Breaking The Bro Code (Hawthorne Brothers 3)

Then suddenly, he stops. As he pulls away, our eyes meet and the coldness in his gaze extinguishes the flames under my skin as I freeze in place.

What happened to him? It’s like he’s turned into a completely different person in a matter of seconds.

“I’m sorry.” He averts his gaze and pushes me away. “I made a mistake. This was a mistake.”

Before I can say a word—not that I know what to say—Ryker leaves. Just a moment ago, I was having the best kiss of my life, and now I’m all alone under the mistletoe with the giant harp and the two pictures that the photographer left on the table. I didn’t even notice him taking them.

I pick them up. They’re good pictures. Clear. The colors look nice. The lighting is just right. That man captured my first kiss with Ryker perfectly.

And it was a perfect first kiss. Even just from looking at these pictures, I can tell that Ryker is an excellent kisser. He did everything right. He made me feel amazing, and he clearly looked like he was enjoying it, too.

So how can he say it was a mistake?Chapter TwoRyker

It was a mistake. The worst mistake. The one mistake I swore I would never make.

I kissed my best friend’s little sister. I broke the bro code.

I let out a deep breath as I lean against the back of the driver’s seat. Eyes riddled with guilt and worry gaze back at me from the rear-view mirror.

I shouldn’t have run after Claire when she was about to leave the bar. Why did I? She didn’t even see me. I could have just let her leave and nothing would have happened. But the moment I saw her, I felt this magnetic force pulling me towards her, and when I realized she was about to leave, my body just started moving on its own.

So I ran after her. I talked to her. I wanted to talk to her, not just say hi. That’s why I didn’t let her walk away. So we talked. And yes, we were bad at it at first—Claire especially—but after the nerves had settled, it felt like the most natural thing to do. We couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

And I couldn’t keep myself from kissing her.

So yeah, Joel is going to kill me.

Suddenly, my phone rings. As soon as I see Joel’s name on the screen, I freeze.

Is he psychic? Did Claire call him right after I left her to tell him what happened?

Either way, I’ve never been more reluctant to answer a call from my best friend. But he still is my best friend, so I tap the red button and try to sound as cheerful as possible.

“Hey, man. How’s it going?”

“Hey, bro,” Joel answers.

Bro. For once, the word stings. But at least he’s still calling me that.

“Bad time?” he asks.

The worst time.

“Never. What do you need?”

“Guess what? I’m spending Christmas in Chicago!” he tells me excitedly.

I try to sound just as excited as him even though I already know.

“No kidding!”

“I’ll be there in a few days. How’s the weather?”

“Cold.”

“Great. I will be there and I’d love to meet you so I can finally introduce you to my bride-to-be and vice versa. I mean it’s strange that two of the most important people in my life live in the same city and they don’t know each other, right?”

“I can’t wait to meet her,” I tell him. “Just give me a call and I’ll be there.”

“Great,” he says. “I’ll do that. So you’re not going anywhere for Christmas?”

“No.”

“No one special to spend it with?”

I pause. Is that a trick question?

“You know there’s not,” I tell him.

“You can spend Christmas with me and Nat, you know,” Joel suggests.

“No way. You two should be spending your first Christmas together alone.”

“It’s not our first Christmas together.”

“Your last Christmas as a not-married couple, then. You should still be spending it alone.”

“Actually, Claire will be there,” Joel says.

That’s what I thought.

“So what? You want me to babysit while you and Nat are smooching under the tree? No thanks.”

Joel laughs.

“Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’m okay. Just give me a call when you’re in town.”

“You bet.”

“And drive safely.”

“Got it. I’ll see you soon, bro.”

He hangs up. I put my phone in its stand and start the engine.

That went… well. Joel didn’t call me names. He didn’t say he was going to kill me. He doesn’t know I kissed Claire. We’re still best friends.

Of course, it doesn’t change the fact that what I did was wrong. I still feel guilty. But at least I managed to hide it from Joel.

I will tell him. Someday. He’s my best friend, so he deserves to know. But not now, not when it’s the holidays and he’s so happy and excited about getting married.

Not now. For now, I’ll pretend nothing happened and…