Page 7 of Stopping Short

“Boots? What’s the story behind that?” Jennifer smiles. She loves to get stories out of other people when she knows she’ll never get it out of me.

“I don’t think I saw her without cowgirl boots on for the first ten years of knowing her. She was either bare foot or wearing boots. I called her Boots one time when she was upset and I was trying to get her to smile… and it stuck.” Jackson meets my gaze and his eyes soften. He reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Right, Boots?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, thinking back to all of the memories I have with him.

No matter what was going on in my life, good or bad, he was always with me.

“Where’s the birthday girl?” Evan calls over the noise. I wave my hand in the air and he comes right over to me with a big smile. As soon as his eyes land on Jackson and how I'm practically wrapped around him, his smile drops.

“Hey!” I scramble to get out of Jackson’s arms and smooth down my shirt. This doesn’t exactly look great on my part, but I was too excited about seeing Jackson to care.

“Who is this?” Evan nods towards Jackson. He doesn’t look happy, but I don’t care. Jackson’s the most important person in the world to me.

“This is Jackson!” I grin at my best friend, wishing for the hundredth time this week that I could introduce him as my boyfriend instead of Evan.

An arm wraps around my waist and I get tugged into Evan’s side. I glance up to look at him and my brows draw together. Why is he behaving like this? He grins, but it’s smug and I don’t understand it. He’s acting like he just won something, but what?

“Jackson?” He arches a brow.

“Yes! I’ve told you all about him. Remember?”

“The guy you used to hang out with when your parents and their friends got together?”

“That’s him! He came to town just to see me for my birthday. Isn’t that the sweetest?”

“Oh, yeah. So sweet.”

I frown at him when he says that. I didn’t need to be looking at him to know he was rolling his eyes. Why is he being such a jerk? Evan’s normally pretty laidback and he rarely ever pulls me into his side like he is right now.

“I’m Jackson McLaren. It’s nice to meet you.” Jackson holds out his hand and waits for Evan to shake it. When he doesn’t move right away, I elbow him in the side. He mutters something under his breath before shaking Jackson’s hand.

“I’m Evan, Harper’s fiancé.”

My eyes widen as I pinch my lips shut. I haven’t told anyone from my hometown about the engagement. Not my friends. Not my family. And definitely not my parents.

Chapter 6

Jackson

Fiancé? She has a fiancé and I didn’t know about it?

I fight to keep a smile on my face, but what am I supposed to say to that? I feel completely blindsided and my world is crashing down around me. How is she engaged? How did I lose her right when I was about to confess everything?

I’ve had a thing for Harper for years, but I kept my distance from her. A seven-year age gap isn’t a big deal now, but it would’ve been a massive issue a few years ago. We would’ve gotten a lot of kickback if we started dating when she was eighteen and I was twenty-five.

Now that she’s twenty-two and has basically graduated college, I thought I could finally make my move and ask her out.

I had a whole plan for this weekend. I was going to spend her birthday with her and her friends tonight. Tomorrow, we’d go for a hike and I’d ask her to go out for dinner with me, just the two of us. I wanted to lay it all on the line and see where the cards fell…

But now? I can’t do any of that. I can’t tell her how I feel when she’s engaged to another man. I’m not that type of person. I won't try to destroy what they have because I'm upset I waited too long to make a move.

“Oh, wow. I didn’t know you were engaged.” I turn my attention back to the woman of my dreams and try my hardest to smile. It probably comes out more as a grimace, but I don’t know how to make myself seem happier when my heart is breaking. “Congratulations, Boots.”

“Thanks,” she whispers, watching me carefully.

“I'm going to… get a drink. Does anyone else need one?” I wait a few seconds and when no one asks for anything, I nod my head and spin on my heels.

I need to give myself a moment to work through my emotions. I need to figure out how to be happy for Harper and not bring down the mood of her birthday party.