Jamie threw back his head and laughed. “Is this your way of outsmarting your future as the crazy cat lady…by becoming the cat?”
Despite her allergies, Brynn couldn’t help being sucked in to the worry factory sometimes. What if she didn’t meet someone by thirty? Would she be required to get a cat at that point? Is it something you sign when you turn thirty, the if-I-don’t-marry-at-least-I-have-my-cats contract?
He kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear, “Ya look sexy no matter what, Sleepy Jean.”
Brynn sighed. At least she had a real nickname even if she didn’t have a guy.
“That’s what I told her!” Holly materialized behind Jamie. “She doesn’t think she’s sexy with her specs, but they’re hot when she wears them, right, James?”
Holly had always called him James to annoy him, and now she took great pleasure in pointing out how Liz called him that every day. Brynn wouldn’t admit it, but she enjoyed Holly’s teasing, too. Tormenting Jamie about his girlfriends was nothing new. There was always something to mock, though never with malicious intent. Only to push Jamie’s buttons and maybe, in the back of Brynn’s mind, to alleviate that tiny stab of jealousy, something else she’d never admit, not after the debacle that was Jamie and her ten years ago.
Sometimes fault was hard to find, and they had to admit, Elizabeth—or Liz—was a pretty tough nut to crack. She was pretty, always had great shoes, and she was an ER doctor. Hard to find anything wrong with that, so they had to look for little things, and for them it was the formality of his name. James. Even though more and more in his adult life he’d been leaving Jamie behind, introducing himself as James to new people he met, Brynn and Holly couldn’t get over Liz calling him that.
Jamie rolled his eyes. “It’s my name, you two.” His look may have spelled irritation, but his smooth baritone hinted at a smile, one that told Brynn he knew the teasing came from a place of affection. He pulled out his phone. “That reminds me. I need to call Liz before her shift starts or we might not get a chance to connect tonight. She’s working straight through till morning.”
He strolled into their small kitchen to make his call, and Holly nudged her sister on the shoulder.
“You really missed the boat with that one,” Holly said.
Brynn leaned back against the sink. “What do you mean?” As if she didn’t already know.
“Look at him, Brynn. Jamie’s always been cute, but damn. The boy grew up nice. Haven’t you ever thought about…you know? Or can I call dibs if Liz ever leaves the picture?”
Brynn pushed past Holly and into the living room. She needed to move, to shake off the horror at the thought of Holly and Jamie. It wasn’t like she wanted him for herself. Not anymore, at least.
Dammit, Jamie. You are not sidetracking me from the plan.
Brynn missed her chance with Spencer in high school, and for a blip on the radar, she thought getting mono was actually some sort of gift because it made her see Jamie differently—made her feel differently about him. And kissing him? Well, she thought that would have changed everything. But two words from him—I can’t—had broken her heart…and had nearly broken their friendship for good. Tonight the plan would go down the way it was supposed to years ago, the way that would have ended happily instead of putting her friendship with Jamie in an uncomfortable limbo for four years.
The way she saw things now, the only reason their friendship survived was because of the distance and perspective of being at different universities and because they’d never crossed that line again. They’d barely spoken their freshmen year apart, and though she’d never tell him, it was the hardest year of her life. In the long run she’d gotten what mattered most—Jamie in her life, always.
“Relax,” Holly said, which told Brynn her sister saw right through her. “I’m not going to date Jamie. He’s like my brother. Ew. I just don’t get you guys. The only difference between you two and a real couple is the whole sex thing.” Holly’s brows drew together. “You’re not sleeping with him, are you? Because then I’d have to break it to you both—you are dating.”
She narrowed her eyes at her sister. The night of that high school kiss, Holly had slept at a friend’s house to avoid Brynn’s plague. She knew nothing about what had happened between Brynn and Jamie. No one did. So why the third degree now? True, Jamie was a good-looking guy. And that smile and laid-back air, like nothing ever fazed him, made him easy to be around. It’s why Jamie was friends with everyone—the guy who avoided a label in high school and just kind of fit in everywhere. Holly suspecting anything now was just Holly being Holly, which meant button-pressing little sister.