DaoistrS5CfO

There’s two sides to every love story. The how you fell in love, and the how you fell apart.

This is ours.

The cardinal rule of friendship is you don’t mess with your friend’s sister.
That goes double when she’s his little sister.

It was just supposed to be fun.

She wasn’t supposed to end up being the love of my life.
And I definitely wasn’t supposed to break her heart.

Ainsley is a wedding dress designer. That should’ve been a warning that she’s a hopeless romantic. That should’ve clued me in that she believes love conquers all.

But there are some things that love can’t fix. I’m one of them.

She thinks love is the answer.

But love is the reason I let her go.....

Just Loved

I look down and swear to God, Sadie is smiling, too, totally pleased with herself. When I look back up at Ainsley, the magnitude of what just happened, what I wanted to happen, hits me. I take a step back, watching her eyes change from delight to dread. "I shouldn't have done that" are the words that come out of my mouth, but every part of my body is screaming otherwise. Her eyes gloss over, and I know she's holding in tears.


She reaches for the doorknob and says, "I'm sorry you feel that way."


"Ainsley? It's just, I mean, Brody trusts me," I stammer. "I can't do this to him."


Her head whirls around so fast I worry she might hurt herself. "I'm a grown woman, for God's sake. I'm not a little girl anymore."


"He's my best friend, my business partner."


She doesn't look away or nod that she understands. Instead, she takes a step toward me, placing her hand on my chest. She's so close I can smell her shampoo. Leaning forward, her soft lips press to my cheek. I suck in a deep breath, using every ounce of self-control in my body not to turn my lips to hers.


I do theonly thing a good best friend can do—keep my distance. No more walking Sadie with Ainsley. It's best to stay away from her for a while until things calm down. I can avoid her the rest of my life if I have to. I'm lying. I actually have to see her today; my parents are hosting that welcome home dinner for her.


It feels like it's been a helluva lot longer than the week it's been since that kiss. I miss her—her smile, her scent, her laugh. Taking those walks with her were the best part of my day.


But I've resisted every urge to call her, to text her, to knock on her door. Seeing Brody at work every day is enough of a reminder why nothing more can happen with Ainsley. We're lucky no one in the building saw that kiss. Brody still has other friends that live there, and patients, too. It could've easily gotten back to him. That's why keeping my distance from Ainsley is best. I'm trying to do the right thing here, but honestly, it sucks.


I wonder if she's avoiding me, too. I haven't run into her on the elevator or even caught a glimpse of her coming or going. It's possible she thinks she's the one avoiding me. I'm not the only one suffering from withdrawal. Sadie's not been herself, either. The past few nights, she's walked even slower on our evening strolls, stopping and sitting down halfway around the block and refusing to go any further. Not even the promise of sharing a steak for dinner could perk her up.


Continuation 1