Page 50 of Overprotected

“We weren’t together then. It’s going to be hard to act like we’re just friends for the weekend,” Jackson sounded as frustrated as I felt, and I closed my eyes. “Maybe we should tell him.”

“No. He’s only here for the weekend. It’s just a few days and then we’ll be alone again. I don’t want to ruin his time here,” I protested. He sighed on the other end of the phone. “We’ll tell him. Just not now.”

“Come by later. We’ll take him for hot chicken.” Jackson gave in and I said that I’d see him soon. I hung up and dropped my head back, knowing that I was doing something wrong. I couldn’t hide this forever. I told myself that it was just a few days and we could deal with all this another time. Everything would be fine.

Later, I took a shower and got ready to go see my brother. I put on some skinny jeans and a long-sleeved plum shirt and pulled my hair back as I stared at myself in the mirror. I was older now and I could make my own decisions, but I still felt like a child.

When was that going to change?

CHAPTER 24

JACKSON

Greg was happy to be here and glad to visit, but I knew that he was a Chattanooga boy at heart. I couldn’t wait to get out of that town and pursue pro football and I never expected Emma to be here with me.

In some ways, it was one of the hardest times in my life with the warning from Coach, but in others it was one of the best. I was finally with a woman who I cared for and felt complete.

Better than that, it was Emma. I always wanted her growing up once we were both older but now she was mine. I couldn’t tell her brother and my best friend as much as I wanted to, and I glanced at him as he fell silent.

“Is Em okay, Jackson?” Greg asked and I nodded. “She moved out. I thought she was going to stay here.”

“She’s close to Bella and wanted the college thing,” I offered and he shrugged.

“I found a bra in the bathroom, so I guess she didn’t like your single lifestyle.”

I almost choked on my beer, knowing that was Emma’s from when we took a shower the other night.

“My sweet baby sister. I hope she can handle Nashville,” Greg remarked. Emma was more woman than he’d ever realize, and I wondered if he would ever accept that.

“Sure she can,” I assured him as I looked out the window to see her walking up to the apartment. I wanted to jump up and open the door, letting her in as I kissed her and wrapped her in the hug that I’d been dreaming about all day. Instead, I waited for her to knock and watched as Greg stood and went to get the door. He hugged Emma tightly as he greeted her, and memories flooded my mind. I’d watched her grow up and become an amazing woman.

Emma turned to look at me and smiled softly, making my whole body tingle. Fuck if I didn’t want to claim this woman but as she frowned slightly and shook her head as Greg hugged her again. We made small talk before leaving for dinner. Emma drove her car since mine was at the shop getting fixed, and she asked me about what happened.

We talked about it as if she didn’t have much personal knowledge of Joe beyond working at the stadium with him. I just said that there was a player who was an asshole to me, leaving out the fight and my past with Emma. She parked and we all walked into the building as Greg remarked that it seemed more casual than he expected, leading to a joke about how nobody would get the small-town boy out of me. I laughed and agreed.

“I can’t wait to see your game tomorrow night. My parents will come out closer to the holidays. Dad had to work, and I decided this at the last minute,” Greg explained as I heard our number called and stood to get the tray.

Greg took his plate and dug into the chicken as Emma and I moved slower. He declared it some of the best chicken he’d ever had, and I grinned as he took another big bite. He even agreed that it blew Pip’s out of the water.

I thought about the first time Emma and I ate here. So much had changed in between then and now and I leaned back and counted the minutes until we were alone again. After dinner, we took him onto the main street and walked around to show him some of the sights. Greg had visited Nashville in the past, but he hadn’t had the full tour and stopped to listen to some of the music at the door of a club.

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