Best Friend's Brother #3 (Best Friend's Brother Romance Series - Book #3) by Alycia Taylor Read Free Book Online Page A

such a
man’s house. I could even see the color of the walls and the curtains I would
hang. I had all of these thoughts before I even realized it and caught myself.
We had barely started dating. And so far, I’d already called it quits on us
twice for stupid reasons. We weren’t even close to being ready to live together.
It was a fun fantasy though, so I guess it’s okay.
Anything fun these days, although abstract is a good thing.
    “Hey Alexa?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Thank you.”
    I giggled. “For what now?”
    “For being here. You know how my mom said I’ve been their rock?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well, you’ve been mine. I really don’t know how I
would have survived this without you.”
    I turned my face towards his and said, “Me neither,
without you.”
    He leaned in and kissed me softly…just a light brush
of his lips against mine, but it sent jolts of electricity down my spine. Once
again I thought about how right it felt to be here. He pulled me back so that
my upper back was against his chest and while we watched the movie, he brushed
his hand through my hair. I felt him lean his face into it and inhale and then
I think he kissed my head. I don’t know why, but for some reason that seemed
really intimate and I liked it a lot. After a few more minutes he said, “You want
to see something really cool?”
    “Always,” I said. I felt him getting up and I wanted
to change my answer. I didn’t want him to go anywhere.
    “I’ll be right back.” He went into his room and came
back out with a magazine. He sat back down next to me and I could see that it
was a UFC magazine with some big, burly guy on the front. He flipped it open to
a page that had been dog-eared and then laid it across my lap. He pointed to
the small article at the bottom of the page. It was one of those, “Up and
Coming” interviews where they only ask about five questions. The photo was of
Ian in his fight gear. It said, “Interview
with MMA’s current star. Is Ian Michaels UFC’s future?”
    “Wow, Ian! That is cool. I knew you were good. I
didn’t know you were a star.”
    “I’m not sure how you missed it,” he said, “I shine
so brightly.”
    I laughed, “That’s true. I’d have to be blind.” I
read the little interview. It asked him where he grew up and how he became
interested in fighting. There was a part in there where they asked him if he
was married, single or in a relationship, for all the female fans who lust
after him. It said single and I felt a tiny little tickle of jealousy. It was
quickly replaced with one of pride. I was here with him. Not them. Let them
lust.
    “When did you do this?”
    “It was about three months ago. I kind of forgot
about it with…everything going on. I wouldn’t have even known it came out if
they hadn’t emailed me.”
    “Did you show your mom?”
    “Nah, she doesn’t want to see stuff like this,
especially now.”
    “What do you mean? She’s so proud of you. I bet she
would love this.”
    “Did she say that…that she was proud of me?”
    The poor thing really had no idea. He seemed so
confident on the outside, but things like that made me wonder. “Not exactly,
but I can see it all over her face when she talks about you.”
    “She won’t watch me fight.”
    “It’s hard, Ian. I don’t think I could watch one of
my kids do it. It’s hard for me to watch you sometimes.”
    “But you come anyways.” I could tell it really
bothered him that his mom didn’t.
    “Yes I do. I love it. I just get a little freaked
out when you’re getting hit. Does your dad come see you sometimes?”
    “Not often. I guess it’s hard on them.”
    “I’m sure. But I really think they’d like to see
this. The hard part is watching what you do. Worrying about
you getting hurt. I don’t think it stops them from being proud of you.”
    “Maybe when they’re feeling better,” he said. It was
sad to me that he didn’t seem to know how much his parents thought of him. I
wasn’t just