He pulled up outside the house and turned the engine off, climbed out and ran around to open my door. He took my hand and pulled me out, keeping my hand in his.
"Okay, let's call a truce. I want you here I just wasn't expecting this thing between you and Jack."
I let out a sigh. "There isn't a 'thing' between me and Jack. He's getting married remember. Can we leave that alone and go and do something where we aren't going to get into an argument."
"Yeah. What do you want to do?" He turned and started to walk up the porch steps with me trailing behind him.
"What about walking to the river?" I sighed in relief as we entered the air-conditioned house. "We could take a picnic."
Perhaps if I made an effort we would hopefully get the kind of friendship back that we had before we arrived at his family's home.
"Oh, you're back. I wasn't expecting to see you both until dinner," Stephanie commented walking out from the kitchen.
"Yeah, Thalia doesn't like the water."
I smiled, but felt like punching him. Stephanie glanced at me, as though it was unheard of.
Changing the subject, I said, "We thought we'd go on a picnic by the river."
"Make sure you wear bug repellant, Liam. You don't want to get bitten again."
I hid a grin and turned to Liam, "Do you mind if I go upstairs for ten minutes, I need to return Callie's call?"
"No," he replied.
"Thalia, please don't feel like you have to ask. While you're here, please treat this as your home," Stephanie informed me, which took me by surprise.
"Oh, okay. Thank you."
With that out of the way, I turned and headed up the stairs.
"Wait up," Liam shouted, and then he looked to his mom. "We'll see you later."
As I was entering my bedroom, Liam caught my hand and tugged on it to get my attention. "Give me an hour and we'll go and raid the kitchen to have our picnic, okay?"
"Okay."
"It's a peace offering. I was a bastard earlier and I'm sorry. We need to have some fun." My eyes widened and he burst out laughing. "Go rest."
I opened my door and walked through turning around to look at him. "I'll accept, providing you don't chuck me in the river." He chuckled and walked off to his room shaking his head.
With my door shut, I dropped my purse on the floor, retrieved my phone from my back pocket and then made a dive on to the bed, sprawling out on my stomach while I dialed Callie.
She answered on the second ring. "Hey girlfriend," I said in response to her distracted 'yeah'.
When she realized it was me, she screamed and dropped her phone.
"Thalia, you still there?"
"I sure am."
"How's it going with Liam?"
"Not too bad, although he was an ass out on the lake, earlier."
She sighed down the phone. "You can't swim"
"Yeah, I know. It was pretty scary, especially when Liam rocked the boat." I inhaled and let my breath out slowly, knowing when I mentioned, Jack, I'd get bombarded with questions. "His brother, Jack, pulled me out and looked ready to murder Liam. I left them to it and ran off to cry."
"That bastard, he made you cry a hang on a Jack a who's Jack?"
I smiled thinking about Jack. "He's Liam's brother and so damn hot."
"Please tell me you aren't getting up to no good with his brother?"
"It depends what you call 'any good'." She stayed silent. "He came after me and held me in his arms. He felt good a hard and solid against me a he's getting married."
"Oh fuck!"
"Lovely language, for a lady."
Callie snorted in response.
"He's lonely Callie. Even though he's always done what his parents wanted him to do, even, if I'm not mistaken, marry this woman; they still treat him like shit. The fact that he's good looking, doesn't help my attraction to him."
"You are in trouble. Perhaps, I should visit. To check him out."
"No, you won't."
Shit. She started to laugh a rather loudly. "You're in way over your head. What does Liam have to say about all this?"
I sighed. "I can't figure him out. He said he wants me to 'pretend' to be his girlfriend and that he knows we aren't going anywhere. He just wants to be friends, which is more than fine with me. He also said that Jack will get married, no matter what. Basically, he warned me away from his brother."
"How does he know you have the hot's for Jack and how old is he?"
"Apparently, Jack has never acted with anyone the way he does with me. The episode on the lake was to prove to me that Jack would come to my rescue, and he did... Oh, and he's twenty-five."
"What are you going to do? It sounds like he has the hots for you as well."
"Oh Callie, he pulls at me. When I see him all I want to do is hold him. Wrap him up in my arms and never let go." I laughed, embarrassed. "I only met him less than twenty-four hours ago and can't get him out of my head."
"Thalia, he'll break your heart. Promise me, you'll stay away from him, no matter how hard it is. Make sure Liam is always with you around the house so you don't get caught on your own with him."
I didn't think it wise telling her I was sharing a bathroom with him.
"Anyway, enough about me. How's Texas?" She giggled. I moved the phone away from my ear and looked at it, thinking I'd heard wrong. She never giggled. "Did you just giggle at me?"
"Maybe."
"Callie."
"We have a new ranch hand a he's hot. He's a sexy cowboy, Thalia...."
Shit. "That is so not fair a I bet Jack would look hot in denim, boots, and open shirt." I could dream and probably would.
"Oh my God. I've got to go so you behave and NO Jack. Love you, Thalia." She hung up.
I rolled over and lay on my back, resting my hand with my cell on my chest. I needed to do what Callie said, and stay away from Jack, but something told me, that wouldn't be all that easy.
Chapter 19.
Jack "What's this about you having a boner for your brother's girl?" Donovan asked walking towards us, which stopped me dead. I looked towards Reece who looked just as stunned, then back to Donovan.
"What the fuck!"
He grinned. "Reece sent me a text, saying you wanted to fuck your brother's girl."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said that. I'll show you the text if you want. What I said was 'you were screwed up over your brother's girl'."
"You're like a bunch of fucking women. Fuck." I ran my hands through my hair, and then shoved them into my back pockets. "Look, can we leave this alone. I'm going to avoid her from now on. Let's just go and eat." I walked off towards the cafe and pushed through the door with Donovan and Reece following while I tried not to laugh at them.
We took a seat in our usual place, ordering our food from Mary who'd worked there since we were young boys running circles around her.
"Ryder rang me earlier." We both looked at Donovan.
"And," we said at the same time.
He didn't give anything away then all of a sudden he started to smile. "We still have a standing Saturday night date and maybe Wednesday as well. He wants us to do next Wednesday and see how it goes."
Both Reece and I just stared at him. That was what we'd hoped, but I was stunned that he'd given it to us. I loved music. All types of music. I didn't think I could stop for anyone, and didn't see the reason why I should. God, help me when I had to tell Mia. She'd be pissed as hell.
"Hey, isn't that Liam. Oh, and a babe," Donovan announced.
My head whipped up. I took a breath and looked out of the window and there they were, walking across the road heading in our direction. Fuck.
"So much for staying away." Donovan chuckled.
They walked into the cafe with Thalia having a good look around. I waited until her eyes met mine. She froze. I couldn't take my eyes from her.
"Well, we know it isn't just you. When you both finally get naked, you better make sure it's in water, otherwise you're likely to set the place on fire," Donovan blurted while I held Thalia's gaze.
She started walking towards us, leaving Liam talking to Mary. Standing to the side of our table, I noticed she'd started to blush.
Reece elbowed me in the side. "As Jack's lost his manners, I'm Reece." He held his hand out to her. Instead of shaking it, he kissed her palm.
"I'm Thalia. It's nice to meet you, Reece."
"I'm Donovan, take a seat." She did, beside him.
"Nice to meet you too, Donovan."
Reece sitting back in his seat, just stared at her with a smile on his face, the smile he used on the ladies. I kicked him under the table, which turned his smile into a scowl.
"So, Thalia, Jack's been telling us about you. He kind of left out what a babe you are."
Thanks Donovan.
She laughed. "Well thanks a I think." She passed a quick glance at me then focused her attention back to Donovan.
"Oh definitely," he replied.
She chuckled.
My heart thumped. "What's Liam up to?" I practically growled at her. I was acting like a jealous idiot.
"He's getting some food together for a picnic by the river at your house. There wasn't really any picnic food in the kitchen."
I wished I'd never asked.
"Thalia, you ready?"
She gave Liam a quizzical look. Probably wondering why he was ignoring everyone, me included.
"Ah, I guess." She stood. "I hope to see you all again."
"You sure will little darlin'."
Liam moved in and put his arm around her shoulders. She quickly glanced to me. "I'll see you later, Jack."
"Yeah."
Liam scowled at me then pulled Thalia towards the door, without a backward glance, from Liam that was, Thalia looked back at me from the car.
"That girl wants you. What you going to do about it?" Donovan asked.
"If you knew she wanted me, what was 'you sure will little darlin'?"
He grinned at me. "Someone's jealous."
"Okay, that's enough." They knew I was serious. "It doesn't matter. I need to leave. I'll meet you both at the river." I stood and walked out of there, climbed into my car and drove to the river, knowing they'd leave me alone for an hour to get my head together.
I'd known Thalia, not twenty-four hours and already she'd gotten into my head. I couldn't get her out, and out she needed to be in order for me to carry on with the life everyone had planned out for me. For the first time in twelve months, I'd started to look at my life and I didn't like what I saw.