Page 2 of Set It Right
He wasn’t supposed to be here.
The ringing in my ears faded, replaced by a low murmur. Cormac was speaking now, and the sound of his voice hit me with a sharp, unexpected wave of nostalgia.
“You need to be sure.”
Jackson chuckled, sounding loose as a goose. “I told you, I’ve got it all figured out.”
“Sounds like you do,” Cormac replied, shoving his thick hair away from his face. “But I don’t see it working out the way you think it will.”
“Ah, you don’t know Zara the way I do.” Jackson tipped his beer into his mouth, and I flinched.
He shouldn’t have been drinking—not this late. He’d had more than his fair share at the rehearsal dinner and had sworn he wouldn’t be hungover tomorrow. Watching him drain the bottle, I wondered, not for the first time, how often his promises had been made with the best intentions and broken just as easily.
Cormac leaned forward, steepling his elegant hands between his knees. He’d always been almost…graceful with his movements. Given he’d been six feet tall by twelve years old, that wasn’t easy. But he’d never had an awkward, gangly stage. Not to me, at least. All these years later, when everything else had changed, he still moved the same.
“That’s true.” Cormac tapped his fingers together. “I haven’t known Zara for a while, but I do know you, man, and I’ve been listening to you all night. It seems you’re making a big mistake.”
The words landed hard, knocking the air from my lungs.
Randall, Jackson’s oldest brother, cupped his hands around his mouth. “Booooo. Keep that sensitive shit to yourself, Mac.”
Owen, the middle brother, burped so loud it echoed, making him laugh like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. I wasn’t surprised. Owen was an overgrown frat bro. He and Randall constantly tried to get Jackson to go out drinking with them, and most of the time, succeeded.
After the wedding, things would be better. We’d be moving a couple hours away, outside Jackson’s brothers’ sphere of influence.
“Jackie knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s got it handled,” Owen declared.
Heat traveled from my cheeks to my chest, wrapping around my heart. I shouldn’t have been hearing any of this, but my feet had taken root in this spot.
“No—wait”—Jackson quieted his brothers— “maybe Mac’s got a point. Let’s hear him out. Who do you think would be a better match for Zara—you?”
Cormac shook his head. “Absolutely not. You know that’s not what I’m saying. Zara and I were only ever friends, and that was years ago. I’m concerned about you. That’s all this is.”
Cormac was concerned about Jackson marryingme? That hurt more than it should have. He was right, we had been friends once, a long time ago. Who did he think he was, barging in now, putting doubts in Jackson’s mind?
“Zara’s a good girl,” Randall said. “She’ll be a good wife to Jackie.”
“Right? Sweet and docile,” Owen added. “Just how I like ‘em.”
That burned. Sweet. Docile. I pressed my lips together, my nails digging into my palms. Was that how they saw me—was that howJacksonsaw me?
Jackson groaned. “Don’t talk about my girl like that, and never say anything like that in front of her.”
“Sure.” Owen clapped his shoulder. “My lips are sealed, baby bro.”
Jackson turned back to Cormac. “My decision was made the moment I slipped the ring on Zara’s finger. I appreciate your concern, but I’ve got this. My marriage may not look like your parents’, but I know how to make her happy, and she sure as hell makes me happy. We’re good, man.”
That should have put an end to it, but Cormac wasn’t convinced. “I really think, after what you said—”
Randall jumped to his feet and instantly stumbled into the side table, taking down the lamp and a few beer bottles. The brothers erupted into hysterics, and all I could do was stare at Cormac in the dark, wondering what I’d ever done to him to make him feel this way about me.
He’d traveled all the way from Wyoming to try to convince Jackson he was making a mistake marrying me—
I couldn’t breathe. My feet sank into the damp earth. A dog barked two doors down. Above me, an absurd number of stars scattered across the sky. I pressed my hands against my stomach and wiggled my toes to make sure they still worked.
When a light flicked on in the house next door, reality snapped back into place.
What was I doing?
