Her Best Friend's Brother by T. Dell (read the beginning after the end novel .TXT) 📕

You win and I wil watch some sappy musical with you, and if I win you have to watch the matrix with me.”

“High stakes. I don’t suppose I could steer you away from Keanu Reaves? Or perhaps persuade you to make a switch-- Bil and Ted’s excelent adventure?” Tony wondered if she had any idea the images she inspired with words like persuade. He was reasonable sure she could persuade him to do just about anything. “Not a chance.”

Nick and John both lost. Tony declared they would compromise with a Die Hard Marathon.

“Bal time!” Someone belowed from the basebal diamond.

“Let’s go.” Tony tugged Libby towards the softbal game.

“I’m just going to watch.”

“No way, you gotta play this is the best part!”

“I’m not playing. I don’t even think I know al the rules.”

“I forgot, you don’t like team sports. Do you remember when you tried out for cheerleading?” Tony shook his head at the memory. “Okay—let’s take a walk then.”

“No, you go play. I wil watch—and cheer.” Libby teased.

In the end Tony did not play bal. He wanted to, but today was about Libby. So they went for a walk instead. There was a path through a smal strip of woods.

And if Tony remembered correctly there was a creak with a pretty little bridge over it. Holding her hand, Tony stroled slowly down the path. The trees were thick enough that it was darker and quieter than the open area of the park. In fact it was downright romantic. Tony stopped thinking about the missed softbal game.

“What’s that?” Libby pointed into the trees above them.

“I believe that is the rare red-belied-long-tail-wood-swalow!” Tony deadpanned without looking up.

Libby snorted and nudged his chin up with the tips of her fingers.

“Oh tha-at.” Tony said as if only just then realizing his mistake. “That looks like a kite.” Perched just above them a plastic looking kite was lodged in the tree limbs.

“Give me a hand.” Libby was already scrambling up the trunk. Tony hoisted her higher and tried not to stare at her ass… much. It took a little while for Libby to reach the kite, and then another few moments to untangle what was left of the string. For a few horrifying seconds Tony was sure she was going to come crashing down. “Look out below!” The slightly battered kite floated to the ground and Libby began inching backwards on her branch. “Umm… I think this is going to be harder on the way down than on the way up.”

Tony stood beneath her caling instructions and warnings; soon she was shimmying back down the trunk. “I gotcha.” Tony reached out grasp her waist the moment she was within reach.

Twisting as she dropped the rest of the way to the ground Libby ended up in Tony’s arms with her back pressed to tree trunk. Oh this was so much better than softbal! Tony closed the remaining distance between them.

One of his knees pressed between hers; inhaling slowly Tony enjoyed the lavender smel of his Libby. Carefuly Tony enjoyed the lavender smel of his Libby. Carefuly Tony puled a twig from her hair, and cupping a hand along her cheek he leaned towards her—

“What’s that?” Libby was startled out of moment.

Sure enough they began hearing whispered voices--

“There’s a stream with a bridge just a little further down this path.” Tony’s cousin, Nick, was saying as he came into view around a bend. He had one arm wrapped tightly around a blond girl in a pink sundress, and he was nuzzling her neck as they walked.

Tony straightened up puling away from Libby. It almost kiled him, but a gentleman didn’t alow his date to be caught groping in the woods. He waved a little as Nick and his girlfriend passed but he wasn’t sure they even noticed.

“Sounds like Nick has big plans.” Libby joked as she smoothed her clothes and hair.

“Yeah, he’s real original.” Tony responded, edgily.

“Should we see if this thing stil flies?” Tony bent down and scooped up the kite before leading Libby back into the open park.

Chapter sixteen

It had been a month since the Marchetti Family Reunion. Mel and John’s wedding was a little more than two weeks away. Orders had begun flying into the bakery for Dolce-McKay, and Libby was on cloud nine. It seemed that everything in her life was just as she wanted it. Just about. After the family reunion Tony started coming around a lot. Not that that was realy a problem, because Libby loved being with him. They never seemed to run out of things to say to each other, or things to laugh about together. But being so close to him, and having him look at her the way he had in the woods at the park—it was confusing. She didn’t want to be in love with Tony—wel she was pretty sure she didn’t want to be in love with Tony.

As agreed on, Tony organized a Die Hard marathon. They ended up in Stuart’s Family room, because Tony didn’t have living room furniture yet. And somehow Libby found that endearing. Some days Tony would come by the bakery with lunch for two, and once she had renewed her membership at the Y Tony started joining her for morning runs a few days a week. Last week Tony had driven her to the beach, and they had built sand castles.

Being with Tony was becoming an awful lot like breathing—

absolutely necessary.

“Man do I have news for you!” Libby always enjoyed when Mel caled—she could almost hear the italics in her friend’s voice.

“What’s that?”

“Guess who I just spoke to on the phone—no you wil never guess—and he’s caling you next.”

“Then I guess you better spil”

“Gio” the name almost exploded through the telephone. “Libby? Helo?”

“Gio? My Gio?” Libby was speechless. Why on earth would Gio be caling Mel? They had written a few letters and emails since Libby had left Rome, but he hadn’t exactly inundated her with transatlantic phone cals. To be honest she had