The WRONG Brother (Love You Forever #1) - Alexis Winter Page 0,51
Why would you want to share it?”
Calvin looks me in the eye as he answers. “So I’ll have more free time.” I get what he’s saying, and it makes the butterflies in my stomach take flight. “I’m staying busy. Too busy.” He tears his gaze from me and looks at his brother. “I want someone to pick up the slack and maybe even take a little off my plate so I can have more time to do the things I enjoy. Spend more time with the people I love. In fact, with his buy-in, I’ll be able to afford a nice vacation this year. I’m thinking Hawaii.” He looks at me again, this time with a grin.
“Well, good for you,” Preston says. “Hawaii sounds awesome.” He nudges me. “Hey, maybe we should go with. Leave Calvin here to be an old man lounging on the beach. Then we could go off on our own adventures.”
I smile and nod. “Sounds good, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to take time off work for something like that.” I look up at Calvin. “When are you going?”
He shrugs as he leans back in his chair. “I don’t have anything set in stone. We have to finalize this deal first and get everything situated. I’m thinking August, though, if everything goes smoothly.”
“That would give you plenty of advance notice to put in for time off,” Preston says, nudging me.
I laugh. “Did you ever think that maybe Calvin doesn’t want us to go on his trip? That maybe there’s someone special he wants to take instead? Plus, I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford it—the cost of the airfare, a hotel, the amount I’d spend on eating and drinking alone . . . not to mention, I wouldn’t be getting paid that week since I’ve used up my vacation time already.”
Preston takes a beat then asks, “I’ve never known you to turn down an adventure. What’s happened to you lately?”
He’s clearly confused and has every right to be. If I didn’t have to hide this secret from him, I never would’ve second-guessed it. I would’ve accepted in a heartbeat.
“We all have to grow up at some point, Pres.” I take a sip of my wine, feeling a little mad at myself for letting him down, but I guess that’s something I’m going to have to get used to. I’ve always agreed to everything he’s suggested, hoping it would finally lead to us getting together. But that’s no longer the case. Now it’s Calvin I don’t want to let down. Will I always feel like I have to choose between them? Pick my best friend or the guy I’m falling madly in love with? If we move forward, will I have to choose between my friend and my husband?
“Well, whatever,” Preston says, standing. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.” He walks back into the house to leave out the front door.
I let out a long sigh when I hear the front door close and his car start up a few minutes later.
“What’s the matter?” Calvin asks.
I shrug and eat a grape. “I don’t know. Keeping us a secret is harder than I thought it would be.”
He sits up and reaches across the table for my hand. “We don’t have to hide if you don’t want to. All we have to do is tell him. I’m sure he’ll be happy for us.”
“I know . . . I just don’t want to tell him anything until we’re sure about us.”
“I’m sure. Aren’t you sure?”
“Well, I thought I was . . .”
His brows lift. “You thought you were?”
“It’s just that this conversation with Preston brought something to my attention.”
“And what’s that?”
“Will I always be stuck between my best friend and the guy I’m seeing? If we move on to get married, will I have to choose between my best friend and my husband—not only ruining our relationship with each other, but with your whole family as well since my best friend and the guy I’m with are brothers?”
I feel a sudden panic creeping up my throat and Calvin sits back and takes a deep breath, trying to wrap his head around my concerns and how to fix them like he always has. “Are you saying, hypothetically, that if you had to choose between your best friend and me, you’d choose your best friend?”
“No, I’m not saying that. It would depend on the situation. I mean, if Preston wanted to go to a baseball game