he’s been working overtime the last week or so. He promised it won’t be for much longer, though.”
My brother-in-law came out of the detached garage and gave me a tired grin. “Glad I at least got to see you. For a minute, I thought I wasn’t even going to make it home tonight.”
I gave him a slap-on-the-back hug, and we stepped apart. “My sister says you’re working your ass off for some bank chain.”
“Yeah, a few more days and we should have all the bugs worked out of the system Braxton has developed. You ever decide you don’t want to be a rock star anymore, I’ll give you a job, kid.” He kissed Mia on the forehead then gave me a chin lift. “I need a shower, firecracker. See you later, Jagger.”
“Later, Barrick,” I watched him go before glancing at my sister again. “I should go. But don’t forget to mention the party to Shaw, okay? That way, I can go and not have to mention it to Cannon.”
She gave me a tight hug. “Don’t screw this up,” she told me when she pulled back. “I mean it, Jags. That girl is perfect for you. We all know it.”
That surprised me. “We?”
“Me. Momma. Aunt Dallas.” She shrugged. “Nevaeh, Arella, Violet, all the other aunts, and most of the uncles too.”
Her answer had my eyes widening. “I had no idea they all thought Shaw and I should be together.”
“Like I said earlier. You’ve been wearing your best-friend blinders for too damn long.” She punched me in the arm playfully then pushed me toward my car. “Drive carefully. Text me when you get home. And tell our parents I love them.”
The whole drive home, all I could think about was what Mia had said. It seemed like most of our family thought Shaw and I would be good together. Fuck, I thought we would be together too.
But when it came down to it, I had to choose Cannon.
Chapter 6
Jagger
I pulled up outside the party at some Santa Monica house and just sat there. Beside me, my date was tapping away on her phone, the click-click-click as she typed grating over my nerves.
I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me—fucking screaming—this was a mistake. I hadn’t done anything yet, so there was plenty of time to stop what was about to happen. But even though every part of my body was demanding I listen to that gut feeling, I couldn’t.
If only I could push Shaw away, I wouldn’t have to fight with myself twenty-four seven to keep my hands off her. If she hated me, then I didn’t have to worry about what we had ending my friendship with her brother. We could both move on and forget about our mind-blowing kiss. She could find someone else who actually deserved her, and then I’d be forced to do the same.
The thought of Shaw with someone else, letting them kiss and touch her the way I had only the weekend before, had my hands tightening around the steering wheel until my fingers started to go numb. My date, Gretchen, didn’t even seem to notice we’d arrived. I didn’t care enough to talk to her, let alone remind her we’d come for the party, not to sit in my car all night.
But I knew Shaw would be arriving before long. She’d texted me earlier that she was going to be at this party and that we needed to talk. I hadn’t responded, but I had turned on the message receipt option so she knew I’d at least read her text.
The pain in my gut only intensified as I opened my door and walked around to Gretchen’s door. She finally lifted her gaze from her phone’s screen when I offered her my hand. Surprise and delight filled her light-brown eyes that were kind of pretty as she let me assist her out of my car. Seeing that sparkle of happiness in her gaze made my stomach tense even more.
I’d picked Gretchen because she was known around my school as an easy conquest. She wasn’t shy about letting everyone know she was happy to put out on the first date. She was a nice enough girl, and beautiful, but I felt nothing for her. Not even when she straightened and pressed herself against the full length of my body did I have even a moment of interest. I was used to the lack of a reaction, however. Since I’d first really noticed