My Best Friend’s Sister Ran Up Beside Me… Then Grinned, “You Always Make Girls Chase You?”
Chapter 3
Olivia started appearing around Ethan more often.
At first, it was accidental.
Then it wasn’t.
She joined Ryan and Ethan for coffee.
She asked Ethan to review a contract.
She called him when her car battery died.
She borrowed his toolbox.
She even showed up at the gym where he worked out.
Ethan noticed.
So did Ryan.
One Saturday morning, Ryan stared at his sister across the kitchen.
“Why are you here?”
Olivia took a sip of coffee.
“I live nearby.”
“You live forty minutes away.”
“Exactly.”
Ryan looked at Ethan.
“What’s happening?”
Ethan raised both hands.
“Don’t ask me.”
Olivia smiled.
“You two are adorable.”
Ryan frowned.
“Stop.”
She laughed.
Ethan tried not to smile.
Later, Olivia asked Ethan to help her choose a suit for a presentation.
He agreed.
They spent an hour walking through stores.
She tried on three jackets.
He liked the second one.
“That.”
She looked at herself.
“Why?”
“It looks like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Confident.”
She smiled.
“You noticed.”
“Of course.”
She stepped closer.
“You’re different when it’s just us.”
Ethan looked at her.
“How?”
“Less charming.”
He laughed.
“That’s insulting.”
“It’s a compliment.”
She turned toward the mirror.
“I think you’re nervous around me.”
“You’re Ryan’s sister.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“It is a very good reason.”
She smiled.
“You’re afraid of him?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Ethan didn’t answer.
Olivia looked at him through the mirror.
“Afraid of me?”
He laughed.
“Maybe.”
She turned.
“Good.”
He shook his head.
“You enjoy this.”
“A little.”
They bought the jacket.
Outside the store, Olivia stopped.
“You know what Ryan thinks?”
“I don’t want to know.”
“That you’re going to break my heart.”
Ethan became serious.
“I wouldn’t.”
She looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I respect you.”
She smiled.
“That’s a better answer.”
The relationship remained undefined.
No dating.
No kissing.
Nothing inappropriate.
But something was growing.
Ethan found himself waiting for her calls.
Olivia found excuses to see him.
One evening, they sat outside a coffee shop after Ryan went home.
Olivia asked:
“Have you ever really been in love?”
Ethan thought.
“Once.”
“What happened?”
“It ended.”
“Badly?”
“No.”
“Then why did it end?”
“We wanted different lives.”
She nodded.
“What about you?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve never been?”
“Not like that.”
He smiled.
“Maybe you haven’t met the right person.”
She looked at him.
“Maybe.”
Silence settled between them.
Ethan felt something shift.
He knew exactly where the conversation could go.
So he stood.
“We should go.”
Olivia looked disappointed.
“Why?”
“Because if we stay here, I’ll say something complicated.”
She smiled.
“What kind?”
“The kind that could make your brother kill me.”
She laughed.
But her eyes were serious.
“Maybe he doesn’t get a vote.”
Ethan stared.
That sentence followed him all night.
The next day, Ryan invited them both to dinner.
Ethan almost declined.
But Olivia showed up first.
She sat across from him.
Ryan talked about work.
Olivia barely listened.
Her eyes kept meeting Ethan’s.
At the end of dinner, Ryan went upstairs to take a phone call.
Olivia leaned toward Ethan.
“You could tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Whatever you were going to say.”
He took a breath.
“I like being around you.”
She smiled.
“I know.”
“And I’m trying not to.”
She laughed softly.
“Why?”
“Because you’re my best friend’s sister.”
She looked at him.
“And?”
“And I don’t know what happens if I stop trying.”
Olivia smiled.
“Maybe you should find out.”
Ryan returned.
The conversation ended.
But the line had been crossed.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
They both knew it.
Now the only question was whether they were brave enough to admit it.
