Full Contact (Worth the Fight #2) - Sidney Halston Page 0,71
uncomfortably-too-long-for-a brother’s-eyes kiss on Jack. When Jack reached for Chrissy’s waist and pulled her to him, the bowl in her hand teetered.
“Baby, if that’s food, you better hold on to it tight,” Travis laughed.
“Stop fucking calling her ‘baby,’ ” Jack growled.
Chrissy, flushed and frazzled, stepped back and composed herself. “What was that for?” she asked Jack.
“Does there have to be a reason to want to kiss you?”
Chrissy giggled and headed over to the nearby patio table to put down the bowl.
“Man, you practically peed on her,” Travis said. He followed Chrissy to the table and told her, “Baby, he’s just worried you’ll run away with me.” He kissed her playfully on the cheek before taking the tinfoil off the bowl.
“Seriously, Trav, Jack’s going to kick your ass,” Slade said.
“Holy shit! More biscuits.” Travis picked one up, inhaled deeply, and then took a huge bite. With a mouthful of food, he said, “Forget that dickhead, baby. Marry me?”
“How is it you don’t get fat?” Chrissy asked, laughing.
Travis shrugged and popped the rest of the biscuit in his mouth. “Genetic, I guess. Jamie Lynn eats as much as I do.”
“Bullshit. It’s ’cause he’s always working out,” Slade replied. “I can’t seem to kick him out of the gym. He’s always just there.”
“You know you love me.” Travis smiled at Slade, who just shook his head.
From inside the house came the sound of a doorbell, and Chrissy went to open the door.
“Speaking of love…” Jack looked over at Slade. “I think that’s Jessica right now.”
Slade didn’t answer.
“Brother, I’ve known you a long time. A long fucking time,” Travis said, shoving another biscuit into his mouth. “If you don’t claim that chick soon, someone else will. She’s hot and seriously cool.”
Slade didn’t need anyone telling him this, but what could he do? She refused to get back together with him.
“Slade, go bring me a big plate from inside before these steaks burn,” Jack said.
Slade opened the sliding glass door and walked inside, looking for Chrissy. “Yo, sis. Jack needs something to put the steaks on.”
“There’s a platter in the kitchen,” Chrissy yelled.
Slade walked toward the kitchen, but when he turned the corner, he crashed right into Jessica.
“Shit. Sorry, Jess.” They stared at each other for several long moments. It felt as if the silence went on and on. Slade noticed how sad Jessica looked—as sad as he felt.
Chrissy came downstairs and saw the two of them standing face-to-face. “Um…guess I’ll go get that thing for Jack,” Chrissy stammered, and made a beeline for the kitchen.
Eventually Slade cleared his throat and took a step back. “So, the text Chrissy sent said that there’s some big news. What do you think it is?”
“What. The. Fuck?” Slade looked over his shoulder to see Jack laughing by the grill. “That son of a motherfucker! He knocked my sister up! I’ll kill him. He shoulda married her first.” Slade grabbed Jessica’s hand again and dragged her through the house toward the patio.
“Slade, stop it. You’re overreacting. They’re about to get married. They’re living together! You’re acting irrational. This isn’t the nineteen hundreds, for crying out loud.” She panted as she struggled to keep up.
Slade opened the sliding door belligerently, stepped out, pulling Jessica with him, and slammed the door shut, causing the glass to shake. He released Jessica’s hand and took three long strides toward the grill. “What the fuck, Daniels?”
Jack, who had been smiling and saying something to Travis, suddenly stopped, obviously confused by the anger on Slade’s face.
“What crawled up your ass?” Jack said.
“Tell me.”
“Tell you what?” Jack put the plate down and crossed his arms over his chest, staring at Slade, who was standing much like he was. It looked like a scene from a western, with two humongous men ready to duel; the only things missing were the guns and the background music. Chrissy stepped closer to the men, flanking Jack while Travis crept up next to Slade.
“Oh, come on,” Slade said. When Jack didn’t reply, he jutted his chin out. “Pregnancy?”
“Oh, that.” Chrissy let out a breath.
Travis, Slade, and Jessica all looked at Chrissy in confusion.
“Yeah, that!” Slade snarled. “How could you not tell me?”
“Because I know you hate him and I didn’t want you to get pissed off. I don’t even understand why you’re acting so surprised. You were there when I found out. So I guess asking you to keep one is out of the question?”
“What?” Jessica yelped.
“That makes as much sense as tits on a bull,” Travis