Page 51 of My Fiancé's Brother

“Aren’t you cold?”

“This isn’t cold,” his face was a mask of concentration as he rubbed first one arm dry and then the other. He turned me around,and roughly rubbed the towel over my back. Down one leg and then the other. Then the towel wrapped around my back.

He disappeared into my bedroom and came back with a t-shirt and a pair of dry panties. “Can you manage this?”

I nodded and waited for him to leave. On shaking legs, I pulled on the dry clothes. I brushed my teeth but was unable to look at my reflection in the mirror. I wondered how much Jackson hated his life right now?

I staggered to my bed and looked down in horror.

CHAPTER 16

Jackson reappearedat the doorway of my bedroom. He had pulled on sweats, a t-shirt, and a worn baseball cap.

My voice sounded sad. “I barfed on my quilt.”

He walked over to stand beside me. “Just a little bit.”

Tears choked me. “Why isn’t Matt here?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know.”

He reached down to my bed and started stripping the duvet cover off the bed and then removed all the sheets from my bed. I was still a bit drunk. He carried the linen out of the room, and I heard the door of the washing machine slam shut.

He walked back into the room. “Do you think you're going to be sick again?”

“No. Sorry.” I covered my face. “I'm so sorry.”

“Emily.”

I sat on my bed. “Which guys did Matt go with?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did he say when he was going to be back?”

“No.”

“What time is it?”

“Just after 0400.”

“Don’t you think he should be back by now?”

“I don’t know.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

He crouched in front of me, his concerned face looking up at me. My smile trembled on my lips. “Thanks for your help. I can do the rest. You should go get some sleep.”

“I don’t need much sleep.”

I swallowed. “How come?”

“It’s my job. When we are engaged, sometimes we are up for 48 hours straight.”

“What does engaged mean?”

“When we’re fighting.”

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