Loving My Brother's Best Friend
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Meghann Crane
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2,2M
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41
Chapter 1
âYou need to stop looking around. Youâre not fooling anyone. Luca isnât going to magically appear just because youâre here.â
âDonât talk so loud. The store is right there, and for all we know, he could be just inside or around the corner.â
Connor was my best friend. Weâd met in the fifth grade, and the rest was history.
Connor had always known about my crush on Luca.
Sometimes he got annoyed at me and threatened to do something about it, but he was usually all talk, and heâd sit back and let me complain about Luca not paying attention to me.
How clichĂ© could I be? I was a senior in high school who had a crush on my brotherâs best friend. Iâd liked Luca since I was thirteen. I kept hoping he would notice me, but he never did.
As he started college and I got older, I thought it would change. Once I grew boobs, I thought it would changeâthat he would finally notice me.
Instead, I was sitting with my best friend outside the shop his parents owned in the mall, hoping to run into him.
Luca was my brotherâs best friend, so Iâd known him the majority of my life. Will and Luca had met in elementary school, and our mothers had become friends through their playdates.
Luca was three years older than me but only two grades ahead. I was also eighteen now, which in my opinion helped, but things had yet to change between us.
âYou should really move on from him, Henley. Youâre too pretty and smart to be waiting for someone who sort of treats you like a jerk.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âHe never really hangs out with you unless Will is involved, and sometimes he doesnât even acknowledge you. You deserve more.â
âI donât think he does it on purpose. He wants to hang out with his friends. Heâs like Will; they donât want me following them around.â
âAnyway, are you going to the party this weekend?â
âNo. While Will is cool, he isnât so cool that he lets his little sister into one of his parties.â
âJust show up.â
âAre you kidding me? People will tell Will and Luca Iâm there, and theyâll go all big brother on me and make me go home.â
âYouâre eighteen; they canât keep you at home, and youâre old enough to do things on your own, so put your big girl pants on and come out with me.â
âThatâs true, but Iâd rather not go to a party knowing Luca will be there with some girl.â
I got jealous every time I saw Luca with a girl.
Over the years, heâd had several girlfriends. Each time I saw him with one, I got angry, and I started feeling bad about myself, wondering why I wasnât good enough.
âHey, Henley.â
âWhat a coincidence,â Connor whispered before greeting Luca.
âHey, Luca. What are you doing?â
âGetting ready to clock in. Mom and Dad are a little short-staffed, and they need some help with inventory.â
âHenley wouldnât mind helping you. I have to get ready for a date with Todd, and Henley was complaining about being bored.â
âReally?! That would be great. Mom would love to have you around for a bit. I think she secretly wanted a daughter instead of a son.â
âShe loves you, and I can help.â
âSweet. Follow me. Mom is in the back.â
I flipped Connor off as soon as Luca turned his back.
This was going to be torture for me. Iâd have to spend the next few hours in close contact with him. I followed Luca to the back, where it said, Employees Only.
âHey, Mom. Henley agreed to help today. I figured we could use the extra set of hands.â
âOh, Henley, youâre such a blessing.â
âNo problem, Lily. Itâll give me something to do.â
âWell, weâre going to be doing a lot of cleaning and rearranging, so let me go get some old clothes in the back for you to change into. Iâd hate for you to get your good clothes dirty.â
Luca and I were waiting for Lily to get back. It was awkwardâor at least it felt awkward to me.
Usually, we had Will as a buffer. Ever since Iâd started high school, Luca hadnât hung out with me unless Will was around.
Now that Connor had pointed it out, it did seem like he went out of his way to avoid me sometimes.
âSoâŠ,â Luca started, âhow is everything going?â
âItâs going well. Iâm preparing for college.â
âWhere are you going to go?â
âI might go to Collinsville like you and Will.â
âI thought you wanted to be a veterinarian. Collinsville doesnât have animal science or a pre-vet major.â
âI do, but I also want to save money, and I can do that by staying local.â
âHere you go, sweetie,â Lily interrupted before he could respond.
âLuca, why donât you get started with the inventory in that corner, and Henley? You can go over to that corner there and change. No one will be back here except for us, so you should be fine.â
I nodded to her. I hadnât changed in front of Luca since we were little, and even though I was hidden in a corner, I was still embarrassed. But luckily, I had a matching set of underclothes.
I knew that sounded stupid, but it made me feel better.
I quickly changed and headed over to Luca to help him.
âWhat are we doing?â
âWeâre taking inventory of the stock that we donât use. We want to put it on the sales floor to get rid of it.
âOpen the boxes and mark whatâs in them and how much. Make a note if anythingâs damaged and canât be sold.â
âThat seems easy enough.â
The first box was full of tourist T-shirts.
Our town was small, but it was a tourist attraction. People from all over vacationed there. We had some of the best ATV trails in the country, and the lake attracted people all by itself.
âBack to your school plan. Youâre smart, Henley. Do what you want, but I think you should go for it and go to a school thatâll give you the background you need for vet school.â
âWhy? You and Will are going to Collinsville.â
âWe donât need a fancy degree to do what we want. Besides, and I know for a fact, you and Will have an educational trust fund.â
âWe do, but that doesnât mean I have to spend all of it.â
âI guess that makes sense,â he mumbled.
âAre you trying to get rid of me, Luca?â I said jokingly.
âOf course not. Youâre just smart, and I donât want you to waste it.â
He changed the subject: âAre you coming to the party tonight?â
âNo. Iâm sure Will doesnât want his little sister there. Heâll have a heart attack if he sees me talking to a guy. I donât want to get embarrassed by him.â
âIâll tell him that I invited you. Itâs your senior year. You have to live a little before going away to college.â
âOkay. Iâll come, but Iâm bringing Connor with me.â
âDeal.â
Why did Luca want me there? Wasnât he afraid of me drinking or being around other guys? Maybe it didnât bother him, and he just wanted me to make friends so I didnât cling to him.
