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“Anytime,” she murmured back, turning for the sandcastle extravaganza.
“Did you eat yet?” he blurted before she’d made it three paces away.
She rotated back to face him, studied his face. Then murmured, “No.”
Something about the way she said that curled in his belly, had him replying, “Then consider this your official reprieve from sandcastle building.”
Her mouth curved up. “And my official invitation to hit the food table?”
“If the heathens haven’t eaten it all,” he said, pitching his voice so that the heathens known as hisbrotherswould hear.
No surprise, it garnered him boos and catcalls in return.
But at least it prompted his mom and Kim to action.
“We saved you a plate, Rave!” Kim called. “And you too, Con.”
Maggie, holding her little girl, grinned. “I even saved you some pasta salad since I know it’s your favorite, Connor!” A glance down at her hourglass figure. “And also you’d be doing my hips a great service if you finished it off.”
Carter tugged her close, bent and murmured something in her ear (hopefully about his appreciation of his wife’s voluptuous figure) that had her blushing and looking up at Connor’s brother with absolute adoration on her face. An adoration that was matched by Carter’s own expression. Those two loved each other in a way that was sickening.
And perfect.
A pulse of jealousy in his belly.
Misty, Rob’s sister, was sitting next to Chance, her knitting needles flying through her yarn, her mouth turned up at their shenanigans as he and Raven closed in on the food. “We also saved you both some brownies.”
“Yup,” Cam, his youngest brother and thus the one with the most experience shit-stirring, chimed in. “We saved you a wholeonebrownie for you two to share.”
“Thank God my brothers married nice people,” Connor said. “Sincethey’renot nice.” A glare at Soph. “Except for your husband, who’s alsonot nice.”
“Okay.” Soph plunked her hands on her hips. “Nowthat’sjust rude.”
His mom shook her head and sighed. “Will you all stop sniping at each other and let Raven and Connor eat?”
“No!” they all yelled back.
Then froze, six siblings suddenly trying to hold back smirks.
“Considering that has been the only thing you lot have agreed on all day, I can’t even gripe at you for the sass,” his mom grumbled.
They held it together.
For one more second.
Then smirks snuck out. Laughter abounded.
And it was like any other Jackson get together.
Family and chaos, laughter and teasing.
And underpinning all that, like the important foundation it was, was love.
Eleven
Raven
She’d flipped the folding table onto its side, was making short work of tucking in its legs when Maggie cleared her throat.
