Page 51 of Take My Love

“Ha! Not exactly.”

I tell my sisters goodbye and that I’ll check in with them later.

Walking back toward the bar, I find the girls standing on the sidewalk and talking to some guy.

“Silas! Come meet my brother.” Jamie waves me over.

When I get a better look at him, I notice his muscular frame and height are similar to mine, but I’d guess he’s a few years older than me by the deep lines on his face.

“Hey, I’m Jackson.” He nods when I stand between the girls.

“Silas, nice to meet you.” I nod back. “So you’re a fireman?”

“Yep, for twelve years now.”

“You two have a big age gap?”

“Jackson’s my stepbrother,” Jamie confirms. “His dad married my mom when I was fifteen.”

“Gotcha.”

“Posey needs a weddin’ date and I told her you’d love to go,” Jamie tells Jackson.

“Yeah, that’d be cool. Text me the date so I can make sure I’m not on call that weekend.”

I wait as Posey programs his number and she promises to text him tomorrow. Then I give Jamie an awkward hug goodbye.

“I’ll text you tomorrow too,” Posey promises to Jamie. “If I’m not pukin’ my guts out.”

“I’m sure you will be,” I mutter, trying to pull her away so we can go.

People flood the sidewalks, walking to their vehicles, but I had to park down the street since the lot next to the bar was full.

“C’mon, Posey. Say good night.”

“Night, I love you!” she calls out, walking backward.

“I love you too!” Jamie shouts before getting into her brother’s truck.

Posey trips over her own shoe, but luckily I catch her before she can face-plant.

“Whoa, careful now.” I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her against me. “Can’t have you showin’ up to work on Monday with a black eye.”

“No, I’m fine. T-totally fine,” she stammers, barely able to keep her head up.

“I never realized how much fun you can be when you have alcohol in your system,” I tease. “You’re almost like a different person.”

“That’s not true! I’m always fun.”

“Minus the stick up your ass.”

“I do not have a stick up my ass!” She pokes me in the gut, hard, making me curl over. “You’re the one who does.”

I chuckle. “So whaddya think of this Jackson guy?”

“He’s hot. Did you see his arms? His biceps are the size of my head.”

“They’re the same size as mine.”