Free It's You by Tracy Tegan Page B

dumber, if that was even possible. It was like he was going out of his way to make sure he found women that he knew he had no possible chance at a future with. Zoey just didn’t understand it.
    With the exception of his choice in women, Zoey might even go as far as to say that Evan was truly the perfect guy, and if he wasn’t her best friend’s older brother, she herself would have hooked up with him years ago. And although she would never in a million years admit it, she’s had a secret crush on him since junior high, but it was never feelings she would ever allow herself to act on. Zoey knew Kara would kill her if she hooked up with her brother, back then as well as now, but especially back then. Even though, when they were kids it wasn’t all too likely it would have happened, as he was a complete ass to her. If he wasn’t ignoring her, he was busy making fun of her.
    As a child, Zoey had been quite the ugly duckling and even uglier teenager. She was too thin, too pale, with bushy eyebrows, bad skin and her mouth full of braces didn’t exactly help either. Her confidence had bloomed as her skin cleared up, her braces were removed and she learned how to tame her unruly hair and eyebrows. She would never be a supermodel, especially considering the fact that she only stood five foot one inches tall, but still, nowadays she turns her fair share of heads and unlike Ami with an I, she did it with class.
    But still , a relationship with Evan, no matter how much Zoey had grown up, was not in the cards. She knew that giving in to her secret desires for Evan would be the end of her friendship with Kara and she couldn’t do that. Kara had made it clear when they were kids that hooking up with her brother was not an option. Kara had been her lifelong best friend and nothing was ever worth risking that.
    So Evan would only ever be her friend, Zoey could live with that, or so she told herself. And as his friend, what she couldn’t figure out was his need to bring around these bimbos and even more confusing was this Ami with an I. What is her problem? Most girls would be thrilled to be on a date with a guy like Evan, who by most female’s standards is considered a God among men. He was hot, super sweet and had done quite well for himself financially. He’s every girl’s dream. Okay sure, he wasn’t heir to a billion dollar fortune like Stefano, but still Evan did quite well for himself.
    The more Zoey thought about it, the more annoyed she was about what Ami had said. And not because Stefano was supposed to be there for her, but because Evan was a great guy. How dare Ami not recognize that in him. Did she not know how lucky she was to be here with Evan tonight?
    Kara walked over with Stefano and started to introduce him. “Zoey, this is ….”
    Ami interrupted. “Are you kidding? No introductions are necessary. Who doesn’t know this is Stefano Nikos?” She stuck out her hand and Stefano leaned down to kiss it. Ami giggled and stuck out her chest. “I saw you on TMZ at that party with Paris Hilton last spring.”
    Nudging Stefano out of Ami’s grasp, Kara turned his attention to Zoey.
    “This is Zoey, my nearest and dearest friend.”
    “It’s a true pleasure to meet you , Zoey. Kara has told me so much about you.”
    As she stood before Stefano , all of her butterflies were gone. Suddenly the man she had lusted after for all those months just didn’t seem as wonderful anymore. It was probably the way his eyes locked on Ami’s breasts as he greeted her or perhaps that he loved the way Ami recognized him. She really wasn’t interested in the pseudo celebrity type.
    Zoey turned around to grab her wine glass and when she did Evan glanced at her and for the first time that night, he noticed the low and seductive cut of the back of her dress. His eyes widened in surprise and then his gaze locked on Stefano who, at that very moment, had also noticed the sexy backless part of Zoey’s dress.
    Evan took off his suit