If It's Only Love (Lexi Ryan) novel Chapter 5

Shay

Twelve-and-a-half years later

Jackson family brunch has never been a relaxing affair. Every single one of my five brothers has managed to fall into a committed relationship in the last three years. Add in my two nieces and soon-to-be nephew, and our numbers have more than doubled. There are too many of us for even the simplest meal to be anything short of chaotic. And I love it.

But today, I’m grasping for my typical contented family-time happiness and coming up short.

Easton Connor is back in town and going to be in my personal space any second now. Well, not my personal space personal space—not like touching me. But in this kitchen. Sharing a meal with me—with us—for the first time since my father’s funeral. Not only will I have to face him, I’ll have to talk to him. I’ll have to play nice, because no one knows what happened between us.

If I have my way, they never will. I won’t let Easton ruin my day.

When the doorbell rings, my body locks up and the crowd clears out of the kitchen, leaving me blessedly alone for a moment before what feels like an impending apocalypse.

“About time you made it home for a family brunch,” Carter says at the front door.

Easton’s deep chuckle is warm and familiar, like fingertips running up my spine, like hot breath in my ear . . . like stolen kisses and my first shot of tequila.

I reach for the coffee carafe, only to find it empty. Everyone assumes that the Jacksons—craft beer connoisseurs that we are—love nothing more than we love beer. They assume wrong. In my family, coffee ranks high above even our favorite brews.

I grind some beans and dump them into the coffee filter. It’s a three-cup-minimum day. I’ve been working nonstop between finishing my dissertation, keeping up with the four classes I teach at Starling University, and job hunting. The stress is finally catching up to me, and there’s never enough sleep or enough coffee.

“East!” Brayden calls. I hear him jog down the last few steps and consider that perhaps Easton is the miracle worker he was deemed his second year in the NFL, because I didn’t think anybody but Molly and Noah could pull Brayden away from work that quickly. “Congrats on the retirement! How’s it going?”

I squeeze my eyes shut and listen to my family ooh and aww over him. Easton and Carter may have been the closest growing up, but Easton was friends with all my brothers, and he’s Jackson Harbor’s only claim to fame. Everyone’s buzzing about him moving back home.

Tuning out the conversation coming from the front of the house, I focus on the coffee dripping all too slowly into the pot when every instinct screams at me to run to the bathroom and check my appearance. I changed three times this morning before making myself put on my favorite stretchy jeans and a Jackson Brews T-shirt. Because nothing says “I don’t care that you broke my heart” like wearing the exact same outfit I do behind the bar at our family’s brewpub.

“Hey, pretty,” Teagan says, wandering in from the living room.

“Morning, beautiful.” I turn away from the coffee pot to smile at my best friend. Teagan looks stunning today, as usual. Her dark hair is pulled off her face, and she’s rocking a sweater dress that shows off her curves. I’ll be shocked if Carter is able to keep his hands off her—not that he typically bothers trying. He’s a fool in love.

“You okay?” she asks.

I nod, then cut my eyes toward the front of the house. “They’re acting like a bunch of puppies running to greet their master.”

She laughs. “But are you okay?”

My history with Easton is a secret, but when I found out he was coming to town, Teagan saw the panic in my eyes. I admitted I used to have a thing for Easton. She prodded for more information, but when it comes to Easton, I’m a vault. “I’m fine.” I smile, but judging by the snort of laughter that slips from her lips in response, it’s not convincing.

She opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of champagne. “Seems like a good day for mimosas. Want one?”

“Of course she is.” Easton chuckles. God, that laugh. It transports me to another time. If I close my eyes, I’m in his bed in Paris, the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the dusk beyond the window, his smell all over me.