Always(Time for Love Book 4) By Miranda P. Charles
CHAPTER ONE
Ah, to be happy and in love.
Brenna Ward sighed enviously as she watched Amanda Payne, her newly engaged best friend, take a romantic stroll on the sands of Sydney’s Bondi Beach with Connor Reid. On this sunny, early spring day, Connor had just very publicly proposed to Amanda in the middle of Australia’s famous beach. But while Brenna was genuinely happy for the couple, it triggered her discontent over her lacklustre love life.
She walked behind them as they made their way to Connor’s beachfront apartment, and she wondered when the time would come for her. Three of her best friends—Amanda, Sarah Daley and Rebecca Andrews—were now in permanent relationships, over-fulfilling the group New Year’s resolution they’d made last year.
Her gaze wandered over to Sarah, who was a few steps ahead, walking hand in hand with her fiancé, Jeff Carmichael, one of Connor’s childhood friends. Yesterday, Jeff’s older brother, Zach, married Rebecca.
Out of the five best friends, only Brenna and Gemma Aldwyn were yet to fulfil their New Year’s resolution: to make time for love this year so by next New Year’s Eve, they’d each be lip-locking with a potential happily-ever-after guy at the stroke of midnight.
Gemma had come up with the idea, all in the name of being brave enough to make the first move on a guy who interested them, and not letting past hurt get in the way of their future happiness.
Well, it was already September and Brenna was kind of on track with the pact. She was going out with Lance, a nice, soft-spoken and considerate guy who was always prompt for their dates. She was comfortable with him. Problem was, that was all she felt—comfortable. They’d been dating for two months now, and quite honestly, she was starting to feel bored. Although she liked Lance, she wouldn’t really describe her relationship with him as being “rock her world” type. From the beginning it had always been... well... only average. Was it nasty to say she could take it or leave it? Because if she were to be completely honest with herself, that was where she was with Lance.
She’d told herself she should still continue to see him, though. She was not the type to give up on relationships easily. Who knew what could happen if they'd both put in more effort?
She shook her head at herself, acknowledging that while holding on could be considered a good trait, it had its negatives.
Lance was the first man she’d considered a boyfriend since she’d broken up with Darren two years ago. Darren had been her ‘first love’ and they were together for six years. Admittedly, the second half of their relationship was more the on-again, off-again kind, until they'd both finally realised they were wasting their time with each other.
It had been devastating to let go of something she’d invested in for so long. But looking back, she knew she’d stayed with Darren for more or less the same reason she was still with Lance: it had been comfortable and familiar. She felt safe with comfortable and familiar.
Unfortunately, none of the guys she'd gone out with after breaking up with Darren had tickled her heart—not even Lance.
Well, actually, that was a lie. There was one guy who had, and still did. But—
Stop!
Brenna gave her earlobe a sharp tug in addition to telling herself to stop. It was her ritual to arrest the wayward thought which had been repeatedly sprouting in the last year or so.
Funnily enough, the ritual had always worked. She again managed to push the crazy notion back into the hidden closet in her heart. She simply couldn’t allow herself to entertain the thought that Ash Payne, Amanda’s older brother, could be anything more than her best male friend.
“So, Brenna, are you next to get engaged?” Greg Carmichael asked, pulling her out of her musing.
She raised her eyebrows at Zach and Jeff’s younger brother, who was among the friends invited by Connor to witness his proposal. “Me? What makes you think that?” she asked.
“Well, you took your boyfriend to Zach and Rebecca’s wedding yesterday. I’m assuming you guys must be serious,” Greg said.
She chuckled. “No, no. We’re not serious and I’m far from getting engaged.”
“Well, thank God for that,” Ash muttered.
Brenna hid her sigh. Somewhere along the line, Ash’s overprotectiveness for his sister had extended to all four of Amanda’s best friends.
She’d known Ash since she was eight years old, when she first became close to Amanda. Being five years older, Ash had acted big-brotherly from the beginning.
Now, twenty years later, Ash still had a habit of sticking his nose in the women’s businesses. None of them minded it, though. They were used to it. But lately for Brenna, it had turned bittersweet.
Having no siblings herself, and with parents who had constantly left her in the care of different relatives due to their jobs as political journalists, she’d embraced her best friends’ families as her own. And Ash was the closest thing to a brother she’d ever had. Since she very much valued that relationship, she didn't welcome the growing attraction she felt for him.
Exactly when she’d started crushing on Ash, she couldn’t tell. It had simply crept up on her, getting stronger in the last few months.
“Ashton, are you getting all big-brotherly on me again?” she asked, masking her inner turmoil with a term that reminded her how things really were between her and Ash.