Wright with Benefits (Wright Series #8) - K.A. Linde Page 0,61
highly of you, and I’m glad to see Jordan finally happy again.”
“I’ve been happy, Mom,” Jordan said with a laugh.
Julian eyed him skeptically. “Yeah, right.”
“You’ve been pouting since we left Vancouver,” Helene said.
I covered my laugh. “I didn’t really know the difference until we went to Seattle and I saw him with his friends.”
“Cush?” Julian guessed.
Helene sighed in exasperation. “That boy! He can eat you out of house and home. Did you see Tye, too? He’s such a sweetheart.”
“Yes, Mom, We saw Cush and Tye. Georgia was with them, too.”
“You should invite them down,” Helene said. “I’ll make that peach pie they all devoured.”
“I’ll let them know,” he said with a laugh.
“And you’re welcome to come to dinner, dear,” she added to me.
“Thank you so much, but I actually have a hospital shift after I leave here.”
“Next time you’re free then,”
“I’d love to.”
“See now, Jordan, you can’t hide her from us anymore,” his mother said. She winked at me and then headed into the stands to watch the game.
Jordan shook his head. “It’s so fun when you guys gang up on me.”
Julian shrugged. “Only way we know how to show our love.”
Jordan rolled his eyes. Julian punched his arm and then headed out to the field to warm up.
“I should go, too,” I told him. “I feel sloppy, having not been here in a few weeks.”
“I’m sure you’ll be great. When are you going back to the hospital?”
“This is my last week of overnights, and then I’m back to mids. Thank God.”
“Shower, dinner, and then work?”
I nodded. “That’s the plan.”
“I like the plan.”
A figure appeared next to me, and I found Isaac standing with crossed arms.
“Hey, Isaac,” Jordan said, holding his hand out.
Isaac glanced between us with a total big-brother look. Welp. I hadn’t mentioned to him that I was seeing Jordan. And technically, Jordan was Isaac’s boss. So, maybe that should have come up.
“What’s going on here?” Isaac asked.
I laughed. “Stop that.” I smacked his arm, and he released a smile. “Jordan and I are dating.”
Jordan looked a little put out. “I probably should have mentioned…”
Isaac waved him away, taking his hand and shaking once vigorously. “Forget it. Apparently, I’m the last to know. I was trying to be an overbearing big brother. How’d I do?”
“Terrible,” I said, bumping against him.
“Why wouldn’t I be happy that you’re dating my little sister?” Isaac asked with a smile. “We’ve worked together for three years. I know the kind of person you are by now.”
Jordan relaxed at the comment. “Well, still, I’ve heard that older brothers have the tendency to punch the new guy their sister is dating.”
“Should I punch you?” Isaac asked with mock seriousness.
“If it’ll make you feel better,” Jordan said with a barely contained smile.
“I think I’m good. I’m going to steal Annie so that we can play soccer. We can discuss ways in which I need to assert my masculinity later.”
Jordan snorted. “Sounds good. Good luck out there.”
I shook my head and followed Isaac out to the field.
“You’re happy?” he asked me.
“I am.”
“Good. That’s all I care about.”
Then he started to run drills before the game. He was still in tip-top shape from years of playing soccer, and I was envious of how easy he moved. I felt sluggish even stretching. Tonight was going to be rough.
“Tell them, Hollin,” Julian said, smacking Hollin in the chest.
They were stretching with Blaire, Cézanne, and Gerome.
I sidled up to the group, leaving Isaac to his warm-up drills. “Tell them what?”
Julian glanced over at me, and his face split. “We’re throwing a party at the winery.”
“Already? Is it ready?”
“Well, not officially. It’s not, like, the grand opening. But we’ve had enough of the construction finished and all the permits in order that we can have a friends-and-family thing. But that’s not the best part.”
Hollin finally chimed in, “Campbell said that Cosmere was going to be traveling nearby on tour, and he’d stop by to perform.”
“Oh my God!”
My jaw dropped. That was news.
Campbell was Hollin’s younger brother and probably the most famous musician to come out of Lubbock after Buddy Holly and Natalie Maines of The Chicks. He sang lead for the band Cosmere, a group he’d joined out in LA after high school graduation. They were constantly hailed as the next Maroon 5. Understandably, Campbell hadn’t been back in Lubbock much since breaking out a few years ago.
“Holy shit,” Cézanne said. “I don’t even like their music, and holy shit! We never get bands that big in town.”