33. Jason
33
JASON
I held Mel’s hand as we walked around the side of Maddie and Luca’s house. I wasn’t sure if anyone actually ever used the front door. We just walked around back and let ourselves in.
The doors were propped open, and music filtered out. The sun was already setting, giving a much-needed reprieve from the summer temperatures.
“Hey, shortcake,” Isaac said from his spot in a chair as he offered Mel a chin tip. “Y’all are late.”
She rolled her eyes. “Since when do you say y’all , Lawson?”
“Since he lost a bet,” Hannah Jane smirked victoriously. “Isaac bet me that I couldn’t beat him at roulette when we were in Monte Carlo. If he won, I had to do a red-carpet event with him. If I won, he had to say y’all every time he greeted someone.”
Isaac shook his head. “It makes business meetings awkward as shit. It comes out of my mouth, and everyone looks at me like I have three heads. ”
“Sounds like y’all had a good honeymoon,” I said as I shook Isaac’s hand.
It was still weird that Isaac Lawson and Luca DeRossi were friends with people I’d grown up with. I’d met a few celebrities over the years when they came through military installations on USO tours, but DeRossi and Lawson were here just chilling.
Hannah Jane stood behind the back of Isaac’s chair and draped her arms around his shoulders. “It was perfect.”
“Where are you guys going on your honeymoon?” Mel asked Kristin.
She walked behind the dark lacquered bar, grabbing two beers out of the fridge. I took them from her and popped the tops.
“Will and I figured that the whole family was overdue for a vacation, so we booked a cruise,” Kristin said. “There will be plenty for the kids to do, and we’ll get lots of alone time.” She caught her fiancé’s eyes and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“Hey,” Bridget said as she saddled up beside me at the bar and gave me a hug. “I haven’t seen you around lately. What’s up?”
Mel was deep in conversation with Kristin about cruise stops, so Bridget and I took our drinks to the empty poker table. Luna trotted over and curled up at Bridget’s feet. The rest of the crew was crowded on the couch looking at photos from Hannah Jane and Isaac’s honeymoon.
“Just staying busy,” I said as I took a long pull from my beer.
“Busy working or busy getting busy with your girlfriend?”
I laughed under my breath at the way she ribbed me over finally getting together with Melissa.
The two of them were thick as thieves. I was a little worried that Mel and I dating would make things weird with Bridget, but she was all for it. Hell, in the beginning, she had been more on board with the idea than Mel was.
“Both.” I smirked .
“As weird as it is to know y’all are doing the deed, I’m happy for you.” She sipped her wine and rested her head on my shoulder like she had when we were kids. “I’m happy for Mel. She needs someone like you.”
“I don’t know about that,” I muttered. “She’s pretty self-sufficient.”
“Yeah, but that’s why she needs you,” Bridget said, staring down into her wine. “Even tough cookies crumble.”
“We still on for dinner tomorrow night?” I asked.
At Hannah Jane and Isaac’s wedding, Mel had tasked me with tracking down Kyle Kingsley and setting up a day to come over for dinner. I would have rather just had Bridget over to Mel’s place for dinner, but Bridget had been pestering us about coming over.
It made sense. Kingsley was going to be my brother-in-law in a few months. Even though we had been acquaintances back in the day, I knew I should probably get to know the guy my sister was going to marry and see where she lived.
Mel hadn’t said much about Kyle and Bridget. Then again, we spent most of our free time getting well acquainted with each other’s bodies.
“Yeah,” She smiled. “I’m gonna throw a roast in the Crock-Pot before I go to work.”
Luca jogged down the stairs, carrying a stack of pizza boxes, looking worse for the wear. He was in a pair of rumpled gray sweatpants and a white undershirt.
Not that I hadn’t seen him looking casual, but lately he’d been traveling, and that meant suits. From the looks of the circles under his eyes, jet lag was kicking his ass.
“Where’s Maddie?” Erica asked.
“Uh, she’ll be down in a minute,” he said, looking over his shoulder, up the stairs.
He dropped the stack of pizzas on the bar, and the poker club swarmed like vultures. Hannah Jane distributed paper plates and napkins while Mel opened each box, sorting them by pizza topping. Bee and I stayed back, mostly out of the sheer fear of losing a hand in the melee.
When we finally made our way to the stacks of pizzas, Maddie came down the stairs. She froze on the bottom step, cupped her hand over her mouth, and bolted back up the stairs.
“Shit,” Luca muttered, pushing through the crowd to follow Maddie.
“What was that about?” Kristin asked, craning her head around Will to see if Luca and Maddie were coming back.
Erica and Melissa exchanged knowing smiles, and I started to wonder if these women could communicate telepathically.
Mel did that all the time with Bridget—that female-only look. It was like they were communicating on a private radio frequency that the rest of us weren’t privy to.
The ladies took their usual spots on the circular couch, so I joined Steve, Isaac, Will, and Chase at the poker table.
“DeRossi looks like shit,” Steve muttered.
Chase grunted in agreement.
“Are we working out this week?” Isaac asked.
Steve, Will, and Chase nodded.
“My place,” Will said. “Kids are at camp this week, and Kristin’s working. Same time as usual.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, suddenly feeling very out of the loop. I’d spent all my time with Mel or working at the airfield. Chase and I hung out on occasion, but it wasn’t with the rest of the guys.
Luca came back downstairs, grabbed a slice of pizza, and dropped into one of the empty seats at the poker table.
Chase raised an eyebrow. “You ‘aight, man?”
“Please fucking tell me we’re working out this week,” he groaned under his breath as he shoveled a slice of pizza into his mouth.
“Yep. Solomon’s place,” Isaac said.
Luca tipped his beer back and drained it in one gulp. “Thank fuck.”
Steve jerked his head toward the stairs. “What’s going on with Mad? She sick or something?”
“Or something,” Luca said, rubbing his eyes. “God, I’m so fucking tired.”
Chase looked at me. “You should come, Jase.” Smirking, he added, “You know, if you’ve got time in your retiree schedule. Have you started a book club yet? I hear the senior citizens meet on Tuesday mornings to power walk around Front Street.”
“How’s it feel to be the only one here not getting laid?” I countered.
Will cracked up laughing and gave me a fist bump. “But for real—come over and work out. It’s the house next door,” he said.
“Has someone added him to the group chat?” Steve asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Bee did.”
Bridget had added me to the poker club group text when I moved back to town. The downside was that my damn phone wouldn’t stop blowing up all the fucking time.
“Nah,” Steve said, digging into another slice of pizza. “Not the poker club text. The guy’s text.”
“There's a guy’s group text?” I asked.
Isaac chuckled. “Look. We love our girls, but they can be…” His voice trailed off as he looked over his shoulder to make sure Hannah Jane wasn’t listening.
“Fucking crazy,” Chase said. The five of us glared at him, suddenly protective over our women. He shrugged. “None of them are my girls. I’m just calling it like I see it. ”
“They get girls’ night,” Will said more diplomatically. “So, we started working out together a few times a month. Guys only.”
It had been a while since I’d hit the gym. Sure, I went with Mel to CrossFit, but I spent most of those workout sessions finding new ways to hide a boner while wearing gym shorts.
Her sexiness had a penchant for being inconvenient.
“Yeah,” I said, wiping crumbs off my fingers. “Count me in.”
Maddie crept back down the stairs, and Luca nearly knocked his chair over, jumping up when she made her appearance.
“Hey,” she said with an exhausted smile. “Sorry it took me a minute to come down.”
Luca was behind the bar, mixing a drink for her. She waltzed over and took a sip from the glass he handed her.
Erica spoke up from the corner where she had been whispering with Mel. “What’s new with you, Maddie?” she asked. “I’ve barely seen you since HJ’s wedding.”
“Oh, you know me,” Maddie said as she weaved through us, wearing a pair of ridiculously short denim shorts and a flowy tank top that read, A Little Messed Up, But We’re All Alright. “Just working.”
“I stopped by the restaurant when we got back from the honeymoon,” Hannah Jane said. “Rae said you took a sick day.”
Luca cut his eyes at Maddie, and they did that annoying married people telepathy thing.
“Yeah.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I wasn’t feeling well, so I went home early.”
“It’s not flu season,” Mel said, biting back a smile. There was something devious going on in her mind. “Did you get food poisoning or something?”
“Nope,” Maddie mumbled, foregoing the pizza to sit on the opposite wall and sip her drink.
Steve’s mouth twitched as he hid a smile. Or at least that’s what I thought was going on behind his beard. I really couldn’t tell if he was happy or pissed behind that thing. “Is it a, uh, twenty-four hour bug or more of a nine-month sickness?” he asked.
The room went deadly silent. All eyes were on Maddie, who was looking at Luca. Luca had steeled his expression. I had heard Maddie refer to it as his asshole judge face before.
The tension was too much.
Maddie set her drink down and squealed. “Okay, fine! I’m pregnant!”
It was utter pandemonium. The girls dog-piled on top of Maddie, while we congratulated Luca.
“How far along are you?” Melissa asked.
“Eight weeks,” Maddie said, sliding her hand over her still-flat belly. “We were gonna wait a little longer to tell everyone, but morning sickness is a bitch.”
“Yeah,” Erica commiserated. “The morning part of that is a lie, but at least you’re not pregnant and living on the houseboat.”
Maddie turned green at the notion. Luca picked up her drink, urging her to sip it slowly.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” Maddie said when her nausea had passed. “It’s just club soda and lime.”
“I knew something was up when you weren’t drinking at the wedding!” Hannah Jane said as she threw her arms around Maddie. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Wait,” Bridget said as she bit back a laugh. “If you’re eight weeks…” She circled her finger in the direction of Maddie’s belly. “Did this happen after the last girls’ night?”
Luca crossed his arms, smirking as he puffed his chest out. “Told y’all I was gonna go home and fuck my wife.”
Maddie rolled her eyes. “We had been trying for a while,” she admitted. “And a few weeks before, we had actually decided to stop trying. Months of negative pregnancy tests take a toll after a while.” She looked up at Luca with adoration in her eyes. “Finally getting a positive one was the best surprise.”
Melissa gave Maddie’s hand a squeeze as Erica wrapped her in a hug.
“I’m totally taking partial credit for this.” Bridget laughed, looking at Luca. “It was Maddie and me kissing during truth or dare, wasn’t it?”
Luca stroked the thick shadow on his jaw. “It may or may not have been some rather effective foreplay.”
“Hell yeah!” Bridget shouted as she high-fived Luca and Maddie simultaneously.
“Does this mean our sister-wifeship is a throuple now?” Hannah Jane asked. “We’ll need a bigger hypothetical bed.”
“Do I even want to know what the hell HJ is talking about?” I whispered to Mel as she slipped into my side and wrapped her arm low around my hips.
“If what you’re asking is if Bee still has that crazy streak she got from Maddie and Heather back in the day, the answer is yes.”
I chuckled, tipping my head down so that my mouth was against her ear. “What do you think, baby girl?” I slid my hand under her shirt and skated my fingertips across her abs. “You wanna be next?”
“Jase—”
“I’m dead-fucking-serious,” I clipped. “I’m just waiting for you to give me the greenlight.”
“Don’t play games with me.”
“The only game we’re playing tonight is poker, and I doubt we’ll even get around to that. No games, baby.”
Mel stammered, “I think I’d want to be married first.” There was a hint of alarm in her tone, but she held it together. I didn’t want to freak her out, but I needed her to know how serious I was about us .
“Will you say yes if I propose?” I asked quietly, thankful that everyone else was still distracted by Maddie and Luca’s news.
“If this is your proposal, it’s a shitty one,” she countered.
“That’s not a no.”
Mel huffed. “Jase, it’s only been eight weeks.”
I shook my head. “No. It’s been a lifetime. We’re just finally getting around to the good part.”
She smiled softly. “I think all of it’s been the good part.”
Cupping her cheeks, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m not looking to upturn your life. I just want to be a part of it.” I wrapped my arms around her as she buried her face into my chest. “Think about it. Okay?”
Mel nodded.
“Is that you agreeing to think about it?” I murmured into her hair.
“No,” she whispered. “This is me telling you that I’d say yes if you proposed.”
“Good,” I said. “Because I already called your dad.”
She reared back from me, shooting daggers out of her eyes. “You what ?”
“Trouble in paradise?” Chase teased from the other side of the room.
Mel grabbed my arm with a grip tight enough to be a tourniquet and dragged me out the double doors onto the beach. Night air whipped around us as the wind blew in off the ocean.
“Sweet mother Florence,” she muttered like a curse. “Jason McGrath, for the love of all that is good and holy, tell me that you’re just fucking with me and that you did not call my father.”
I crossed my arms and stared down at her, waiting for her to call my bluff.
“Jase!” she cried as she turned away from me and faced the water. “Why? You should have let me talk to him. To… You know... Explain things!”
I came up behind her and put my hands on her hips, relishing the feel of her ass nestled up against my crotch. “Listen to me,” I said sternly. “I respect your father. More than you probably know. I wanted him to hear from me that we were together and that I have every intention of making you my wife. We aren’t kids anymore, Mel. Far from it.”
“You should have told me you called him,” she argued.
I gripped her hips and turned her to face me. “Talk to me, Goose.”
“We are talking.”
“No. I’m talking. You’re freaking out.” I slid the pad of my thumb down the line that ran down the pout of her lower lip, then stopped. I was determined to make it through one fucking conversation without mauling her like a beast. “Now, tell me what’s actually going on in your head.”
She puffed out her cheeks and let out a blustering breath. “I just… I’ve wanted this for so long,” she admitted. “For it to finally be my turn. For someone to want me as much as I want them. And now you’re here, and it’s happening all so fast. And don’t get me wrong—I love you. I want us. I want this to work. I just… I can’t catch my breath when I’m around you.”
“Fast doesn’t mean it’s not right,” I said softly, tucking a braid behind her ear and sliding my fingers behind her neck. She released the tension in her shoulders and let me cradle her head. “It just means you know what you want, and you’re not afraid to go all in.”
“Was he happy about it?” she asked after a long stretch of silence. “I’ve been meaning to call them…”
I pressed my lips to her forehead and smiled against her skin. “They were ecstatic, baby.”