In Love with My Brother's Best Friend: Complete Box Set (18 page)

It
had just registered what he had said.

“
What?”
he asked. “Nothing. What do you mean he was worse than me?”

“
He
was threatening guys that wanted to talk to me while he was away at
college. I just found that out today. Do not tell me nothing. You
tell me right now what you meant by you asked him one thing, and he
couldn't do it.”

Tim
was silent on the other side of the phone.

“
If
you do not tell me right this second, you will be sorry, Tim.”

“
Tina,”
he growled.

“
Now,”
I growled back.

“
I
have to pack,” he said.

“
Pack
for what?” I asked. “Are you talking about the tickets
and whatever else Jackson gave you today?”

“
Yes,”
he said.

“
That
is complete bullshit,” I yelled into the phone. “You are
not going to talk about how horrible he is and how he's not your
friend or family anymore and then run off on a vacation he paid for.
How could you even think about doing that?”

“
It
wasn't any loss to him, come on,” he said. “Like he's
going to miss it.”

“
You're
an asshole. I can't believe you would say that. He didn't have to do
that for you. It's not his job to send you on a vacation. I'm sure he
worked hard for that money.”

Tim
laughed into the phone.

“
You
don't know anything about him, Tina,” he said.

When
I was walking away on the beach, Jackson said it wasn't what I
thought. He said it was because of Tim. Tim said he asked Jackson one
thing. What they hell were they talking about, I wondered?

“
I
will give you one more chance to tell me what you meant when you said
you asked Jackson to do one thing. What did you ask him?”

“
Why?”
he asked. “It's not like you care.”

“
You
ran every part of my life you could, Tim.”

“
I
was protecting you,” he said.

“
From
what?” I asked. “It wasn't your job to protect me. You
needed to let me live my life. You put your nose in my business every
chance you could.”

“
I
just didn't want you to get hurt. What's so wrong with that? What is
so wrong with me loving my sister enough to not want guys to use her?
Look at you. You're so damn different now. You knew he was a player.
Girls were falling all over him. I didn't want you to just be another
one of those girls. When I saw you at your thirteenth birthday and he
was joking around about kissing you, I saw the way you looked at him.
There was no way he was ever going to touch you. Do you hear me? I
wasn't stupid. I knew you had a crush on him. I never wanted his
hands on you. He was my best friend. He fucking promised me.”

“
Shit!”
I cried out. “I have to go. If you go on that trip after you
decided he was no longer your friend, then you are not the man I
thought you were. Have a great time. I'm sorry you found out.
Goodbye.”

“
Tina,”
I heard him yell as I hit the end call button.

I
threw my phone down on my bed and took off through the door of our
room. When I reached the elevator, I didn't know what to do. Where
was he, I wondered? I knew he was in the same hotel. Had he left? I
pushed the down button, jumped in when the doors opened, and pushed L
for Lobby over and over. I ran through the lobby and out into the
parking lot. His car was still there. The car he rented was right
next to mine. I ran back into the lobby and that girl from school
gave me a strange look. By the time I reached the desk, I could
barely breathe.

“
What
room?” I asked with a gasp.

“
What?”
she asked.

“
Jackson,”
I said. “What room is his?”

“
I
can't tell you that,” she said with a smirk.

“
Fine,”
I said. “I'll call my brother and get it.”

I
turned to walk away, and she let out a huff before saying the room
number in a snotty tone.

“
Thank
you,” I said, as I ran for the elevator and began pushing the
up button repeatedly.

I
hurried in and pushed the button for the top floor. What was with the
top floor, I thought? He probably had a great view of the beach. His
ass was always lucky. As soon as the doors opened, I flew out and
looked around. It was different than our floor. There was usually a
list of which direction to go for which room numbers. His floor
didn't have that. There was a door to the left and a door to the
right. The number she gave me was on the right. I shook my head and
hurried over to it. Without thinking, I pounded on the door. After a
moment, I pounded again and kept going until the door swung open
wide.

“
What?”
he yelled out before looking up to actually see who it was.

I
stood silent with my bottom lip pulled between my teeth as I moved
nervously from one foot to the other. Maybe I should have taken the
time to think about what I wanted to say before rushing to his room.
He stood in front of me looking so damn good. His pink shirt only
highlighted his sexiness. The sleeves were rolled up and the top two
buttons were undone. Every nerve in my body felt his presence. Being
around him instantly warmed me. I stood for a moment longer before
looking into his eyes.

“
Can
I come in?” I asked.

Jackson

When
I opened the door, I thought it was Tim. Tina looked up at me so
unsure and nervous. How could she feel that way? I never wanted her
to feel that way with me. She was there. I couldn't believe it and
had no idea what to say to her. There was no way I wanted to say
something that would have her turning to run. I watched her gaze move
down and back up my body before landing on my eyes. How much could
she see, I wondered? I felt like she could see straight into my
heart. Nobody ever made me feel that uneasy and nervous. I was a
confident man that controlled every single thing I was involved in.
My guard was never down. I was always in charge. That was how I'd
done as well as I had. She was the only woman that could rip that all
away in seconds. I never felt that confidence with her. She scared
the shit out of me. How funny. If she only knew. I could stand tall
in front of some of the richest men in the world and never waver
while making deals worth millions of dollars. Then there was her.
Tiny could bring me to my knees in seconds.

I'd
been there to hear what she'd said on the beach, but I didn't let her
know it. I watched her sit there so conflicted with herself. She'd
said she couldn't believe she let me do this to her and that she
hoped I didn't lose her family. Did she care about me? What did I do
to her?

We
stood for what seemed like forever with our eyes connected. She was
definitely nervous.

“
Can
I come in?” she asked in almost a whisper.

As
soon as I nodded slightly, she walked through the door and stopped
frozen.

“
Shit!”
she whispered before looking around.

I
watched her eyes travel around the entire room. There were couches
and chairs everywhere. The television filled an entire wall. There
were wall to ceiling windows that looked out onto the beach. She
looked over at the large dining table. When she turned toward me, she
shook her head.

“
This
is exactly what I was telling my mom about,” she said. “Why
can't you just be yourself?”

“
What?”
I asked.

“
Nothing,”
she said. “I'm leaving tomorrow. I won't be back. It's harder
than I thought it would be, Jackie. You need to fix this with Tim and
my parents. I need to know that everything's okay. It's all my fault.
I'm so damn sorry for saying that to you there. It was wrong of me. I
know that. I will never do anything to screw up your relationship
with them again. My mom loves you. You know that. Do not let me get
in the way. Everything is my fault. I shouldn't have come back.”

“
Tiny,”
I said.

“
Stop
it,” she said. “You tried to stop that day. You changed
your mind, but I asked you to keep going. You wanted to walk away,
and I didn't let you. I wanted you to be my first. That part I don't
regret. I was only eighteen and had no experience. You were twenty
and had women falling at your feet. I get it. I was your friend's
little sister. It was so stupid of me to think that you'd be
interested in me. I was quiet and shy and nothing like the girls you
were with. You wanted to leave but felt bad. You sat down and talked
to me like never before. I was caught up in the moment. I thought I
had a chance with you. I'd missed you so damn bad while you were away
at school. I can't blame you for being gone the next morning. It
wasn't your fault. I'd have been embarrassed too if I were you.”

“
That's
total bullshit,” I growled. “You listen to me.”

“
Stop,”
she said. “I'm a grown woman. Do not for one second feed me a
line of shit. I have a life, and it's really good. Just be honest
with me. That's all I want right now. You will never see me again
after tonight. Cut the shit. Tim told me. He told me you made a
promise to him that you would never be with me. All these years I
thought I wasn't good enough. I thought there was something I didn't
have that all those other girls did. I thought I wasn't memorable. I
thought you were embarrassed to have been with me. To find out ten
years later that the only reason you fucked me was because you
weren't supposed to hurts like a bitch.”

“
What?”
I said.

I
didn't get exactly what she meant. How could she think I had sex with
her just because her brother asked me not to? Was she kidding? The
conversation had taken a turn I never expected.

“
Hold
on,” I said, as I took her chin and lifted it so I could see
her face.

She
had tears in her eyes. I rubbed them away with my thumbs.

“
Close
your mouth and listen to me right now, Tiny,” I said. “You
are so damn wrong about everything. I fucked you because I wanted
you. Do you hear me?”

For
each step I took toward her, she took one back. When her back hit the
door she'd just walked in minutes before, her body tensed.

“
Jackie,”
she said sternly.

“
I
am not through, woman,” I said just as sternly. “I have
heard that cocky mouth of yours for two days. It has taken all I have
not to throw you over my shoulder and spank that ass of yours. You
need to quiet yourself and let me finish, or you are going to find
out what happens when you challenge me. Not for one second did I
think you would think what you did after that night. I never would
have let you think that. I honestly thought that night never meant
shit to you.”

She
opened her mouth, and I narrowed my eyes in warning at her.

“
I
enjoyed talking to you that night. It was the only time we'd had a
genuine conversation that didn't involve one of us putting the other
down. When we kissed, there was no place else I would have wanted to
be. The reason I tried to pull away when I realized you were a virgin
had nothing to do with not wanting you. It had everything to do with
feeling you deserved better than me. Your first time should have been
with someone you loved and felt things for. You are a million times
better than any of those girls. There is nothing they had that you
didn't. I never have and never would be embarrassed to be with you,
Tiny. I can't believe you could even say that. As for memorable, you
have no fucking clue.”

My
hand held her chin to make sure I could see her eyes. I could feel
her entire body shake. Tears were building and slowly slipping from
her eyes one by one. I wasn't letting go. She needed to know I meant
what I was saying. I needed her to see that she was better than any
other woman I had ever been with. She needed to know her worth in my
world. I couldn't let her leave without knowing that night meant
something to me. I didn't want her to ever leave.