Liam walked over, standing beside me. “You’re worried about him.”
“Yes.” I wasn’t about to start lying, plus Liam knew there was something happening between his brother and me.
He ran his hands through his hair, a gesture I’d come to associate with Jack. “Thalia, you’re both going to get hurt if this thing keeps growing between you both. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He’s just as affected.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“In case you were wondering.”
“Thank you for that. I’m confused right now, so do you think we could get breakfast?” I asked, laughing.
He took hold of my hand and tugged me towards the toaster oven. “You shove some bagels in there and I’ll make the coffee. We can eat out back.”
“I’d like that.”
“Then I’ll take you to get a new pair of cowgirl boots – Alabama style,” he told me with a grin.
I gave him a friendly shove. “Hey, there is nothing wrong with the boots I already have.”
“Yeah there is. They’re Texas style.” He smirked and dodged past the hand I slapped towards him.
Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention back to the bagels spreading cream cheese over them. “I’ll take these out back.”
Pushing the door open with my butt, I walked out to the porch swing, placing the plates holding the bagels onto the coffee table before taking a seat on the swing. The swing, which, for the past two weeks, had reminded me of Jack, and our early morning snuggle.
“Do you want to have lunch in town? Or back here?” Liam asked, sitting opposite me.
“Why don’t we decide later, seems as though we’re only just having breakfast.”
Liam started to chuckle. “Okay. Point taken.”
Sitting back in the swing, I started to wonder where Jack had gone, because he’d torn out of the barn like no tomorrow.
“He’s probably gone to the river.”
I frowned.
“That’s where he goes to let off steam.”
All I wanted to do was go after him.
“Why do your parents treat him like that, if he’s always done what they’ve asked of him?”
“Because with my folks it’s never enough. He’s always worked harder to try and get their approval, which he’s never had. He’s not falling in line anymore, things are changing with him and my parents can sense that. And it all started with our arrival or more to the point when you arrived.”
I lifted my eyes to his. “I haven’t done anything.”
He smiled. “Thalia, you didn’t have to do anything other than be yourself.”
Liam ran his hands through his hair, which seemed to be a family trait. “I was watching Jack that first night here and when he caught sight of you, he didn’t notice anything, or anyone, else. You had all of his attention even through dinner.”
“Considering you asked me out, way back when, you don’t seem too bothered that I’m attracted to your brother.” There was something about Liam that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. He wasn’t gay, I don’t mean anything like that, because he looked at enough girls when we were out and about, but there was something.
“At first I thought there might have been something there between us, but there wasn’t. I like you as a friend, something of which I don’t have that many of.” He let out a sigh. “You know I think we need to clean up and then head into town.”
“Okay. I’ll quickly clean these while you go and find your shoes.”
Liam left me in the kitchen while I put the pots away and unable to help myself I kept looking out of the window to see if I could spot Jack.
“Who are you looking for?”
“Jack.” I spun around with my hand to my chest. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said walking towards me.
My back was against the sink as Jack came to a stop, just inches in front of me. He looked angry and his hair was all messy.
Without a thought as to what I was doing, I reached up and placed my hand to his chest. I could feel his heart racing. Moving my hand away he clutched it in his and placed it back to his chest.
“Who were you looking for, Thalia?” he whispered.
I moved my other hand to his face in a light caress and kept it there as I replied, “You, Jack. I was looking for you.”
Standing so close to him, my whole body felt hot and tight, my breasts ached, my stomach quivered and all I wanted was to wrap myself around him.
“You’re back!” Liam stated, walking back into the room.
“Fuck,” Jack briefly leaned his forehead against mine, placing a kiss on my nose, before walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
“Looks like I walked in at just the right time,” Liam said grinning.
“Or not,” I mumbled.
Chapter 27
Jack
After making my escape to my room to shower and change again, I grabbed my keys, climbed into the car and drove to Donovan’s place.
What the fuck was I doing with Thalia? If Liam hadn’t walked in when he had I’d have kissed the life out of her and I wasn’t sure I’d have been able to stop. My cock had throbbed and been taken care of in the shower with images of how aroused Thalia had been standing in front of me. I’d noticed her erect nipples poking out underneath her t-shirt and I’d bet that if I’d touched her between her legs, she’d have been wet.
Goddamn, my cock was causing a restriction in my jeans, which was bordering on painful. I needed to think about something else before I arrived at Donovan’s with a boner.
Mia popped into my head. Since yesterday she’d sent me a few text regarding the wedding and I’d replied with maybe one or two words. One of the messages had been to tell me she had a best man lined up for me, to which I’d replied, that if she expected me to turn up, the best men would be Donovan and Reece. I hadn’t heard anything since, which I hoped was a good sign. I could have kicked myself afterwards though for not turning it more to my advantage by telling her it wasn’t going ahead so she didn’t need to fuss anymore.
I was chickenshit. The whole thing could have been stopped by now, but for me wanting to please everyone and finish college.
Climbing out of the car I noticed Reece’s bike parked at the foot of the path. Why he couldn’t park the thing next to Donovan’s car was anyone’s guess, but he always blocked the damn path.
I yanked the door open, ignored them both and walked straight into the kitchen for a beer. I never drink during the day, but I needed a huge distraction.
Taking my beer back into the sitting room, I sat down in one of the recliners while I gulped some of the beer down.
“So who pissed you off?” Reece asked.
Where the hell did I start, because I felt pissed with everyone?
“My morning started off great, thanks to having the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my arms and then it kind of went downhill fast, and for that I can blame Lewis and my dad.”
Donovan and Reece were grinning at me so I just glared at them.
“Save the Lewis and your dad bit for now, we want to hear about the ‘most beautiful girl’.”
“Fuck,” I tried to relax back into the chair. “Thalia was in the bathroom when I got up, and yes I knew she was in there. I needed to see her, but I ended up sending her back to her room before I dragged her into the shower with me.”
“You’re an idiot.” I frowned at Reece. “What straight guy, turns down a hot chick and I mean she’s fucking smoking.”
“Watch your mouth,” I growled sitting up in the chair.
I looked across to Donovan. “Do you have anything to add?”
“Are you sure she’s dating Liam, because I’ve seen them around town and they never touch. There’s only been an odd occasion where he’s grabbed her hand when crossing the road.”
“She told me she isn’t dating him. Apparently he’s asked her to pretend so the folks don’t throw all the
single girls at him.” I put the half empty bottle of beer on the floor and ran my hands through my hair. “I nearly fucked her in the kitchen.”
Both my friends just sat staring at me. “Lewis wanted me to take Mia to some charity thing Saturday night and I said no so he then got onto my dad and within seconds we were having a shouting match in the kitchen. I stormed out and onto my bike. When I returned I caught her in the kitchen looking out of the window towards the barn, for me.”
“Sounds like you’ve both got it as bad as each other. The question is have you got the balls to go after what you want instead of what your parents decide you want?” Donovan asked. “If you need a place to stay until everything calms down, the spare room’s still yours.”
“Thanks.”
My cell chose that moment to ring. With a quick glance at the display I discovered it was Mia.
Sitting back in the chair I answered.
“Yeah,” I said in greeting.
“Well, you’re in a good mood.”
“What do you want, I’m busy?”
In the background I could hear Reece whispering to Donovan.
“I need you to take me to the charity event Saturday night.”
Fuck, not again.
“Look, I’ve already had this conversation with your dad, and the answer is still no. I have a commitment, which I have no intention of cancelling.”
“Is it something with those two idiots, you call friends?”
“Yeah, it is. You finished now, because I need to go.”
“There’s no need to be rude, Jack, but I do need to attend this event.”
I felt like screaming, why couldn’t she take no for a fuckin’ answer?
“I said I’m busy, so you’ll have to find someone else to take you.” The latter I knew would piss her off.
“I’m your fiancée and you expect another man to take me to this event. Is that what you just said?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Then let’s put it another way, if you don’t take me to the charity event, I’ll call the wedding off.”
I was speechless, did she just say she’d call the wedding off. Fucking perfect.
Although she couldn’t see it, I grinned. “Fine, don’t forget to return the ring.” I hung up the phone and looked at my two stunned friends.
Resting my ankle on my knee and my hands behind my head I let them wait for an explanation. If I was honest I didn’t think the wedding would get cancelled that easily, but it felt good to get the last word in.
“She said if I didn’t take her to the charity event, she’d call the wedding off. I hope she meant it, but I have a feeling it was all talk.”
“Then why are you grinning,” Reece asked.
“Because it felt damn good hanging up on her.”
Reece banged his head against the wall he was leaning against, focusing his gaze back on me. “That’s fucked up.”
“Okay ladies, let’s talk music,” Donovan said, changing the conversation as he walked back into the room with his guitar.
I shot him a relieved look and nodded, “Sounds better than my screwed up life.”
“Yeah it does, although the drama in your life is much more entertaining than anything on the box.”
“We need to decide which songs we’re going with Saturday night,” Donovan jumped in with, before I could reply to Reece.
Chapter 28
Thalia
I’d tried on about ten pairs of boots so far, and was starting to get bored, but Liam kept saying ‘just one more pair’. I was going to scream. While the sales assistant went to root around in the back to see what else she had in my size, I started wandering around the clothes section.
They had some pretty decent stuff hanging up, one of which was a lovely, pale pink dress in the softest fabric. With a quick glance at the label, I decided to buy it along with a tank in white and a pair of pale blue denim shorts, which looked like they’d be real short.
I smiled thinking about Jack’s reaction if he caught me in them.
“Thinking about Jack again?” Liam asked. I’d forgotten I was with him!
“What gave you that idea?”
He laughed. “You’re joking right? Every time he’s on your mind, your entire face lights up like it does when you’re in the same room.”
Wow, I didn’t know what to say to that. I had no idea my reaction to Jack was so obvious, it surprised me that Liam would notice.
I needed a breather to get my composure back. “I’m just going to try these on,” I said to Liam already nearing the dressing rooms.
Inside I closed the curtain, hung the clothing up on the hooks in the room then sank to the floor putting my head in my hands.
There was no doubt about it; I wasn’t falling for Jack. I’d already fallen. I needed Callie.
Rooting around in my purse, I found my cell and dialed my best friend, but her cell just rang and rang. Damn. If I didn’t talk to her soon I’d burst. Liam had become a good friend over these past few weeks, but the kind of things I wanted to talk to Callie about I couldn’t say them to a guy, especially when it was his brother I needed to talk about. Ugh.
“Mia, are you sure seducing Jack is the way to go, I didn’t think you liked him much?”
Shit. Was that Mia and her friend? Two bitches together.
“Hush up, before someone over hears you. I told you the other day, he tried to cancel the wedding, but I acted all dumb and left. I need to make sure he marries me and the only way I can think of is to seduce him and tell him in a couple of weeks that I think I might be pregnant. Of course I won’t be because I’m on the pill, but it’ll work, you just watch.”
Oh my God. I felt sick to my stomach. I needed to tell Jack what she had planned, but wait a minute, didn’t Jack tell his dad that he hadn’t slept with her. So, perhaps she wouldn’t be as successful as she thought. I hoped not, because he was mine. God, if only.
Hearing them leave I poked my head out to check if the coast was clear. Without trying the clothes on, I snuck back out in to the store to find Liam, who would you believe stood chatting and smiling away to Mia and the girl, whose name escaped me…Rebecca.
“Ah, here’s Thalia. Did everything f…”
“Everything was fine. I found what I was looking for. Thanks Liam,” I said quickly, before he could announce I’d been in the dressing room.
“So, I presume you’re going to be Liam’s date for mine and Jack’s wedding?” Mia asked looking down her nose at me.
My heart missed a beat in stress. The thought of Jack married to her tore me in two.
“Yes, she’s my guest.” Liam saved me from answering. “Sorry Mia, but we need to pay for these things and head out. We’ll catch you both later.” He took my arm and pulled me towards the cashier desk.
I sighed in relief. “Thanks Liam. She took me by surprise with that question.” I placed the dress, shorts and tank top on the desk and noticed a pair of boots on the display shelf behind the girl working the register. “Are those for sale?”
She looked behind her and smiled. “Yes they are, and I think they’re your size.”
Taking them from the girl, whose nametag said Tiffany, I tried them on and would you know, they fit me perfectly.
“I’ll take these,” I told her.
Liam chuckled beside me. “I can’t believe we spent ages while you tried all them on,” he said pointing to the display, “when, the perfect pair was sitting over here all the time.”
I grinned while I passed Tiffany my charge card, trying not to think about the dent it would be making into my savings.
When the transaction was complete, Tiffany passed my card back to me just as Mia and her sidekick walked up to us. “Oh, my boots,” she said looking at the ones I’d just purchased. “What are you doing?” she questioned Tiffany.
“This girl just bought them, so what does it look like I’m doing?” Tiffany grinned. Obviously there was no love lost between those two.
“She
can’t have them, I was going to buy those,” she said before turning to glare at me. “You need to get a refund so I can buy them.”
She left me speechless. In her dreams. I decided to completely ignore her and grabbed the packages from Tiffany who was still grinning like an idiot and started to walk out of the store with Liam following not far behind.
Back at the car, Liam opened the trunk for me to put everything inside wearing a frown.
“Is she always like that?”
His frown deepened. “I’ve never seen her like that before, although she can be, um, difficult.”
“Ugh, she was fucking rude. See, she even made me curse, which I don’t usually do, well at least not out loud,” I ranted. “Do you know she’s planning on seducing Jack and then she’s going to pretend she’s pregnant so he doesn’t stop the wedding from going ahead. At least that’s what I overheard in the changing rooms.”
“Ah, that’s why you cut me off? You didn’t want her to know that’s where you’d come from.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh Thalia,” he said, putting his arm around my shoulders. “Do you want me to warn Jack, or do you want that honor?”
I sighed, not sure, which was best. “I don’t know, but he needs to be warned.”
“Yeah, he does. Although I don’t think he’d take her up on it, he doesn’t like her much. I know she’s pretty, but she isn’t for Jack.”
Hmm, what exactly did he mean, ‘she isn’t for Jack’?
Opening the car door for me, Liam looked deep in thought. “Do you want to go visit the next town over and we can have lunch over there?”
Smiling, I replied, “Thanks Liam, and yeah, that would be great.”
Chapter 29
Jack
The day with Donovan and Reece had turned out pretty good. Surprising considering how badly it had started, but once we started jamming and practicing some new songs, I felt great. However, after a day at it, I was exhausted and needed some food and hopefully some peace and quiet to eat it in.
My folks, along with Liam and probably Thalia, had gone over to Mia’s house for dinner with her parents. I’d purposely ignored my cell when they’d been ringing and hadn’t replied to any of their text messages.
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