Fever (Breathless #2)(41)

Jace smiled. It was funny as hell to see his friend in knots over a woman. Especially since the woman in question was Jace’s baby sister. Some of the tension in his chest eased. This was his family. Gabe. Ash. Mia. Always had been. It had been the four of them for nearly twenty years. And family looked out for family. Hell, he got ten kinds of pissed every time Ash’s family gave him shit. He’d damn near taken Gabe’s head off for hurting Mia. And then he’d felt sorry for the bastard and hated to see him hurting when Mia refused to accept his groveling.

“You’re family, man,” Jace whispered. “Never going to forget that.”

Gabe blinked, but his jaw tightened. “Always. We’ll become brothers by marriage, but we were brothers long before that. Just thank God I never viewed Mia as a little sister—or at least that shit stopped when she hit adulthood.”

Jace burst out laughing and held his hands up. “Okay, okay, can we not have this conversation? She is my sister and I do not want to hear how you see her. It’s disgusting enough having to watch you two together.”

Gabe grinned and then he grew somber once more. “Go make this right, Jace. Ash is hurting. His family is giving him shit. You know it’s that time of the year. They don’t give a shit about him ten months out of the year and then they want to pretend at Thanksgiving and Christmas. And now this with you . . . I know we’re all three friends. I don’t ever question it. But I also know that you two are closer. Always have been. Whatever happened between you hit him hard. He hasn’t been himself. He’s all brooding and silent. Now you, I expect that from. Total brooding, moody bastard on a good day.”

Jace flipped him the finger.

“But Ash? That’s not like him. He’s irreverent as shit and has a f**k-it-all attitude. Fix this. I worry about both of you and if it’s all the same to you, right now I don’t want to worry about either of you. All I want to worry about is getting my ring on Mia’s finger and moving forward with the babies she wants.”

Jace groaned. “Christ, man, really? You had to go there?”

Gabe smirked. “Hey, I didn’t give you details.”

“Thank f**k,” Jace muttered. Then he sighed. “And yeah. Ash. I’m on it.”

He started for the door but when he got there he paused and turned around.

“Thanks, man,” he said sincerely. “I know I’ve probably never said this. At first I was too pissed off to ever give you this. But I’m glad Mia has you. She’ll never find a better man. I know you’ll take care of her.”

For a long moment Gabe was silent. His jaw ticked like he was trying to keep his reaction in check. Then he simply nodded. “Appreciate that, man. You’ll never know how much.”

Jace smiled faintly. “Oh, I think I do.”

Again he started to go and then Gabe’s call halted him as he got into the hall.

“Jace?”

“Yeah?”

“When am I going to meet her?”

Jace gripped Gabe’s doorknob and breathed deeply. Then he met Gabe’s gaze and said, “When it’s time, you will. Absolutely. Right now there’s a lot we have to work out.”

Gabe nodded. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, man,” Jace murmured.

Then he turned and went in search of Ash.

Chapter sixteen

Jace leaned against the doorway of Ash’s office and waited for his friend to get off the phone. Ash was turned away—he had no idea Jace was standing there or that he’d opened the closed office door. Which meant that the phone call was absorbing all of Ash’s concentration because he hadn’t so much as acknowledged Jace’s presence.

“I don’t really give a f**k what you and Dad want,” Ash said acidly.

Jace grimaced. Gabe was right. Ash’s family was f**king with him again. Persistent ass**les. Jace had never known of a more shallow, self-absorbed lot than Ash’s family. Jace was mystified how Ash had come from a pit of vipers and not been shaped or influenced by them. God knew the rest of his siblings hadn’t fared as well.

Gabe and Jace both used to tease Ash about being adopted. It was the only logical conclusion. Ash was so different than his parents and his siblings. Where they were calculating, selfish malcontents, Ash was laid back, had a good heart and was loyal to his bones. His family? Would stab you in the back before you ever got all the way turned around. Hell, they’d stab you in front. They didn’t give a shit. They’d leave their shoe prints all over you on their way past.

“Your manipulation won’t work. There is no way in hell I’d spend Christmas with my beloved family. I’d rather have my fingernails plucked out with pliers,” Ash bit out.

Jace sighed. Same old shit. Every f**king year. He was convinced they only wanted Ash around so they’d have someone new to torment. When Ash had been younger, he’d made the attempt to keep peace, to be a good son and brother. He’d attended the family gatherings—such as they were.

The first two years, he’d gone alone. Gabe and Jace had immediately noticed a difference. Ash had brooded for weeks after and it had taken a long time for him to get back to himself. After the second year of that shit, Jace and Gabe put two and two together and the next year, they’d insisted on going with him. After that experience, they both had vowed never to allow Ash anywhere near his family without a solid support network.