Chapter 24
brOOKE
I’d lie if I didn’t admit that I felt a little anxious about joining the Connors at Friday dinner. I’d hung out with a few of them at the foundation but never all together. Plus, I knew from Jace that Friday dinners were a long-standing tradition. No pressure.
“Oh, wow. This is amazing. Like a private park,” I exclaimed as we entered Val’s yard.
“Maddie, Landon’s wife, designed it a few years ago.”
The gang was all there, milling inside the house. I greeted Landon, Maddie, and their daughter Willow first, then Will and Paige. Val lived with her fiancé, Carter, and his two nieces, Peyton and April.
I’d feared that meeting Graham in such an informal setting would be unpleasant, but he put me at ease right from the start.
“Brooke, let’s make a deal. We’re not going to talk about the Lords at family gatherings. We’re not coworkers right now. And anyway, you report to Tina.”
“That sounds easy.”
“It is. This is my wife, Lori. And our daughter, Evelyn.”
I smiled at Lori, then couldn’t help cooing to the baby. She was adorable. Opening my tote, I retrieved the onesie I’d bought for the occasion.
“Ah, you continue spoiling my kids,” Lori said.
“Guilty.”
“Milo is still over the moon about all the goodies Jace brought him from New York.” She glared at her brother.
Jace held up his palms. “Brooke talked me into it. I’d just gone to buy a few things. She convinced me to buy half the store.”
“I did.”
“What am I going to do with you two?” she scolded playfully.
As if knowing we were talking about him, Milo sprinted into the house. Jace had shown me pictures, and I recognized him instantly.
“You must be Milo.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Nice to meet you. Hope you liked the player cards.”
His eyes lit up. “Oooh, yes. I’m just missing a few.”
I chatted with Milo right up until Val offered me wine.
“Chardonnay is my favorite,” I told her as she filled my glass.
“We have a system. We drink Chardonnay when we celebrate something and Pinot when we’re sulking,” Hailey explained.
“Hey, that’s a great system. I might adopt it too.”
“We’re so happy you came by tonight. We were wondering when Jace would finally man up and bring you around,” Hailey went on.
“I heard that,” Jace called from a few feet away.
“Pretend you didn’t,” Hailey volleyed back smoothly. “If this has you up in arms, you’re going to be brooding by the end of the evening.”
“I thought you were supposed to be on his side,” I said.
Jace winked at me. Hailey caught our exchange and smiled to herself.
“I switch sides from time to time. Just to spice things up.”
“As a sister should do,” I declared.
Val placed an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me in a side hug. “I like you, Brooke. You’re just what Jace needs.”
I grinned from ear to ear. If there was one person who knew Jace best, it had to be Val.
“We should give her some input on our dearest brother,” Hailey said.
Lori elbowed her. “Hailey! We don’t want to scare her away.”
“Oh, no worries. I’m not easily scared.”
Man, I was enjoying this. No wonder Jace stuck to his iron-clad rule of not taking on any social commitments on Friday evening. I sat on the couch surrounded by the girls, who had no shortage of stories to share while we sipped wine.
“Jace was good at giving scares,” Lori said. “Remember when this guy showed up to take me to a movie, and Jace gave him the talk? I wanted to be mad, but instead I was trying hard not to laugh because my thirteen-year-old brother was scaring the crap out of a sixteen-year-old.”
“Wait a second, Jace gave the guy the talk?” I asked incredulously.
“Yep. It was so efficient that the guy never asked me on another date. He’s got an overprotective streak a mile long,” Lori went on.
“I would’ve paid serious money to see this.” I was enjoying their stories so much that I would’ve gladly skipped dinner just to hear more. He rarely spoke about himself, but his sisters’ stories were like pieces of a puzzle. The more I heard, the closer I felt to Jace.
During dinner, the girls kept the storytelling to the minimum, but guess who filled in the gaps? None other than Will. “Careful with this one. He’s a troublemaker. Spent half my teenage years chasing him and Hailey around.”
Hailey rolled her eyes. “And you spent the other half causing trouble, so don’t try to convince Brooke you were a saint. Jace and I weren’t that bad.”
“Interesting. Now you’re on Jace’s side, huh?” I called her out. “When Will is also throwing you under the bus?”
“I know when to have his back.” Hailey grinned before winking at Jace.
Midway through dinner, the conversation turned to the foundation.
“I can always wire more funds if they’re too low,” Landon offered.
“Thanks, Landon, but we’ve just signed up a few more donors,” Will said.
“Jace and Brooke have been a great help,” Paige added.
Jace took my hand under the table, squeezing it lightly. I loved watching his interactions with the family. His tone of voice changed slightly when he spoke to Val and Landon—even when joking, he talked the way I would to my parents.
After dinner, we all went back to the couch area.
“I really need an additional couch,” Val commented as everyone tried to wedge in on the existing one, plus the armchairs, ottomans, and two bean bags. I had offered to help her bring some drinks from the kitchen.
“Jace said you bought a new dining table a while ago.”
She nodded excitedly. “Yes. Family’s getting bigger every year. I knew it was only a matter of time before Jace brought you to our dinners.”
“You did? How?”
“I could tell from the way he talked about you.”
Jace had talked about me? I really wanted to ask for more details but wasn’t sure how to go about it without being too obvious.
“Plus… you did speak with Hailey a few times. She’s always an excellent source of information.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
When we returned with the drinks, I searched the room for Jace and found him sitting on an armchair. Milo was curled up on the arm, and the two of them had their heads together, whispering. They were cute.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, approaching them. The two abruptly stopped talking.
“Judging by their guilty faces?” Will supplied helpfully. “Jace is teaching him to be up to no good.”
Milo turned a little red. Jace wasn’t fazed.
“Someone has to. Otherwise he might grow up to be a grumpy ass.”
Will and I both laughed, especially when Jace earned a dirty look from Lori, presumably for saying “ass.” She was cradling her newborn girl in her arms.
I sat with the girls again but gazed at Jace from time to time.
After Milo switched uncles, Willow hopped into Jace’s arms, first playing with a teddy bear and then falling asleep on his chest. Holy hell!
Up until now I thought that Jace working out at the gym was my favorite sight.
I changed my mind. Jace holding his niece was now in the top spot.
I wasn’t sure what was hotter: the way his biceps flexed whenever he repositioned her tiny head when it lolled sideways, or how he kept kissing the top of her head while he and Landon chatted in low voices.
Hmm… a tough decision to make, and Mr. Chardonnay was not helping; quite the contrary.
It made everything Jace did appear hotter.
After Landon took Willow away, I saw my window of opportunity and headed to Jace, sitting on the arm of the armchair, refilling his glass of wine.
“You’re having fun,” he said.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Anytime you want me to rescue you, just wink at me.”
“I don’t want to be rescued.”
Jace grinned. “The evening’s not over yet. They’re getting feisty.”
“Have some faith in me. I can be just as feisty.”
“Trust me, I know… but you’re outnumbered.”
“That just makes it more fun.”
Jace
I loved Friday dinners. I always had, even though as a teenager I’d rolled my eyes at Val whenever she repeated that I couldn’t go out with my friends on those evenings.
“This is a lovely evening,” Brooke exclaimed when the two of us were alone in Val’s kitchen, about to bring a new round of dessert. “And the food is amazing. Thank you for taking me with you.”
I wrapped my arms around her middle from behind, skimming my nose up and down the side of her neck.
“I love having you here with all of us. I’d tell you that next week will be less overwhelming, but I don’t like to lie.”
“You want me here next Friday too?”
“I want you here every Friday, babe.”
“You’re sure? It’s family time.”
I wasn’t sure if she was rebuffing me or if she was simply concerned. I felt her belly contract under my palm. Every instinct in me wanted to put her at ease, but I had little practice expressing my feelings.
She was incredible. I couldn’t believe she’d even brought a present for Evelyn. She hadn’t told me anything about it.
“And we each bring our better halves. You’re mine.”
She whirled around, flashing me a big smile. “That’s sweet. Remember that when you have fangirls all around you, okay?”
She’d said it in a teasing tone, but I could see a sliver of unease in her expression. Her ex’s betrayal still hurt. I wanted to assure her that I’d never hurt her in any way.
“Brooke, I don’t pay attention to any of that. I love you, babe.”
I felt her shudder against me, her eyes widening.
I moved my hands from her lower back onto her ass, pressing her against me.
She bit my neck lightly, sending a heated jolt straight under my belt.
I pulled back a little, wrapping a hand in her hair and tilting her lips up.
I skimmed my mouth along her jaw, enjoying the way her breath hitched, her hips arching slightly against mine.
Her entire body was anticipating the kiss.
I crushed my mouth against hers, stroking her tongue with mine until she rose up onto her toes and wrapped both arms around my neck.
“Been waiting to do this the whole evening,” I said.
“What kept you from doing it earlier?”
“The kids.”
“Oh, right. Playing the role model, are we?” She made to tickle me, but I caught on to it and immobilized her wrists in one hand, tickling her with the other.
“Why did you do that?” she demanded.
“Because you tried to tickle me first. And you seemed to doubt I could be a role model.”
“That is absolutely not true.”
“It’s okay. I doubt it too, but that’s why they have a dad. They can be the voice of reason. I’d suck at it, but Landon, Will, and Graham are doing a great job. I’ll just teach the next generation of Connors shenanigans. Someone has to.”
That had been on my mind for a few years, when I watched Will and Landon with Milo.
Our nephew had needed a father figure, and they’d both stepped up to the plate—Will even more so than Landon, who’d been away at the time.
Being a dad came naturally to them, but not to me.
I’d tried mimicking Landon’s style, since it had been effective on me as a kid, without much success.
As such, I’d fully embraced my role as the troublemaking uncle, even though I had often wished I could step up to the plate and be that father figure Milo had needed at the time.
“I personally think you’d be a great dad.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I’ve seen you with the teenagers at the education center. You’re a good voice of reason when you want to be.”
I thought she was just appeasing me, but as the evening went by, she kept watching me whenever I played with Milo or Peyton, and I realized she believed that.
She saw something in me. I hoped that something was really there, and not just a wish she was projecting. Scratch that. Even if it was the latter, I would fight to become everything she wished for and deserved.