Page 142 of My Fiancé's Brother

He looked back at me, amused. “Just got that?”

Back in the truck,I looked over at this man who completely mesmerised me on so many levels. I didn’t even know which way was up.

He didn’t ask to come up to the loft. He just parked the truck, got out and led me up the stairs. Chloe almost lost her mind when she saw Jackson. She leapt into his arms. I watched her entire body tremble while she whined and licked his face. Despite the fact that he was wearing a suit, he laughed and cuddled her close to his chest.

I found my bag, my keys, the button hook and my phone on the island along with a note from Beth, “Hope you’re okay. Text me when you get home.”

I looked around the loft. Matt was nowhere in sight.

“Can you help me get out of this dress?”

Without looking back to see if he was following me, I swished up the stairs to my bedroom. He appeared behind me, and without speaking, he took the buttonhook from my hand and opened all the buttons until the heavy material was sliding off my body.

“Oh, thank God,” I breathed, stepping over the pool of white that piled at my feet. “That feels so good.”

I turned and looked over my shoulder. Jackson’s eyes were raking down my body. I blushed when I realised that I was standing there in only a white lace bustier and matching panties.

The hunger in his expression was evident.

“Jackson,” I started.

He turned to walk out of my bedroom. “Come downstairs when you're done. We need to talk.”

I changed into soft, stretchy clothes and pulled all the pins out of my hair. I washed my face and then sat down on my bed. I just needed to catch my breath mentally. Jackson’s reaction to everything was different than what I had imagined. I wasn’t sure why I had been afraid to tell him in the first place.

Not that it changed anything. He openly admitted, after hearing the news, that he didn’t want kids. So, I would be raising this child alone, but at least I was doing so with honesty. I had almost married Matt. Beth had been right. It would have been a colossal mistake to not only marry Matt but to start our marriage with such a big secret between us.

I sighed into my hands. Since Matt’s accident, I felt like I had been some actor in a really dramatic show. I had only been a supporting character in my own life, and I hadn’t been honest with anyone, including myself. Today’s scene at the wedding had been extremely humiliating, but at least my secrets were out in the open. I had nothing to hide anymore. Now I could plan my future.

I wokeup curled on the end of my bed, on top of the covers. Someone had come in and covered me with a fuzzy throw. My mouth was parched, and I was ravenous. I sat up and looked at the clock. It was almost 8 PM. I had slept the entire day away. I sighed. Jackson was probably long gone and who knows where Matt was.

I wandered downstairs and chugged a glass of water. At the island, I scrolled through my phone. 47 texts and counting. Nothing like a little drama to heat up your social life. Beth said that Matt and Julie were both blowing up her phone. She had lost her earring but then found it. Did I want to go for coffee tomorrow? Matt wrote me a series of texts that had so many expletives, that it was safe to say that he was still in the venting stage of things. And Julie sent me a text that simply said, “You betraying bitch.”

“You hungry?” a voice said from behind me.

I screamed and spun around. Jackson wore a mild expression.

I held my hand to my beating heart. “Do they train you to sneak up on people?”

“Yes.”

“Figures.”

“Did you have a good sleep?”

“You should’ve woken me.”

“You needed the sleep.”

“What did you do?”

“Worked out. Made some calls. Talked to Matt.”

My mouth dropped open. “He called you?”

Jackson dug through the fridge. “Want a sandwich?”

“Did Matt call you?”

---