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What time should I be ready?”
    “Noon. We can grab some food at the ballpark if you’re okay with a late lunch.”
    “Okay.”
    Liam gives me a sweet smile. “See you tomorrow. Tonight was fun.” He slowly turns and walks toward the stairs.
    I watch him as he walks away until his figure disappears behind the glass door leading to the stairwell.
    I dance straight to my room. I kick my legs and thrash my arms in an uncontrolled fashion, squealing, before I throw myself onto the bed with a ridiculous grin on my face. I can’t believe this is really happening. Am I falling for June’s brother?
    I need to find a way to tell her before this gets out of hand.

Friday
    Caroline’s sweet blue eyes had mesmerized me all night long. If we hadn’t been in a crowded room full of other professionals, I would have given her a real kiss hours ago. But standing at her front door, I froze. I couldn’t decide what I should do. I knew my sister would be pissed if she knew we were spending time together.
    In the end, I kissed her. I kissed my sister’s best friend. Granted, it was only a kiss on the cheek—not that I didn’t want to do more, believe me. That kiss, although brief, was one of the sexiest experiences of my life. She just stood there in that beautiful dress, looking up into my eyes when my lips left her skin. I have no idea if she was waiting for me to kiss her on the lips or just waiting for a good-bye, but next time, I don’t think I’ll be able to hold back.
    What’s even more unbelievable is that I invited her to a baseball game, and I don’t really have an extra ticket. I’ll have to ditch one of my friends to take her along. Eli wouldn’t be a good choice. He would never let me live down the fact that I shoved him off for a girl. James would be the more logical choice since he has a wife and kids. Maybe he won’t harp on me too much.
    I pull out my phone and lean against my car. I call James, dreading the conversation.
    “Hey, Liam. You already ducked out of your charity event?”
    “Yeah. You know those rich people. They don’t stay out too late.”
    “Well, why don’t you meet us over at Eli’s? We’re going to play some pool and have a few drinks.”
    “Pool sounds good. See you in a bit.”
    Crap! Now, I’ll have to bring up Caroline in front of all the guys. I make the quick drive home, change into something more appropriate for a game of pool, and head to Eli’s house.
    Walking through the side gate and to the back door, I can hear the music blaring and the guys laughing. At least I’ll have a good time before I get reamed for liking a girl. I swear that sometimes I feel like I’m back in high school with these guys.
    “Dude, Liam! What’s up, man?” Oliver slaps me a quick high five.
    From the look in his eyes, I can already tell that he’s drunk. Guess he’ll be staying here tonight.
    “You guys ready to get your asses beat?” I pull a cue stick from the wall and rub chalk against the end.
    “Oh, sure. The expert has arrived. Please show us all how it’s done,” Eli jokes.
    We play a few games, and I school them for a while. Then, I sit back and let them berate each other. The more they drink, the more they bicker back and forth about the rules. It’s actually quite humorous. After a couple of hours, I’m debating on whether I should head home when James speaks up.
    “Alright, Eli. You win, but I’ve always been a loser at pool, so I’m not sure how good it should make you feel that you can beat me.” He places his cue stick in the holder on the wall. “Listen, guys, I gotta head out. Lindsey is expecting me to be home soon.”
    “Lindsey makes my lunch. Lindsey wants me to take over the kids’ car pool for a day. Lindsey—” Eli starts harassing James.
    I tune him out. This is exactly what I’m trying to avoid. “I’ll walk out with you. I’m beat from this week.”
    “You guys are such losers,” Oliver says, sitting on the couch.
    He’s so drunk by this