My Best Friend Brother

Chapter Thirteen

Scarlett POV

The entire family was eating breakfast

around the table in the Bashir’s massive formal dining room. When Annika and I walked in, Dev and a blonde man, about his same age,

stood up.The rich banker’s son.

This “Rhett” was as Annika promised,

handsome—hot in a Calvin Klein underwear ad kind of way—and wearing a cute, cocky grin to match. In fact, he would have been my

type—had I not had that stupid dream. I quickly glanced at Dev. He looked especially attractive in a light grey sweater and black

slacks. I felt my cheeks burn.

Could he tell? Rhett extended his hand.

“I heard there was a Scarlett in the house.

I’m Rhett. Now we just need to find ourselves an Ashley Wilkes and we’ll have ourselves a proper love triangle. Charming, too. No wonder Annika was wearing false eyelashes at eight in the morning.“But then we’ll need a Melanie and a Belle to make it a fair fight,” I retorted. Everyone laughed. That is, everyone but Dev. I avoided his pinched face. Something about the flirty exchange bothered him. Was he jealous?

We sat down and Mrs. Bashir passed me a

platter of eggs. Rhett was smiling at me in a way that almost made me blush.

“Obviously you’ve read the book?” he

inquired. “I was named after the heroine, so it’s

obligatory that I read the book. It’s a favorite, actually. Annika watched us carefully. “How long are you going to stay, Rhett?” she asked, flirtatiously flipping her long, dark tresses away from her face. Dev cleared his voice and jumped in. “We’re flying back on Saturday. Rhett’s

parents are in Greece, so I invited him to spend the holiday with us.”

“Have you been to Texas before?” I asked

Rhett. Having grown up here and not traveled yet, I always wondered what people thought of my home state. He stared into my eyes in a way that seemed a bit too direct.

“This is my first trip. From what I can see,

it’s absolutely gorgeous.” He smiled broadly at me, his white teeth gleaming, his light blue eyes catching the morning light through the window. I decided to pretend his remark wasn’t a poorly veiled attempt at flirting in front of the entire Bashir family. I looked away and took a sip of orange juice. Annika decided to make her move. “You should see Berry Creek. It’s just a short walk from here…oh, and it’s fed from an underground aquifer. The water is really clear—we swim in it all the time,” she offered enthusiastically. Geez, Annika, giving him the hard-sell. It’s like you’ve never seen a boy before… “That sounds like fun,” Rhett said, politely, obviously not taking the bait by asking her to show it to him. “We’re studying for an exam, Annika,” said Dev, looking disapproving in that way I was used to. Annika’s smile faded.

I could feel Rhett’s gaze on me again. I

looked over and Dev’s deprecating expression was now aimed at me, so I kept my eyes on his friend. “I’m sure we’ll have time for a little fun,”

said Rhett, burning a hole through me with his seductive stare and flashing a grin that would make any girl weak in the knees.

Within the course of a few hours, the house

was filled with people laughing and eating, men yelling at the football game on TV, and children running around with sticky sweets

and noisy toys. If you couldn’t smell the curries and see the colorful chutneys, you would think it was a typical American Thanksgiving.

I tried very hard to stay in the kitchen and

help with the food, but Mrs. Bashir had it covered with her visiting cousins. There I was in the middle of several middle-aged

Indian women speaking Hindi and laughing at inside jokes while chopping, stirring and cleaning. So when she told me for the tenth

time to “go out and enjoy” myself, I did.

I meandered to the nearest family room where

several men were watching a soccer game and cheering. I leaned against the wall and spied from a distance, having decided to stick

to the sidelines. I noticed Dev in the opposite corner talking with Shyra, a pretty Indian girl, about his age. I had met her once before when the Bashirs had her family over for dinner. She was studying law at an Ivy League school on the east coast, so I was sure they saw each other there. Dev seemed to enjoy talking to her,

as much as someone like him could. She was smiling boldly at him with admiration, and perhaps a little crush. Good luck, honey.

When I felt a nudge in my arm, I jumped.

“You like soccer?” Rhett asked, smiling that

amazing smile. Oh, hi. You scared me.” I smiled back. His grin was infectious.

“I have that effect on women.” “I doubt it.”

Rhett moved in a little closer. I could feel

the intimacy of the shrinking space between us.

How do you like living here…with the

Bashirs?” he asked, seemingly eager to make conversation with me. “They’re a great family. I’m just staying here until I graduate.” I took a sip of mulled cider. “What are you studying at school?” “Finance. Boring stuff. I don’t like to talk about it. I’d rather talk about you.” He leaned against the wall.

Wow, he’s really coming onto me. “Okay, but I warn you, I’m equally boring.” I winked at him. Wait—did I just wink at him? My inner flirt

was showing herself for the first time ever.

“Let me be the judge of that.” He winked

back. Okay, game on.

We chatted for almost an hour outside on the

patio. I told him about my dreams of being a writer, traveling the world, and how I missed my dad; and he told me about growing up in

New York, spending the summers in the Hamptons, and how he dreaded working for his father’s bank.“So if you don’t want to work in banking, why not do something else?” I asked.

He shrugged. “It’s complicated family stuff.

I have a lot of pressure to follow in some pretty old footsteps. So I accept my fate and just look for various ways to release said pressure.”

“And what ways are those?” I almost regretted

asking. I had just turned 18 and I was way out of my league with this guy. He leaned in a little closer. “Well, I feel pretty relaxed right now, here with you. You’re very beautiful, Miss Scarlett,” he drawled, imitating a proper Southern suitor. I looked down, blushing. My mind blanked out. No one had ever hit on me so aggressively. A part of me was enjoying it.

He broke the silence a moment later.“ You know, I would really like to see that creek…Berry Creek, right?” he asked casually. “It’s just a short walk from here. I could show you after dinner if you want,” I offered, thinking it would be fun to spend time with someone who made me feel beautiful. Rhett flashed his movie-star smile. “It’s a date.