Page 62 of Light My Fire

“So what’syourproblem?” Jackson asks.

Wyatt frowns. “What? Nothing.”

“You’ve been quiet all day. You seemed kind of pissy outside.”

“I’m not. I’m just…” Finally, he blows out a breath. He shoves a hand through his hair. “You two flirting hit me harder than expected. But I know that’s stupid. She and I haven’t made any plans or commitments.”

“Exactly,” I say. “And you both like her, so Jackson deserves a chance with her.”

And if she’s got those two vying for her attention, then she won’t be smiling and being sweet with me and pulling secrets out of me and making me think about what-ifs I have no business considering.

Jackson shifts on the loveseat. “I do like her,” he admits. “And she told me she likes me, too. And she kissed me last night.”

Wyatt sits up straighter. “What?”

Okay, this is good. That clench in my gut isnotjealousy. I’m here basically advocating for Jackson to take her to bed tonight, for fuck’s sake.

Jackson nods. “It was just quick and sweet. Took me by surprise but, yeah. And I want a chance with her too. Not just the sex. To take her out when we get home.”

I frown. “She’s going to be busy with school. Starting her clinical rotations. You two can’t distract her.”

They both stare at me.

Yeah, that sounded unnecessarily protective.

And it’s none of my damned business.

“I’m talking about here,” I finally say, my tone crankier now. “I think Brooke deserves to know all her optionsnow.”

They’re both quiet for several long seconds. Then Wyatt finally says, “Fine.”

Jackson blows out a breath. “Yeah?”

Wyatt looks at him and nods. “Yeah. I want her to be happy. To have what she wants. Whatever that is. I know you’ll treat her well. So… yeah. If she wants it too, then you should definitely let her know that you’re interested.”

Jackson gives him a smile. “Thanks man. And you know I’ll be good to her.”

“You better be.”

Yeah, he better be.

I’m feeling that strange restless mix of emotion. I want her, but I can’t have her, so I wantthesetwo to be the ones, butknowingthey’re with her might kill me.

Especially if either of them become serious with her after this weekend.

I could potentially be repeatedly running into this gorgeous girl who’s gotten so damned deep in my system I know I’m going to be thinking about her for weeks, if not months, even without seeing her again.

Fuck.

I shove a hand through my hair, then run it down over my face.

Sure, Brooke said she wasn’t sure if she was ready for a whole big relationship thing, but these two motherfuckers can be very persuasive.

I just have to avoid her as much as possible until we dig out and get on the plane home. Then I’ll worry about getting over her, somehow, once we’re back to civilization.

“So you’re both going to stop acting fucking weird with each other,” I say. It’s not a request, it’s an order. “You’re not going to let a woman come between you. She’s amazing, we all agree, but you two aren’t going to ruin a friendship because of this.”

Normally, I’d think it was ridiculous to think that could even possibly happen. I’ve never seen these two like this. But now I’ve also met Brooke. If they’d onlytoldme about this woman they’d both met and liked, I’d be really laying into them about letting a piece of ass mess them up. But Brooke’s different. I get it. Way more than a piece of ass. And this could become very complicated.

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