.”

  Amber wrinkled her nose. “No! He could barely even stand up straight. Honestly, I think it was the alcohol talking. He was confused, I was in my pajamas, and he didn’t know what he was saying. I gracefully pushed him back and told him he was drunk and that we would laugh about it later.”

  Taylor put on knowing face. “Girl, you are crazy. I have seen the way that Logan looks at you. It started like his junior year in college. You went through a crazy growth spurt, your tits got huge and you became this curvy goddess. Every time you walk by him he sneaks a glance. I think it was the alcohol too, but only the fact tha
t it lowered his inhibitions enough to tell you the truth. The dude totally wants you in the worst way.”

  Amber rested her face on her hand again. “You think? No. No that is not true. He thinks of me as a little sister.”

  Taylor shook her head. “No, he doesn’t. He thinks of you as a beautiful woman that he shared a house with during those tough years in his life. He thinks of you as family but the friend kind of family, not the platonic kind of family. I totally think you should hit that before you leave.”

  Amber giggled again, shaking her head. “Hit that? You lose your virginity and all of a sudden you are talking like Lil’ Kim? I am not going to hit that or anything else that goes along those lines of vocabulary. Besides, I don’t think you’re right. I think you are creating it in your head because you want me to find a man.”

  Taylor shrugged. “I want you to be happy, whatever that means. And I didn’t make it up, I just didn’t say anything until now because I didn’t want you to feel weird around him in your own house.”

  “I wouldn’t, and I don’t, because I don’t think it’s true,” Amber said resolutely.

  Taylor put down her fork, a dreamy look coming into her eyes. “It was like a dream come true for you though, wasn’t it? Don’t think I have forgotten the crush that you’ve had on that boy since he came to stay at your house.”

  Amber could feel the heat in her chest all over again. “I know. It was a school girl crush, that’s all.”

  “It was fun, though. Remember how we used to sit up and giggle about him all night and then try to catch glimpses of him from the pool? He was always so cool with your brother, never showing a vulnerable side.” Taylor wiggled her eyebrows.

  Amber threw her napkin at Taylor. “Stop. Yes, I had a huge crush on him, up until, well…”

  Taylor pointed her finger at her. “I knew it! You still have a crush on him. Oh my God, you have to act on this. It’s not weird now, because you are both out of school, and you are leaving, so if it does get weird you can vanish. Of course, you would have to hide it from your brother.”

  Amber lifted her shoulders wearily. “He would castrate him on the kitchen counter. Jordan is more protective of me than my own father is. No one is good enough for me, not even his best friend in the whole world.”

  Amber realized what she was saying and shook her head back and forth. “Doesn’t matter anyway, because it’s not going to happen. He’s probably already brooding over what he said, if he remembers. He will avoid me for several days and then act like nothing ever happened. Trust me, he is not really interested in me, and I’m not going to suck myself off into some fantasy land where my feelings are going to get hurt.”

  Taylor pouted. “Fine, but if anything else happens, you have to tell me immediately. I must know everything that is going on this summer, because once you leave for Yale and make your smart friends, I will be a memory in the past.”

  “You are ridiculous, I will never just forget about you. And as far as Logan is concerned, I can promise you your phone will be staying silent.”

  Taylor changed the subject to a wedding she had to go to in a week, but Amber’s mind lingered on Logan. She couldn’t help but wonder if there was any bit of truth in what Taylor said. She couldn’t deny that ever since that morning she couldn’t get his hands on her body off her mind. He was starting to infiltrate every thought she had, and that was exactly what she didn’t want to happen.

  3

  Logan

  Logan sat in his room with the television on, every now and then glancing at the hall to see if Amber had come home yet from shopping with her mom. She had been on his mind ever since the morning before, and he couldn’t just act like nothing at all had happened. The truth was, part of him didn’t regret saying what he said at all; it had been a truth that had been boiling in his belly for a long time. The manner in which he said it, he had to admit, was probably not the best. On top of that, he didn’t want things to be weird between them; they were the only family he really had.

  The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs caught his attention and he shifted on the bed, trying to look nonchalant. He watched from the corner of his eye as Amber passed by his room, toting several shopping bags. She was dressed in a long flowing sundress and her brown hair wisped around her as she walked. A tingle of nerves and heat blew through his belly, but he pushed it back, knowing he had to try to smooth things over.

  He sat up in his bed and muted the television, giving Amber a few moments to situate her things. Slowly, he made his way out of the bedroom and down the hall to her open door. He leaned against the doorframe and put one hand in his pocket, watching as she pulled the clothes out of the shopping bags and held them up to herself in her long mirror. He smiled as her eyes shifted up in the reflection, seeing him standing behind her. Her cheeks grew red and she folded the dress over in her hands, turning around.

  “That’s nice, is that for school in the fall?” Logan asked.

  Amber shrugged, walking to the bed and laying it down. “Not sure. Mom just was on one of her shopping kicks, so I went along with it.”

  “It’s pretty. You’ll look nice in it,” Logan replied.

  Amber didn’t say anything, just grinned and looked down. Logan took a deep breath and walked a few steps into the room. “Look, I want to apologize for what I said the other morning. I was drunk… well, that’s not an excuse. I don’t want things to be awkward between the two of us.”

  Amber put up her hands and smiled. “No need to apologize. We all have our moments. We’re good.”

  Logan looked at her suspiciously. “Come on, let me take you to dinner. It’s an ‘I’m sorry’ and a ‘happy graduation’ dinner all in one.”

  Amber paused for a moment and then nodded her head. “I’d like that. Let me just freshen up and I’ll meet you downstairs, okay?”

  Logan nodded and walked to the door, tapping the doorframe as he left. A smile spread across his lips as he hit the hallway, knowing that he was lying, he did feel that way about her. Still, he had to keep his cool. She was important to him, and he couldn’t let the confessions of a drunk man ruin that for him.

  He headed downstairs and waited in the entrance way, looking around at all the pictures of them as a family on the walls. The sound of Amber’s footsteps grabbed his attention, and he looked up to see her coming down the stairs in the dress she had been holding in front of herself at the mirror. The front was loose and flowing, cascading down to the floor. As she turned on the staircase he could see that her back was completely exposed. The mauve color and the sheer light fabric complemented her light skin and dark features perfectly. He had to push away the sparks shooting through his chest.

  He put out his arm and she took it. “Shall we?”

  He led her out to his Jeep, parked out front, and closed the passenger door for her. He jumped into the driver’s seat, and they headed out like they had so many times before. This time, though, was different. It was quiet, but not in an awkward way. He cruised through LA to the beaches just outside of the city. There was a restaurant there that he knew she loved.

  “You know everything I like, don’t you?” she laughed.

  Logan shrugged. “I pay attention from time to time.”

  The two went inside and sat down at a table. Logan ordered a soda and Amber lifted an eyebrow. “No alcohol this evening?”

  Logan chuckled. “Figured I had enough alcohol the other night for a little while. I don’t want to mess up dinner with my drunken rambling.”

  Amber laughed. Immediately the conversation turned to school, his ideas for business, and everything in between. They talked as if nothing had happened, and it was one of the best conversations Logan could remember ever having with her. He couldn’t help but be caught off guard by how lively and beautiful she was, sitting in the restaurant, excitedly talking about her future. Her laugh was absolutely intoxicating to him.

  Before he knew it, the time had flown by and they were nearly the last people inside
the restaurant. “We should probably get out of these people’s hair.”

  Amber pouted. “I was having so much fun.”

  Logan put his card in the bill holder and handed it to the waitress. “Then let’s not let it end. I know a secret spot on the beach where we can go and sit. There should be a blanket in the back of my Jeep to sit on.”

  Amber smiled at the waitress as she returned. “That sounds perfect. I haven’t spent enough time at the beach lately, anyway.”

  Logan signed the receipt and closed the bill holder, pushing back his chair. “Good. Let’s go, then.”

  They walked out of the restaurant and grabbed the blanket from the back of the Jeep. The restaurant was on the beach already, and it was only about a ten-minute walk to the secluded area he had found years before. Logan held Amber’s hand lightly as she took off her sandals and stepped out into the cool sand. He let go of her even though he didn’t want to, and they quietly strode down the beach.

  “Aren’t you going to miss all of this at Yale?” Logan asked.

  Amber nodded. “Of course I am. I’m going to miss the weather, the beach, my family, but I’ve worked so hard to go there. There really is nothing other than moving jitters to hold me here. It’s not like I won’t be back. Hopefully when college is over I can find a job out here, and can be close to family and friends. How about you?”

  “I don’t see myself going anywhere soon. I mean, there’s an internship on the East Coast, but I don’t think I am going to get it. I got my stuff in late for it.”

  Amber swiped her hand across his arm. “You don’t know that. Be positive.”

  Logan chuckled. “You’re always so happy, except during test time. We all stay away during those times. We don’t want to get caught in the cross fire.”