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thirty-four

Ethan

I am seeing red.

I can’t fucking believe that my best friend would do this to me. I’ve asked him, time and time again, to stay away from her. But what did he do?

Did he listen? No, he didn’t. What happened to bro code? The infamous unspoken plan of staying away from your best friend’s little sister? Does he not see how badly this could end?

Clearly, he’s not thinking straight.

And Skylar! I warned her to stay away from him, just the same.

He will hurt her. He’s not the guy that she’s supposed to end up with?

And that’s exactly what will happen. I’ll be there to support her and help her heal her heart when it’s over, just like I did when her college boyfriend broke her heart.

I’m the big brother. I’m supposed to have her best interests in mind, and as much as I love my best friend, Chase Thorne is not the man for her.

But how can I get her to see that? She’s effectively shut me out for the past few days.

And like hell, I’m going to have a heart-to-heart talk with Chase. He didn’t listen before, and he sure as shit isn’t going to listen now.

Which just boggles my mind. He grew up with her, with my family, and he is like a brother to me. He should consider her a sister. How does he not see that?

I cannot fucking believe that they’ve been sneaking around, for God knows how long.

When did it start? How did it start?

All these questions are at the forefront of my mind as I pace my living room.

My sister is a grown adult. True. She is, but she’s still my little sister, and my job as her brother is to protect her at any cost.

Also true.

Chase is my best friend, my brother from another mother, and also my client, my first client.

Chase is the one who took a huge chance on me at the start of his pro career, and not only were we lifelong friends, but he also trusted me with his business, his career.

I’ve seen him walk in and out of women’s lives ever since the first spark of interest in girls when we were in middle school.

He’s a heartbreaker. There are plenty of women in his wake. And my sister will not be one of them.

She cannot be one of them.