Best Friend's Brother #3 (Best Friend's Brother Romance Series - Book #3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

big, fake smile on his face. In middle school he used to bully
me.
    “Kristie, Ian, how good to see you.” Kristie was
practically gushing as she said, “Oh you too, Travis. It’s been too long. What
have you been up to?” I mumbled a hello, but I don’t think anyone noticed. That
was okay though because as long as Travis was talking to her, I didn’t have to.
    “I’ve been out of state opening up another branch of
the real estate firm for my father,” he said. “I travel extensively with this
job.”
    “Oh I’m so jealous,” she said. “That’s the kind of
job I want.”
    Travis smiled and said, “I thought you were a
model.”
    “I am,” she said with a pouty lip, “but it’s a tough
business to break into.”
    Travis ran his hand down her arm like I wasn’t even there as he said, “I’m sure you’ll find something soon. You look
like you should be on the cover of SI.”
    Jeez…"“SI”…he was too cool to even say Sports
Illustrated. Thankfully, the server brought our food then and Travis went away.
I wished he would have taken Kristie with him when I
heard her say, “What is this?”
    “Your salad ma’am…”
    “I specifically said, ‘dressing on the side.’ Ian,
didn’t you hear me say it?” I had heard her say it, but I was in no mood to
agree with her.
    “No, I don’t think you did,” I told her. She was
looking at me when she was crazy. When she turned back to the waitress I gave
the poor woman a wink and popped a bite of steak in my mouth.
    “I can’t eat this.”
    “I’m sorry; do you want a new one?”
    “Of course! And don’t think it will be okay just to scrape the dressing off the top either.
If I taste one drop of oil or vinegar…”
    “Kristie! That’s enough. Just let her take back the damned salad and give it a rest.” She looked
shocked. The waitress gave me an appreciative look and took the salad. When she
was gone, Kristie said, “Honey, I know that you had a long day with your fight
and all, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk to me that way,
especially in front of people.”
    That was how she fought. She never raised her voice.
The whole time we were together I would have given anything to have one good
knock-down drag out fight where everyone said what they were really thinking…like
the one I had with Alexa. “Then stop talking to people like they’re dirt,” I
told her and I popped another piece of steak in my mouth. It was the only good
thing about the evening. When dinner was over, I dropped Kristie back at her
car.
    “You want me to drive my own car to your place?” she
asked.
    “No Kristie, I’m going to go home and get some
sleep. I’m exhausted.”
    “I don’t mind if we don’t have sex. I’ll just hold
you…if you can stand it,” she said with what she thought was a seductive smile.
I had a headache.
    “Not tonight, Kristie.”
    Not ever. Tonight had been a giant mistake. I wasn’t
going to let it go any further. “Drive safe,” I told her. “See you around.” I
drove away while she was still standing there gaping at me. I didn’t care.
Hopefully she won’t start calling me again. There was only one person I wanted
to talk to and only one woman I wanted in my bed. She was a ginger, as Kristie
would say, and I missed the hell out of her.

 
    CHAPTER
EIGHT
    IAN
    I went home after I dropped Kristie off, feeling bad
all over again. I felt bad for asking her out when I was desperate for company.
I never really wanted to see her. I wanted an escape and what I got was the
same old miserable deal as I had gotten in the past. Only now, I had led her to
believe that I wanted to pursue something with her again. The fact was I
couldn’t imagine now why I had ever been with her in the first place, or why I
had stayed with her so long. She was so superficial and vain and bitchy. If I was the waitress I would have dumped the salad on her head.
I left the poor woman a fifty dollar tip. I hoped that made her night a