Awkward Love (Stumbling into Love 2)

“Your dad is Will’s boss?” Nolan asked, and I realized I’d spaced out and missed something big.

“Yeah, but we didn’t know at first,” Jameson replied. “We keep our relationship separate from work. We told my parents when we went away to the beach house last weekend.”

Shit. Totally should have told him not to mention the beach house.

“You have a beach house?” Brad asked.

“Yeah, you guys are all welcome to come sometime.”

“Living the life of luxury, little brother,” Nolan said. “Office job, weekends away. Must be nice.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t pretend I don’t work my ass off just because I’m not out there with you guys.”

Mom stood. “Please. Let’s not do this again. Dinner should be ready.”

“Where’s Jonathan?” I asked. I didn’t know why I cared. I shouldn’t, but part of me did.

“He’s running late. He’ll be here before you leave,” Mom said without meeting my eyes. I wondered if she’d heard from him or if she was pretending for my sake.

“I’m starving,” Brad said, helping Chloe to her feet, and they headed for the kitchen.

Jameson and I hung back. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, just glad you’re here.” I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his forehead.

“What about Jonathan?”

“It’s fine,” I said, to shake off his concern.

We went into the dining room. Mom had made baked chicken with roasted potatoes. Dinner was awkward the way anything at my house always was. We’d almost made it through the meal when Brad said, “I meant to wait until Jonathan got here, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to show. I really think…I really think we should consider talking to that investor guy.”

My eyes snapped up at that. “What investor guy?”

“I agree with Brad,” Nolan replied. “I know Jonathan doesn’t want to consider it, but we’re digging ourselves into an even bigger hole here.”

My heart raced, thudding against my chest. “Wait. What investor guy? What hole?”

“Like you care. You have your fancy-ass life. You don’t give a shit about the company and never have. All you care about is yourself,” Nolan gritted out.

I opened my mouth to reply but didn’t get a chance to speak. “How dare you,” Jameson said, cutting us off. The room went quiet at the firmness of his voice.

“You don’t have to—”

“I know I don’t, but I want to. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. I’m sorry you’re having troubles, but I can’t listen anymore to how you behave toward Will. You treat him horribly, and for what? Because he has different interests than you? Because he followed his dreams? Because he dared not to want to work with you every day, when who can blame him? The way you guys treat him, I’d stay as far away from you as I could too!”

My eyes were ensnared by him. I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. The things he was saying…how he said them, and for me.

“I’m not good at this kind of thing—saying how I feel or speaking up, but I can’t sit here and listen to how you treat him a second longer. He’s not your punching bag. It’s not his fault he had the courage to take a risk in life. Will is kind and considerate. He’s the type of man who looks at someone like me and sees past the awkwardness and rambling and gives him a chance. He’s the type of guy who loves his family even when they treat him like crap. He’s the kind of guy who will never tell you how much the way you treat him hurts, or how it feels when his own brother doesn’t show up to his birthday party. He works his ass off, putting money away to help pay off your family’s bills even though you behave like he isn’t part of the family. You don’t deserve him.”

“Will?” Mom said, likely surprised at the last part of what he said.

My heart was beating so fast, I was afraid it would give out. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, just sat there and looked at Jameson in awe. No one had ever stuck up for me like that. No one had ever said the kind of things he just did about me. And for him to do it, when I knew how much he wanted my family to like him? There were no words. God, I loved him.

“Come on, let’s go,” I said to Jameson.

“Will, don’t. You know they didn’t mean—”

“Not tonight, Mom. I love you, but I can’t. Not tonight.”

Jameson and I stood. The second we did, I noticed Jonathan by the door. He must have come in at some point. I had no idea how much he’d heard, but from the tightness in his jaw and the fire in his eyes, I assumed all of it.

“Come on, baby. Let’s go.” I went to pull Jameson away, but he wouldn’t budge. “Professor?” I looked at him to see him staring at Jonathan with an expression I didn’t understand.