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“You look like shit,”Jase said as he welcomed me into his house.
“Nice to see you too,” I grumbled.
“What the fuck happened to you?”
“Let me guess,” Cameron appeared, leaning against the door jamb. “Heavy night at Bell’s?”
“Something like that.” Running a hand over my jaw, I met my brother’s hard gaze, immediately wishing I hadn’t.
The disapproval in his eyes was almost too much to bear. I should have been used to it by now, but it never got easier.
“Come on,” Jase said, clapping me on the shoulder. “You’re going to need a strong coffee to survive today.”
He wasn’t wrong. The house was full of people, the noise crashing against my tender skull. We passed the den, and I spotted my niece, Ashleigh, with the Ford girls as they sat with Aaron and Sofia Bennet.
“Hey, Uncle Xan,” she spotted me. “What happened to you?”
“Yeah, Coach,” Aaron smirked. “You’re not looking so good.”
“I’d still run circles around you.”
Just then, the doorbell chimed. Jase paused. “That’ll be Kaiden. Go find some coffee and Advil.”
“Yeah,” I murmured, following Cameron into the kitchen.
“Do I need to be worried?” he asked, studying my face.
“Relax, it was a blowout. I’m fine.”
“How many times have I heard—”
“I said, I’m fine,” I hissed, making a beeline for the coffee maker.
Fee came over and nudged my shoulder. “Hey, everything okay?”
“Like I said, I’m fine.”
“Yeah, but you know what ‘I’m fine’ sounds like. It sounds a lot like I’m not fine.” Her expression softened but I saw the concern there.
“It was a rough night.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not particularly.” My chest tightened. I’m sure she’d love to hear all about how hung up I was over her teenage daughter’s best friend.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. We all are. You’re a part of this family whether you want to be or not.”
My lips parted but no words came out. What the fuck was there to say? I was only here because Jase—my boss—had practically demanded it.
But then Peyton appeared in the doorway like an angel sent from heaven, and I knew I was lying to myself.
I wasn’t only here for Jase.
And that’s precisely why I should have stayed away.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Hailee said. “How are you?”
“I’m okay thanks, Mrs. Chase.”
