Chapter 7
7
J ackson rolled out of bed and walked into the bathroom, scrubbing a hand down his face. He had spent most of the night tossing and turning, and it showed. His hair stuck up in several directions and there were dark circles under his eyes.
Going back to sleep would be no help if the night was any indication, so his best bet was to forge on. He forced himself into the shower and stood under the hot water, letting it wake him up.
His mind wandered to the previous night. The look on Mia’s face when she pulled out the special edition of Lillian Taylor’s book was priceless. It warmed him to know he could make his best friend so happy with a simple gesture.
When he got out of the shower, he ran a towel over his chest and hair before tying it around his waist. His phone buzzed from his nightstand, so he walked over to it and picked it up. Text messages waited on his phone.
Noah: Are you working today? I have some free time if you want some help with the grounds.
Ethan: I can help for a bit too before my group hike this afternoon.
Miles: Sorry. Can’t help today. Weekends are too busy in the kitchen.
Jackson: I’ll be in soon, but I need coffee first. Going to hit up Brewbirds. The help would be appreciated.
Noah: Is Mia going with you?
Jackson frowned. What a random question.
Jackson: I didn’t ask her. Why?
Noah: Just curious. Figured she’d be hanging out with you this morning. You all are connected at the hip.
Jackson rolled his eyes. They were hardly connected at the hip. But going to coffee with Mia sounded fun, so he opened up a text thread with her.
Jackson: Want to hit up Brewbirds with me before I head to work?
Mia: Yes! I need some serious caffeine. I can be ready in ten.
Jackson: Perfect.
Ten minutes later, Jackson stepped out of his house and walked over to Mia’s, knocking twice before letting himself in.
“Hello, hello!”
She rounded the corner, wearing leggings and a tank top, with a lightweight zip-up sweatshirt pulled over it. The purple leggings hugged her body, showing off just how fit she was. His eyes roamed over her before he realized what he was doing and shot them back up to her face. Fortunately, she had been fiddling with her purse, so she didn’t catch him ogling her.
What the hell is wrong with you? She’s your best friend!
“Hey,” she said. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Let’s go.”
They got into his truck and drove the short distance to the coffeehouse. He parked, and they walked inside. It was always busy on Saturday mornings. The tourists flooded over from the resort to get their caffeine fix before going on their morning adventures up the mountain or around town.
They both placed their orders and snagged a table for two people as soon as one vacated.
“Why are you so exhausted?” Jackson asked. Dark circles hung under Mia’s eyes, much like his own.
“I was up reading all night. You had to know that getting me that book would wreak havoc on my weekend.”
Jackson snorted. “Of course. How could I forget?”
“Thank you again for thinking of me. It means a lot.”
He reached a hand across the table and settled it on hers. “Of course.”
A throat clearing interrupted their conversation, and he looked up to find Jeff, one of Ethan’s friends, standing next to the table.
“Hey, Jeff. How’s it going?” Jackson asked.
“Going well. About to head over to the resort for the first crew going up the mountain.”
Jeff worked with Noah on the ski patrol. During the spring, summer, and fall, they manned the first aid tent to help with any injuries or search and rescue operations that happened when someone was injured or lost on the mountain.
Jeff’s eyes shifted over to Mia. “I actually came over here to talk to you, Mia. I was wondering if you’d like to go out on a date with me. Maybe on Monday night if you’re free? We could head over to the Italian place, Antonio’s.”
Jackson stared at Jeff blankly before looking over at Mia, who was blushing. She smiled brightly up at Jeff and nodded.
“Yes, I’d love to.”
What the fuck is happening?
“Great. I’ll call you later.” Jeff gave her one last smile and a nod at Jackson before walking out the door, coffee in hand.
Mia looked at Jackson, a blush still covering her face, before she ducked her head and took a sip of her drink.
“Quite a few dates coming up,” Jackson said. He tried to push down the jealousy that crawled up his back, but it was hard. He knew he shouldn’t be jealous, but suddenly all these other men wanted to encroach on his time with her.
No, he couldn’t be jealous that she was with another guy. He was just jealous that he didn’t also have a date to go on.
Yep. That was it. It couldn’t be more than that.
And that he could fix.
Mia caught a quick nap that afternoon after finishing the book Jackson got her. It was her favorite by Lillian Taylor thus far. She put it on her bookshelf with her other favorite books and got ready for her date with Jimmy.
It had been a while since she had gone on a date, so she decided to have fun with it. She put on black leggings that made her ass look good and paired them with some black heels and a red tank top. She curled her hair and put on some large hoop earrings before finishing the look with red lipstick.
Jimmy had texted her that they were going out for drinks, so she ate a quick dinner before meeting up with him at The Range Bar and Grill. She would have found it odd that he asked her to meet him, but since she knew it was a setup to make Jackson jealous, she played along. What she didn’t know was that Jackson was also going to be at the bar with his brothers.
When she stepped inside the bar, she immediately spotted him sitting at a table with them. Ethan saw her and winked. Jimmy sat at a table within eyesight of Jackson, but out of hearing distance, and she knew it was by design. There was no way everything was a coincidence.
She walked by Jackson’s table and smiled and waved at them before stepping over to Jimmy. He stood and opened his arms to give her a tight hug. She could have sworn she felt Jackson’s eyes burning into her.
“How are you?” Jimmy asked as he pulled out Mia’s seat for her.
She sat down, and he went around the table to take his own seat.
“I’m doing well. And you?”
“Good.”
With the way they were seated, Jackson could see the sides of both of their faces. Jimmy’s eyes flickered Jackson’s way before landing back on Mia.
“He can’t hear us if we talk at a normal volume,” he said.
Mia smiled. “You didn’t have to go through with a date just to make him jealous. I honestly don’t think it’ll work.”
Jimmy laughed. “Oh, trust me. It’ll work. Plus, it’s fun and our drinks are on Ethan tonight.”
Mia giggled. “Well, then. Let’s get some drinks.”
The server walked over a few minutes later and they both ordered. Mia tried her hardest not to look at Jackson, but she caught her eyes straying occasionally. Would she be thrilled if he fell for her? Of course. But did she expect it? Not at all. This was just an experiment his brothers wanted to do, but in the end, Mia knew it was likely they wouldn’t end up together.
Because if he hadn’t realized his feelings for her yet, he never would.
She tried not to let the thought depress her and attempted to enjoy Jimmy’s company. Despite it not being a real date, it was good practice.
Jimmy took a sip of his Old Fashioned before leaning forward on the table. “Don’t look now, but he’s watching us.”
Mia’s heart picked up speed. “Is he?”
“Mm-hmm,” he hummed. He reached out and traced her hand with his finger. “Shall we make him jealous?”
“I don’t think it’s possible to make someone jealous who doesn’t want me.”
“He wants you.”
“How do you know?”
“The permanent scowl on his face is a pretty good indication.”
She wanted to believe him, but it was hard. It didn’t hurt to play along, though. She leaned forward just as he had and reached her hand closer to his. He picked her hand up and threaded his fingers through hers. His hand was soft, but it wasn’t like when she held Jackson’s hand. Not that it happened often, but she had held his hand a few times when he was helping her over a log or a rock when they were hiking. One thing she knew was that she felt more of a spark in those few short seconds with Jackson than she did with Jimmy right now. Suddenly, she was thankful Jimmy wasn’t interested in her. The last thing Mia wanted to do was let someone down.
A live band had just set up and started playing. After a few songs, people began to get up and dance together. Jimmy held his hand out.
“Would you like to dance?”
Mia blushed. “I’m not very good at it.”
“That’s all right. I’m not either.”
She giggled and took his hand, letting him lead her over to an open area that was treated as a dance floor. As they passed by Jackson’s table, he gave her a surprised look, and she only shrugged in response.
Stepping out onto the dance floor, Mia shook her hips to the music while Jimmy danced around her. She laughed when he started doing the sprinkler. It wasn’t until she saw Jackson leave the bar that Jimmy gestured for them to go back to their table. When they walked by the Blake brothers, Ethan gestured for Mia and Jimmy to join them. Mia sat in the chair Jackson vacated, and Jimmy pulled up a chair.
“That was quite the show,” Ethan said.
Jimmy shook out his hands. “I’ve got moves.”
“I think that got to him,” Noah said.
“One hundred percent. I could tell he was getting mad and got a little worried he would punch me. I figured Ethan would stop in if it got that far, though.”
Ethan laughed. “Of course. We had your back.”
Miles chuckled and took a long sip of his beer. “All right. Now that that’s over, I need to get home to my little girl.” He waved before leaving.
Jimmy stood up next. “I also need to get home. I’ll see you all later. Mia, it’s been fun.”
Once he left, Mia sat with Noah and Ethan, pulling a lip between her teeth and worrying it. “Is he mad?”
“Not at you. I think he’s realizing there might be something there,” Ethan said.
“Is this mean to do?”
“No,” Ethan and Noah said at the same time.
“He’ll thank us later,” Ethan said.
“That reminds me. Noah, did you tell Jeff to ask me out in front of Jackson?”
Noah laughed. “Yep. We found out Jackson was going to Brewbirds this morning and figured you’d be with him.”
Ethan chuckled. “He was pretty crabby at work today. I think it rattled him.”
Noah and Ethan bumped fists.
Mia shook her head. “Hopefully by the end of this, he isn’t angry with me.”