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“You know the Friday night drill. Bellamy’s on dinner shift, so I’m kicking back until she gets home later tonight.”
Despite his exhaustion, Jackson let out a small chuckle. “You, my friend, are a kept man.”
Shane laughed. “Pot. Kettle. Asshole.”
Jackson gripped the steering wheel, his pulse sprinting. “I, uh, don’t think I’ve ever heard that version.”
Shane paused. “I’m just saying I’m not the only one at loose ends on a Friday night. That’s all. Anyway, Bellamy’s been baking her face off ever since Carly hinted they’re going to replace that slacker of a pastry chef. Just between me and you, she really wants to move up in the ranks. Which would be cool, except now I’ve got three dozen apricot turnovers sitting here, mocking me. You want to come hang out for a bit, take some of them off my hands?”
Jackson might be exhausted, but he wasn’t stupid. “Sure, but only for a bit. Carly did the final business pitch for the garden project today, but with that hellish kitchen remodel, I didn’t get to talk to her about how it went yet. I want to get a little shuteye before she gets home.” Jackson eased his truck through Pine Mountain’s only stop-lit intersection, heading toward Shane’s cabin. “I should be there in five.”
He brushed a hand over his crew cut, exhaling a heavy breath. Yes, the emotional exhaustion of last weekend had ganged up with this crazy job to really knock it out of him, but something else stirred deep within him that he couldn’t seem to ignore.
He wanted Carly to stay in Pine Mountain. Indefinitely. Which was bullshit, really, because the whole reason he’d let himself get involved with her in the first place was because eventually, she was going to go back to the city. She’d never made any bones about the fact that her stint in Pine Mountain was temporary, that her career, her family—hell, her whole life—was in New York. It was a perfect win-win. They could be together temporarily, and when it was time to part ways, they would, same as all Jackson’s other casual relationships.
Only nothing about Carly felt casual, and it would bother him...if he wasn’t so busy wanting to be anythingbutcasual with her.
“Jeez, I need to get some sleep,” Jackson muttered as his tires crunched over the gravel path leading to Shane’s cabin. A couple of apricot turnovers and about twelve hours of uninterrupted zzzs, and Jackson would be good to go.
Five minutes later, he knew he wasn’t wrong about the turnovers, at least.
“Damn, Shane. You are one lucky man. These pastries are intense.” Jackson licked his thumb in appreciation of the gooey glaze Bellamy had drizzled over the golden layers of puffed dough, eagerly reaching for a second helping with his other hand.
“Right? Just when I think she can’t top the last dish, she comes up with a new one that proves me dead wrong,” Shane said.
Jackson took another bite, the tangy apricot bursting over his tongue. “Just please do me a favor and don’t ever piss her off, okay? I’d like to be up to my elbows in these things for a good long time.”
“Yeeeeeeah.” Shane sat up in his chair, sending a glance in Jackson’s direction that set off warning bells. “About that.” He stopped long enough to let the seriousness of his look sink in before he said, “Bellamy and I are getting married.”
Jackson froze, a gob of apricot filling stuck to the roof of his mouth. “You’re what?” he said, trying unsuccessfully to swallow.
Shane pressed a smile between his lips so that only the edges snuck out, but it was enough. He looked happy as hell. “We’re getting married. I asked her yesterday.”
Shock rippled through Jackson with seismic force. “Wow. That’s…wow. Congratulations.” The words felt tight and wooden in his mouth, and he forced a smile onto his face. If any two people defied the odds, it was Bellamy and Shane. He was happy for them.Truly.
So why did he feel like he’d just swallowed a time bomb?
“Thanks. I figured you might have mixed feelings about it, so I wanted you to hear it from me rather than Carly. I’m sure Bellamy’s already told her.”
Jackson’s pulse tapped faster. “I don’t have mixed feelings about it. I’m happy for you guys, really.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Shane said, no trace of argument in his voice. “I just know that serious relationships are an issue for you sometimes. That’s all.”
Jackson’s shoulders tensed, but he shook his head. “Just because it’s not going to happen for me doesn’t mean I can’t be happy for you. I think Bellamy’s great, and you two are obviously happy together.”
“Carly’s pretty great, too.” Shane propped an elbow on the table, eyes flicking over Jackson’s for only a second before he tore off a corner of pastry and popped it into his mouth.
“What’s going on there is different.”
Shane looked unconvinced. “You sure about that?”
He had to end this conversation now, before it got out of hand. “I’m not willing to find out the hard way.”
Goddamnit, he hated what his father had done and how it had fucked with him as a result. But what was in his blood couldn’t be changed, and trying was pointless.
If he got any more serious about Carly, it would end up hurting them both.
“Look, I’m not trying to piss you off, Jax. All I’m saying is, you look happy with Carly, and she looks happy with you.” Shane crossed his arms over the front of his T-shirt. “I know that might feel complicated, but why not at least give it a chance?”
