“Seems like I can be as sassy as I want when my brother is around.” She puts a cinnamon roll on a plate and sets itdown loudly in front of me. “The soup and sandwich will be out shortly.” She lifts an eyebrow, and her tone is all business again.
I sigh and turn, then walk to Jackson’s table. He’s got about three bites left of a three-tiered stack of pancakes, swimming in syrup.
He takes a bite and hums. “I haven’t had breakfast like this in forever. A few days of this and I’ll need a sugar detox when I get home.”
“Or you could lay off the pancakes while you’re here,” I tease.
“No can do. No one makes them like my sister.”
“Can’t argue with you there.”
“What were you guys talking about over there? I couldn’t tell if I was going to have to break up a fight or if you guys were actually getting along.”
“We don’tfight,” I say, frowning.
He snorts. “Right.”
“We’re getting along…better,” I say carefully.
I take a sip of coffee and close my eyes. I don’t know why I ever criticized Juju’s coffee. It’s fucking delicious.
His eyes round in surprise. “Well, good. What brought about this change?”
I swallow. “I…took what you said to heart. I miss the days when we got along too.”
He smiles. “That’s great, man. I’m really glad to hear that.” He leans in. “How are things going with her and Bentley?”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s going to be an issue. I think they’re just friends.”
His expression is skeptical. “Are you sure? Papa and Uncle Hal don’t seem to think so.”
I turn and look around the cafe. “Where are they? Every time I’ve been here lately, they’re entertaining the place.”
He shakes his head. “I have no idea. I drove in this morning expecting to see them, but they’re nowhere to be found. Juju said they told her they had an important errand to run.”
“Hmm. Well, it’s a lot quieter around here without them.” I laugh.
“Anyway, back to you and Juju…it’s a relief, man. I know you’re not gonna be like best friends overnight or anything, but…it’ll be nice if you can at least get along.” He laughs under his breath. “Do you know that for a long time, I thought you two might end up together.” He looks at me likeIsn’t that the craziest thing?
My mouth goes dry.
He shakes his head. “God, you’d be such a disaster together.”
I choke on air, and his eyes narrow when I cough.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I croak. “Just…why do you say we’d be a disaster together? Just curious,” I add.
“I mean, there’s the obvious.” He holds out his hand and starts ticking things off. “The way you bicker. Even if you’re keeping the peace for my sake, you’ve done nothing but set each other off for years.” He leans back in his chair, looking at me like he’s got it all figured out. “There’s nothing about it that would work. Your schedules are completely different. You’re going to bed a couple hours before she’s getting up. You’re both obsessed with your restaurants.” He points at me. “You, especially. You barely have time for me—you think you’d have time for a woman? And then there’s the little issue of you never being serious about anyone. You’re a serial one-night stander.”
My chest has been tightening the longer he talks. “Are you sure you’re not thinking of your pattern? I’ve had one-night stands, sure, but it’s because I don’t have time to get to know people and date.”
He holds his hand out. “Exactly my point.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m not capable of it! I’ve been trying to build a career here, and the timing hasn’t been right. Doesn’t mean it’ll never happen for me.”
Jackson leans forward, his elbows on the table. “Hey, I didn’t mean to offend you. I know you’ll have it all one day, man.” His lips lift again in a cocky grin. “It just would never be with my sister, is all I was saying. None of it matters anyway, since this is all hypothetical. I know you’d never go back on your word. That’s not who you are.”
