26. Willow Kingsley
Chapter twenty-six
Willow Kingsley
Everything today has been too good to be true. We watched the Thrashers win–not just win, dominate –from box seats alongside all of Sebastian and MJ’s family. I’ve been in some enthusiastic crowds, but they took it to another level. When the game kicked off, MJ surprised me by how animated she was. I’d met a calm, reserved woman, only to find that same woman yelling as if she were the coach and not her husband. It was entertaining, as was the rest of the Carter/Holt family.
All of them immediately welcomed me into the fold and treated me as one of their own. Their kindness was disconcerting in the best way. We were even invited to MJ’s house for a post-game get-together, where I’m now cuddled up to Jason on the most comfortable couch I’ve ever sat on while everyone talks and laughs openly.
“I’m happy you’ve settled down,” Bash says to Jason during a quieter moment. “Marriage looks good on you.”
“Thank you,” Jason replies while tracing circles on my upper arm. “I’m a lucky man.”
MJ watches us and I can tell she’s studying our interactions. She has been since we met. But somehow, it hasn’t made me uncomfortable. She has yet to voice her observations though, so my happy little bubble might burst by the end of the night.
We can’t afford for anyone to be suspicious of us. Thankfully, Immigration bought our story when we told it a few days ago. It likely helped that Jason is a celebrity of sorts. So now we just need to maintain our image. I hope that we’re doing a good job.
“Just one look at Willow lets us know you’re lucky,” Shepherd jokes from the other side of the couch. He’s been great to hang out with. It’s nice to have someone to help me tease Jason, plus it’s easy to see that under his teasing, he loves and looks up to his brother.
“You’ve made it abundantly clear she’s out of my league, Shep,” Jason says with a warning look. “Now quit flirting with my wife before I drown you in Coach’s pool.”
I laugh at his threat. “Only one of us can have a giant ego after all, so you should stop boosting mine,” I say to Shepherd. He gives me a wicked grin in return.
I let out a squeal. Jason has slid his arm behind my back to tickle my side.
“What was that about my ego?” he asks while tickling me.
I try to push his arm away while laughing.
“Say I’m the most humble man you’ve ever met,” he demands while torturing me.
Through breathless laughter I repeat his words, desperate for reprieve. He finally stops and I collapse against him, breathing heavily.
“I can’t believe you gave in so easily!” Shep admonishes.
“I didn’t see you trying to help me! You could have pulled me away,” I reply and Jason chuckles, the sound vibrating the spot on his chest where I rest my head. My stomach flips when Jason presses a brief kiss to the crown of my head.
“He knows better than to try and touch what’s mine.” His voice is low. I doubt anyone else heard him, but oh, I did. Heat pools low in my abdomen. I should probably have some aversion to being called his…and yet I don’t.
“BOOM!” A loud yell makes me jump. I look in the direction of the sound, my heart still pounding from Jason’s words. Jasmine, one of MJ’s family members if I’m remembering correctly, holds a chess piece high in the air. “Check!” she declares with a flourish of the piece.
I smile at her extravagance, and notice out of the corner of my eye that, yet again, Shepherd is watching her and MJ’s brother Grayson play. He’s likely tried to be subtle about it, but he’s failed miserably so far. I’m not sure if he’s interested in the game, Jasmine, or both, but he’s definitely interested.
“You know you’re still going to lose, right?” Grayson asks with a grin.
Jasmine rolls her eyes. “ Yes , but I got further than the last time! I have to celebrate the small victories.”
“Emphasis on small,” Grayson adds. Jasmine throws the piece at him, but he catches it, making her roll her eyes again.
“I’m going to ask Sloane to play. She’s nicer than you.”
“Maybe I’ll ask Sloane to play. She’s the only one who can beat me.”
“Only because you get so distracted making gaga eyes at her that she switches the pieces around!” Jasmine huffs and I can’t help but giggle at their exchange.
“A win is a win,” Sloane says from close by, where she’s lying on her stomach and reading a book.
“That’s my wife,” Grayson says with a grin. Except, Sloane is not his wife yet. Apparently he’s not keen on waiting until their wedding to throw around the title. I learned that very early on in our introduction.
“This might be a good time for you to jump in,” MJ says to Shepherd. “I assume that’s why you’ve been watching them all night, because you like to play chess.”
Sebastian chuckles at MJ’s wording, and I smile because she saw the same thing I did.
“I don’t think now’s a good time,” Shepherd says with a good-natured laugh. “I’m not sure I can keep up with their competitive nature.”
Jason shoots him a look. “You’re a freakish chess prodigy who’s already head of the team at school. I think you could keep up.”
“Don’t let Grayson hear that. He’s always itching for someone to truly challenge him,” Bash says.
“Did I hear something about a challenger?” Grayson bellows in the tone of someone who’s in the middle of a gladiator pit instead of a living room.
“Shepherd plays,” I say, earning a heatless glare from my brother-in-law.
“Let’s see what you’ve got, Kingsley,” Grayson says with a grin.
With visible reluctance, Shepherd goes and takes Jasmine’s place at the coffee table. She doesn’t move away entirely though, instead opting to watch from nearby. Grayson makes quick work of resetting the board before gesturing to Shepherd to make the first move.
They dive into a much more silent, though no less intense, game. Conversation picks up surrounding them, with the occasional glance over at the game to see progress. “Willow, would you mind coming to help me get the desserts out?” MJ asks.
Nerves twist my stomach. “I’d love to help.”
Jason smiles at me, seemingly unaware of my inner turmoil. I hadn’t planned on being alone with MJ. I trust Jason’s words that she’s not malicious, but that almost makes it worse. I want her to approve of me. Even though I know it’s foolish to care when this marriage is short-term, I can’t help but feel nervous as I follow her into her large kitchen.
MJ opens the fridge and begins to pull boxes out. They look to be from a bakery, which surprises me, given her reputation for homemade everything.
“My brother Maverick owns a bakery, so he tends to take care of dessert for parties like this,” MJ explains as if she can read my thoughts. Maybe she can.
“That’s wonderful. I wish I had a baker in my family. My granny can hold her own, but she’s more into cooking than baking.”
Am I babbling? I feel like I’m babbling. I force myself to stay quiet and not give in to the urge to fill the silence. MJ seems to be in no hurry to. She makes two stacks of the boxes. It becomes abundantly clear that she brought me in here to talk. She doesn’t need my help at all.
Her lips quirk up in a hint of a smile. “You don’t have to be nervous. I hope Jason didn’t scare you too much talking about me.”
“He actually had nothing but nice things to say about you.” I pause, then decide on honesty. She’d see through anything else. “But I know that he values your opinion, and I want your approval.”
She hums. “That’s interesting. You think you need my approval when you’re already married? Logic says it doesn’t matter what I think.”
“You’re his family,” I state, and her features soften. “In a perfect world, we would have met before Jason and I got married, but it didn’t happen that way. I know it matters to him that we get along.”
And though I also know I’ll be gone once our divorce won’t look suspicious, I still want Jason to have a good life in the meantime. If the people he calls family hate me, that would make things difficult.
“So this is entirely about Jason? You don’t have a need for people to like you?”
Her blunt question makes me smile. After dealing with the vindictive ways of the media lately, her straightforward nature is refreshing.
“Not particularly. I can’t afford putting too much weight into others' opinions of me, given that much of my job is based in social media.”
She nods. “Good. Because while you might have been well-known in your own right before, this is a whole different level. You will be beloved by some and hated by many.”
“Has that been the case for you?”
She laughs. “Oh yes. But I’ve never cared much about what others think of me.” She picks up one of the stacks. I grab the other. Her hazel eyes zero in on me. “I like you. I think there’s something going on beneath the surface, but you and Jason are good for each other. Take care of him–so long as he’s doing the same–and you’ll always be welcome in my house.”
Relief washes over me like a hot shower after a long day. I can finally breathe, knowing that I’m not waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“I’ll take care of him,” I say, and I mean it. The conviction doesn’t fit in with what I thought this arrangement would be like, but it’s undeniably there, blaring like a foghorn in my soul.
MJ merely nods in response as we re-enter the living room. As we enter, I notice Shepherd moving from his spot in front of the chessboard. Grayson stays seated, his mouth hanging open in shock.
“I can’t believe he beat me,” he says, barely loud enough to be heard by everyone.
“I told you he’s a prodigy,” Jason says, giving his brother a high five when he returns to the couch.
“He’s definitely a force to be reckoned with. I’d say he was one of a kind, but I’m also handsome, athletic, and great at chess.”
I laugh as I set some of the boxes down on the table. Maybe this family is where Jason learned his teasing ways.
As soon as MJ and I spread out the boxes on the coffee table, everyone converges. I open one of the boxes and the scent of peanut butter makes my stomach drop. My head whips over to find Jason about to eat a chocolate chip cookie.
“Wait!” I shout over the chaos, making everyone, including Jason, freeze. All eyes are on me. My face burns, but this is too important to risk. “I just smelled peanut butter. I didn’t want you to accidentally eat anything contaminated,” I say to him.
His expression relaxes and his gaze warms. “I’d forgotten to ask. Thank you.” He sets down the cookie. I decide not to take a dessert as well, in case it could affect him somehow.
“I’m so sorry I forgot, Jason,” MJ says, uncharacteristically emotional as she places a delicate hand on her pregnant stomach. “It’s been a chaotic day and I wasn’t feeling my best–”
“MJ, don’t worry about it,” he gently reassures. “I know you’d never do anything like this on purpose. You didn’t even know we’d be here.”
“I should have remembered,” MJ says with a frown. “But I’m happy you have someone looking out for you,” she says, directing her words to me.
Jason reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Me too.”