In Love with My Brother's Best Friend: Complete Box Set (31 page)

I
rolled my eyes and looked away from him.

“
You're
the reason why. I work every fucking second of the day so I can keep
my mind off of you.”

“
Here
we go,” I mumbled.

“
Zip
it, woman,” he snapped. “I've listened to that cocky
mouth talk shit for two weeks now. You need to knock it off and let
me speak. I didn't take two separate flights yesterday and run all
over town to have you walk away without hearing what I have to say to
you. I've had a thing for your ass since the day I walked down those
stairs and you ended up on my chest. I stayed away from you for your
brother. I chased guys away from you because I wanted you for myself.
I missed you so damn bad while I was gone at school. When I saw you
on the beach that night and we talked, I needed you more than I have
ever needed anyone or anything in my life. I walked away because of
him and my family, your family. I've spent the last ten years working
my ass off every moment of every day for you.”

“
Why
didn't you tell me you owned the place then?” I asked.

“
I
wasn't going to tell you while you were here with some asshole that
wasn't even paying attention to you. It took all I had to hold myself
together, and you see how well that went. I had to buy his ass a new
phone. When you showed up at my room, I had every intention of
telling you everything. I didn't want to ruin the night and planned
to tell you in the morning, but you ran from me. When you started
talking to me once you went home, I didn't want to do anything to
make you push me away. I wanted to tell you in person.”

“
I
don't get it,” I said.

“
I
thought if I worked so hard, there would be no time to wonder where
you were or what you were doing. It didn't work. I bought a house I
knew you would love. I help charities I knew you would want to help.
I've built schools because of you and your love for teaching kids. Do
you think I care about the money? Do you think I've built what I have
to impress my parents? No, I've built what I have hoping that one day
you'd come back and be proud of who I was.”

“
Then
you don't know me at all, Jackie,” I said. “I don't care
about money. You should know that. Why would you think wealth would
impress me? Why would you think I wasn't proud of you before I even
left? You never even gave me a chance. You fucking ran from me.”

“
I
know I did, Tiny. I've regretted that every single day, and that's
made me work that much harder to build a life you would be proud of.
I should have stood up for you, for us. I should have told your
brother to fuck himself ten years ago instead of two days ago. He
told me what he said to you. He still doesn't think I'm good enough
for you. You know what, he's right. I'm not good enough for you. You
deserve a man that would never let someone else decide their life.
I've worked very hard to be that man. I don't give a shit what Tim
thinks. You're my Tiny. You always will be.”

He
had me, and I knew it. Then I remembered the fact that he was with
another woman the day before his heartfelt words.

“
Hold
on,” I said, trying to pull out of his hold without success.
“You did it again. You almost had me. You should bottle that
shit. I have no idea how you do it.”

“
What?”
he asked offended.

“
You
really feel that way?” I asked. “You feel all of those
things you just said.”

“
Of
course I do,” he said confused.

“
If
you have all of those feelings for me, why were you with another
woman yesterday, and where is she now?”

He
shook his head and laughed, which made me pull at my wrists even
harder.

“
You
drive me crazy, Tiny,” he said. “I wasn't with another
woman yesterday.”

“
Why
did Andrea say you were?” I asked confused.

“
I
had just walked out of an awful meeting and was about to walk into
another when I got an unexpected call. It came at the perfect time. I
could hear in your voice that you were worried about me, Tiny. When
you mentioned coming to kick someone's ass, it sounded so good. The
thought of seeing you instantly brought a smile to my face. I walked
into that meeting, and you were all I could think about. I'd just
been to see your brother the night before to discuss things, and that
hadn't ended the way I'd hoped it would. The only thing I could
concentrate on was the thought of holding you in my arms. I walked
out of the meeting, walked into my office, and booked a flight to New
York.”

“
What?”
I asked with wide eyes. “Jackie.”

He
narrowed his eyes at me.

“
I'm
not done yet,” he said. “My exact words to Andrea on my
way out were “I'm going to claim my woman.” I went home,
packed a bag, and went to the airport. When I arrived in New York, I
went straight to the restaurant to get Chris to cancel his plans with
you. He showed me the text you had sent him earlier already canceling
the plans. He had me wait a few minutes before driving me to your
apartment.”

“
You
saw my apartment?” I asked.

“
I
sure did,” he said before taking a deep breath. “We'll
discuss that later. I had Chris send you that text. You know the one.
I believe you talked about what an ass I was. When I realized where
you were, I had him drive me back to the airport. I might possibly
have offered him my car. He turned me down. He said all he wanted was
for me to fix your pain. He really is a good guy. I had no idea why
you were so upset and told me off before turning your phone off. My
only hope was that you would go see your mom before you took off. I
called her and begged her to keep you here. I honestly don't think
she was going to until I told her that I loved you. She had to offer
you lasagna to keep your ass here. I guess some things stay the same
when everything else changes.”

I
stood there speechless and wondering if he even realized what he'd
just said.

“
What?”
he asked.

A
tear slipped from the corner of my eye. I'd been trying so hard not
to let him see what he was doing to me. I couldn't answer him.

“
Don't
look at me like that,” he said, as he let go of one wrist and
wiped the tear away. “I love you, Tiny. You have to know that.
Look at me. I flew all day yesterday for you. You're my Tiny. I don't
care what anyone has to say. If they don't like it, they don't have
to talk to me. I can't do it anymore. I should have stood up for us a
long time ago. I might not be perfect, but I will love you deeper
than any other man ever could. I don't care if I have to sell the
company and move to New York. You belong with me. You always have.
You can either let me claim my woman now, or you can make me chase
her. It won't matter. I won't give up.”

I
stood looking into his sexy, dark eyes.

“
Why?”
I asked.

“
Why
what?” he replied.

“
Why
me?” I asked. “Look at me. I showed up at your company in
jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers with no makeup on and my hair in a
messy bun on top of my head. I work two jobs to get by. I'm not
anything special. I saw the way that girl in the lobby turned all red
when she talked about you. Don't get me started on
straight-out-of-a-magazine Andrea. Not one hair was out of place on
her head. She said she'd been trying to get with you since the day
she started working there. You own a car I couldn't imagine renting
for one hour. Your clothes look like they're made just for you. You
deserve a woman that's going to hang on your every word and look like
a million bucks on your arm. That's not who I am. Why not one of
them?”

“
They're
not my Tiny,” he said. “That's why. It's always been you.
I love you, baby.”

I
couldn't hold back my tears. We were standing in front of each other,
both looking like shit, professing our love to the other.

“
I
love you too, Jackie,” I said.

He
grabbed the back of my head and slammed his lips to mine. I wrapped
my arms around his neck and jumped into his arms. He kissed me with
just as passion and I was him. His teeth grabbed my lower lip and
pulled before thrusting his tongue in and battling mine for control.
When we both finally gasped for air, I hugged him tighter than I
thought was possible. He slapped my ass and let my feet fall to the
floor when we heard a sound from the other room. We both looked
toward the doorway to see my mom and dad standing there. My dad had
his eyes narrowed at Jackson, and my mom had the biggest smile on her
face.

“
Anyone
in the mood for some lasagna?” she asked with a laugh.

I
shook my head and laughed.

“
I
would love some,” I said. “I'm starving.”

It
might have been breakfast time, but I was getting my lasagna. I
grabbed Jackson's hand and started walking toward her.

“
We
need to talk about that apartment you live in,” he said sternly
from behind me.

“
Not
now, Jackson,” my mom yelled out from in front of us. “I
need a few hours with her before you piss her off again.”

We
all burst into laughter, as we headed to the kitchen for some of my
mom's amazing lasagna.

Tina

I
couldn't take my eyes off of him the entire time we sat at the table
with my parents. He looked so rough and so sexy at the same time. Did
he mean it? Did he really love me?

It
was like he knew I was thinking about him. He looked into my eyes
with a huge smile on his face.

As
soon as we finished eating, he stood from the table and walked over
to my mom. He leaned down and pulled her into his arms for a hug.

“
Thank
you so much for keeping my runner here,” he said. “It
felt horrible being so far away.”

“
Anything
for my kids,” she said.

I
couldn't help but look him up and down. His shirt was still open at
the top and was no longer tucked in. He seriously was the sexiest man
I had ever seen in my life. He held out his hand for me to take it.

“
Come
home with me,” he said.

I
took his hand and nodded as I stood up. We hugged my parents, and he
grabbed his bags. As soon as we got into my rental car, I laughed.

“
What's
so funny?” he asked.

“
That
car was yours,” I said.

He
shook his head and laughed.

“
It
was,” he said.

Jackson
drove since I wasn't sure where he lived exactly.

“
The
building your company is in is amazing,” I said. “It was
so warm and welcoming inside. I can't explain it. I was impressed
with the fireplace outside of your office.”

“
Did
you go inside?” he asked.

“
No,”
I said.

“
There's
one inside as well. The windows even darken. About Andrea.”

“
I
don't want to know,” I said, as I cut him off.

“
No,
Tina,” he said. “I didn't mean that. I was just going to
say that she's never said anything inappropriate to me. I do catch
her checking me out all the time. If she didn't know my schedule and
jump on stuff no matter what day or time, I would fire her. I've
never done anything with her, and I never would.”

I
nodded, as I looked out the window.

“
When
do you work next?” he asked.

“
Monday,”
I answered. “I have a flight out late tomorrow already booked.
I would like to see my parents again before I leave though. Who knows
when I'll be back again.”