“Thanks, Jake!” she says as she takes off with her bubble bath and her phone. Shannon smiles at me.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
I catch Aaron staring at me with a wistful expression, and can’t resist the heat that rises in my cheeks.
“Sharing is caring, right?” I say as I finish arranging my cheese slices.
Betsy sets some bowls on my board, filled with spreads and toppings. Sundried tomatoes, nuts, honey. Olives. My stomach growls on cue.
“Speaking of sharing; you boys want to drag these out to the deck for me while I prep the grill pans?” Betsy asks. Aaron nods as he reaches for my board.
“Sure.” The motion puts him closer to me, close enough I can smell his cologne. Close enough, I could lean in and kiss his neck if I wanted to.
“Sure,” I say as I turn abruptly to grab Betsy’s tray, while Shannon picks hers up.
I follow Aaron outside onto the deck and nearly drop my tray. Deck doesn’t even begin to describe it. It’s a huge wrap-around porch, and the view is absolutely stunning. It overlooks the water, but there’s a ramp that runs off the porch over the water to a covered gazebo decked out with furniture and tables, where Chris, Mr. Everett, and a few other men are seated. One looks our way, and waves at Shannon, and I assume that’s her husband, but my blood stops when the second man turns to look our way.
No. There is absolutely no way I’m seeing who I think I am seeing.
“Who’s that?” I ask as I lean closer to Aaron.
“Who?” he asks.
“The guy staring at us,” I drawl, my voice bordering shaky.
Aaron lets out a heavy breath when he sees him.
“Fuck, I didn’t think he was here yet,” he says.
My heart beats fast in my chest as he says the words that render me fucked.
“That’s Garrett Tempest. Son of Robert Tempest, heir toTempest Hotels.” He breathes out a heavy sigh. “My ex.”
Chapter Seventeen
Aaron
I don’t miss the way Jacob tenses beside me, under Garrett’s unscrupulous gaze. I thought I would’ve at least had a day or so before I had to deal with him.
“Aaron,” he says, getting up from his seat on the couch. He heads towards us, his gaze trained directly on my date.
I step in front of Jacob without a second thought, noting the way Chris is watching us both.
I don’t miss how his gaze falls to Jacob, either.
“Do you need help with that?” Garrett asks smoothly as he steps aside, looking at Jacob.
“No, I’m good, thanks,” Jacob says, taking a step forward, heading for the table at the center of the gazebo to set down his tray. I hold Garrett’s gaze.
“So that’s the boyfriend, huh?” he asks, licking his lips. “You didn’t tell me you were seeing someone, Aaron.”
I growl at him as I clutch my board of cheese. “And you didn’t tell me you got fucking married again, so I guess that makes us even.”
I shove past him, pushing my scowl away, and set my tray on the left. Aunt Shannon takes a seat next to her husband and Garrett trails behind me, his footsteps echoing in the space. I slide my hand around Jacob’s waist and pull him down onto the couch with me. He falls right into my lap, and I make no move to hide the way I wrap my arms around him as Garrett sits next to George. But he makes no move to touch him or hold him. Instead, he grabs his drink, sits back and glares at me for a moment before my dad steals everyone’s attention.
Jacob doesn’t move as my father speaks, talking about how he is so thankful we’re all able to be here and a bunch of other bullshit. But all I can focus on is the man in my lap who has gone frozen. I shift my stance, letting him get comfortable as I lean up and whisper in his ear, “Relax, baby. I got you.”
That seems to help a fraction as Jacob settles into me, but I can still sense his tension.
