Bestie's Forbidden Brother

Bestie's Forbidden Brother Brooklyn Cox Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Brooklyn Cox All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Contents Prologue 1. Chapter One 2. Chapter Two 3. Chapter Three 4. Chapter Four 5. Chapter Five 6. Chapter Six 7. Chapter Seven 8. Chapter Eight 9. Chapter Nine 10. Chapter Ten 11. Chapter Eleven 12. Chapter Twelve 13. Chapter Thirteen 14. Chapter Fourteen 15. Chapter Fifteen 16. Chapter Sixteen 17. Chapter Seventeen 18. Chapter Eighteen 19. Chapter Nineteen 20. Chapter Twenty 21. Chapter Twenty-One 22. Chapter Twenty-Two 23. Chapter Twenty-Three 24. Epilogue Prologue Partying with the richest people in Nantucket means that the parties are always overpopulated, loud, and get out of hand so quickly that you can’t even bother with a buddy system because your buddy will get swallowed up faster than the shots the birthday girl pours for you. The Bergions, specifically my best friend Sophie, are experts at parties like this. And this weekend, her twenty-fifth birthday, is no different. By ten o’clock, the music is so loud that I can barely hear myself think, and there are so many bodies inside the house and on the main deck that I’m lucky I don’t get stepped on every time I try to get something new to drink from inside—which is frequently to maintain any semblance of calm. The airport that Marcus is picking Sawyer up from is a little over an hour away, and we got word right at nine that he was on his way, which meant that any moment, the most attractive man I had ever seen—and the most off-limits man to ever exist—would be walking through the door. I wanted to be really drunk when that happened to rationalize the fact that it had been me to even reach out to him. Sawyer Bergion, Sophie’s older brother, had been around us for our entire lives. Three years older and untouchable—according to a rule that Sophie put in place when we’d all first met him—Sawyer was the kind of attractive that almost hurt to look at. Even at fifteen when we’d first met, going through that awkward brooding phase first and then bulking up into a lean soccer player, he’d been at the center of most of my crushes. I compared every high school boyfriend, and later most college hook ups, to him. Whether it was the forbidden romance thing or the fact that he had the dark-hair, light eyes, and a six-four stature, I had no idea. But I was head-over-heels for Sawyer for years. When he moved away four years ago to help with the family business to franchise their hotels overseas, it had been like a weight off my shoulders. A terrible thing to say, I know, since Sophie was my best friend and she missed him, but I felt like I could finally breathe. I also had room to get over him. With distance, I was able to see that it probably was just the forbidden romance thing. And with him so far away, and most definitely not thinking about me, I was able to stop thinking about him. I even got into a serious relationship. But now, I was out of that serious relationship, and the object of nearly a decade of infatuation was going to be in very close proximity for the first time in years. I need to be drunk to handle whatever reaction my body will have to him. Ryan comes barreling into the kitchen a few minutes later and says, “Act normal. Marcus just got here with the package. He’s going to come in the back gate.” I nod. “Are you gonna be okay?” Ryan says. Judging from her eyes, she’s as half in the barrel as I am, and she’s thinking the same thing as me. She knew how I felt about Sawyer, and even shared some of my feelings for a time, but she’d since moved on and found the love of her life in Marcus, who she’d recently gotten engaged to. So, there was just me left to deal with the ramifications of whatever Paris might’ve done to the older, male Bergion. I pour myself a shot of tequila and take it without thinking. “I’ll let you know in five minutes,” I say and then take her hand before we make our way back out onto the deck to oversee the reunion. I see him arrive first, cutting through the crowd like a towering embodiment of sex appeal and power. Even from ten feet off the ground and twenty feet away, I can see very broad shoulders leading to an even broader chest, topped with a chiseled jaw stubbled with five o’clock shadow, an arrow-straight nose, those piercing Bergion-blue eyes, and raven black hair, curled and cropped close to his head. How did he get even more attractive? I think. I swear, the gulp that I take is audible. I shoot a panicked glance at Ryan, but she’s already looking at me. “Stay strong,” she whispers. “The tequila is stronger,” I whisper back, my voice a little breathy. A second later, I hear a loud squeal, then see a dart of the same curling, black hair that tops his head as Sophie cuts through the crowd towards her brother and throws herself at him—which he catches easily, I note. “What are you doing here?” I hear her scream. “I heard there was a birthday or something,” Sawyer says. His voice, I think. It’s at that moment that I decide drinking to do this was a bad idea. I should’ve been sober. Stone cold sober. Sawyer and Sophie finish their greetings, and she starts dragging him through the crowd, introducing him as she goes, until they’ve made their way up onto the deck to where Ryan and I are standing. “Guys, look who’s here!” Sophie yells excitedly. Sawyer shoots us a lazy