Page 25 of My Fiancé's Brother
“When he hits five beers, shut him down. The last time he had six beers, he tried to take off his shirt at a work party.”
He smiled a smile that I felt down in my toes. “Still a lightweight?”
Seriously. This man needed to stop smiling at me. “Still a lightweight.”
“Come join us. I can do the dishes later.”
Who was this man? I decided that him being in the kitchen with me was more than a bad idea. I shook my head. “I think you two need man time.”
“What exactly is man time?”
“When you talk about women and sports and other secret topics that women don’t know about.”
His eyebrows moved up in amusement, but he obeyed and followed Matt onto the patio.
I washed the dishes,unable to stop myself from looking outside. Matt moved up and down from his chair. He regaled bigstories with big gestures. I recognized this Matt. He wanted to impress. Jackson reclined in his chair, his long legs crossed in front of him, playing audience to Matt. As if sensing my gaze, Jackson turned his head and looked directly at me. I flushed and spun around, embarrassed that he caught me staring. Still, I lingered. I wiped a counter that was already clean. I swept a floor that had no crumbs. I wanted to walk out onto that patio, but I held myself back.
Enough. I needed to stop. Since he had arrived, Jackson had pushed his way into my thoughts far more than was acceptable. Yes, he was stupidly hot and extremely manly with his big muscles and broad shoulders, but it wasn’t even that. It was the way he talked to me. When I spoke, he listened. He paid attention. He encouraged me.
Matt had become so busy at work and was so absent. It was normal to feel flattered that someone was noticing me as a human being. Right? Matt and I had a great relationship. Everyone said so. When we first started dating, he had been so attentive and fun. So life had gotten in the way a bit. He was rarely around. He seemed to work all the time. And did I need him hanging off my every word? That wasn’t a realistic expectation of a relationship, was it?
I loved Matt. He was everything I needed. He had a respectable job. He enjoyed some of the same things I did. We rarely fought. Did it matter that sometimes it seemed like we were two roommates leading different lives? Things would become different after we got married. Matt was going to be my husband. And we would have a wonderful marriage. I had everything I wanted and needed right here.
It was irresponsible to get distracted by this intense stranger who stared at me with those knowing green eyes. Just because he talked to me and seemed to see me, didn’t mean anything. That was just who he was. He was an intense person. You couldn’t misread someone’s intensity as interest. So, maybe he made my stomach flutter a bit. Anyone who still had a pulse would get a fluttery stomach around him. I was mature, and I could admit that he was attractive. So whatif he made me a bit nervous when he was around. That was normal. He would make anyone nervous.
But that didn’t mean I needed to read into anything. I wasn’t a college student anymore that daydreamed about hot men. I was the fiancée of a lawyer. And now, I just needed to refocus my energy on the wedding and Matt. Without looking back, I forced myself to climb the steps to my room.
To tryand get my mind off everything, I forced myself to read in bed. A soft tap sounded on my door. Matt poked his head in, giving me a grin.
“You look snug.”
“Hey.”
“How are you?” He sat down at the end of my bed.
“Good. Glad you got home for dinner.”
“Thanks for making Jackson feel so welcome.”
I blinked, remembering the golf club incident. “Are you joking?”
“He told me you bought the bed and fixed up his room. That was nice of you.”
My lips parted. I marveled that Jackson had not told Matt about the warm welcome he received when he showed up. “Any friend of yours is welcome.”
Matt studied me. “Are you sure?”
“He can stay here as long as he wants.” I lied. The sooner the man left, the better. I decided that maybe Matt having asshole friends was far preferable to nice attractive ones.
“Has Jackson told you what treatment he’s getting at the hospital?”
I shook my head.
“Me neither.”
We stared at each other. Didn’t Matt think it was weird that he had invited someone into our home that he barely seemed to knowanymore? A man who apparently wasn’t entirely comfortable here and who made Matt feel the same way. The whole situation baffled me.
“Is everything okay between you and Jackson?”
