My little brother was in love, and now the girl's brother wanted to invite us to dinner.

I was planning to say no.

My brother, looking all pitiful, begged me.

"Come on, sis, please? Her brother's probably trying to mess with me, and you could back me up."

So, I went.

By the end of it, he was like, "I totally set my sister up for disaster…"

1

The summer heat was creeping up from the ground, rising like steam. Skyscrapers lined the streets, packed together so tightly that it felt like the whole city was sealed off from the outside world.

I had just gotten back to my apartment after my internship when my brother called.

"Sis, I haven't seen you in forever. I miss you!"

How strange. Like a wolf playing nice with a sheep.

"Alright, spit it out. What's going on?"

I cut right to the chase.

My brother stammered, "Uh… Maria's brother wants to invite us to dinner. Can you come, too?"

I knew my brother had been dating this girl for about two years.

"Nope. You're dating his sister, not me."

He kept begging. "Sis, come on. Maria wants to meet you, too. And if her brother tries to mess with me, would you really leave your dear little brother to suffer alone?"

"Dear little brother? Please. You're just the kid Mom found in a dumpster."

Despite my teasing, I still agreed.

I had only seen my brother's girlfriend in photos on Instagram. She's gorgeous—flawless skin, blue eyes, and red lips. Even as a woman, I could see the appeal.

I'd often think my brother wasn't quite on her level, but that was just my sibling bias. No way I'd let someone else push him around.

After I agreed, my brother excitedly hung up.

Then, another call came in.

"Oh, sis, don't forget to clean up and look presentable! No rolling out of bed like usual."

He hung up before I could even yell at him.

I glared at my now-dark phone screen.

Seriously, I should just let him go alone.

2

The next day, I left the house early.

It was rude to keep someone waiting when they were buying lunch.

The elevator wasn't too crowded.

As always, I stayed in the corner, feeling safer there. It wasn't a long ride to the ninth floor, but unexpected things always seem to happen.

Not far from me stood a guy slightly taller than me. He wore suit pants and a white shirt tucked in, though it wasn't hiding his beer belly.

A girl in front of him glanced back nervously, then shuffled forward a bit.

He moved like a slug, inching closer to the girl at the buttons. His stance shifted—casually but intentionally.

I frowned, reached out, and pulled the old creep back, stepping in between him and the girl.

"Hey, man, the elevator's got plenty of space. Why are you getting all up in the girl's space?

"I mean, come on, your beer belly isn't that big yet."

Another middle-aged guy was quick to say that I was misunderstanding the situation.

Please, anyone could see they were in cahoots.

The guy didn't even try to hide the way he was pushing himself against the girl—if anything, he seemed proud of it.

I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. "You've got a lot of energy, huh? Maybe take a left when you leave. There's a clinic that can help with your kind of problem. Want me to show you how to get there?"

He looked ready to blow up, but his buddy yanked him back just in time.

I pointed at the elevator's security camera. "You know you're being recorded, right?"

"Just wait." He hissed before storming off.

I let out a sigh of relief, my hands shaking slightly.

I took a moment to comfort the girl, and by the time I finally made it to the gathering, I was already fifteen minutes late.

3

As soon as I walked in, I heard my brother chattering away.

"My sister's usually on time.

"It must've been something unexpected at work.

"Her boss is always making her work late…"

Honestly, this guy would say anything to score points with his future brother-in-law.

I tuned him out and looked around, and my gaze locked onto someone, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I'd heard my brother talk about him.

Brandon Elliott, 26 years old, owned his own company, and he was doing well for himself.

I figured someone like that would be more mature—probably the type who slicks back his hair with gel.

But there he was, in a simple black t-shirt, looking effortlessly stylish, like he had just walked off a fashion magazine cover. His hair was casually tousled, giving him a relaxed yet put-together vibe. His strong features had a touch of warmth, too.

It made sense that with a sister as gorgeous as Maria, her brother would be equally attractive.

In fact, he might even be better looking.

He smiled and nodded at me, and I awkwardly returned the gesture.

"Sorry for being late. Something came up."

My brother jumped up immediately when he heard my voice, pulling me over to his side.

"Sis, did you get stuck working late again?"

He gave my arm a slight squeeze, a signal for me to play along.

I didn't want to ruin his carefully crafted image in front of his future brother-in-law, so I reluctantly went along with it.

"Yeah, work stuff."

Just then, a deep voice with a hint of laughter chimed in beside me.

"You know, overworking employees is illegal. You could report him."

I was about to defend my boss when my brother interrupted.

He gave us a brief introduction.

The girl kept complimenting me on how good-looking I was. Who wouldn't love being praised by a pretty girl?

But my brother, being the buzzkill he is, stared at his girlfriend for a while and said, "Not blind, huh?"

4

"I heard you two have been dating for seven years."

I nearly choked on my soup.

Seven years? My brother is a sophomore in college—does that mean…?

I put down my spoon, trying to wrap my head around it.

Wow, he was dating someone else's daughter since he was in eighth grade?

I looked at my brother in disbelief.

He sheepishly scratched his head. "Yeah, we met online and agreed to go to the same college together."

I felt my jaw drop. I had planned to take Maria's brother down a peg if he gave me any attitude, but now…

I figured I'd let my brother dig his own grave.

I calmly sipped my soup.

Maria sided with my brother. "Brandon, why are you being so harsh?

"We're both committed to moving from campus to the altar; you can't be against it."

Brandon chuckled, "I'm not opposing anything, just asking.

"Oh, but I do need to remind you to be careful; I don't want to become an uncle too soon."

I spat my soup back into the bowl.

Why was this guy so blunt?

My brother turned red, patting my back.

The instigator handed me a napkin. I took it, carefully gauging his expression, unsure if he was offering advice or if he was annoyed.

Sure, my brother may have taken another guy's sister, but that wasn't a crime worthy of death. I still wanted to help him out. "Don't worry; our family has strict values. He's very respectful around women."

I patted my chest to emphasize my promise.

My brother kicked me under the table.

What a jerk—here I was trying to help him, and he kicked me? Maybe I should let Brandon bury him alive.

Brandon frowned, then said seriously, "I'm not worried about your brother; I'm worried about my sister going wild."

5

I blinked in confusion, watching the two of them blushing like crazy, feeling like I'd missed some critical piece of information.

The conversation drifted off course.

Out of nowhere, the spotlight fell on me.

Brandon told me we had met before.

My brother and his girlfriend both turned to look at me in unison.

Honestly, when I first saw him, I thought he looked familiar, but I couldn't place where I'd seen him before.

I was perplexed.

Brandon seemed a bit disappointed but quickly returned to his usual demeanor. He sighed lightly, "I saw you with your friend the other day at a restaurant, and you were crying. Did something happen?"

My brother's expression shifted from amusement to concern. "Sis, what's wrong? Can't you at least share when you're upset instead of hiding it?"

Seeing their worried faces made me feel a little embarrassed.

That day, I had been venting to my best friend about my cheating ex. In a moment of excitement, I accidentally wiped chili oil from my hands on my eyes. My silly friend thought I was crying over the jerk and kept comforting me. No matter how much I tried to explain, she wouldn't believe me. She even said I was the toughest one in the group.

I was trying to figure out how to explain the situation.

Should I just tell them I accidentally rubbed chili oil in my eyes?

No one would believe that story.

6

"It's just that I found out being cheated on really sucks."

"What? You were cheated on?"

My brother yelled so loudly next to me that I almost went deaf.

I thought he'd keep making fun of me since he never liked Peter Martin, always saying I was blind to his faults.

Without saying a word, he snatched my phone and started swiping through it, looking for something. "Where is he?"

"Who?"

I was completely confused.

"Peter Martin, that loser."

"He's in the trash bin where he belongs. Why would you expect me to keep him?"

"Are you sure you won't get back together?"

My brother sized me up.

Suddenly, I felt the attention on me heat up.

Looking around, I didn't notice anything unusual—except for Maria, who was looking at me with pity.

"Stop grossing me out."

I rolled my eyes at my brother.

Maria looked indignant. "Exactly! Don't gross out your sister. There are plenty of trees in the forest; why would you hang onto an old, rotten one?

"Don't be sad, sis! I can introduce you to a cute younger guy, a freshman."

Maria pouted, determined to protect my love life.

"A cute younger guy? A freshman? It never ends well."

The voice floated over, and it was Brandon.

The room fell silent.

"Dude, do you even know how to comfort someone?

"Straight guy syndrome—no wonder you haven't had a girlfriend in years," Maria mumbled.

Brandon smirked, looking quite pleased with himself. "This year, I'm going to work hard to find you a sister-in-law."

"A brother-in-law can also do the trick… Ouch… Ouch…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Brandon cut her off.

I felt a surge of excitement at the banter, my eyes fixed on Brandon until he suddenly glanced back at me, making me quickly look down and focus on my food.

"I'm not into men," Brandon quickly clarified.

"Explaining is just covering up; covering up means there's a truth," Maria chimed in at just the right moment.

I struggled to suppress a smile.

Even though there was a big age gap between the siblings, their dynamic was quite entertaining.

I fiddled with my chopsticks, absentmindedly picking at the green onions on my plate.

My thoughts drifted off somewhere else; I still felt like I recognized Brandon from somewhere other than that meal.