Her Brother's Best Friend - Aching Hearts Series #2

Brotherly Jealousy

CHAPTER 6 - BROTHERLY JEALOUSY

"R-Riley ... what ... what are you doing here?" Emily wondered, her heart racing.

Eyeing the boy beside her, Riley arched an eyebrow. "Well, I thought, since my date will meet me there, maybe I could give you a lift, Honeybee ... I see somebody beat me to it, huh?"

Dean sent him a dirty look when Emily seemed to be agreeing. "I am her date, so I suppose it's my privilege to take her to the party, don't you think?" He spat surprised at his own harsh tone, but not regretful. The more he looked at him, the more Dean was convinced, this Riley guy was his worst rival.

Emily shot her friend a puzzled look, surprised at his sudden boost of nerve. Dean was usually so calm and posed, it was odd to see him snap like that. She wasn't even sure why, but the tension between the guys was evident.

Riley, however, cracked a small smile, for how not truly glad. "Sure. I didn't know you'd taken arrangements already." He half lied. Of course he knew she had a date to the party ... he just thought, for how unconsciously, that they might spend some time together before that.

An awkward silence blanketed the room. Emily gazed alternatively at the boys, while they held a tense stare contest that seemed to be conveying way more than they'd say. She was taken back. What was all the fuss?

"Emily, we're going! We'll see you at the party!" Her mother called from downstairs, breaking that heavy silence.

Emily swallowed, nodding to herself, then muttered a positive response that only the boys heard. "Um ... okay, then we-uh ... we should go?" It came out like a question, because she truly had no idea what to do. She'd never found herself in the middle of such a tense moment. It seemed the boys had taken a distant disliking on each other, and she was clueless as to why.

Finally, Riley, realizing he was being childish, nodded. "Alright. How about we all carpool there?" He bargained with a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. It annoyed him to leave her alone with that boy, and he wasn't quite sure why.

Emily was incline to accept, but she noticed Dean's annoyed look, so she cleared her throat, shaking her head. "Uh ... thanks, but ... um ... I-I'll go with Dean." Her cheeks turned of a bright red, and her heart started thumping, rejecting the sole idea of turning down Riley, be it only for a ride, but she remained fixated on her decision. After all, it was true, Dean was her date, even if she hadn't decided.

Truth be told, she'd have simply gone with her parents, it was odd that both boys had thought about picking her up. And that tension between them, it faded only when Riley, for how evidently not glad, left.

"We should go." Dean nudged her, trying to be confident, afraid the way she was gazing at the spot the guy he'd just left was a horrible sign of defeat.

Shaking herself off her thoughts, Emily nodded, cracking a tiny smile. She fetched her purse, and they left, but there was something still hanging in the air, and seeing Riley drive off the exact moment when they stepped out of the house didn't help.

The car ride was tense, but as soon as she arrived to the party, Emily found a fairy tale atmosphere that reeked of her mother's dreamy nature, and she smiled, proud of her mom.

The party was outdoor, in a nice garden, outside one of the best hotel-restaurants in town, decorated with string lights of different shapes, the main colors being black and gold, several tables settled all around a large tile floor that would be dedicated to dancing, a small orchestra in the corner. It seemed more like a wedding than a promotion party, but Emily loved it.

She smiled as she beheld the scene, all her mother's colleagues-now employees were present, plus her friends and family, all the relatives ... everybody that cared about Sybil Robinson was invited, plus, of course, those people who were there for a mere matter of courtesy.