The Better Brother

“Made you have dinner with him,” I said simply.

Julie nodded and looked back down at her hands. She fiddled with her thumbs. Her cheeks were a faint shade of pink. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

“What are you thinking?”

I asked gently.

“It’s just crazy, you know?” She looked up at me. “This entire situation. It’s insane.”

“I know.” I laughed softly. “It’s absurd.”

“I moved here to escape my relationship with Joshua,” Julie said. “I’m not proud of that fact, but it’s the truth. After he ended things, I just had to get away.”

“I understand.” I nodded.

“And somehow, I end up with his brother,” Julie said with a shake of her head. “What are the chances of that happening?”

“One in a million,” I said.

“More like one in a trillion,” Julie said.

I laughed, though none of this was funny. Julie looked so upset, so torn. I didn’t know what I could possibly do to make this right.

“I don’t want this to change things between us,” I said firmly. “I understand if you don’t want to see me anymore. I really do. But I hope you will. I like you so much, Julie.”

“I like you too,” Julie said with a tiny smile.

“This thing between us is so new,” I said quickly. “I hate the idea of my brother derailing us before we even really get started.”

“Me too.” Julie nodded. “He’s taken a lot from me already.”

“Then, don’t let him take this too,” I said. I slid across the couch, and suddenly, we were inches away from each other. I grabbed her hands and held them tightly. “You and me. We’re great together.”

“We are,” Julie nodded again. “I can’t argue with that.”

“So,” I said slowly. “Does that mean…?”

“I don’t know.” Julie sighed and shook her head, but she didn’t move away from me. She held onto my hands and slid her thumbs over my skin. The motion sent chills running down my spine. This woman could affect me in so many ways. Just being near her was enough to make my breath catch in my chest.

“I’m sorry about my brother,” I said. “But I don’t want to stop seeing you. That’s the last thing I want.”

Julie nodded and stared down at our intertwined hands. She was thinking intensely about everything. I wanted to ask her a million questions, to push into her mind and find out exactly what she was thinking. Instead, I sat quietly and waited for her to speak.

“It’s weird,” she finally said. “I spent months helping Joshua track down his brother. I researched adoption agencies. I found out where your adoptive parents lived. I learned so much about your life without even realizing it was you. Joshua never let me meet you. He never even told me your name. All the information I found out was half-sealed, so I could never access any real details. I was kept on the outside the entire time.”

“And Josh never told me much about you,” Michael said. “I knew he had a girlfriend, but that was about it. He didn’t talk about you very much.”

“That’s not surprising,” Julie said. “Joshua never really cared about me. It took me a long time to accept that, but it’s the truth.”

“He’s an idiot.”

“He texted me,” Julie said.

“He did?” I narrowed my eyes nervously.

Julie nodded. “Yeah. He asked what I was doing with you.”

I shook my head and looked away. Anger coursed through my veins, but I quickly pushed it away. There was no point in dwelling on my brother right now.