Page 13 of Christmas with Brother's Best Friends

I share an amused look with Max.

Ryan does love his sweets when he’s not burning the calories off at the gym.

Mrs. Harper turns to me and gestures for me to hug her. “I haven’t seen you and Ryan for far too long, Joshua.”

I hear Max and Ryan snicker at the sound of my full first name being said, making me roll my eyes at them over Mrs. Harper’s shoulder. “I know. I’m sorry. We’ve been really busy lately.”

“Oh, that’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. I’m just happy to see you.” She rubs my back and offers me a warm smile.

Her words are like a dagger to the heart, even if they’re incredibly kind. She’s kinder to me than my own parents, which stings.

I’ve always felt guilty for feeling jealous of my friends and their families. I always wondered if I did anything wrong, and now that I’m older, I still don’t have an answer. Maybe there isn’t one meant to be found.

“You just missed Emma, Mom. She’s been working with us for this project,” Max tells her.

Mrs. Harper gasps. “Emma Blake? Really?”

I shove down my feelings and smile. “Yeah, she’s amazing at graphic design. We pulled her in to help with this update.”

“Is she staying in the city?” There’s a hopeful look on her face. We’re not the only ones who missed Emma when she left.

“We’re not sure yet. She’s thinking about what she wants to do next,” Max tells her.

“Well, tell her to come see me! I at least want to see her once before she takes off again.”

I think Emma traveling while freelancing is badass. Our platform allows people working regular jobs to be on the move if they want to be while working. But there is a part of me that doesn’t want her to leave again.

Ever since she’s been here, there’s a warm, inspirational energy in the office that’s intoxicating. We’ve been powerhouses lately, feeding off each other’s drive. It’ll be hard going back to normal once the project is done, and it’ll be tough going through my day to day without knowing when I’ll see her next.

“We’ll tell her,” Ryan promises her before biting into a Christmas tree cookie. He eats three fourths of it in one go. He might as well inhale the whole thing.

Mrs. Harper checks her watch. “I need to get going before the bank closes. Enjoy the cookies!”

“Bye, Mrs. Harper,” I tell her, waving goodbye as she hurries to the elevator. Once she’s gone, I snatch a cookie out of the tin before Ryan can hog them. “Sucks that Emma had to leave early. She’ll be jealous.”

“We can leave her some,” Max suggests as he picks up a snowman cookie and bites off its head.

Ryan grunts at the prospect of sharing, but he reluctantly puts the lid back on the cookie tin to save the rest for later. “I should get going anyway. Gotta work off these cookies.”

“I’m going to finish up some coding work at home,” Max says as they both split off to grab their things.

My mind trails back to Emma as I stare at the cookie tin, slowly chewing on the last bite of my cookie. It’s sweet but not as sweet as I imagine her taste being.

I grimace at my own thoughts. I can’t see her the same way that I used to when we were all younger. Things have changed, and we’re different people.

She’s the definition of tempting.

Playful. Beautiful. Ambitious. Sweet.

Perfection with a bow on top, and I still have to behave myself because I respect the hell out of her brothers. They just don’t understand how tempting she is, but I’m pretty sure that Max and Ryan do. I’ve seen the way that they watch her across the office or even across a desk.

She’s what we want but can’t have, and that makes working with her exhilarating and tortuous at the same time. We can’t win. Ifwe succumb to our desires, we risk losing her brothers as our friends. If we deny our desires, we lose the chance of being with her in the way that we crave.

And the first week has only just ended.

Chapter seven

Chapter Seven: Emma