“We’re just seeing what Jacob’s up to,” Archer said, grinning as he leaned on the bar on Jacob’s opposite side. Oh, Archer might be the one that smiled and was a little more jovial when it came to his needling, but I worried about him the most. Because while my brothers could bodily carry Jacob out of Riggs’ and make sure he never yelled at me or called me names again, Archer would be the one to hurt him. My sweet, kind, twin baby brother would make sure that Jacob rued the day he’d even so much as spoke a harsh word to or about me.
“Hi, Annabelle,” Jacob said, his eyes full of humor though not fear. Silly man, he didn’t understand the precarious position he was in. He wiped his hands on the napkin in front of him and looked me right in the eyes.
“What are we doing over here, boys?” I asked again, focusing on my brothers rather than Jacob. Not because I didn’t want to look at him, but because I knew it was necessary to make sure my brothers didn’t do anything. Yet I could feel Jacob’s gaze on me, and I wondered why. I shouldn’t. He had hated me for how many years? He couldn’t suddenly want to stare at me the way I thought he was. Maybe he imagined hating me even more. That was it. It was still loathing, something he was trying to hide, though wasn’t doing a very good job of.
“We were just seeing how Jacob likes his wings,” Beckett said, far too smoothly.
“Okay, Montgomerys,” Riggs said as he strolled over to us. “Y’all are not bar fighters. Let’s not become them.”
“It’s not going to be a problem,” Benjamin said, his voice cool.
“Of course, not. Jacob’s an old friend.” Benjamin smiled slowly.
“Seriously, stop it,” I said. “This is enough.”
“What’s enough?” Beckett asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Please. People are starting to stare.”
The man in question cleared his throat. “I’m pretty sure they always stare when the Montgomerys are together. You guys tend to take up a lot of space.”
I rolled my eyes before I glared at Jacob. “You’re not helping the situation.”
Jacob wiped his hands on his napkin once again before he slowly drained the rest of his beer, his gaze not leaving mine. Was he trying to get beat up by my brothers? Or maybe me? Perhaps I would be the one who swung first.
“Let’s dance,” Jacob said, startling me.
“Excuse me?” Archer asked, his eyes wide.
“What? I came here for a beer, wings, and maybe a dance. Come on, Annabelle. Help me get to know my old hometown.”
“Jacob,” I whispered.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Benjamin asked, while Beckett moved closer.
I tugged on their belt loops. Thankfully, the twins moved back. “Come on, let’s get out of their way before they hurt you,” I muttered.
“I am shocked,” Beckett said. “I would never hurt a fellow human being.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again. I held out my hand, and Jacob slid his palm into mine. He stood, and I ignored the warmth of him and the fact that my brothers were all watching.
“Come on, let’s head to the dance floor. Your brothers aren’t going to beat me up. They were only crowding me because I was an asshole before. And I deserved it. If they did hit me, I would probably deserve that, too. I mean, I was a jerk to you. They should stand up for you. That’s what brothers do.”
He met my gaze, and my shoulders slumped. “Why are you being so nice?” I asked as he led me to the dance floor.
“Come on, Annabelle, dance with me.” He put a hand around my back, the other holding mine, and I swallowed hard.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said as if unaware that he was saying the words. “I saw you, and I wanted to dance. It’s probably the most idiotic thing I could have done, but here we are.”
“Here we are,” I repeated.
“So, those are your brothers these days, huh? How are the twins doing?”
“They are just fine. As is Archer. The other two guys, the ones that walked away, are Archer’s and Paige’s boyfriends.”
“Who are the girls with Paige?”
My gaze shot up. “You remember what Paige looks like? After all these years?”
“She looks like you, though a little younger, a little more innocent.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Did you just call me a not-so-innocent, aging woman?”
Jacob winced. “I meant to say that I like the looks of you, and it came out weird.”
“Oh,” I said, not exactly sure what to say to that. “Well, it was weird. You don’t need to call me old or experienced.”
Jacob winced again. “I’m trying to be nice. Because I want to, not because I said I would. It’s coming out as me being a jerk.”
“Well...” I said, trailing off.
He snorted. “I see.” He sighed. “I am a jerk,” he repeated.
“You don’t have to keep calling yourself that. You apologized. And now look at us, nearly acting civilized except for the fact that you called me ancient.”
“I did not.”
“I’m pretty sure you did.”
“Anyway, who are the other two girls?”
“My friends, Eliza and Brenna. Brenna is single, but Eliza’s married.”
Jacob narrowed his eyes. “And why are you telling me that?”
“I don’t know, you seemed interested.”
“Only in dancing with you, darling Annabelle.”
I nearly tripped over his feet, but he kept me steady, the pressure of his hand on the small of my back firm. “What are you doing, Jacob?”
“I have no fucking clue.”
The song ended, and he looked at me, swallowed hard, and nodded. “Good night, Annabelle.”
I let out a breath. “Bye, Jacob,” I whispered.
And then he walked away, leaving me standing on the edge of the dance floor near Brenna, Eliza, and Paige.
“What was that?” Paige asked, coming to my side.
“Oh, just a distraction to get him away from the brothers.”
I watched as Jacob nodded at my brothers on the other side of the dance floor before leaving money on the bar for Riggs and heading out. He had danced with me, said odd things, made me feel even more inexplicable things, and then walked away. What the hell was going on?
I cleared my throat. “I’m going to go now.”
“Did he say something to you?” Beckett asked.
I huffed out a breath and then grabbed my bag. “No. Jacob danced with me because he wanted to get away from you. That was the only reason.” The only reason it could be. “He danced and found a way to get out of the place without you guys acting all caveman and beating him up. He took a chance, and now he’s gone. I danced, I had wings, nachos, and beer. I’m bloated, and I’m tired. I’m going home.”
“Seriously? That’s what you’re going with?” my twin asked, and I narrowed my eyes at Archer.
“Hey, that’s enough of that,” I said. “I love you all. I do. Okay, I love most of you. I don’t really know you two,” I said to the boyfriends as they laughed at me. “But, seriously, I’m an adult. Like all of you. Go out and do whatever you want to do. Go pick up ladies, go dancing, do what you want. I don’t care. I’m not your keeper. Just like you’re not my keeper. Now, let me be.”