She blinks at me. “Sunday?”
“Jackson family Easter dinner. At the cabin.” I smile and look her over, thinking of tequila and drinking games, first kisses and crossing lines. I can see in her eyes that she’s thinking about those things too. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
Shay
The Jacksons have brunch every Sunday morning at ten. If someone’s schedule doesn’t allow for it on any given week, so be it, but the time is always the same. The only exceptions are when Christmas falls on a Sunday, and every Easter, when we skip brunch and meet at the family cabin for a big dinner.
This Easter will be our biggest yet. Everyone will be here, including Easton and Abi. Even if I’m nervous about spending time around Easton with our tentative “just friends” arrangement, I’m glad he and Abi have somewhere to spend the holiday.
Jake is in the kitchen, working on the ham and a potato-and-sour-cream casserole. Nic is making half a dozen pies because that’s her way of showing us all how much she loves us. I’m hoping my stomach can handle some of this stuff. Not only is it delicious, but I suspect I’ve lost a few pounds, and I don’t want to sink back into the cycle of feeling victorious every time the scale shows a lower number.
“Do we drink red or white with ham?” Teagan asks, holding up both bottles. She’s in a pink spring dress today and looking as bright as the sunny day outside.
I position the last fork in place at the table and shrug. “I don’t think it matters.”
Still holding the wine, she presses the back of one hand to my forehead. “What is wrong with you? You’re supposed to say both.”
I laugh. Because she’s right. Typically, that would be my answer, but I’m not drinking tonight. Partly because Easton’s going to be here, and I’m afraid even the tiniest loosening of my inhibitions might land me in his bed, but mostly because my stomach is still screwed up and I don’t want wine ruining any chance I have of eating a halfway decent meal. I’m sick of not having an appetite and living on dry toast. Even coffee upsets my stomach these days. Sad times indeed. “I’m ready for my stress levels to go down so I can eat and drink like a normal person again.”
Teagan plops both bottles down on the table and props her hands on her hips. “Have you gone to the doctor yet?”
I look over her shoulder to my brother Jake in the kitchen and down the hall toward the girls in the living room to make sure no one heard her. “Would you lower your voice, please?”
She arches a brow.
“Not yet. I’ve been kind of busy, but I’ll call on Monday.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
“I know, I know.” Maybe I’m stalling deliberately. Every time I fall asleep at my computer or sleep twelve hours when I’m normally good with seven, I think about how tired Mom was before she found out she had cancer. I think of Dad losing his battle. Maybe part of me knows that I need to take this seriously and I’m too scared of what I might find out.
I hear the front door open and the sounds of Easton and Abi’s voices as Carter lets them in.
Teagan flashes me a grin. “Carter said that Easton said you two watched a movie together Friday night,” she says in a conspiratorial whisper.
My cheeks burn at the memory of Easton on my couch. His hand. His wickedly dirty mouth. “What else did he tell him?”
She smirks. “Nothing that should make you blush like that. What happened? He told Carter you wanted to just be friends for now, but he’s putting all his cards on the table with your brothers. He wants more, and he wants them to know his intentions so he doesn’t have to deal with any ‘protective brother’ bullshit when he finally gets his shot with you.”
I know how Easton feels. He hasn’t exactly hidden his intentions. Yet hearing Teagan tell it like that gives me massive butterflies.
“Abigail!” Lilly’s scream is followed by the sound of little feet running on hardwood.
“No running in the house!” Nic calls.
“Lilly! I went shopping with my mom in Chicago this weekend. She took me to the American Girl Store and bought me a new doll. Do you like her?”
“She’s beautiful! I have one upstairs. Come on, I’ll show you. Did you like Chicago? I’ve been there before and it was just so big. There are so many people.”
“It’s nothing like L.A.,” Abi says. “There are even more people there.”
“No way.”
The sound of the girls’ chatter quiets as they head upstairs, and Teagan and I exchange smiles.
“They’re adorable together, aren’t they?” Easton says.
I spin and see him at the threshold to the dining room, his hands tucked into his pockets. He takes me in slowly, and those blue-green eyes darken. “Happy Easter, Easton,” I say. He looks . . . edible. Tailored black pants, a sky-blue oxford with the top button undone and the sleeves rolled to his elbows. His forearms are a work of art, and my mouth goes dry as I ogle them and remember the muscles there bunching as he worked between my legs.