“Oh my God. Stop.” I glanced back at Jackson. “Sorry. She has no filter.”
“That’s okay. I’ve been called a lot of things. ‘Hot’ is preferable.” The corners of his mouth lifted, and I almost melted right there on the spot.
It wasn’t often he smiled or casually conversed. He was either ornery or all business, especially this past week. It was nice to see this side of him, one I’d glimpsed only a few times before.
Abby stepped in front of me, her focus entirely on the man standing before us. I had no idea what else was going to come flying out of her mouth that would mortify me. When I tugged on her arm to silently warn her, she shifted away from me.
“Thank you for protecting my sister from her ex.” She briefly touched Jackson’s forearm. “I can’t stand that guy, and I don’t trust him. But I feel better that she has you around.”
“Of course. Sophie is part of my team now, and I protect those around me.” His gaze veered toward mine, the softness behind his eyes making my belly flip.
Don’t get lost in your fantasies again.
Abby grabbed her phone from the coffee table and sat back on the couch. “You guys can talk about whatever you need to. I’ll entertain myself.” She winked at me, but I didn’t believe Jackson saw it.
Before I could ask him what he came over for, he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the kitchen. Because the apartment was so small, we weren’t that far away from my sister, but we did have a bit more privacy.
When I gently tugged my hand from his, disappointment flashed across his face, but it was so quick, I thought perhaps I’d mistaken the expression.
“My shoulder is bothering me again. I want to spend extra time on it tomorrow.”
“Sure. Did you want me to work on it now?”
“No. Visit with your sister. I can wait.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” he answered, moving toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Nice to finally meet you, Jackson,” my sister said in a singsong voice.
He smiled once more and nodded in her direction before looking at me. I couldn’t help but think he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t.
After I closed the door and rejoined my sister on the couch, she smacked my leg. “If you don’t take that man for a test drive, I’m going to think there is something wrong with you.”
Her wide eyes and huge smile had me conjuring images of the man in the nude.
“I’ve seen him naked,” I said, not realizing I’d spoken the words out loud until my sister responded.
“When?”
Instead of answering her, I added, “And he’s seen me naked too. Both times were not planned, of course.”
She waved her hand in the air as she swallowed a mouthful of pizza. “That’s it. I’m moving in here. I need to be around when all this stuff goes down. Not that I want to see you naked or anything, but this situation between you two is just too juicy.”
“Nothing else is going to happen.”
Directly after uttering those six words, a pang of disappointment swirled in my belly.
26
“How does that feel?” Sophie asked, pressing deeper into my shoulder. I winced. “Did you reinjure it recently, because you weren’t complaining about it the other day?”
I barely registered her question because she straddled my thigh as she worked on me. When she dug in once more, the prick of pain centered me.
“I wasn’t paying attention in the ring yesterday, and Nico managed to grab my arm and twist it the wrong way. I thought my shoulder was going to pop out of the socket again.”
“Would that explain the split lip he had earlier?” she asked, massaging the tender area.
