Page 40 of My Fiancé's Brother
“I just did.”
He watched my face with interest.
“All of my friends are going to go bananas over you, but to be honest, you scare me.”
The intensity of his stare whipped shivers up my spine. “You’re the one who scares me.”
I struggled to bring air into my lungs. Why did I scare him? How was that even possible? “I thought you didn’t feel fear.”
“I feel it. I just manage it.”
Our eyes stayed locked.
“Hello?” A voice intruded from the door.
I tore myself away from his gaze. Julie walked in, carrying two bottles of wine.
“Hi,” I scrambled towards her, part grateful and part resentful for the interruption.
We hugged.
She peeked around me. “Hi, Jackson.”
He raised his hand and waved.
She looked back at me, and a smile stuck on her face. She whispered through her smile. “I thought I told you that I wanted it to be a quiet evening?”
I had texted Julie a couple of days ago, telling her that we had upgraded the dinner to a party.
I cleared my throat. “I thought it would be a good chance for Jackson to meet people.”
“I wanted him to myself,” she hissed. “You have everything. Why couldn’t you help me out on this one thing?”
I glanced back at Jackson who watched our whispery exchange from the kitchen. “More alcohol and more chances to flirt than a boring old dinner.”
She pushed her arm into mine. “Good point. I forgive you.”
She spoke in a normal voice. “Where’s Matt?”
We walked to the island, and I checked my watch. “He should be home soon.”
She shifted her attention to Jackson. “Hi, Jackson. How are you?”
“Good, how are you?”
His friendly smile stunned Julie into an uncustomary silence. Her arm squeezed mine tight in response. Geez, he needed to keep that thing on a leash. Yup. I sensed a feeding frenzy in our near future.
“So what brings you to New York, Jackson?” Julie vibrated with energy.
I uncorked the wine and poured Julie a glass.
“I'm stateside for a few months.”
“Stateside? Are you in the military?”
“The Navy.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Like a real sailor?”
