In Love with My Brother's Best Friend: Complete Box Set (13 page)

“
Jackson,”
I yelled.

I
jumped when he stopped and turned toward me. My fingers slipped from
his arm when my eyes met his. They were dark, and there was so much
emotion in them.

“
What
is going on with you?” I asked.

His
hands were on my arms and my back was against the wall in seconds. I
felt my breath catch at the quickness of his movements. My skin was
on fire where his fingers were connected with me. Little flames were
shooting through my body. His mouth was inches from mine. I could
feel the warmth of his breath on my face.

“
Is
that what you want?” he asked.

“
What?”
I asked confused.

“
Him,”
he said.

“
What
about him?” I asked.

“
Do
you care about him?” he asked.

“
Of
course I do,” I answered. “What kind of question is that?
I would never do anything with someone I didn't care about, Jackson.”

His
lips came toward me just as I heard a door and saw Chris out of the
corner of my eye.

“
Tina,”
Chris said.

Jackson
pulled back and released my arms.

“
Your
too good for him, Tiny,” he growled out. “This
conversation is not over.”

He
took off down the hallway and disappeared into the elevator. I was
frozen, staring at the spot he had just been standing in. What in the
world was he talking about? Why was he such a mess, I thought? I
turned toward Chris and walked back into our room.

“
What
was that about?” Chris asked.

“
I
have no idea. He asked if you were what I wanted. He asked if I cared
about you. Then he said I was too good for you. Something has him
flipping out. Do you have any idea what it could be?”

“
No,”
Chris said. “I haven't seen him since we got back to the hotel
from dinner. Maybe he's feeling guilty about something. Maybe seeing
you with me is working on him.”

“
It's
going to be a long day,” I said with a smile. “I can't
believe my brother's getting married. I won't let anything ruin his
day.”

Jackson

I
couldn't do it.

She
looked so happy snuggled in against his side. How could he cheat on
her like that, I wondered? If she were mine, I would never put anyone
else above her. Who was I kidding, I thought? I was no better than
him. She'd said it herself. I was gone before she woke up. I'd left
her. I was just as big of an ass as he was. I had to do it. She
didn't understand. I didn't have a choice. If I had stayed, her
brother would have found out what I'd done. They all would have
known. I would have lost every single one of the people that mattered
to me. I'd let my best friend down.

I
tried to shake off my feelings before opening the door to my suite.
Tim was still out cold in his bed. He needed to get up, eat, shower,
and get dressed.

I
picked up the phone and ordered room service. There was no way I
could eat, but I had to make sure Tim looked good for his woman. Food
was the perfect start to that.

He
looked so damn comfortable with his face planted into the pillow. How
he was breathing, I had no idea. I shook his shoulder, but he didn't
budge. Then I pushed and rolled him onto his back. He was definitely
a sight. I couldn't help but laugh at the mess of a man in front of
me.

“
You
have to get up,” I yelled from above him. “Renee will
kick both of our asses if you're late. I think your mom and sister
will be in line behind her. Come on.”

He
opened one eye and looked up at me.

“
Get
your ass up, man,” I said.

He
let out a grunt and tried to roll over. I grabbed his legs and pulled
him to the edge of the bed.

“
Just
like old times,” I mumbled.

I
helped him to his feet and walked him to the bathroom. Then I turned
on the shower and shoved him in.

“
Shit,
Jackson,” he yelped from under the chilly water. “Give a
guy a minute.”

“
Leave
your clothes in there. I'll get them cleaned and drop them off at
your mom and dad's house on my way out tomorrow.”

I
heard a bunch of groaning and grumbling as I closed the bathroom
door.

Tim's
phone chimed from the nightstand in his room. I hurried in to check
it. There was a text from Tina. She must not have trusted that I'd
make sure he was there.

Tina:
Are you up? Just making sure you're going to be there on time. It's
your day, big brother. I'll give you that for today only. I can't
believe you're really doing this. I'm so glad you two found each
other. Hang onto her, Tim. You better treat her right. Don't you ever
hurt her. That shit stays with a girl forever. I love you.

I
read her message twice before sending one back.

Tim:
I pulled him out of bed ten minutes ago and threw him dressed into a
cold shower. Food will be here any minute. He'll be there on time. I
wouldn't let him ruin his wedding. Have some faith in me.

Tina:
That's the funniest thing I've heard all day. Thanks for getting him
up.

I
couldn't help myself. I had to get her number and quickly programmed
it into my phone before setting his back on the nightstand.

By
the time he was finished, the food had arrived.

He
piled his plate high. Tim was the only guy I knew that ate that much
with a hangover. There was no way I was eating at all.

We
got dressed in record time. Tim wore a very nice black suit. I
brought my closest match to his. He had a white dress shirt and I had
a pink one. Bridget was wearing a dress that matched my shirt. I did
my best to coordinate with what they needed. My hair was wet but had
the perfect, messy look going. I knew how Tina felt about my hair
when we were younger, so it was looking amazing. She was an ass man.
I'd known that forever. There was no missing her watching my ass when
we were younger either. My suits always fit my ass like a glove. I
was looking pretty damn good.

I
put my arm around Tim's shoulder and laughed, as we both looked into
the mirror. We used to do it anytime we went out when we were in high
school.

“
You
ready to sign your life away?” I asked.

“
Couldn't
be more ready,” he said.

“
I'm
seriously happy for you two,” I said, as I handed him an
envelope. “Open this with Renee whenever you want today. We've
got a wedding to be at. I love you, man.”

We
did our bro hug and headed for my car. I threw him my keys, and he
got in with the biggest smile on his face.

I
needed to find someone I felt about the way Tim did for Renee.
Someone I wanted to go home to every day. A reason not to work so
much. It wasn't in the cards for me. I'd never have what I wanted.
I'd never find anyone. I didn't want to.

Jackson

I
took my place next to Tim at the front of the church. He had the
biggest smile on his face.

When
Tina walked down the aisle with her partner, I couldn't stop smiling.
He was keeping his distance. His eyes were on mine. She yanked his
arm and pulled him closer.

It
was the second time in two days I had seen her in a dress. Her long
legs looked so damn sexy. The dress was pink as well. It wasn't the
same shade as Bridget's, and it wasn't as extravagant. She had gotten
something simple that didn't take away from her beauty. It was
absolutely perfect. She didn't need those things. Her hair was long
with a wave curled in, and her makeup was light. If I picked her up
and swung her around, he dress would have flowed out from her body.
Just looking at her did things to my cock.

She
took her place next to Bridget. Her brother looked over at her and
smiled. She smiled back, and I could see her lips tremble. She looked
over at me and saw me watching her. I looked out to see Chris looking
down at his phone. My eyes traveled back to her. She did everything
she could to avoid looking at me. Our eyes connected for just a
moment, and I smiled at her. Not one time did Chris look up to see
how beautiful she looked. I just didn't understand him. Why was he
even with her? Maybe because she paid for everything. I bet she even
had to pay for his flight, I thought. I watched her through the
entire wedding. The love she had for her brother was written all over
her face. She was happy for him.

As
soon as the wedding was over, she was right there with Chris. They
laughed and joked as they waited for the photographer to take the
pictures. He was attentive to her, and she seemed so happy. They were
close. You could tell. I just couldn't figure them out.

Tina

“
I
can't believe you're really married,” I said with a smile.

I
was so happy for them. They were so in love. Why couldn't I find
that, I wondered?

“
Who
would have thought I'd be married first?” Tim said. “I
thought for sure you'd get hitched before me.”

“
Not
me,” I said.

“
Maybe
you and Chris will be next,” he said.

“
Give
her some time, Tim,” Jackson interrupted. “Not everyone
meets someone and walks down the aisle two weeks later.”

“
Shut
up,” Tim said. “We've known each other way longer than
two weeks. Tina's known Chris for five years.”

“
I'll
see you at the reception,” I said, as I quickly scooted Chris
away from the conversation with me.

We
hurried to the car and laughed. I got out of that parking lot as fast
as I could.

“
Your
brother's got you married off to me already,” Chris said.
“Yesterday he looked like he was going to take my head off.
Jackson looks like he's going to pop a vein today. That guy's got it
bad for you.”

“
He
does not,” I said. “There are a million other woman he'd
get with before me.”

“
Whatever,”
Chris said. “I'm telling you, he's got it bad. Every time I
look in his direction, he looks at me like I'm in his territory.
Little does he know, he couldn't be more wrong. Nothing against you
or anything.”

“
Shut
up,” I said. “You know you want a piece of this.”

“
You
look awesome and all, but I don't think so,” he said with a
laugh. “He watched both of us the whole time. His hands were in
fists at his sides. Maybe he's jealous of our amazing love.”

“
Very
funny, Chris,” I said. “He was the one that didn't want
me. Jackson could never be jealous. He's too damn selfish and too
much of a player.”

Since
Chris mentioned it, I decided to pay closer attention.

We
got to the reception and everyone seemed to have a great time. We
ate, danced, and laughed. I felt Jackson's eyes on me the whole time.
My fake happy mood was going full force. It was tiring.

I
watched him walk up to my mom and pull her off to a corner where
nobody was at. She was saying something, but I couldn't tell what it
was. He handed her something. She looked down at his hand and shook
her head no. It looked like she was giving him a stern talking to. He
folded her hand with whatever he handed her inside of it and hugged
her before walking away. It looked like she had tears in her eyes. He
better not have hurt her feelings, I thought. If he did, he'd get the
ass kicking of a lifetime.