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I chuckled, love for this kid blooming in my chest. “Glad you’re enjoying it.”
“Did everyone fly in first?” he asked, referring to my siblings and mom.
“Not sure. If Eric booked the tickets, definitely not. But if I know Brenna, she probably insisted on paying and would definitely have put them in first.” She was generous like that—always had been. I could remember her and Sammy trying to give me their lunch money when I lost my allowance thanks to some ridiculous teenage attitude. And like the little shit that I was, I took it.
Now Brenna was an actual millionaire and loved showering the family with gifts and trips whenever we’d let her. She’d even tried with me during my time in New York, though I’d put my foot down and insisted she not worry about me. My investments had done me right, and I wanted her to focus on caring for the family.
Walker’s Brewery was more than stable. Eric had taken a solid but thin business and grew it into what it was today. He deserved a lot of credit, and I didn’t want to hate on him for that. Wise financial and business moves aside, he was still an ass for making me feel like an idiot. But Kate’s suggestion had taken root and I planned to talk with him as soon as we got back after the wedding.
“Why is Uncle Eric so… stingy?”
Jackson’s question brought me back to the moment, and his words sent stones of regret to the pit of my stomach. “I don’t want you to think of him that way. I’m only pissy with him because he shot my idea down, but we’ll figure it out. We always do.” Even if we had yet to figure out the biggest thing between us—the fact that I’d left while he’d shouldered every burden the family encountered while I was gone.
We’d talk about that soon too—I mentally made the vow.
“But he’s pretty intense about the business and work and stuff, right? I mean, Sammy’s the shit, and Jake’s awesome too. Eric seems like a good guy, but… I don’t know. He seems hard to get to know.” He sat back in his seat and couldn’t hide the grin on his face, even as he talked about something less than cheery.
I debated how to put this without dismissing his concern. Eric would take longer for him to get to know—I may not know my brother as well as I used to, but I knew that for certain. “My beloved twin is a chocolate with a thick, hard outer shell. But he’s got a completely gooey inside.”
Jackson made a face. “Ew. No. Please don’t compare any of my new family to food.”
I laughed at the horror on his face, then nudged his shoulder with my own. “I’m glad you’re liking them. They’re really happy you’ll be there for the wedding this weekend.”
He beamed. “I’m just glad Coach let me have the weekend off. It’s probably the only game I'll miss this year, and hopefully I won’t miss any practices. He wasn’t exactly happy about it, but I think it helped that Mom was the one to ask. I’m pretty sure he has a thing for her.”
A thin stream of jealousy shot through my mind, and I glanced at Kate. She had her headphones on, reading her book. Jackson had smiled at her and given her aholy shit!look as we took our seats earlier, and she’d smiled so brightly it nearly broke my heart. Now, I could tell she was giving us space to talk.
And if she wanted to let us talk, I wouldn’t mind getting a handle on who all had a thing for her. I’d already heard from Ellie that she thought the cook at the diner did. And fuck, if these idiots had eyes and brains, they’d all be trying to get with her. With one more glance to make sure she was absorbed in her book, I lowered my voice. “Yeah? The coach and your mom know each other well?”
Jackson, who was—unfortunately, in this instance—as smart as his parents, if not smarter, saw right through me. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Don’t be so sure.” I refrained from adding that while we still had insane physical chemistry and shared a child, we had a shit ton of baggage between us and a history of her distrusting me. And vice versa, if I were honest.
“I’m pretty sure. She’s here this weekend, and even though I don’t pay attention to girly stuff like makeup and clothes, I could tell she put a lot of thought into her outfits for this trip. She had them all laid out on her bed, and when I walked by, she slammed the door.”
A wave of heat washed through me, and pure anticipatory lust shot to my cock.Bad timing, genius, and it’s not like her outfits have anything to do with you.
I really didn’t need to be thinking about what Kate would be wearing, but I couldn’t help falling right into the trap. I’d been working to avoid wondering whether we’d be able to steal time alone this weekend. Fuck, I hoped so. It was nearly impossible to get her alone at her place and living with my mother was not exactly ideal.
“By the way, how’s that going to work this weekend?” Jackson tilted his head to look at me.
“How’s what going to work?”
“The… sleeping arrangements. I thought I heard something about a two-bedroom suite?” He fidgeted with his headphones.
“Ah. Yeah. Well… so, uh, we can…”Fuck.I had kind of hoped to deal with this in the room and leave it up to him and Kate. I didn’t want to be the deciding voice.
“I mean, all I’m saying is it seems really weird for me to sleep with my mom. Like, yes, she’s my mom, but I’m fifteen.” He pinned me with a look.
I narrowed my eyes at him, not wanting to seem too eager and definitely not wanting to fuck this up. “So… you wantmeto share with her?”
He shuddered and waved his hands without looking at me. “Whatever. Yes. I don’t have to think about it too hard to know you guys are getting together, and I don’t want to share a bed with my mom. So… whatever. That’d be the normal thing anyway, right? Parents in one room, kid in the other?”
His cheeks were dark with a blush, and he’d pulled out his phone to check the time like he had somewhere to be. God love him. He’d just given me the go-ahead to sleep with his mother. If I didn't think it’d make this already uncomfortable conversation even more awkward, I’d hug him.
But none of that. Because I had to check in with Kate and make sure she felt good about that plan.Please, God, let her feel good about this plan.
I wanted her to feel comfortable. I also really,reallywanted to help her explore those preferences she’d given me the smallest taste of the last time we’d been truly alone. What a fool I was to slow things down. I should’ve known how slim our opportunities to be together would be, and more than that, I should’ve known that we belonged together and being with her in every way would only make it better. Waiting was for fuckwits, and here I was.
