He realized, for as much as Tara knew about him, he wanted—no, he needed—to know everything about her. Her secrets. Her pain. Her heartache and what made her the happiest. All those things mattered to him. She mattered to him.
Mason clapped his hands, getting everyone’s attention. “Now that all the sappy sentiments are out of the way, let’s get this party started!”
The women cheered in response, and the festivities were on. Over the next few hours, they grilled hamburgers, enjoyed the cake and desserts that Samantha had made, and Clay, Mason, and Levi made an effort to converse with Jackson. They asked where he went to college, where he currently lived, and about his job as an architect and what it entailed. They seemed genuinely interested, and while the topics were mostly superficial and nobody broached the subject of his family and childhood, it felt as though it was a start in the right direction.
After a while, Tara opened the presents that the girls had clearly bought for her, which included bath products, a gift card to her favorite boutique, and a narrow silver cuff bracelet that came in the well-known light blue box that signaled the gift was from Tiffany’s. That last gift caused tears to fill Tara’s eyes as she thanked everyone for being so thoughtful.
The day passed quickly, and to his surprise, Jackson enjoyed it immensely. Not only had his brothers warmed up but they seemed to relax around him as well, and that meant more to Jackson than anything. And he had Tara to thank.
The rapport was developing, the tension no longer a black cloud hanging over them, overshadowing their ability to truly get to know one another. Things weren’t perfect, but their tentative acceptance felt like a solid start to something more.
And that was enough for Jackson. At least for now.
Chapter Eight
“Did you have a good time today?”
Jackson glanced at Tara, who was sitting in the passenger seat of his Porsche as he drove them back to her place. She looked good in his car, her stunning blue eyes bright with contentment and happiness and her long dark hair falling in soft, loose waves around her shoulders. The serene smile lifting the corners of her mouth made that sexy-as-hell diamond above her lip wink at him flirtatiously. He couldn’t wait to kiss her again.
“I did have a nice time,” he told her, which was true.
He’d enjoyed talking to the women and liked seeing the way they interacted with their significant others. Even his brothers, once they’d finally come out of the house with Tara, had been more open and seemed to relax with him as the afternoon and evening went on. Which made him curious to know what had transpired once Tara had ordered the three men into the kitchen while Jackson made his way outside with the girls.
“What did you say to the guys in the house that made them more amicable?” he asked.
Tara grinned at him. “In a nutshell, I told them to pull their heads out of their asses and be nice.”
He chuckled as he shifted his gaze back to the road. “Well, it definitely worked.”
“They’re men. No sense in sugarcoating the truth,” she said, a teasing lilt to her voice. “As we were leaving, I heard Clay ask you if you’d like to come by Kincaid’s sometime next week to have a drink with him, Mason, and Levi.”
Jackson hadn’t expected the overture so soon, and he’d readily agreed since it was another opportunity to connect with his brothers. “Shocking, right?”
“No, not really. I think deep down inside, they really do want to get to know you better.” She grew quiet and stared out the window, a pensive expression on her pretty face.
He reached across the console and squeezed her thigh. “Hey, where did you go?”
She turned her head and met his gaze, the soft blue lighting from the dashboard highlighting the hesitation he saw in the depths of her eyes. “I really want to ask you something, but I’ll understand if it’s something you don’t want to talk about.”
Okay, that was never a good sign, and while something pitched uneasily in his stomach, he had nothing to hide from her. “Sure. Go ahead and ask.”
She worried on her lush lower lip for a second. “Levi mentioned that you were arrested for assault a few years ago but the charges were dropped. What happened?”
He swore beneath his breath and returned the hand that was on her leg to the steering wheel. “Is that why they’ve kept their distance? Because they thought I might be unstable?” And Jesus, they’d actually run a background check on him?
The quick flash of guilt that passed across her features was his answer, even though she didn’t deny or confirm his question.
“I figured there was a good reason the charges were dismissed. I also pointed out to the guys that they don’t have sterling pasts, either, and not to jump to conclusions they know nothing about.”
“Thank you.” The fact that she’d so staunchly defended him without knowing any of the facts of his arrest stirred something emotional in Jackson’s chest. He wasn’t used to anyone standing up for him. “If it was an issue, why didn’t they just fucking ask me?”
“Because they’re men, and therefore they’re stubborn and hardheaded,” she said as if that explained their actions.
He gave her a quick, sidelong glance at her description of the male population in general. “Just in case it’s escaped your notice, I’m a man.”
“Oh, yeah, I noticed. Quite a few times today.” Her sweet, seductive voice stroked along his senses before she added more impartially, “And I’m sure you’re not impervious to being obstinate about certain things yourself.”
Okay, that was true. For the most part, men were stubborn creatures, and pride sometimes got in the way of rational thinking. He was definitely guilty of that a time or two over the years.