My Best Friend's Brother (Book 1)

By Chrissy Favreau

Book One in the MY BEST FRIEND'S BROTHER Series ( YA Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy )

- CONTENT WARNING This book contains non-graphic sexual content and some strong language. -

When Lilly announced that her estranged brother is coming to live with her, Adonia was shocked—she had no idea her best friend even had a brother! Adonia doesn’t have long to process this revelation before Lilly jets off to vacation in sunny Florida, leaving her alone for weeks. Adonia doesn’t know how she’s going to pass the time, but that changes one morning when she’s sitting in a local book store and spots the sexiest guy she’s ever seen. Little does she know, he’s spotted her too.

His name is Luke, and he’s smokin’ hot—so hot that Adonia has dubbed him a Greek god!

Luke sweeps her off her feet, beats the tar out of her jerky ex-boyfriend at school, and is a perfect gentleman—what’s not to love about her Greek god? He’s an award-winning skier and Olympic hopeful, and he’s fallen in love with HER! But between stolen kisses, moonlight skiing and heated whispers, Adonia has the feeling Luke is keeping secrets. When she tries to get him to share, Luke clams up. Not knowing what to do, Adonia decides to back off, but has no idea that everything is about to come crashing down around her. Her love for Luke is about to be tested beyond any relationship she’s ever had! Will their love survive the test? Or will Adonia end up with nothing, just as she was starting to think she had everything?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chrissy Favreau
• Release date: Nov 4, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311369055

Chrissy Favreau

Chrissy Favreau is a crafter, coffee-brewer, and writer of witty young adult fiction. In the not-so-distant past, she's worked with tigers, mountain lions, and a despicable monkey named Mario. She owes her life to a Siberian tiger named Reba, who could have killed her, but didn't. That's why you're reading this today.Chock-full of hot guys, Favreau's YA books are meant for an older teen audience; but they're so relatable that they can be--and often are--enjoyed by adults, too.Visit her online at: MyBestFriendsBrother.com

Book preview

MY BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER

My Best Friend’s Brother, Book 1

by Chrissy Favreau

My Best Friend’s Brother

Copyright © 2015 by Chrissy Favreau

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For permission, address the publisher at MyBestFriendsBrother.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover design by Favreau - FavreauStudio.com

Ebook formatting - ebooklaunch.com

Next in this series:

BOOK OF LUKE

MY BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER, Book 2

FINDING TROY

MY BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER, Book 3

MAKING UP BLAKE

MY BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER, Book 4

YEAR OF LUKE

MY BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER, Book 5

SAVING GINO

MY BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER, Book 6

For updates on new books, including new books in this series, visit:

www.ChrissyFavreau.com

CONTENT WARNING

This book contains non-graphic sexual content and some strong language.

Contents

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Chapter VIII

Chapter IX

Chapter X

Chapter XI

Chapter XII

Chapter XIII

Chapter XIV

Chapter XV

Chapter XVI

Chapter XVII

Chapter XVIII

Chapter XIX

I

My guidance counselor sat with his feet on the desk, rocking in his leather office chair, looking through a Sports Illustrated while sucking on a lollipop.

I cleared my throat to make myself known. He jumped from his seat and flashed me a smile.

Miss Morrison! he said, gesturing to enter.

Henry Bias is a man of medium height who bears a striking resemblance to actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. Think Snow Dogs. Outbreak. Pearl Harbor. He sounds just like him, too.

He sat again as I parked myself in the blue interrogation seat. He shoved the Sports Illustrated into his desk drawer. Some boy left that here, he totally lied. He straightened his tie. And how are you today?

I could be better.

His office makes me a bit claustrophobic. It’s almost entirely occupied by his enormous desk, some posters and his master’s degree. One poster on the wall above his head read,

Psychology: know everything about everyone.

That explains a lot.

Good, good, he said, pulling out my file. Now, Adonia, you’re here because you want to talk.

"I’m here because you want to talk," I noted.

He looked at me with his permanent grin. Right, right… he said between his teeth. He took a deep breath and said, Okay! How’s the boyfriend doing?

We broke up a month ago, I reminded him.

Oh, he said sympathetically. Do you want to talk about that?

No.

It’s good to talk about things that bother us! he said enthusiastically.

It doesn’t bother me. Jake-the-horny-toad Andrews was the last thing I wanted to discuss with him.

"Do you want to talk about anything that does bother you?" he asked, blindly turning pages in my file.

Nope.

How’s Lilly? Your best friend? That’s her name, isn’t it?

Figures he wasn’t sure. Half the time I talk to him he’s in another dimension, staring above my head with that grin. She’s going on vacation.

That’s nice.

I shifted in my seat. I’m kind of jealous.

Oh. So you want to talk about that?

I shrugged. "I don’t want to…."

He looked above my head and nodded, stroking his chin with his thumb and index finger. Good, good. Go right ahead, I’m listening.

My head fell into my hands. The next time I looked up he still smiled at the wall behind me; at a poster of two hula dancers on a Hawaiian beach.

Why couldn’t he schedule his stupid appointments during math? I’d rather be confused by Mr. Bias than be confused by math.

So you don’t want to talk? he pressed once his vacation was over. It’s confidential! he exclaimed, grinning ear-to-ear.

I heaved a sigh. My mom’s never home. Lilly’s mom is more of a mom to me than mine ever was. What does that tell you? I pondered.

He held his chin and looked up thoughtfully. That Lilly’s mom is a housewife and your mom isn’t?

This guy’s got the most useless job on the face of the earth!

He held up a finger and searched frantically through my file. "She is a housewife, right? He laughed nervously. Well anyway, your mom’s career is clearly very high priority. She’s just doing the best she can. Have you considered your career path?"

Yes… And it makes my head hurt.

Good, good. That’s what I like to hear. He scratched his head and thumped the eraser side of a pencil on his desk. So, which university did you apply to?

I applied to the one in British Columbia.

Sick of Alaska?

It’s not that. I just want to get away from home. Far, far away.

Mr. Bias nodded. Well, I moved up here for work, he said, and I can’t afford to leave! His smile evaporated for a second as he stared, teary-eyed, into oblivion.

When he was back, his smile returned. Any others?

No. How many colleges do I need to get into, anyway? In the end, I can only attend one.

He laced his fingers and rested his hands on the desk. How do your parents feel about that school?

I don’t know. And I wanted to add, I don’t care.

How do you think they feel about that school?

My expression was blank.

"Well, let me rephrase that. How do you feel about how they might feel?" he asked with little hand gestures.

I don’t know, I repeated.

Do you want to talk about it? This is a very confusing time for you, no question about that!

I rolled my eyes. It’s funny how he thought he had to tell me that this was a ‘very confusing time’ for me.

Well then, I’ll see you next week! Unless you have other things you’d like to discuss today…? He raised his eyebrows skeptically.

No thanks, I said, about to bolt out of there.

Good, good. Feel free to come by any time you’d like to talk. I’m here to help!

I left.

My parents, college, Jake, decision-making—everything I didn’t want to talk about, he brought up.

He even defended my poor excuse for a mother!

God, what’s that man paid for?

~~~

You have a twin brother?! I shrieked by Lilly Jacobson’s locker. As her best friend, you’d think I’d have been informed.

Like, years ago!

He’s flying in tomorrow. If you want, you can come pick him up with me! She held her hand out. I am hereby officially canceling skate night!

Then—like she didn’t just say something serious—Lilly multi-tasked gathering her books and breaking some poor jock’s heart. She shooed him away like a fly.

It really is too bad—the guys at our school aren’t much to look at, and he was one of the better looking ones.

You have a twin brother?! I echoed in utter shock.

I had no clue what was going on, why she didn’t think that jock was hot, or why this brother was not important enough to mention before, but I expected an explanation.

Immediately!

Jock-free, she moved her long, flowing blond hair out of her face and searched her locker. Guys gazed as they passed by, because, well, she’s hot.

The yellow hallway was jamming with noisy, pushy people headed for third period. The halls were clogged.

She slammed her locker door, dug her strawberry nails into my arm, and we plunged into the roaring crowd. "Yeah, I have a brother! I haven’t seen him in two years! Our parents divorced when we were three and he mostly lived with my dad in the lower forty-eight! Mom and I lived in Germany for eight years and then she married Burke Jacobson, she said with a sneer, —and they moved me here!"

Lilly wore hip hugger jeans and a form-fitting pink tee shirt that titled her Pink Princess in glittery letters. She’s five-two, with aquamarine eyes and semi-wavy blond hair down past her thighs. Moreover, she has a light German accent and guys drooling over her twenty-four-seven.

I, on the other hand, never have to beat guys off, because I’m ordinary. I wear contacts because I’m legally blind, I’m five-one, have long brown hair, and an embarrassing habit of thinking with my mouth. Seriously, I blurt the stupidest crap, usually under stress.

God, could you imagine me at a job interview?

In math class, I sat next to Lilly. I pushed her pink book bag to her side of the desk, secretly wondering how much this twin brother that popped out of nowhere would affect our lives.

Oh, by the way, she added, Mom and I prolonged our vacation to Miami Beach. We’re going for three weeks, not one!

Three weeks! I groaned. As if canceling skate night for a brother I never knew existed wasn’t bad enough!

Yeah, she said cheerfully, like it wasn’t a big deal. So, do you wanna pick him up from the airport with me?

Yeah, I mumbled. You’d think she would’ve at least mentioned him after she last saw him two years ago!

What’s wrong?

I thought what’s wrong should be obvious. But I mumbled, I have a headache.

She pulled out a sample packet of Aspirin. It was all crumpled, like it lived in her book bag since junior high. Was she even allowed to have those in school? Here. You need it more than I do.

The final bell sounded. A lanky substitute walked in holding a six-inch-thick block of papers. He started handing packets out as he took attendance. When he called Lilly, she hurried to get hers.

Oh, look, she breathed. A hundred math problems! She grabbed the Aspirin sample off my desk. Gimme that.

II

We got to the airport at nine o’ clock. Lilly stressed about how we were late, and what she was supposed to wear when she gets on her plane to Florida. I wish I had that problem!

There were people everywhere. Seriously, it looked like the entire state of Alaska was packed into the airport. I lagged behind, irritated at the poking elbows and all the Excuse me-s and Sorry-s.

You okay? Lilly’s pace slowed. She grabbed my sleeve as if I were going to get away.

I’m great, I grumbled, barely even believing myself. Who was I kidding? I had to be home by ten, my best friend will be too busy for me when she and her mom leave on vacation, and I’m single.

You know, Lilly said, you don’t have to lie.

I sighed. She reads me like a book.

At the terminal, we sat in silence for a while.

Still excited about being a senior? Lilly asked.

I sighed. Kinda. On the down side, I have way too much to do before graduation. On the up side, I have to cope with my parents for only seven more months.

I’m counting the days! I am so moving to the beach when I’m done!

I’d move with her, but Lilly didn’t apply to any colleges. And as far as living goes, I don’t mind the cold climates.

A large group passed through the doors of the terminal, but she didn’t get up to meet any of them. She was focused on the screen that displayed the flight information. His plane was late.

I spent nearly an hour waiting for a guy I’d never even seen a picture of, wondering every time I saw a blond guy—as he was so vividly described—if it’s him. But how hard can he be to spot, right? He’s her twin, he’ll look like her.

"I can’t wait to go on this vacation! Me, Mom, my aunt, my mall-loving cousins and Miami Beach!" She chattered endlessly, which is why she’s dubbed Chatterbox Lilly.

And, as often happens, I phased out.

I wish Mom took me on a three week educational vacation and kept me out of school! But I barely see my mom. She’s a cultural anthropologist—she travels all the time. So I’m stuck home with Dad, a novelist. He spends all day in his office and gives me the be-home-by-ten-each-night lecture every morning.

Speaking of which, I figured I really should go. Her brother’s plane was even later than we were, and I couldn’t wait any longer.

I sighed uncomfortably, just as she laughed.

What? I asked.

You know, I don’t even know what to say to him! We’re not even that close! It’s weird.

Recap. Why is he moving in with you all of the sudden? And why was I not informed he exists before he had to?

She popped a bubble noisily. "He said he needs a change of scenery! Personally, my idea of change of scenery is someplace where I can’t freeze to death getting from the front door to the car!"

Well, Alaska attracts a lot of people.

I guess, she said. It’s just weird how he’s giving up life with our real dad to live with a stepdad.

Oh. And I immediately added—before her mouth could start moving again— It’s almost ten. I really have to go, or my dad’s gonna freak.

Okay. I’d like to drive you, but I have to wait until the plane lands.

"Don’t worry, I’ll catch a cab. Tell him I said hi, okay? We’ll get together before you and your mom leave, right?"

Of course we will! I’ll call you. We hugged briefly and she waved.

I walked through the shrinking crowd, out the revolving doors.

I may live in Alaska, but I don’t live in an igloo, I don’t ice-fish in my living room, and my father doesn’t hunt polar bears for dinner! In fact, the only thing my father hunts for is words in the thesaurus.

I hopped into one of the dozen cabs outside. 1313 Massacre Lane, please. Yes, I live on Massacre Lane. I’m not sure what my parents were thinking. No wonder Mom’s never home, I’ll bet even she doesn’t want to live here!

The only good thing about our house is that we have one.

Although I haven’t decided on much else, I have decided that I need to move out. The sooner the better!

I gave the cabbie thirty dollars once we reached my house. It’s a simple house on a three-acre lot in the suburbs. There are eight homes on my block and mine is halfway down the street. The others are spread out from corner to corner.

There’s a fourteen-year-old pervert living next door. One inky night, he tried to get a peek at me undressing in my bedroom. He was on our lawn with binoculars. Dad caught him and dragged him home, furious.

We have more than just perverts next door—we also have hermits. Our other neighbors rarely leave their homes. When they do, they dart to their cars, pissed off. Though maybe I only look when it’s