In Love with My Brother's Best Friend: Complete Box Set (14 page)

I
leaned over and told Chris I'd be right back and took off for my mom.
When I got there, she wiped her eyes and then smiled at me.

“
Are
you having fun?” she asked. “I'm so glad you came.”

“
Cut
the shit, mom,” I said.

“
Tina,”
she scolded.

“
What
was that all about? Did that punk say something to hurt your
feelings?” I asked.

“
Jackson,”
she said. “He would never say anything hurtful to me, Tina. I
don't know what's going on with you two. He's such a sweet boy. This
is what he did.”

She
opened her hand and handed me a piece of paper. I unfolded it and
gasped.

“
What
the heck is this?” I asked. “It's a check from him.”

“
He
said it was to cover the reception,” my mom said. “I told
him I couldn't take it, but he wasn't having it.”

“
What's
up with him?” I asked.

“
What
do you mean?”

“
First
he rented that insanely expensive car for the wedding. Now this. He's
going to go broke trying to impress everyone. Why can't he just be
himself? Doesn't he know you'll love him just the same? Why does he
feel he has to look better than everyone else? He knows you're not
his parents,” I said feeling irritated.

“
He's
a good guy, Tina. He's not trying to be something he's not. I love
watching him do charity work. He has a good heart. Hasn't your
brother talked to you about him?” she asked.

“
About
what?” I asked. “He always did think he deserved more.
What did he finally decide to do after he finished playing around in
college? I saw him with that waiter last night.”

“
What?”
she asked in a deeper voice.

“
Yep,”
I said. “He was around the corner handing the guy something.
Always trying to impress.”

My
mom turned away from me.

“
Jackson,”
she yelled out. “You get over here right now.”

He
looked above her head and glared at me before looking down and
smiling at her.

“
What
is it, mom?” he asked.

He'd
called my parents mom and dad since he was in grade school. My mom
wouldn't hesitate to reprimand him just like she did us. It was funny
watching Mr. Bossy turn into a scared thirty year old at the tone of
her voice. I stuck my tongue out at him and turned to walk away.

I
noticed the guy I had stood up at the wedding with sitting alone. He
hadn't brought anyone with him, and Tim and Jackson were busy. I
walked over and leaned down next to him.

“
Dance
with me,” I said.

“
No
thanks,” he said.

I
grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

“
It's
a wedding,” I said. “Come on. I haven't seen you in so
long. I didn't realize the three of you had kept in contact. What do
you do?”

He
gave in and danced with me, but I noticed him being careful how close
we were.

“
I'm
an engineer. I haven't done as well as Jackson, but I've done pretty
well for myself,” he said.

Not
as good as Jackson. You've got to be kidding me, I thought. Did they
all think he was the most amazing man in the world? I couldn't help
but roll my eyes.

“
I
see everyone seems impressed with him. Not me,” I said. “He's
the same pain in the ass he was before. Can I ask you something?”

“
What?”
he asked.

“
What
did you mean yesterday when you said it wasn't my brother you were
worried about?” I asked.

“
Nothing,”
he said.

“
Come
on,” I said. “I need to know what you meant.”

“
Jackson
was crazier when it came to you than your brother ever was.”

“
What?”
I asked, as I stopped moving.

“
He
knew I was hanging out with your brother while he was off at college
those last two years. Jackson made a special trip over my house to
let me know that if he found out I talked to you or asked you out,
he'd come back and kick the shit out of me. It was no joke. He was
pissed at me. Your brother mentioned that I liked you in front of
him. The dude called me once a month to make sure I wasn't talking to
you. He did it to all kinds of guys. I know your brother was
protective, Tina, but he had nothing on Jackson. That dude was
heartless.”

I
stood still and watched his expression to see if he was kidding.

“
You're
being serious?” I asked.

“
Oh
yeah,” he said with a smile. “You should see him right
now. Your mom is giving him a talking to, but he's watching us. I'm
getting the daggers as we speak.”

I
walked away just as Jackson walked away from my mom. When I stomped
up behind him, he didn't see it coming. I grabbed his arm and pulled
him hard. The muscles under his sleeve flexed, and I couldn't believe
how hard it was. That wasn't stopping me. I pulled him around the
corner and walked closer to him. His back was against the wall, and
he was looking down at me.

“
Yes,
Tiny,” he said. “Thanks for ratting me out by the way.”

“
He
wasn't bad enough,” I said, as I pointed my finger into his
sexy, hard chest.

I
was so glad the music was loud enough to cover my voice.

“
I
couldn't fucking breathe without Tim on my back. Any guy that tried
to talk to me had to deal with him. My life sucked when it came to
dating. Now, ten years later, I find out you were worse than he was.”

“
Where
is that fucker?” he growled, as he stared straight into my
eyes.

I
could see his eyes darken to almost black.

“
Oh
no you don't,” I said, as I stepped even closer. “Even
after you left for college. I don't get it. Why? You had girls all
over you. You were the biggest damn player there was. Did you really
have to ruin every shot I had at happiness? You messed with me and
made fun of me every chance you got. Wasn't that enough? I guess you
had to do it from far away as well. He was my brother, so at least he
had an excuse. I wasn't even your sister. I was nothing to you.”

“
That's
not true,” he said, as he grabbed my arms with his large hands.

“
Which
part?” I asked.

Then
I shook my head. There was no way I was letting him mess with my
mind.

“
You
know what?” I said in a happy tone. “I don't want to
know. That's in the past with everything else.”

I
plastered a smile on my face and pushed off of his chest with my
hands.

“
I
have a party to get to,” I said with a smile.

“
What
the hell happened to you?” he asked, as he let go of my arms.
“You're so different.”

“
I
learned a long time ago that the shy, quiet girls get left behind.
They're not memorable enough to stick around for. I decided I didn't
want to be that girl anymore.”

I
turned on my heels and walked away.

“
Tiny,”
he yelled out after me.

Jackson

I
leaned back against the wall and ran my fingers through my hair. Just
a few more hours with her, and I could get my life back to normal
life. That meant seeing my parents in the morning and getting home to
book more meetings than ever. She was driving me crazy.

What
the hell did she mean not memorable? Nobody could forget that
gorgeous body and sarcastic mouth of hers. Not ten years before and
definitely not then either. That woman had herself etched into every
part of my brain. I couldn't get her out of my mind not matter how
hard I worked or how often I fucked. It was all about her.

Why
couldn't she realize how amazing she was, I wondered? It was guys
like me and Chris. That was the problem. She needed to find a good
man who would treat her like she was the only thing that mattered in
the world. It couldn't be that damn hard to find. She'd had me since
she was thirteen, but I wasn't him. I didn't deserve her. Her brother
could tell you that. He wanted me as far away from her as he could
get me.

When
I walked around the corner, I glared at that fucker Chris who was
sitting in his chair paying no attention to his woman. Bridget walked
up, rubbed her hand down my arm, and asked me to dance.

“
Why
not,” I said.

Maybe
she could help me get Tina out of mind. The entire time we danced, I
watched them both. I was like an obsessed fool. There was a very
sexy, beautiful woman crawling all over me for attention, but I
couldn't be bothered. What the hell, I thought.

Chris
barely touched her when they danced. It was like he was afraid of
her. That would be understandable considering her behavior the entire
day and night before. She'd probably knock him out. That wasn't the
same Tiny I remembered. They talked and laughed, but it wasn't
affectionate. I would have been holding her tight if she were mine.

She
never would be. Not after what I'd done. I'd never do that to Tim. He
wouldn't allow it. Instead, I let myself suffer every single day
without her. How silly, right? If I was an outsider, I would have
agreed. That woman owned me, but I would never let her know it. She
wouldn't want me anyway. Not after I'd walked away from her.

I
glared at Chris every chance I got. There was no way he needed to
feel comfortable after cheating on Tina. No fucking way. I wanted to
tear him apart, but I knew I couldn't ruin the wedding. Somehow I
needed to talk to Tim later. If I tried to talk to Tina, she would
just think I was being a dick. She was upset in their room, and he
was kissing someone else. I didn't understand why he was even with
her if she wasn't his type, but that was none of my business. It
didn't matter who he kissed. The problem was that it wasn't Tina his
lips were on. Not that I wanted his lips on her. Shit! It was all
driving me crazy.

Everyone
had left except for the wedding party and Tim's parents. We all
agreed to help cleanup so they wouldn't have to stay all night. Even
that punk that stood up with Tina was still there helping.

Tim
pulled me to the side so Renee could open my card with him. I told
them to do it later in private, but she didn't want to. She opened
the card and pulled out the plane tickets. Then she started crying,
wrapped her arms around my neck, and hugged me as she thanked me over
and over.

“
I
know you planned this wedding in a few days. I didn't want you to
miss out on a honeymoon,” I said. “You leave tomorrow
night. That gives you a few hours to pack.”

She
ran over to Tim's mom waving the tickets at her and crying about how
happy she was. I could see Tina looking over out of the corner of her
eye. When she noticed me watching, she rolled her eyes and shook her
head at me. I didn't want anyone to see them open the card. It seemed
like Tina was catching me in every spot I didn't want her to all damn
weekend.

Tim's
mom called me over to help her. I took my jacket off and rolled up my
sleeves. The place was so hot. I noticed Tina's eyes on me while I
was rolling them up. I smiled and she rolled her eyes yet again. What
a smart-ass, I thought. I could only imagine what shitty comment
would most likely come out of her mouth next. I walked over and
started helping her mom take the balloons off of the tables. She
still treated me exactly the same as she always had, and I loved her
for that. It didn't matter to her who I was or what I had. I was just
Jackson.