The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister

Copyright © 2022 by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the authors’ imaginations. Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. THE RULES OF DATING MY BEST FRIEND’S SISTER Cover Designer: Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative Editing: Jessica Royer Ocken Formatting and Proofreading: Elaine York, Allusion Publishing Proofreading: Julia Griffis Cover Photographer: Ashraf El Bahrawi, @byashrafb Cover Model: Giorgos Mavrogiannis, @gio_mavrogiannis TABLE OF CONTENTS Other Books by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward About The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Epilogue Three Holiday Stories Acknowledgements Other Books by Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland Connect with the Authors Before You Go Park Avenue Player - Chapter 1 Park Avenue Player - Chapter 2 About the Authors OTHER BOOKS BY VI KEELAND & PENELOPE WARD The Rules of Dating Well Played Not Pretending Anymore Happily Letter After My Favorite Souvenir Dirty Letters Hate Notes Rebel Heir Rebel Heart Cocky Bastard Stuck-Up Suit Playboy Pilot Mister Moneybags British Bedmate Park Avenue Player OTHER BOOKS FROM VI KEELAND The Game The Boss Project The Summer Proposal The Spark The Invitation The Rivals Inappropriate All Grown Up We Shouldn’t The Naked Truth Sex, Not Love Beautiful Mistake Egomaniac Bossman The Baller Left Behind Beat Throb Worth the Fight Worth the Chance Worth Forgiving Belong to You Made for You First Thing I See OTHER BOOKS FROM PENELOPE WARD Toe the Line Moody The Assignment The Aristocrat The Crush The Anti-Boyfriend Just One Year The Day He Came Back When August Ends Love Online Gentleman Nine Drunk Dial Mack Daddy Stepbrother Dearest Neighbor Dearest RoomHate Sins of Sevin Jake Undone (Jake #1) My Skylar (Jake #2) Jake Understood (Jake #3) Gemini ABOUT THE RULES OF DATING MY BEST FRIEND’S SISTER Rule number one for dating your best friend’s sister: Don’t. Just don’t do it. Especially when your best friend is dead and the last thing he made you promise him was that you’d keep an eye on his little sister, but not too good of an eye. As a musician whose longest committed relationship was six weeks, I, Holden Catalano, was the last guy on Earth who should’ve been messing around with Laney Ellison. The super smart girl whom I affectionately dubbed Lala since childhood was always off limits. Though that didn’t stop me from thinking about her over the years, especially those times when the two of us would sneak out onto the roof and talk for hours after my buddy fell asleep. It was innocent, but I’d always held a torch for her. After Ryan passed away, I vowed to always protect Lala. That included protecting her—from me. Now all grown up and a scientist, Lala needed a place to stay when she accepted a temporary research position in New York. I thought I did the right thing by offering her an apartment in the building I co-owned with my three friends. Except having her close by reignited all of those old feelings. And things started to get complicated. Especially since she was engaged. And especially since, lately, I’d noticed something more in her eyes. Desire. Lala didn’t exactly look at me like the platonic brother figure I was trying so desperately to be, even though I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted anything. Yet, I was being good—on my very best behavior. But you know what they say…all good things must come to an end, right? CHAPTER 1 Holden What the heck is this? I picked up the envelope my parents had mailed me and looked again at the smaller envelope I’d found inside. The bigger one had definitely been addressed by my mother. But the handwriting on the other one looked a hell of a lot like mine, only messier. I hadn’t mailed myself anything, though, and definitely not to my parents’ house in Philly. And why would someone send me mail at my parents’ place and then also put my name as the return address? Then it hit me. Holy shit! No freaking way! I had addressed the envelope, a long-ass time ago! Back in tenth grade, my creative writing teacher, Mr. Wolf, had made all of his students write a letter to our thirty-year-old selves about what was important to us at the time. We’d handed them in, sealed and stamped, and he’d promised to mail them all the year we turned thirty. Of course, I’d lived at my parents’ house then, so that’s where I’d addressed my envelope. Holy shit. I had zero recollection of what the hell I’d written, but I was definitely curious to find out. Fifteen-year-old me hadn’t been so well behaved. So I tore the letter open and unfolded a ratty piece of loose leaf. Dude, In case you’ve forgotten—because by the time you receive this letter, you’re going to be ancient—Mr. Wolf made us write letters to ourselves. We’re supposed to write about what’s important to us, because he thinks our priorities will be different when we’re thirty. This might be the one homework assignment I actually liked this year, mostly because it’s about me, and I’m damn awesome. So here goes… What is important to