Page 32 of Until Tomorrow Comes
“Ah, so it’s like a forbidden brother’s best friend romance happening!?” She sits forward, her smile wide and infectious. I laugh in response, now knowing that’s her favorite trope.
“No! Nothing like that. I mean, yeah he’s attractive, but—”
“Attractive? That man is a tattooed musculargod!” She exclaims while fanning herself dramatically with one hand. I chuckle, not bothering to tell her she’s wrong.
Because she’s not.
“If you think he’s so hot, why don’t you ask him out?” Before the words fully leave my lips, an uneasy feeling settles in my stomach at the thought of Jackson with her, or anyone for that matter.
I shove the feeling aside, focusing back on Thea with a curious gaze.
“Oh, heavens no!” She waves a dismissive hand toward me. “While I can admire the fact that he was blessed with perfect genes, I grew up with him. I can read romance books about childhood friends turning to lovers to my heart’s content, but personally? Not for me. We watched each other awkwardly go through puberty.” She shudders, shaking off whatever image popped in her head.
I laugh at her response, ignoring the butterflies her answer brings me.
“Come on, does your brother have a stick up his ass or something? Would he really be mad at you if you tappedthat?” She jokes, but the lightheartedness of the conversation seems to be edging away. At least for me.
Answering that could lead to talking about why I’m here in the first place. Which isnotsomething I’m ready to do with someone I met three hours ago.
“I uh, no he doesn’t have a stick up his ass.” I say, taking a sip of my wine. Although he probably would be more pissed at Jackson than me.
Before Thea can respond, Jackson steps onto the deck, a bowl of pasta salad in one hand and a plate a burgers in the other.
Like a magnet my eyes snap to him, following his path across the deck to the grill and marveling at how his gray shirt is practically painted on, hugging his biceps. Drawing in a quiet breath, I force myself to look away before I start drooling over him.
I’ve only been away from Zack for two and a half weeks, hell, legally I’m still married.
Plus, I do not need to be ogling the man who is giving me a safe place to stay.
Thea reaches for the bottle of wine between us, catching my eyes with a smirk as she refills both our glasses. I can only shake my head and smile in response, grateful for the lightness that settles back around us as she and Jackson fall into conversation.
Not once does she ask about the scar above my eye, nor does she ever ask why I’m staying with my brother’s friend. The three of us simply sit around long after the sun sets, talking about everything and nothing all at once.
I needed tonight, a night of just spending time doing normal things, not talking business, or event planning, no cooking or cleaning. Just a night with people whose company I enjoy.
With people who aresafe.
12
Jackson
Lingering remnants of the dream echo through my mind, fighting to drag me back under as I brace my elbows on my knees. Taking a slow, deep breath, I shake my head, momentarily disoriented. Blood pounds in my ears, drowning out anyrealsounds around me while I struggle to reorient myself.
With a sigh, I look round slowly, reminding myself that I amhome.
Scrubbing a hand across my face, I stand, stretching my toes and using the cold of the hardwood floor to ground me. I force in another deep breath, willing myself to finish waking up and push away the memories that constantly seep into my dreams.
As they begin to fade away, my heart rate slows and my muscles relax, I make my way to the bathroom, resigning myself to the fact that there’s no point trying to go back to sleep. Aside from the fluke when I fell back asleep in Kat’s bed last week, once I’m awake, there’s no going back.
Not bothering with a shower, I relieve myself and splash cold water on my face before brushing my teeth. Walking back into my bedroom, I check the time as I cross the room toward my dresser. Six thirty is later than I normally wake up, which I chalk up to the fact that Thea came over again last night. A small smile spreads across my face, her and Kat have been really hitting it off, and she’s been back every day since she first popped over last week.
After throwing on my running gear, I head downstairs for my morning run. When I walk past Kat’s door, my steps falter seeing it cracked open. Normally, she closes it when she goes to bed. The only time I’ve ever opened it was when I came to check on her when she had her nightmare.
Quietly, I push the door open enough to peek inside, only to find the room empty. The bathroom light is off, so I turn on my heel and head downstairs. With my heart in my throat, I fly from room to room, and don’t find a single trace of Kat. Stepping into the kitchen, my eyes zero in on the back door. Which I know I locked last night.
Without thinking twice, I’m striding for it and yanking it open instantly greeted by the birds singing in the distance, waiting to greet the sun that isn’t meant to rise for another hour.
The blood in my veins turns to ice when I don’t find her on the top deck. Without hesitation, I make my way down the steps, hoping to find her on the pallet bed. But once again, she’s nowhere in sight. Just as I’m about to run back inside and find my phone, the silhouette of someone standing at the end of my private pathway to the beach has me moving.
