Page 93 of I.S.O Daddy

“So, it’s serious then?”

Shit. He’d walked right into that one.

“Yeah.” He set the beer on the table in front of him and scrubbed his hand over his head. “Yeah, it’s really serious.”

I think I love her.

But he didn’t say it. He couldn’t. Not yet.

“Might’ve fucked up today, but she thankfully forgave me,” he said.

He didn’t know why he said it. Maybe because he needed to talk about it with someone, or maybe because the beer was making his lips loose. Either way, the words were out. And when Beck asked what happened, Jett told him everything.

“I just freaked out, you know? Saw Mandy, not Abbie. I thought about Mom bringing in all those men, and how she’d never had the same guy in her bed twice. A part of me always thought it was normal, you know? For women to move on quickly. But today, when I saw her talking to Wes, I didn’t want her to move on. I still wanted her. And I freaked. I got so fucking mad. Not at her, not even at Wes. At myself. At Mandy. At Mom. Mad because they made me ruin things with the girl of my fucking dreams.”

Beck listened intently as he spoke, and it was like once he started, he couldn’t stop.

“I don’t want to lose her. I can’t. I know I’m not a smart man, and I know I’ve fucked up in the past. I know I’m not good enough for her, and I know she deserves someone better than me. But since the second I saw her photo, there was just something about her. Something that made me selfish. I won’t let go of her.”

“You love her,” Beck said gently.

“I don’t know.” He let out a long breath. “I don’t know if I’ve ever loved anyone before. Other than you.”

“You love her,” he said again, and Jett knew he was right.

He did love her. He loved her more than life. And he thought that might’ve been the real reason he’d been so upset today, why seeing her with Wes had hurt so much.

Because he loved her and he thought he’d lose her.

“You do. I know you do.” There was a longing in his brother’s voice he’d never heard before. But before he could ask about it, wood creaked and he glanced over his shoulder.

Abbie was rubbing her eye while holding Ottie by the arm. “Beck? Hey, I gotta go.”

“Yeah, me too.”

He ended the call and held his hand out to her. She took it and he gently tugged her toward him, sliding her into his lap.

“What are you doing up, pretty girl?” he asked softly, wrapping his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest, looking so tired he felt guilty for waking her up.

“I woke up and you weren’t there. I got scared.”

“Oh, baby. I’m sorry.” He stroked her hair softly, something in his chest easing as she relaxed into him.

“Who were you talking to?” Her voice was softer, higher pitched. Maybe she was so tired she was slipping into Little space. She seemed to do that when she first woke up.

“My brother.”

“Beck?” she asked, and he nodded, surprised she remembered his name. It wasn’t like he talked about him much. “Is everything okay? Is he hurt?” She pulled away to look up at him.

“Oh he’s fine.” He kissed her temple, his arms right around her. “He’s in London. Just got there from Rome.”

“Wow,” she breathed, her eyes wide. They sparkled in the night, and a thought flitted through his mind.

“You want to travel, pretty girl?”

Her dark brows bunched slightly. “I don’t know. Travel where?”

“Europe. Across the US. Anywhere. Everywhere.” She twisted her lips to the side, hauling Ottie higher into her arms.

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