Never Marry Your Brother's Best Friend (Never Say Never, #1)

Zack glances toward the restroom and with a tight jaw asks, “Did he?”


“Ah-ah-ah, not doing that,” I warn. “You can’t go around punching guys I see, even if I have sex with them.”

He shrugs. “It’s kinda my job.”

That stops my argument along with my breath. I know what he’s talking about. For all our age difference, the biggest difference was that Zack took on a lot of responsibility when our parents divorced. In some ways, I think he accepted that he was now ‘man of the house’ and cared for Mom and me. Little things like changing light bulbs, and big things . . . like validating who we dated. I never required much of that ‘parenting’ because of art and my preference to be by myself. But Zack ran off a couple of Mom’s boyfriends he didn’t feel passed muster.

In that framework, his overreaction makes sense as years of pent-up worry for me mixed with concern that it’s his best friend, with a splash of guilt over his helping to set up the whole fake marriage thing in the first place.

I press a sweet kiss to his cheek. “Thanks, Zack Attack, though I don’t know if I should call you that now. It might encourage you to pull stunts like that again.” I shoot him a dirty look of disapproval, which he answers with a smirk.

Carter clears his throat, and I jump. His nose is red-tipped and bulbous. “You look like Rudolph,” I tell him with a giggle. “You’ll go down in his-tor-ryyyy!” I sing, having sung the song in my mind already.

“Glad you think this is funny.” His challenging, stone-cold stare is locked on Zack as he places a firm, claiming kiss to my forehead.

Forehead kisses really are the best, I decide, and my feet do a tippy-tap dance of happiness under the table.

Carter sits down, taking my hand and holding it on the table. It’s a power move and I know it. Hell, we all know it. But his thumb is doing a sweeping motion across my skin that reminds me of a certain other thing he’s done before, and I start to get a little hot.

Zack sighs heavily. “She says you didn’t take advantage of her. Not sure I believe that. I’ve seen how you are in and out of business.”

He’s talking about me like I’m not sitting right here.

“And, no offense.” Zack looks at me. “But you’re young, and though you don’t want to hear it, na?ve. Two things this guy is not. Not that there is a big difference, but there are a lot of life lessons in those years.”

He’s warning me off, and I’ve always listened to my brother before. But this time, I’m conflicted. “Do you remember your twenty-seventh birthday?” I ask my brother.

Though he looks confused, he answers in the affirmative.

“I was hiding in a corner, nursing a glass of champagne I wasn’t supposed to have and trying to be invisible, as per usual. I was watching people talk and laugh, and I was happy to see you so happy with your friends. I think you know, I’ve never really liked Carter.” I squeeze his hand, telling him to wait because there’s a point here. “It’s because of that night.”

I disappear into the memory as I tell the story, it feeling like reality to me.

“You were dancing, and Carter was talking to a guy. I was listening. I didn’t intend to, but they were close by and I couldn’t help it, especially when I heard your name. Carter was telling this guy how you thought you were a whiz but didn’t have the skills to back it up. This was well after you’d gone into business with him, but he was laughing at you. It pissed me off so badly. I wanted to defend you, tell Carter and the other guy they could stick their arrogance right up their asses. But I . . .”

Zack frowns. “You wouldn’t do that.”

I shake my head. “I couldn’t. I just walked away.” I blink hard, remembering how disappointed I’d been in myself. I’d told Zack that I was leaving, and he’d asked me to stay a little longer, but I’d left anyway. “And you got deeper and deeper into business with Carter, always talking about how you couldn’t do it without him and saying how much you looked up to him.”

“This is why you’ve always hated him?” Zack asks, and I nod. “Was the guy he was talking to a redheaded guy with a beard?”

“Simmons?” Carter asks hotly. “That asshole?”

Zack grins. “Luna, Carter had my back with that guy. Simmons was, and still is, an opportunistic weasel in a thrift store suit. He was always trying to horn in on my leads, undercut me. Carter was trying to run him off my coattails by telling him I was a crap developer. He wasn’t betraying me.”

And that’s it . . . betrayal. All these years, I’ve thought Carter betrayed my brother. Even through this whole fake marriage thing, even when he’s been giving me pleasure I’ve never known, I didn’t trust him because I knew what he was capable of. It wasn’t actively in my mind, but a feeling I’ve had of him since. If he could betray my brother, the most loyal person I know, Carter could betray anyone. So despite Zack thinking I’m na?ve, I’ve maybe been harsher on Carter than I should’ve been.

Because if he didn’t betray Zack and was, in fact, helping him . . . what does that mean?

I’ve felt the changes in Carter. I’ve seen a completely different side of him as he works and deals with his family. I’ve experienced how generous he can be. None of which made sense with my preconceived notions about him. I guess, in a way, I was letting those notions go as I’ve gotten to know Carter better already, but knowing he didn’t betray Zack makes me a little more comfortable in continuing down this path with Carter. If he’s not and never was a two-faced liar, then he really is trying to do something good for Blue Lake and for Elena.

I’m quiet for a long moment, and Carter gives me the time to process all that. When I look at him with an apology in my eyes, he places a sweet, soft peck to my lips. Apology accepted, his kiss says.

“Now that we’ve handled all that,” Carter starts, and when he pauses, Zack dips his chin once, apparently over the bro-code drama already. “Will you be my best man?”

Stupidly, I think he’s asking me at first, and I look up from our connected hands and say, “Huh?” But he’s looking at Zack with the hope of their history in his eyes.

Carter and I haven’t talked about his whole ‘real proposal’ and my sex-induced answer, but that doesn’t seem to be an issue for him. He’s going full-steam ahead like this is actually happening.

Is it happening?

I mean, I know it’s for the Cartwright deal and to save face with his dad, but that doesn’t mean it’s fake. Not like it has been. Does Carter really mean for us to sign a marriage certificate, stand up with a best man and maid of honor, and say vows? Move in together like he suggested last night and keep having sex? Like . . . married-married?