Falling for My Best Friend Read online

  Falling for My Best Friend

  A Sweet Water High Book 7

  Victorine Lieske

  Contents

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  Welcome to Sweet Water, NC

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Next Sweet Water High Book

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2019 by Victorine E. Lieske.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

  Victorine E. Lieske

  PO Box 493

  Scottsbluff NE 69363

  www.victorinelieske.com

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

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  Her Sister’s Fiancé

  Ava Gilmore has a huge problem. She’s in love with Oliver, her sister’s fiancé. What’s worse? She’s their wedding planner. Now her sister has run off to Paris and left her and Oliver to plan the wedding together.

  Get Her Sister’s Fiancé FREE!

  Welcome to Sweet Water, NC

  1 Town. 1 School. 12 Sweet Romances.

  Misunderstanding the Billionaire’s Heir

  By Anne-Marie Meyer

  Crushing on My Brother’s Best Friend

  By Julia Keanini

  Kissing the Boy Next Door

  By Judy Corry

  Flirting with the Bad Boy

  By Michelle Pennington

  Chemistry of a Kiss

  By Kimberly Krey

  Falling for My Nemesis

  By Tia Souders

  Falling for My Best Friend

  By Victorine E. Lieske

  It’s a Prank

  By Lucy McConnel

  Chapter One

  I inhaled the intoxicating smell of dough and baked pastries as I pushed open the door to The Bread Basket. My favorite place in Sweet Water. At least, my favorite place since Lucas moved to town. Parker came in behind me, his nose in a comic book. He bumped into my back when I didn’t move. “Hey, Hannah, why’d you stop?”

  “Oh, sorry,” I said, not quite listening. I scanned the room for Lucas, but disappointment filled me when I didn’t see him. Oh, well. Maybe he’d show up. Maybe he’d notice me. Or even say hello to me. My heart fluttered in anticipation.

  Lucas moved to town at the beginning of the school year. I fell for him hard the minute I saw him walking down the school hallway. He had dark brown eyes, a swagger like Chris Hemsworth, and hair so cool you could tell he spent more time on it than most of the girls. He was perfection wrapped up in awesomeness.

  I grabbed Parker’s sleeve and tugged him to the counter. That awful redheaded girl Charlotte stood there, smiling at me.

  She wasn’t actually awful. That was the worst part. She was nice. But she was Lucas’s girlfriend, so I had to hate her. “Hi, Hannah. What can I get for you?” Charlotte asked, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

  “I’ll take a bear claw.” I nudged Parker, who hadn’t looked up from his Green Star obsession. “What do you want, Parker?”

  He shoved his comic book under his arm and blushed. “I’ll have a cinnamon roll.”

  Parker was a total nerd, but he’d been my best friend ever since he sat by me in art class in grade school. He’d helped me finish my collage after I’d been out sick for a week with the flu, and we’d become instant friends. He was the yin to my yang.

  “You going to the party tonight?” Charlotte asked as she pulled on a plastic glove.

  “No.” The word came out automatically. Parker and I never went to any parties. That wasn’t really our scene. We were more the type to study all weekend so we could keep up our 4.0 GPA’s. But I had heard about the big blowout at Wes’s house. He lived not too far up the street from me, along the beach.

  “Oh. Well, if you change your mind, it starts at six. I heard he’s ordering like a dozen pizzas.”

  I paid for our treats and took them from Charlotte, giving Parker his roll. “Thanks,” I said, nodding to the girl I hated. It was a shame she was so nice. And to be fair, I didn’t really hate her. I just wanted her man.

  Parker slid into a seat by the window and I sat opposite of him. He took a huge bite of his cinnamon roll. And then it happened. I knew it the second the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Something about Lucas changed the molecular structure of the room when he entered. The air rushed out of my lungs as he emerged from the back of the bakery.

  Angels began singing, or maybe that was the ringing in my ears. I couldn’t be quite sure. I stared as he came around the counter. His gaze connected with mine. His lips lifted into a smile and he headed toward me.

  My heart pounded as time slowed. He reached for me, pulling me out of my chair and up into his arms. “Hannah,” he said, his voice husky and low. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  His lips touched mine and I closed my eyes as heaven sang the hallelujah chorus. And then a sharp pain in my shin brought me back to reality. Lucas wasn’t kissing me. He was standing behind Charlotte with his arms around her.

  “Ouch!” I rubbed my shin.

  Parker scowled at me. “What are you doing? You’re just staring over there like a lunatic.”

  I forced myself to look away. “Sorry.”

  Parker sighed and set his comic book down on the table. “You like him.”

  Heat rushed to my cheeks. I hadn’t told anyone about my secret crush on Lucas. Not even Parker. “I do not,” I said quickly, but even I could hear the lie in my voice.

  “Oh, my word, Hannah. You’re so transparent. Don’t you think I know why you insist on coming here every Saturday? Don’t you think I see how you look at him? You’re totally fangirling right now.”

  I tried not to react to his words, but I couldn’t help it. I leaned in closer to him, my heart doing a crazy samba dance. Was I really going to confess my feelings? Out loud? “Okay, you’re right,” I said, a weight lifting off me.

  Parker flinched, and for a split second, I thought he was going to scold me, but he just picked up his comic book and shook his head.

  I slapped his book back down. “Oh, no. You don’t get to make me confess something like that and then not say anything.”

  Pity flashed across his eyes. “What do you want me to say?”

  “How about, ‘Hannah, you’re so much prettier than Charlotte, and soon Lucas is going to see that and dump her for you.’”

  He laughed, then snap
ped his mouth shut. “Oh, you’re serious?”

  I returned his under-the-table kick. “You’re so mean. Are you saying I’m ugly?”

  His smile faded and he reached across the table and took my hand in his. “Of course not. You’re…you’re amazing. I just think…” He let his words fade.

  I was trying not to get offended, but it was difficult. No matter which way you sliced it, he was telling me I wasn’t good enough for Lucas. “What? What do you think?” I asked, not doing a great job keeping the irritation from my voice.

  He swallowed and squeezed my hand. “Lucas and Charlotte look pretty tight. That’s all.”

  Oh. Right. I laid my head on the table and let the cool of the Formica surface seep into my cheek. I sighed as I watched Lucas kiss Charlotte. “Yeah. I know.”

  Parker patted my head. “Don’t stress. This is high school. People break up all the time.”

  “You’re just saying that because you’re my best friend and you have to try to cheer me up.”

  “Eat your bear claw, or I’m going to eat it for you.”

  That snapped my head up. “Don’t you dare.” I licked it just in case he was serious.

  He made a face. “All right. It’s yours.” He popped the last of his cinnamon roll in his mouth and went back to reading his stupid comic book.

  “What’s so interesting in there anyway?” I asked as my gaze involuntarily snapped back to Lucas. He was now leaning against the counter, looking like a Greek god.

  “The Green Star is amazing. That’s it.”

  “Why is he green? Is he jealous or something?”

  Parker snorted but then shook his head. “An alien bit him, which is what gave him his super-human powers.”

  I took a bite of my pastry, reveling in the sweet flavor. “That’s dumb,” I said around my doughnut.

  He made a face at me. “No dumber than a radioactive spider.”

  He knew I liked all the Spider Man movies. “Spiders bite. That’s a well-known fact.”

  “And aliens can’t bite?” He raised an eyebrow, challenging me.

  “Fine. Aliens can bite. Aliens can do whatever you want them to do because they’re not real.” I snuck another look at Lucas, but he’d gone back into the kitchen. Dang.

  “Okay. I’ll give you that one.”

  I leaned back in my chair and moaned. “What am I going to do? He doesn’t even know I exist.”

  “Too bad for him,” Parker said under his breath.

  I glared at him. “You’re no help.”

  He raised his gaze to meet mine and stared at me for a moment. “Then let me help you. Forget about Lucas. He’s a tool. He wouldn’t treat you the way you should be treated.”

  I huffed in exasperation. “Like I said. No. Help.” My gaze moved back to the register where Charlotte was standing. And then it hit me. This was a place of business. Duh. “Oh, my gosh. I can’t believe it. I’ve been so stupid.”

  “Hmm?”

  “I totally know what I need to do, now.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I need to be going to the places he goes to. Not here. I need to be going to the social events. Somewhere he and I could actually have a conversation.” I couldn’t believe the thought hadn’t crossed my mind before. I was so dumb.

  Parker made a noise, but I couldn’t tell if he was trying to say something or was just too into his comic book to even care about me. I snapped my fingers in his face. “Focus, Parker. You need to help me.”

  He looked at me. “Help you how?”

  “You need to go to the party with me tonight.”

  His eyes widened and he shook his head. “No way.”

  “Come on. I can’t go alone, and you know I don’t have any girlfriends. I can’t stand all the mindless chatter about makeup and hair. I’m not like that. You know I need you there.”

  Parker wouldn’t let me down. He and I were too close. Had done too much together. I watched as he squirmed in his chair. “Why do you want to go? You don’t even like parties.”

  “Have you even been listening to me?” I jerked my head toward the kitchen. “Lucas will be there,” I hissed.

  “Yeah, with Charlotte,” he said, frowning.

  True. But if I didn’t go to the party, I’d never accidentally bump into Lucas, we’d never talk, he’d never laugh at my jokes, we’d never connect on a sub-atomic level, and he’d never see me for the person I truly am. His soulmate. I kept all that to myself, though.

  “And me. I’m going. And you’re coming with me.” I held up my hands in a pleading manner. “Please?”

  Parker rolled his eyes, but I could tell he was trying not to smile. “You’re pathetic, you know?”

  “Yes. I know.”

  He huffed. “All right.”

  “You’ll go with me?” Excitement started to build in me. Not for the party. Yuck. I wasn’t social at all. I was a social idiot. If there was a way for me to be awkward and clumsy, I would find it. No, I was excited for the chance to spend time with Lucas outside of school and sitting in The Bread Basket. Maybe he would talk to me. Or look at me.

  “Yes.” Parker disappeared behind his comic book. “Although I don’t know why you bother. You should just date me.”

  He said it under his breath, like he hadn’t meant for me to hear him, but the image of Parker and me flashed through my head. Me, on Parker’s arm at the party. Me, laughing at Parker’s jokes while Lucas watched. I slapped the tabletop and he jumped in his chair. “What?”

  “Date you! You’re brilliant.”

  His cheeks colored. “You heard that?”

  “Yes. And you’re stinkin’ brilliant.”

  “I just meant…”

  “I know what you meant. And you’re right. I need to look like I’m datable. I need to make Lucas jealous.”

  “That’s not really…”

  Why had I never thought of that before? Jealousy totally could work. “Yes! It’s perfect. Oh, my gosh, I could kiss you.”

  Parker’s face deepened in color. “Uh…”

  My mind reeled with the possibilities. “I mean, not really kiss you. That would be gross. But like, pretending you’re my date is the perfect thing. No one wants to date some wallflower. Someone who isn’t already dating. You’ll be my perfect fake boyfriend.” I stopped talking, mostly because I felt like I was starting to ramble. But the idea excited me. Parker and I did everything together anyway. This would be no different.

  Parker just sat there, staring at me.

  “Well? Say something.” I couldn’t wait forever for him to react.

  “You’re nuts.” He went back to reading.

  I moaned and tossed my head back. “You have to do this for me. You owe me.”

  “Oh, no. Not that again.”

  “Come on. How much trouble could I have gotten into if I had gotten caught sneaking into Mrs. E’s office for you to get that stupid love note you wrote to Amber?”

  He shut his comic book and rested his forearms on the table. “It wasn’t a love note. And you know I already paid you back for that. When I went with you to see that stupid chick flick.”

  “You love chick flicks.”

  He smiled, his one dimple showing. “Okay, I do.”

  “Then do this for me. Please?” I gave him another puppy-dog face. I knew he couldn’t resist it.

  He exhaled and tossed his hands up. “Fine.”

  I stood and ran around to his side of the table, hugging him. “Thank you. This is going to work. I just know it.” I was already thinking of ways to put myself into Lucas’s path. The school’s dinner theater and cupid’s dance coming up for Valentine’s day would be perfect.

  Parker pulled away from my embrace and ran a hand through his hair like I’d messed it up or something. “Yeah.”

  I looked down to my blouse and button-up sweater. I looked like a grandma. I’d never been to a party in my life, but I figured if I was going to go to a swanky shindig, I would have to put something better on. �
�Come on. Let’s go find something for me to wear tonight.”

  He made a face. “What’s wrong with what you have on?”

  “It’s not nice enough.”

  “It’s plenty nice.”

  “Just come with me. I have to find the perfect outfit.”

  He rolled his eyes, but he stood anyway. “Remind me again why you don’t have any girlfriends?”

  I grabbed his arm and led him toward the door. “Shut up.”

  Chapter Two

  I shoved my clothes back, the hangers scraping on the metal bar. “Ugh!”

  “What’s wrong?” Parker said, sitting in my reading chair, looking bored. Apparently, he’d finished his comic book.

  “I have nothing to wear.”

  “What about the twenty outfits you’ve thrown onto your bed?”

  I hated them all. “They all suck.”

  “What about the mounds of clothes on your floor?”

  I wrinkled my nose at him. “Ew, those are dirty.”

  “Do laundry much?”

  “I’m in the middle of a clothes crisis. You need to be sympathetic, not judgy.” I shoved my closet door closed and flopped onto my bed. Tonight was going to bomb.

  “Stop being dramatic. It’s eleven o’clock in the morning. I’m sure we can find you an appropriate outfit by six tonight.”

  I lifted my head to look at Parker. “Then you’ll go to the mall with me?”

  He winced. “I meant in your closet.”

  “Come on. I’ll buy you another comic.” I was not above bribery. And my dad gave me a healthy allowance. Parker delivered papers at the butt-crack of dawn for a measly two hundred a week.