My Best Friend's Brother: A Standalone Friends to Lovers Romance (Soulmates Series Book 2) by Hazel Kelly

church
and-"
     
    "Still."
     
    She
rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "I don't think my parents would forbid it
or anything."
     
    "Seriously?"
     
    "I
think they'd probably talk about it behind my back, but in the end I suspect
they would decide it wasn't worth the risk of pushing me away just because they
didn't approve of or understand my decision."
     
    "If
you say so," I said. "But it's hard for me to imagine having parents
that don't feel compelled to interfere."
     
    She
lifted a palm between us. "Don't get me wrong. They interfere all the
time. I just don't think they would in that instance."
     
    "Right."
     
    "But
to be honest, I thank God that I have parents like that."
     
    "I
wish I could say the same."
     
    "Think
about it. The opposite scenario- disengaged and disinterested parents- isn't
better." She lowered her head and stared through the empty champagne
bottle.
     
    "There's
still some white wine."
     
    She
smiled and pushed herself up off the couch. "Guess I might as well have a
glass since I'm already tipsy just from sitting next to you."
     
    "You
are not.”
     
    "Then
you can tell me what the hell happened in the last forty eight hours that lead
to the situation I just walked in on." She flashed her eyebrows at me before
disappearing into the kitchen.
     
    "I
wish I knew," I said, my eyes on my feet.
     
    "What
does Izzy think of all this?"
     
    "Nothing,"
I said, lifting my face towards the kitchen. "She doesn't know. Not that
there's anything to know." I licked my lips and recalled the warm feeling
they had when Shane’s mouth was on mine. "Might as well make it two
glass-"
     
    Steph
walked around the corner with two brimming glasses of white wine.
     
    I
smiled. "You're the best."
     
    "Not
really," she said. "I just don't really enjoy drinking alone."
     
    "Don't
judge me," I said, taking the extra glass. "And I wasn't alone. I was
with-"
     
    "Your
soulmate?" she asked, sinking into the sofa.
     
    I
wanted to laugh but the comment made me freeze.
     
    "Oh
please. Like the thought hadn't crossed you mind."
     
    "It
obviously crossed yours."
     
    "I've
never seen you like that," she said, clinking her glass against mine.
"Cheers to you finally ending things with Mike, by the way."
     
    "Thanks,"
I said, taking a sip and letting the cool sweetness soak my tongue. "And
seen me like what exactly?"
     
    She
squinted at me. "I guess the best way to describe it is that you looked
the way people supposedly feel when they're on ecstasy."
     
    "What
the heck is that supposed to mean?"
     
    "It
means you looked like you were glowing. Like you were made of light."
     
    I
raised my eyebrows.
     
    "Like
you could feel a happy beat all the way to your toes and fingertips that no one
else could hear."
     
    "Is
that so?"
     
    "Yeah,"
she said. "High as a kite. That's exactly how you looked."
     
    "Are
you sure it wasn't just the fact that I've been drinking for a while?" I
asked, deciding not to volunteer any specific numbers.
     
    "Pretty
sure," she said. "Besides, I've seen you on every notch of the scale
between buzzed and tipsy to wasted and comatose, and at no point can I remember
you ever looking that happy."
     
    "So
happy you had to use a drugs analogy?"
     
    "Only cause I was thinking about them earlier-”
     
    “Whoa whoa wh -”
     
    “Because
they came up at the retreat in one of those ‘in case you haven't forgotten
kids, doing drugs is a sin.’"
     
    "So
you aren't thinking of experimenting or anything?"
     
    "No.
But some guy told me yesterday that ecstasy was his favorite, and then when I
saw your face earlier, I felt like I finally understood his explanation."
     
    I
furrowed my brow. "There was a guy at the retreat who's done that?"
     
    "Of
course," she said. "Everyone has their own ideas about what it means
to get close to God."
     
    "Huh."
     
    "So
did you sleep with him?
     
    "What?!
No! Nothing else happened."
     
    "Damn."
     
    I
craned my neck forward. "Damn what?"
     
    "Just
think how