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“I love you like a brother, Jax, and I’ll get over it eventually,” he said, then he sighed. “But right now, I hate that it’s you.”
The naked honesty in his voice cut just about as badly as you’d think, scoring down the edge of my ribs as it flayed me wide open.
But I gave him a steady look instead of flinching away. “I know you do.”
“Fuck,” he muttered, swiping a hand over his face. Cameron leaned his head back on the chair and stared up at the sky. “Dammit.”
There was no point in apologizing again, so I didn’t. This time, the silence didn’t stretch out in a painful, thick way. It was the kind of silence that comes with acceptance.
Eventually, he dropped his head back down and leveled me with a tired look. “Want a beer?” he asked. “I think I need one.”
I exhaled a quiet laugh. “Normally, I’d say yes, but jet lag is killing me. I should get home to eat something and go to bed.”
He gave an understanding nod, standing from his chair as I stood from mine. “You still might want to wear a cup the next time you’re around Greer.”
I managed a grim smile. “Believe me, I will.”
Chapter 16
Poppy
Did I cater in delicious baked goods to butter up my siblings for this family meeting?
You bet your ass I did.
Mom was only slightly affronted when I didn’t ask her to make anything, but she got over it pretty quickly when she tried the chocolate croissant.
In front of me were my small stack of colored notecards, the agendas I hadn’t passed out yet, and three colored pens in case anyone made a really good point I needed to write down.
On the large screens at the back of the room, my sister Adaline and brother Erik were patched in from their respective homes in Seattle. Adaline had clearly just crawled out of bed, still yawning into her coffee mug. Parker’s square was still ominously black. I’d only texted him five times, but hey, sure … live your life, Parker.
“You know,” Greer said, “that back bedroom that used to be Parker’s would be the best nursery.”
Mom nodded. “Best view of the yard.”
Greer pursed her lips thoughtfully. “It did have the best view. Why did Parker get it again?”
“Because he was my favorite the week we decided,” she said smoothly.
Ian snickered into his coffee.
Greer sighed. “Figures.” She turned her face toward me. “What room are you thinking, Pops?”
“I—” I shifted the edge of a notecard that moved out of place. “I don’t know. I may not … I might find a place, actually.”
Greer’s, Mom’s, and Cameron’s heads all swung in my direction. The others were chatting among themselves and hadn’t heard.
“Why?” Cameron asked. “You have a free place to live and built-in help.”
Greer shared a look with Mom. “And built-in help,” she repeated, eyes wide.
Mom’s facial expression was more curious than anything. “You never said anything, Poppy.”
Weird. Maybe because you couldn’t get a freaking word in edge-wise when your family had dozens of people in it, all talking at the same time.
“I don’t blame you for wanting space,” Ivy interjected. “Now that Jax is back, you’re part of the hottest love triangle since…” She tilted her head. “I don’t even know what cultural reference to make right now because I spent too much time studying in college.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not a love triangle. It’s a … different shape that doesn’t have three points. It’s a line. I’m in a line relationship because there are only two people.” I started handing out the agendas. “Please, I promise all this will get covered. Living arrangements is on the list.”
