The WRONG Brother: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Love You Forever Book 1)

by Alexis Winter

  How to Marry Your Best Friend’s BFF SNEAK PEEK!

  Read the romantic, swoon-worthy story of how Preston and Riley fall in love and get their happily ever after in How to Marry Your Best Friend’s BFF

  Chapter 1

  Preston

  Pregnant. My best friend, the one who—up until a few months ago—was in love with me, is now pregnant and marrying my brother. How the fuck did we get here? I feel like my whole world is a snow globe and someone just grabbed it off it’s perfect little shelf and shook the ever loving shit out of it. My best friend who has always been by my side was picked up and thrown across the globe, landing in my brother’s arms. I know one thing for sure, this is a summer I’ll never forget.

  I think back to that Fourth of July weekend we spent at home—the one where I told Piper that I was in love with her.

  “I think I might be in love with you, Piper.”

  She giggles. “I don’t think so, Preston. I think you’re just confused about seeing me and Calvin together so much. Maybe even a little jealous?” She looks up at me from beneath her long, dark lashes and bites down on her bottom lip. It only makes me remember how soft they were against mine, how sweet.

  “Maybe, but here lately, I look at you and see how beautiful you are and how much you’ve grown up. Maybe it’s time for me to grow up too. If I could do that, then we could be together because then I wouldn’t ruin this.”

  My words must scare her because she stands up and takes a step back, like she doesn’t even know who I am anymore and she doesn’t want to be this close to a stranger. “No, Preston. We can never be together. You were right. We’re friends. We’ll always be friends, but we couldn’t ever be more. I love you. I do. You’re my best friend and I’d do anything in the world for you, but I’m not in love with you. In fact, I don’t think I was in love with you when I took you on that show. I just thought I was.”

  I stand up and move toward her. “Are you saying that if I kissed you right now, you’d push me away?”

  She licks her lips like she’s preparing for our kiss, but she nods her head. “Yes. Pres, we can’t go there. If you were thinking straight, you’d see that, just like you did before. Don’t let my friendship with Calvin confuse you into thinking you want something you don’t.”

  I take another step. “You’d push me away?” I can’t help the smirk that forms. “Let’s find out.” I take one more step forward, reach for her, and pull her against my chest, my lips finding hers. Fuck, her lips are just as soft as I remember them being. So damn sweet and teasing. Her body seems to mold to mine as her scent travels up my nose and intoxicates me. What the fuck was I thinking before? How could I not want this every day? She’s perfect for me. She’s always been perfect. She’s always had my back, even when I was in the wrong. That’s how much she believe’s in me. I was selfish for keeping her on the hook the way I did. I was just too afraid of screwing up and losing her for good.

  I move my lips against hers, but she doesn’t budge. She doesn’t kiss back. As a last resort to make her see, I slide my tongue into her mouth. It only brushes against her’s for a moment before she’s pushing me away. “See, there’s nothing between us. Did you feel tingles? See fireworks? Did that kiss make your heart race, your breathing pick up?”

  Yes.

  She shakes her head. “It didn’t mine. I think you should go, Preston.”

  I really made a mess of things that night. She was right about one thing. I was confused by her and Calvin’s closeness. But she was also wrong. I am in love with her. But I’m a dumb ass for not realizing it sooner. I love her enough to let her go and be happy. That’s what she deserves after all.

  I think I’ve been doing a good job at keeping my feelings hidden. I really am happy for the both of them. Calvin told me how he’s always had a thing for her. Looking back now, I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. And Piper deserves someone like Calvin who will love her whole heartedly, take care of her, and be there when she needs. There’s no way I’m going to screw up what the two of them have finally found.

  But that also leaves me feeling a little alone. Before, I had two people to fall back on when I was bored or lonely. Now, those two people are together and when I’m around, I feel like I’m butting into their personal moment. I think the only chance I have at getting over Piper will be to find someone for myself.

  Find someone who I could love and someone who could love me back. I mean, I’m twenty-five years old and I’ve never in my life been in a serious relationship before. At the time of the show, I couldn’t see myself with Piper or anyone for that matter. All I wanted to do was have fun. Go out drinking. Take trips and adventures. I didn’t want anyone holding me back from living my life the way I wanted. But now that Calvin and Piper are set to get married and they’re having a baby, it makes me see how stupid I’ve been. I wouldn’t be trading in one life for another. I would be creating more life, more to love, more moments to share with someone special.

  It’s settled. I will force myself to grow up, to find someone I want to spend my life with. Being single is great and fun, but being alone sucks. Now that I’ve decided that I want to be in a relationship, where do I go to find one? That’s something I’ve always avoided before. It’s not like I can just run on down to Target and be like, uh, yes I would like one girlfriend, please? I can’t get online and order one from Amazon either. How do people meet people?

  Ugh, I’m not even in a relationship yet and it’s already driving me crazy.

  Either way, I don’t have time to think about it because I’m crashing some kind of dinner that Calvin and Piper have planned. I wasn’t exactly invited, but I heard them talking about it and her friend Riley. I figured if she’s going to be acting the part of godmother, I needed to be involved too.

  I pull on my shoes and leave my apartment, climbing behind the wheel and making the drive over to her house. There’s a strange car in the drive when I pull up and can only assume it belongs to Riley. I smile to myself as I climb out and help myself into the house, and into the fridge where I grab two beers. I slip one into my pocket and open the other, taking a drink as I step out onto the patio. The three of them are already all on the patio, surrounding the grill.

  I look her up and down. “Who’s this?”

  Piper rolls her eyes at my bluntness. “Preston, this is Riley. Riley, Preston. He’s Calvin’s brother and my best friend since kindergarten.”

  Riley looks up to me and this funny thing happens. I forget to breathe. I’ve never seen anyone like her. She’s beautiful with her sun kissed skin and chocolatey eyes. When the wind blows, a tree branch moves and allows the sunlight to hit her perfectly. Those chocolate eyes also have a hint of caramel to them. Her long, sleek black hair blows in the wind behind her like she’s in a damn shampoo commercial. I feel myself inhale trying to get a scent of her shampoo. Did I just sniff the air like a damn dog?

  She holds out her hand to shake. “It’s nice to finally meet the man who broke my best friend’s heart on national television.”

  My mouth opens but I don’t know what the fuck to say to that shit. She’s straight up calling me out. I look from her, to Piper, and then Cal. “Ummmm, I…” Yep, nothing. Still can’t think of anything to say.

  She busts out laughing, showing me her perfectly, straight, white teeth. Yup, she’s perfect. “I’m just messing with ya. Relax.”

  I feel the anxiety leave me in a wave, but have to sit down. I didn’t realize that I’d been holding my breath and now I’m feeling a little light headed.

  Everyone takes a seat and Calvin reaches over to hold Piper’s hand. “Riley, we actually have something to tell you,” she starts.

  “Wow, I feel like this is very formal. And all without a drink in my hand.”

  I pull the beer out of my pocket and hand it over. It’s the least I can do.

  She laughs. “Thanks.” She pops it open and takes a sip, turning her attention back to Piper and my brother.

 
Piper swallows down her nervousness. “As you know, Calvin and I are getting married this winter.”

  Riley nods.

  “Well, the reason we’re having the wedding so soon is because I’m pregnant!”

  Riley’s eyes bug out and her mouth drops open, the corners turning up slightly. “What? Seriously?”

  Piper smiles and nods. “And since me and you are so close, I was wondering if you would consider being the baby’s godmother.”

  “Godmother? That’s a thing?” she asks, pulling her brows together as she picks at the label on the bottle.

  “I mean, it’s mostly just a promise to help guide the baby when he needs it. Be a parent to it if Calving and I ever die in a fiery crash or something,” Piper tells her.

  “Uh okay wow that went dark. Wait, who’s the godfather?” she asks.

  You rang?

  I smile wide and holds up my hand. “It’s going to be me and you, baby.” I wink at her, almost blowing her a kiss but I hold back.

  “That in no way, shape, or form means that you two get to have sex,” Piper says pointing a finger between the two of us, killing all the fun. She used to be fun, but when she got with my brother, that all went out the window.

  “I’m sorry what?” she asks.

  Piper waves off her question. “Preston is stupid and thought that him being the godfather was a free pass to try out the godmother.”

  “I’m still down to try too,” I offer, wagging my brows and nodding my head.

  “Riley, I’m sorry my brother is such a dumb ass,” Calvin says, glaring at me. He’s clearly afraid that I’m going to chase her off.

  Riley laughs. “Yes, I’ll do it.”

  “You will?” Piper asks.

  She nods. “Yes, how can I pass up being a member of this family?”

  Piper stands up and pulls her in for a hug. “Thank you so much. And don’t worry about Preston. We all just beat the shit out of him when he needs it. Now that you’re in the family, you have that right too.” Piper smiles over at me.

  “Hey!” I blurt out.

  Piper rolls her eyes but they pull apart and take their seats once again. “Now that that’s done,” She looks over at Riley. “I’ll get you your wine. Preston, I guess you’ll need another beer since you gave Riley your spare?”

  I shoot her a grin. “You know it.”

  She shakes her head but stands up to move into the kitchen.

  Calvin flips the steaks and goes inside, saying something about a water bottle.

  I look over and find Riley still picking at the label on her bottle. “So, you’re Riley?”

  She glances over at me and nods while forcing a smile. “And you’re the famous Preston I’ve heard so much about.”

  I smile. “I’m famous?”

  She shrugs one shoulder. “Mostly as the asshole who ran away from a beautiful woman on TV, so more like infamous. What is wrong with you?” she asks around a laugh.

  I let out a sigh and rub my hand over my face. “I don’t even know anymore,” I admit, and it’s true. Not a day passes that I don’t wish I could go back and relive that day, tell Piper that I love her too. Then maybe my little snow globe would be reset.

  She reaches over and places her hand on my arm. “Hey, we all make mistakes. It’s just not usually on national TV.” She offers up a breathtaking smile and I can’t help but to laugh with her.

  I shake my head. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

  She purses her lips together and seems to mull it over. “Maybe. Maybe not. I guess we’ll just have to see.”

  I know nothing about Riley, but already I can tell she’s as big of a flirt as I am. So naturally, I’m drawn to her like a moth to the flame.

  Calvin comes back out and sprays down the flames on the grill. I pay him no mind as I take in Riley. She’s completely oblivious to the fact that I’m staring at her and I like that about her. I can tell she’s the no-bullshit type of girl. She doesn’t think the world owes her something because of her looks. Fuck, I bet she doesn’t even know how beautiful she is. I love her style too. She’s wearing a short pair of cut-off jean shorts that are light in color like they’ve been acid washed. They show off her long, tanned legs perfectly. Her glossy black toenails pop against her Birkenstock sandals. Her shirt has The Stroke’s album cover on it, but the sleeves and the bottom of the shirt have been cut off, reveling her beautiful shoulders and tight abdomen. I can’t help but to lick my lips as I take her in. She’s effortlessly cool, like she gave no thought to the kick ass outfit she put together, yet she pulls it off seamlessly.

  “Preston, can I talk to you for a minute?” Calvin asks, nearly making me jump.

  “Uh, yeah. Sure.” I stand and walk with him into the kitchen just as Piper is walking back out with a glass of wine for Riley and a bottle of beer for me. She hands off the beer before slipping out the sliding glass door.

  I finish off my beer and toss the bottle into the trash can before opening the new one. “What’s up, man?”

  He turns to face me and his face is red. I wonder what he’s angry about. “I’m only going to say this once so pay attention. Okay?”

  I nod and take another drink.

  “Riley is off limits. Got that? No friendship between you two. No dates. No hook-up’s. No relationship of any kind. Okay?”

  “Of course,” I say putting my hands up like I have no idea what he’s talking about. “I don’t even know the girl. Damn, what crawled up your ass and died?” I lean against the island in the center of the kitchen.

  “I know you don’t know her, but I saw the way you were looking at her out there. There’s drool all over your shirt right now. And you’re Preston.”

  I look down at it but there isn’t. What’s he talking about? “No there’s not,” I argue.

  He hangs his head and lets out a long breath. “Just repeat after me, I will not have any contact with Riley.”

  I roll my eyes. “What’s the big deal?”

  “The big deal?” His eyes widen. “The big deal is that she’s my fiancé’s best friend. I know how you are. You’ll reel her in, take what you want, then leave her hurt and broken hearted. She’ll come crying to Piper, then Piper will be upset. And she doesn’t need that stress with the baby. So, I want you to repeat after me… I will not have any contact with Riley.”

  “I will not have any contact with Riley, yeah yeah. I get it. Happy now?”

  He smiles and nods his head. “Very. Now, let’s go back outside. We don’t want to be rude.” He grabs a tray of food and heads back out onto the patio. I stand back and watch him go, annoyed that he took away my best friend but is now telling me who I can and can’t date? Who does he think he is? Obviously anything that happens between us will stay between us and as long as I’m upfront about my intentions, what’s the problem?

  What are my intentions? I just told myself to stop with the random hook-up’s and try to find someone I want to spend the rest of my life with. Could that be Riley? Who knows but I won’t find out till I get a taste. I really should get to know her better before I decide. I grab my beer and go back out, taking my seat.

  “So, Riley, you work with Piper at the magazine?” I ask.

  Her dark eyes find mine and she smiles a little before nodding. “Yeah, that’s right. We met in college and became good friends right off the bat. It was completely by chance that we ended up at the same place, but I’m glad we did. It’s fun working with your best friend.”

  I look over at Calvin and it looks like he’s shooting daggers at me with his eyes, but I ignore him and turn my attention back to her. “You guys both write the same kind of pieces?”

  “It’s really just luck of the draw. No two pieces are the same and you just get what you get.” She shrugs. “What is it that you do, Preston?”

  “I’m one of the systems analyst for the Chicago Cubs. I can get you into any game you want.” I flash her a smile.

  “That’s impressive,” she replies. “I love
baseball so I might take you up on that.”

  “Any time.”

  “Riley, have I shown you the room we’re going to be using for the baby?” Piper jumps in to ask.

  “No, not yet.”

  “Come on. I’ll show you and you can help me decide on a color.” The two of them get up and walk into the house, leaving me alone with Calvin.

  “Do we need to repeat it again?” he asks.

  I scoff. “No, man. I was just trying to be friendly. I mean, if we’re going to be the godparents, figured we be thrown together a lot and I should play nice. That’s all. You act like I can’t even have a conversation with her without it suddenly turning into a porno.”

  “Mm-hmm,” he mumbles as he sets down the tongs and comes to sit at the table.

  The girls end up coming back outside but Piper keeps her and Riley’s conversation so full that I don’t even get a chance to talk again. After the first fifteen minutes, I give up and resort to occupying myself with my drink. Dinner is finally ready and after that much steak, I’m ready to crash.

  I push away from the table. “Well guys, thanks for dinner but I think I’m going to take off. Riley,” I turn to face her. “It was nice to meet you.”

  She looks up at me with her big, brown eyes and smiles. “You too, Preston, but guys,” she turns to face them. “I think I’m going to take off too. I have to work in the morning and I haven’t even had a chance to get anything done around the house.”

  Calvin and Piper end up walking us both to the door and there’s so much talking I don’t even understand it. When the door closes, I let out a long breath. “Man, they sure can talk, can’t they?”

  Riley laughs and nods as we head down the front steps. “They sure can, but they’re happy so it’s understandable.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” We make it to the driveway and she stops at her car door. It feels like she’s waiting for something else. “Hey, are you busy right now? Want to grab a coffee and hang out or something?”