Page 63 of My Fiancé's Brother

Jackson: Consider it forgotten. Anything else you want to erase?

Why was my heart racing? I stared at my phone screen.

Me: I want to erase the fight between you and Matt

Jackson: Me too

Me: I also want to erase my stupid meltdown this morning when you were trying to leave

Jackson: Nope. I don’t agree to those terms

Me: What? Why not? That was me at a weak moment

Jackson: I learned something about you

Me: I'm scared to ask what

My hands sweated as I waited for his response. Why did he want to learn about me? I did not understand this man, but I was like a moth drawn to a big flame. I couldn’t help myself. I jumped when my phone dinged.

Jackson: I don’t erase truth or honesty. Anything else you want to erase?

What was he saying? That my meltdown was me being honest? Being truthful? If that was me being real then that was a scary thing, considering what a hot mess I had been this morning. That’s precisely the part of me I wanted to keep hidden from people.

Did I want to erase anything else?

The kiss.

I should tell him that I want to erase the kiss. That should have been on top of the list for things to forget. I should banish that moment from my life, but I couldn’t bring myself to erasing that.

Me: No

Another long pause and then my phone dinged again.

Jackson: Me neither

CHAPTER 20

I startledwhen I heard the loft door slide open. I looked up across the room. Matt walked in, still wearing the same clothes from the night before. He looked rough. He paused when he saw the black duffle bag on the floor. Slowly he lifted his head and looked up at me. I leveled him with a look.

He slowly walked to the island, tossed his keys on the granite and slid onto a stool across from me. My heart galloped in my chest. I had so much to say and so many questions to ask. Instead, I just looked at him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said.

“Look at you like what?”

“Like you hate my guts.”

“I don’t hate your guts.”

“You should.”

“Why should I hate your guts?”

His blue eyes turned and stared at my face. “Because I fooled around with someone last night.”

My mouth dropped open. My heart was a sickening thud in mychest. Blood rushed through my ears. I became aware of how shallow my breath was. I stared at him. “Who?”

“Doesn’t matter. She doesn’t matter.”

---