In Love with My Brother's Best Friend: Complete Box Set (28 page)

“
I
know,” I said, as I pulled out my phone and called her number.

“
Jackson,”
she said.

I
heard her sniffling through the phone and wanted so badly to hold
her.

“
Tiny,”
I said. “I need to talk to you.”

“
No,”
she said. “I'm done talking to you.”

“
What's
wrong?” I asked. “What's going on? Why are you crying?”

“
You're
an asshole. Do you know that? My brother was right. He told me to
stay away from you. He told me I better not go anywhere near you. He
said you were bad for me. I can't believe I bought the shit you've
been saying the last couple of weeks. I don't want your money. I've
been doing just fine on my own for ten years. I didn't need you to
pay for anything for me. I will get you the money from the room
before the end of next week. You can have them, Jackson. You can have
my whole family. I'm never coming back here. Do not ever call me
again. I mean it. I never want to speak to you, Jackie. You fucking
lied to me. Of course you don't want me. I get it now. I don't want
you either. Goodbye, Jackson.”

She
hung up the phone and shut it off. Chris dropped me off, and I ran
into the airport. The ticket home was outrageous. I made it to the
gate and fell into a chair. I wasn't sure how much more I could take.
I pulled out my phone again and called Tina's mom. It took three
rings before she answered.

“
Mom,”
I said barely able to breathe. “Please tell me she's there. She
has to be there.”

“
Yes,”
she said. “Hold on.”

I
heard some noise before she spoke again. Her voice was so quiet. I
could barely hear what she was saying.

“
I
tried to tell you, Jackson. She text me this morning asking what the
address of your work was. I answered her and tried to call you. I had
no idea she was going to show up there. She was just here two
weekends ago. When she showed up here in tears, I was devastated. She
was crying so hard. I don't know what you did to her. Where are you?”

“
I'm
in New York,” I said.

“
What?”
she asked.

“
I
couldn't stop thinking about her after I talked to her this morning.
I left the office and flew to New York. She wasn't here. Have you
seen where she lives? Have you been here? I can't believe this shit.
My woman.”

“
Your
woman,” she said. “If she's your woman, why is she on my
couch, crying so hard she can't breathe, talking about how horrible
you are?”

“
I
don't know,” I said. “I honestly don't know what
happened. Chris said she text him and backed out of their plans for
tonight. We went to her place, and she wasn't there. He got a text
back saying something about me being with someone else. I called her.
She told me she never wanted to speak to me again. Then she turned
her phone off. I think she's going to try to fly back out tonight.
You have to stop her. You have to keep her there until I get back. My
flight leaves in an hour. Why does she think I'm with someone else? I
don't know what's going on. All I know, is that the woman I love is
hurting, and I'm not there to hold her and fix whatever it is that I
did.”

“
Did
you just say you love her?” she asked.

“
I
do,” I said. “That's what I came here to tell her.”

“
I'll
do my best to keep her here, Jackson,” she said. “I can
only do so much. You know how she is. If she wants to go, she will.
About that apartment, I can't tell her where she can live. She's a
grown woman. Her decisions are hers alone. Be careful. What time does
your flight land?”

“
I'll
text you the exact time when I board. I want to make sure there's no
delay. Everything I have I'm carrying on. I don't have to wait for
luggage.”

“
Okay,”
she said. “One of us will pick you up. There's no reason for
your driver to be out that late just to bring you here. You can stay
here tonight. If not, I'll drive you to a hotel. You don't need to be
going home in the middle of night. I have a feeling it's going to be
a late one.”

“
Thanks,
mom,” I said.

“
I
love you, Jackson,” she said. “Don't you dare hurt my
baby.”

“
I
won't,” I said.

I
hung up and shoved the phone deep into my pocket. For sleeping the
whole flight to New York, I was exhausted. I leaned forward on my
knees with my head in my hands until my flight was called. I sent one
text with my arrival time and that was it. All I kept thinking over
and over was please keep her there. If she got upset enough, she'd be
on a flight back, and I'd miss her. That couldn't happen. I had to
get there in time.

Tina

Talk
about a disaster. Even I didn't see it coming. I had this dream in my
head that I'd pour my heart out to him and we'd spend the entire
weekend naked and tangled together in bed. I couldn't have been more
wrong.

As
soon as I got off the plane, I hurried to rent a car. It felt so
similar to the way it had just weeks before. I was running around
like a crazy woman trying to beat the clock. The only difference was
that I was alone. There was nobody there holding my hand and keeping
me together. I was on a mission to see Jackson and where he worked.
Even if I had to wait outside until he left for the day, I at least
wanted to see where he was when we sent messages to each other during
the day. I wanted to know more about his life.

His
job was about an hour away from the airport, so I knew I had to
hurry. I felt absolutely horrible for driving right by the street
that would take me to the house I grew up in. The one my mom would
most likely be cooking up something amazing in. I knew I'd make sure
to see her and my dad before going back home on Sunday. That helped
take some of the guilt away.

When
I pulled up in the front of the building my mom gave me the address
to, I was surprised. Jackson really had gotten a job in a big
company. The outside of the building looked like something you'd see
in the movies. Not just a normal tall, brick building. It had style.
I pulled into the front drive and parked in one of the visitor spots.
There were a few very nice, sporty cars parked in the spaces directly
in front of the doors. I had to wonder if Jackson had borrowed a car
from a friend for the wedding. Maybe he hadn't rented it at all.

I
was so excited to see him. He'd be surprised. I wasn't positive it
would be a good one though. Part of me was so afraid that all of the
sweet conversations we'd had those two weeks were fake. Maybe he had
played me just to get back at my brother for being so pissed about
what happened when we were younger. He could have even played me to
get even with me for ratting him out at the reception. That wasn't
it. He was thirty. There was no way he would do something like that.
He was a grown man. Before my mind could go back to my negative
thoughts, I got out of the car and looked toward the doors.

I
wasn't sure if there were a bunch of companies in the building or
just one. There was a huge sign out front for some kind of real
estate company. I had been so wrapped up in finding the right address
that I really hadn't seen much until I pulled into the drive. The
building was so big, I figured I could just walk around the lobby to
see what kind of companies were inside. Then I planned to go back out
to my car and wait for Jackson to come through the doors. I wanted to
wrap my arms around his neck and hug him so badly.

When
I pulled the front the door open, I let out a gasp. The lobby of the
building was huge and amazing. It was very contemporary. Whoever had
designed it was a genius. It had a comfortable feel. There was a huge
living room type waiting area on each side of the doors. There were
couches, tables, chairs, and televisions all around. The colors were
warm and inviting. Above the very center was a beautiful chandelier.
It was huge. There was a desk in the center with a very pretty,
perfectly dressed woman sitting behind it.

As
soon as the doors closed behind me, she was on her feet with a smile
on her face.

“
Can
I help you?” she asked.

I
was shocked. There was no looking around and going back out to my
car.

“
I'm
sorry,” I said. “A friend of mine works here. I was just
going to look around for a moment and then go back and wait outside
for him. It's gorgeous in here.”

“
Yes,
it is,” she said. “Can I ask your friends name?”

I
was still looking up at the high ceiling when I answered.

“
Jackson,”
I said. “I didn't mean to bother you. I'm sorry.”

I
turned to walk away.

“
You're
friends with Jackson?” she asked.

“
We
went to school together. I know his best friend. I was in town and
thought I'd say hello. I didn't want to bother anyone.”

“
Tim?”
she asked.

“
You
know Tim?” I asked.

She
gave me a strange look before snapping right back to her professional
attitude.

“
He
comes in often. Can you give me one moment? If I let you walk out
that door to wait in your car, Jackson will have my job.”

“
That's
funny,” I laughed. “I doubt he could get you fired for
something so silly.”

She
stopped what she was doing to look at me for a second longer. Then
she shook her head slightly and picked up the phone.

“
There's
someone here to see Jackson,” she spoke into the phone. “No,
she doesn't have an appointment. She knows Tim and went to school
with them. She was just going to say a quick hello. She wanted to
wait outside, but I asked her to wait a moment.”

I
could barely hear what she'd said. The place was huge. I had no idea
she'd know him by his first name or I wouldn't have said it. She
looked back at me with a smile on her face.

“
If
you could just wait one moment, Andrea will be down to get you,”
she said.

“
Andrea?”
I asked.

“
Andrea
is Jackson's assistant,” she answered.

I
felt like I was in some alternate universe or something. How did this
woman know Tim? Why would he come to where his friend worked? I was
so worried that Jackson was going to mad I'd shown up unannounced. It
wouldn't look good to his boss for him to have visitors at work. Wait
a second, I thought. Did that woman say Jackson had an assistant?
Maybe he was a manager or something. I did remember his mentioning an
assistant.

I
was deep in thought about what I had just walked into when someone
walked up beside me.

“
Hello,”
she said. “I'm Jackson's assistant. My name is Andrea. Would
you please come with me.”

I
stood and turned to the woman. My eyes widened, and I stood silent
for a moment. In front of me stood a very tall, thin woman. She was
straight out of a magazine with her blemish free skin. Her makeup was
light, and her dark, long hair stopped at her shoulders, looking like
she had just left the salon. There was not one hair out of place. The
red dress she wore fit her perfectly. She had cleavage like I had not
seen in a long time. Her curves belonged in that dress. I was
definitely into guys, and I could even see she was every man's
perfect woman. Then I suddenly realized I looked like a slob and did
not belong in that building. I had on jeans and a t-shirt with
sneakers. I'd come straight from the airport yet again. It was that
moment that I realized Jackson would be embarrassed to be seen with
me at work. Compared to Andrea, I looked like shit. I needed to get
out of there.

“
I'm
Tina, but I'm just going to go. I can see Jackson later. He's
obviously busy,” I said nervously.