Braydon shifted their direction easily, his hands squeezing her ever so lightly, making her feel cherished. He was still looking down at her, their eyes locked together as though they were the only two people in the room.
But they weren’t. They were surrounded by Ethan’s family and friends, all of them there to celebrate the union of the two men who’d recently announced their desire to make their relationship permanent. And Jessie knew she should be cognizant of who was watching them, but she couldn’t help herself. As much as she wanted to blame it on the wine she’d had earlier, she couldn’t even do that much. This was what she wanted, what she’d wanted for so long.
Braydon.
Only Braydon.
Forcing her gaze from his, Jessie glanced around the room, curious as to who might be watching them and what they might see when they did. She slowly perused the room, noticing Lorrie and Curtis dancing a few feet away, neither of them paying attention to anyone but the other. They were such a lovely couple, and after all the years they’d been married, the adoration they felt for one another was clearly expressed on their aging faces. Even now, as they edged closer to seventy, they were an incredibly attractive couple, Curtis with his rugged good looks and Lorrie with her sweet, simple style.
Jessie noticed Zane and V dancing, too. Zane being Zane, always the cutup, was copping a feel with a mischievous smirk aimed at V. Jessie admired the way those two were clearly hot for one another, and after all they’d endured back when Zane was attacked over a year ago, it was nice to see that they’d come this far.
As she scanned the room again, Jessie’s gaze landed on her sister, currently wrapped in Gage’s arms, a huge grin on her face. Jessie envied what her sister had found in the arms of two men who obviously cared so deeply for her and for each other. The three of them were perfect together. Her gaze strayed away from the pair and landed on Travis, who was deep in conversation with Sawyer, both men laughing, clearly enjoying themselves.
As she clung to Braydon, relishing the way he continued to graze her skin so lightly, Jessie noticed Kaleb and Zoey sitting at one of the cloth-covered tables, their son, Mason, cradled in Kaleb’s arms while they leaned close and talked. Jessie had fallen in love with that baby as much as everyone else had since the moment he was born. Watching the doting parents caused a strange pang in Jessie’s chest.
Shoving off the envious response, Jessie glanced away, her gaze immediately landing on . . .
Oh no.
Brendon was talking to Cheyenne Montgomery.
Not that Jessie was all that surprised. She had known for some time now that Brendon had a thing for Cheyenne. It was obvious in the way he talked about her, although he rarely did. And when Brendon looked at Cheyenne . . . it reminded Jessie of the way Travis looked at Kylie and Gage, or the way Braydon looked at her. There was a sense of wonder in Brendon’s brooding expression, and as much as she knew he was trying to deny what he might feel for Cheyenne, it was unmistakable.
And no, Jessie wasn’t jealous. Not in the least.
Should she be? Maybe.
But the fact of the matter was that she wasn’t. And she knew the sole reason was the man in her arms.
“What the fuck?”
Speaking of the man in her arms . . .
Jessie came to an abrupt stop thanks to Braydon. She felt the tension in his shoulders, saw the corded muscles in his neck, and she immediately knew what he was looking at. Brendon with another woman.
Starting back at the holidays, Jessie had noticed a change in both Braydon and Brendon, and she got the feeling it had to do with her. At first, she had worried that they had figured her out, knew that she was pining away for Braydon when that wasn’t supposed to be part of their tryst. But then one night, Brendon had issued her an ultimatum—choose between Brendon and Braydon. Truthfully, that incident had shocked her, but somehow she’d managed to defuse the situation, refusing to do anything of the sort. Since then, their interactions had grown increasingly strained, and yes, Jessie noticed that anytime Cheyenne’s name was mentioned, Braydon morphed into someone she didn’t recognize.
For whatever reason, Braydon always had a volatile reaction to seeing Brendon talking to Cheyenne. Jessie wasn’t privy to why that was, nor had she bothered to ask. She figured she was better off not knowing. When Braydon released her, his growl reverberating through her limbs, Jessie knew she had to do something. Placing her hand on his arm, she peered around him at Brendon and Cheyenne. She knew what Braydon saw when he looked at his brother and the famous country music singer. Two people clearly interested in one another even though they tried to deny it to themselves and everyone else. It was that obvious, especially from the way they were standing so close together.