“Actually, Jackson said he’d meet me here and take me to your house. The timing didn’t work out on him picking me up at the airport, so I caught an Uber and came straight here.”
“Perfect.” Oh. Shit. Here we go. Hopefully, I can keep my expression neutral around the two of them.
I make a show of glancing at the clock to hide my sudden case of nerves. “He should be along any time now. Come on, you can at least have a bite to eat while you wait, and then we can catch up tonight.” I grab her luggage and wheel it to my office. “Let me help these folks, but feel free to look around.”
In all the years I’ve owned my bakery, this is the first time she’s come in person. I don’t know why that sudden realization hits me so hard. It’s not like she wasn’t on video chat with me while I shopped colors or decided on my decor. She even helped me brainstorm menu names.
But having her here in person only highlights how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other, and how much distance is between us. After the first round of excitement, we catch up between customers, which makes me hyperaware of all the little ways she’s changed. Her smile isn’t as natural, and her eyes aren’t as bright as I remember. She seems more reserved. I feel out of the loop on the details ofher life, and I don’t like it. But it’s hard to stay close when you don’t see each other at least once a year.
After nearly an hour, Jackson comes barreling in through the back. He’s dressed for the gym, those long legs eating up the distance between us, and stupid butterflies erupt in my stomach at the sight of him.
He wraps his sister in a similar hug to the one she and I shared. I don’t miss how her eyes close as he wraps her up in those beefy arms. I know all too well how good those hugs feel.
Jealousy bites at me that I can’t have one of my own right now. And since my body is still buzzing from last night, I can’t ignore how much I wish he’d corner me in my office and brand me with a kiss. Looks like our one-night-only really is going to be that after all.
I try, and fail, to ignore the disappointment washing through me. Not because I don’t want Alice here, but because I wish there were a world where Jackson could be mine, and Alice would be happy for us.
Alice looks to me once Jackson releases her. “I guess we’ll just head to your house if it’s still okay that I stay with you.”
I paste a smile on my face. “Yeah, sure. Of course.”
She turns away and grabs her purse, and I sneak a look at Jackson. He rakes his gaze over me before giving me a wink. The corner of his mouth lifts like he knows I’m remembering the way he woke me up this morning with his mouth between my legs.
“Where’s your stuff, sis?” he asks casually, completely unaffected by the eye fucking he’s giving me. I’m not sure what message he’s trying to send. That we can hide this attraction? That we can hide that hours ago, we werebanging each other’s brains out? Me, I’m not so convinced I can pull this off.
“It’s in the office,” I choke out, turning away. “I’ll grab it. I need to get a house key for you anyway.”
I make a break for the sanctuary of my office. I’m digging through the vastness of my purse, trying to find the spare key I tossed in at the last minute this morning, when large hands snake around my waist and the warmth of Jackson molds to my back. Lips land on my neck as he murmurs, “Need some help?”
“I know I tossed those stupid keys in here. Everything just sinks to the bottom and gets lost.” The keys jingle in the hidden recesses of my purse as I fumble around.
“I don’t know how you ever find a damn thing in there,” he quips a little too loudly, before nipping my ear. All the fine hairs on my arms stand at attention. He runs a hand up the valley of my breasts, pulling me upright, holding me close and stealing my breath in the process. “We’re going to have to get creative.”
“Or we could just talk to Alice,” I mutter.
His swallow is audible. “Not yet,” he whispers, then presses a lingering kiss just behind my ear. Ugh.
“Chicken,” I whisper.
Finally, I manage to get my fingers on the keychain and pull it out, making extra noise to show that yes, in fact, we were only getting a set of keys. Jackson rolls her luggage to his Jeep, and they leave with promises of plenty of catch-up time later this evening for me and Alice.
The pang of jealousy that blasts through me surprises me. I want to be leaving with them. I want a quiet night with Jackson. I want her to be happy that we are together, and I’m terrified she’ll hate us both for whatever this is betweenus.
What does Alice being here mean for our adventure days? How are we going to keep this hidden? Does he expect us to keep her in the dark? Will she even care? We’re all grown-ass adults.
It feels kind of stupid that she’d have a problem with us being together, but after all they’ve been through, I guess I can understand why he’s not all gung ho on telling his sister we’ve been exploring each other more than we’ve explored the outdoors.
Still, the more I think about it, the more I internalize the issue, and the more frustrated I get.
These two should’ve had plenty of time to reconnect and clear the air. And their inability to communicate is now affecting me. I watched from the outside while their relationship imploded because they wouldn’t just have a damn conversation. We could all do with a big helping of honest communication.
By the time I close the shop, I’m itching to come clean and have it out in the open.
But when I get home, all hope of having it out with the two of them flies out the window. Jackson’s Jeep isn’t here, and my house is dark. They probably dropped her luggage and took off again.
Between my roller coaster of emotions throughout the day and my lack of sleep from a night spent with Jackson, I’m exhausted. I collapse into the comfort of my couch and close my eyes for just a minute. Maybe it’s not a bad thing for me to be here by myself for a while so I can get my mind right.
But the longer I lie there, the more floaty I feel. I roll to my side and pull the blanket from the backrest, trying to stop the room from spinning.
