Not Just Friends (Brookfield) Read Online Free PDF Page A

to face it. It was time to get over this little Connor fantasy
she’d been having all these years. Connor would never like her that way.
And she had misread several things last evening. No wonder he’d hightailed it
out of there. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her feelings.
    There
was no use staying open. She was in a crappy mood and the rain wasn’t going to
stop anytime soon. With the sun starting to set, it was going to get nasty out
on the roads with the melting snow. She left her stool and locked up.
    Normally
she walked through the store and made sure everything was in order. But
tonight, she didn’t care. She flipped the light switch down and headed up
stairs.
    Alyssa
entered her apartment and Zoe greeted her right away, like usual. She scooped
the kitty up and the furball purred in appreciation. “You always know when
momma needs you.” She nuzzled her face into the fur.
    Like
most cats, Zoe only stayed in her arms for a moment before she jumped out and
led Alyssa to the food bowl. After Alyssa filled the bowl, she opened the
freezer and took out another frozen dinner. Just as she was about to pull the
lid back, a knock sounded on her door.
    She
opened it to find her brother Cody.
    “What
are you doing here?” She stepped back so he could enter.
    “I
was driving by and saw you closed early. I wanted to check on you.”
    Alyssa
returned to her meal, pulling the lid back. “We were dead from the weather. So
I closed early.” Placing the meal in the microwave, she turned to Cody. “Want
one?”
    “Hell,
no. How do you eat that crap?”
    She
laughed. “It beats fast food.”
    “You
really need to get out more and away. You have an assistant. Put her on the
schedule more and get a life.”
    Alyssa
rolled her eyes. Her brother was one to talk. His life was pretty boring as
well. “If you’re here to lecture, leave. I’ve had a bad day.”
    Cody
leaned against the counter. “Yeah, I heard you had a date last night. Didn’t go
well?”
    “Who
told you?”
    “Hot
Ava told her husband, Seth, my boss. And, well, he told me.”
    The
joys of a small town. “Like I told her, it wasn’t a date. We’re just friends.”
    “When
she said it was Connor Phillips, I about spit my drink out. He’s a bit out of
your league and a player, from what I’ve heard. How do you know him anyway?”
    The
microwave dinged. Alyssa removed her meal. After grabbing a fork, she sat down
at her kitchen table. “He likes to read. So he’s in the shop a lot.”
    Cody
took a seat next to her. “It worries me.”
    “What?”
    “That
you’re going to get involved with him and get hurt.”
    “But
isn’t it my choice?”
    “To
get hurt? I guess so, but as your big brother, I don’t want to see you heartbroken.”
    She
swallowed a noodle and set her fork down. “Connor and I are friends. That’s
it.”
    “Where
did he take you last night?”
    “The
Sun House.” She attempted to say it as though it was no big deal, but she knew
there was a slight squeal in her tone.
    Cody
groaned. “You don’t take friends to The Sun House.”
    “It’s
nothing more. Besides, I gave him a chance to kiss me and he didn’t. He’s not
interested in me that way.”
    “What
do you mean you gave him a chance?” Cody raked his hands through his hair. “And
then the guy doesn’t even take it. You’re a real catch, you know.”
    Alyssa
laughed. “Yeah and you’re bipolar. One minute you don’t want him near me and
the next you’re upset he rejected me.”
    “Yeah,
well, I don’t like hearing that you wanted him to kiss you. Friends don’t
kiss.”
    She
rolled her eyes. “Can we stop talking about this?”
    “I
think we should.”
    Alyssa
returned to her meal. Cody mainly gave her small talk after that, but she had a
feeling he was fuming over this Connor thing. That’s what big brothers were
for, she supposed.
    * * * *
    Connor’s
eyes were wide and his mouth was open. Had he really just read that? Did that
woman really just drop to