That left Jackson, who was apparently a confirmed bachelor. At least from what his brother's were saying. He was ignoring them.
In fact, he was ignoring everything and everyone.
Except me.
The man hadn't taken his eyes off me since he opened the front door. It was bizarre. But I could feel the weight of his gaze.
His eyes were almost... hot.
"Soup's on!"
I couldn't help but smile at the colorful way Jake Delancey phrased things. I could see tattoos peaking out from under the collar of his shirt. He was big and handsome like his brothers, even if he did look a little bit wild.
But he was clearly sweet as pie and doting on his fiancé.
I noticed that Elle wasn't drinking. And she kept touching her stomach. Jake was very attentive.
I would never pry, but it was clear she was pregnant.
It was also clear that it was a secret.
Everyone was chatting as I sat there, wondering if I would ever have a baby. I tried to image it... a loving husband, a child, a home. And Casey being well of course.
That mattered more than anything.
"Mitochondria."
"What's that?"
"It's a vital part of your cells. In my case they were damaged from a drug I took."
She smiled at me.
"Angie's been taking care of me ever since. And fighting the big pharma companies. And the doctors. She's unstoppable."
Jackson snorted.
"I'll say."
"Jackson!"
"What? It was a compliment."
I watched the brothers squabbling. It seemed like Jackson was not used to being told what to do or say. Everyone stood to go into dinner and I followed suit. I could not help but notice that even though all three brothers were big and strong, Jackson was just a teensy bit bigger. Taller. Thicker.
More manly.
"Allow me."
He leaned over Casey.
"Do you mind if I escort you?"
She nodded and looked at me over her shoulder as Jackson carefully pushed her chair into the dining room. She was trying to tell me something but I was too distracted to figure out what. I could not help it.
I was too busy watching his ass move in those tight jeans.
I had to admit it.
It was a very, very nice ass.
Chapter Seven Jackson
Dinner was a drawn out affair. As usual when we had guests, Mrs. G pulled out all the stops. I hadn't told her to do anything special for tonight, but clearly someone had.
Course after course had arrived. Appetizers. Fresh baked bread. Homemade butter. Soup. Salad. A fish course. A pasta course. A meat course. It went on and on all night. Now we were on dessert.
During the meal my brothers and the girls had slowly drawn Angelina out of her self-imposed shell. I was realizing there was more to her than met the eye. She didn't like to talk about herself at all apparently. It's not that she was shy exactly. She was... guarded.
The girl didn't trust easily, that much was obvious. Her sister Casey on the other hand, was a ray of sunshine. Despite everything she'd been through, she was one of the happiest, friendliest people I'd ever met.
Her sister could take a few lessons from her.
I said little, just watching Angelina over the candles. It was hard to look away from her lovely, expressive face. She was self conscious, but not about her looks. She was angry, but not at us. She was worried, but that was natural, considering what they had told us about Casey's story.
Apparently, certain antibiotics could damage tendons, muscles and nerves, right down to the DNA. That's why she was in the chair. But she wasn't giving up.
Neither of them were.
I had to admit to a certain grudging admiration for the fired up way Angelina talked about their mission. They wanted to start an organic farm. No pesticides or anything but what nature intended. No genetically modified crops.
I glanced at her delicate hands. How the hell she was going to farm with those dainty little fingers was beyond me. But she was hell for leather about it.
I could think of a hundred better uses for her hands.
Like wrapping them around my cock, which was hard as a rock under the table. For once, I was grateful for the long meal. I sat there, staring at her delicate throat, ignoring everything around me.
I couldn't decide if I wanted to kiss that throat of hers, or wring it.
She turned to me.
"Please tell me you don't give those animals antibiotics for maintenance."
I jerked to attention.
"I trust our vet."
She frowned.
"A lot of doctors don't know about the dangers, or take them seriously. The FDA just had a hearing. It's mostly been suppressed."
I stared at her, considering.
"I'll talk to Dale about it."
"Dale?"
"Doc Wiland. He's our vet."
She looked surprised. Jake said something and the conversation moved on. But I noticed a softening around her lips for the rest of the night. When she glanced at me from time to time her eyes were different too. Less fired up.
Damn, if that's all it took to get the woman to like me was listen to her! All I'd done was promise to take her concerns into account. I liked her a whole lot better when she wasn't spiting fire and brimstone at me, that was for damn sure.
Not that she was crawling into my lap exactly either.