Page 14 of My Brother’s Best Friend

My stomach sank.

I knew it was stupid. Cam had never given any indication of being into guys before. Why would he have suddenly changed his mind at age thirty-one? I had no idea why he needed my brother’s help finding a woman, because anyone with eyes had to be drooling over him, but the point was, he wasn’t looking for men.

So why the hell did that make me so sad?

“Actually, no.” Cam gave Levi an apologetic smile, and for a second my heart leapt—until my brother spoke again.

“Really? You’re telling me you’ve already found someone to take to the dance? Cammy-boy, I’m impressed. You work fast.”

My stomach, which had been hovering somewhere around my feet like an anxious Roomba, plummeted approximately thirty stories at that. At least if Cam was single, I could continue to delude myself that he might, someday, get a little curious about what he was missing over on my side of the aisle. But if he was dating someone, that seemed considerably less likely.

“Not that, either.” Cam held up the hat. “I just came to return this. You left it at my place, probably because you were too busy harassing me to remember to take your stuff home.”

“One man’s harassment is another man’s tender, loving care,” Levi said with a grin. He took the cap and put it on his head.

“That sounds like the kind of thing someone says right before getting hauled off to prison for stalking,” I told him. If I sounded a little bitter, so be it.

“Hauled off to prison for not wanting my best friend to die alone?” Levi said airily. “If that’s a crime, I suppose I’m guilty, but I shall not repent.”

“Someone’s feeling dramatic today.”

“And someone else is feeling judgey,” he retorted, before turning back to Cam. “Regardless of why you came here, I do want to run a few names by you, but I need to pick up an order before the next ferry leaves. Stick around, though, okay? I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

He was halfway across the coffee shop when Cam called out, “Levi, no, wait!”

He sounded almost distraught, and Levi looked confused when he turned around.

“What’s wrong?”

Cam took a deep breath, and I found myself holding mine, bracing for more bad news.

“You don’t have to do that. The names thing, I mean.”

Levi frowned. “I thought you said you hadn’t asked anyone.”

“I haven’t,” Cam said. “But there’s someone I’m going to ask. I have a plan.”

4

CAM

“Wait, really?” Levi said. “Who is she?”

He stared at me in shock. I couldn’t blame him. It was a one-eighty from what I’d said last night.

It was also a complete lie.

But it was the only thing I could think of to get him off my back for a moment, to let me breathe. And I really, really needed to catch my breath, because…

Because…Jordan.

I hadn’t seen Jordan in years, and whoa.

He’d been eighteen the last time I saw him, so technically not a kid, but the version of him I remembered was. Messy dark hair, braces, full-throttle kinetic energy.

This Jordy was…not that.

His dark hair was still a mess, but it was an artful one, just brushing angular brows that slanted above lively brown eyes. His long, straight nose, sharp cheekbones, and pointed chin gave him an almost elfin appearance.