Damaged In-Law Read Online Free PDF Page A

before me, towering over
my petite frame as ever. But though I ’ ve seen pictures of
him since we parted ways nearly ten years ago, watched from afar as he grew
from a strapping boy into a staggering Adonis, nothing could have prepared me
for seeing him in the flesh again. He ’ s impossibly
beautiful, his dark blue eyes overflowing with grief, his stubbly jaw pulsing
in anger at the sight of Daryl Hellman.
    “I asked you a question, Mr . Hellman,” Jack says
through clenched teeth, wringing every ounce of ire out of the man ’ s title.
    “There ’ s no problem, ”
Daryl replies shortly, trying in vain to imbue his exit with a scrap of
dignity. “Not unless you count Miss Benson ’ s attitude,
that is.”
    “I ’ d advise you to stop right there,” I
snap.
    “Yeah. I second that,” Jack puts in, his hands balling into
fists.
    Tail wedged firmly between his legs, my sister ’ s
abuser finally scampers away. I watch him go, willing my heart to quit
pounding. Is it my confrontation with Daryl or the presence of Jackson Cole
that has my blood racing so? One thing ’ s for sure—seeing
my one-time friend and hopeless crush is throwing me for the loop to end all
loops.
    Jack swings his gaze my way, shoving his hands deep into his
pockets. Of course, my eyes skirt down along his impeccable form. His charcoal
suit is cut to perfection, showcasing the perfectly balanced, muscular figure
that I—and scores of women around the world—can ’ t help but
ogle.
    Checking out your sister ’ s
fiancé at her memorial service , I scold myself, that’s real classy, Calie.  
    “Cal,” Jackson finally says to me, his voice ragged with
emotion. “I...I didn ’ t know if you ’ d
be here.”
    “Of course I ’ m here,” I whisper,
crossing my arms tightly across my chest.
    “I ’m just...It’ s good to see you,” he goes
on, taking a step toward me. His broad shoulders are locked with tension, his
rich brown hair is tousled, and his signature stubble is thicker than usual.
All told, he looks like he ’ s in hell. I feel my heart
splinter down the middle as my own grief is redoubled by his. It ’ s
too much to bear.
    “Yeah. It ’ s good to see you too, Jack,”
I mumble, countering his step forward with my own step back.
    “I can ’ t believe that fucker Hellman
had the nerve to show up here,” Jack growls, shaking his head. “After everything
he did to Avery...Good for you, kicking his ass out. She would have wanted
that.”
    “That ’ s the only thing about this
fiasco she would have wanted,” I reply, rolling my eyes. “My mom packed the
place full of lilies .”
    Jackson lets out a bark that ’ s half
laugh and half sob. “Avery fucking hated lilies,” he says quietly.
    The pain in his voice brings a fresh round of tears stinging
into my eyes. “Yeah, well,” I mumble, “I—we—need to get back in there. So.
Um...See you later, Jack.”
    I turn on my heel and dart away from him, slipping back into
the drafty church. Sinking back into my front row pew, I keep my eyes glued to
the ancient priest. But despite my act of attention, I don ’ t
hear a word the man says. It ’ s probably better that
way—this man has never met my sister, doesn’t know a thing about her. But his
droning sermon is lost on me. My thoughts are consumed—by the confusing rush of
feeling that shot through me the second I set eyes on Jackson again, by the
mounting realization that this is all actually happening, that my sister ’ s death is real and irrevocable.
    I avert my gaze from the altar, blinking away my tears. But
as I glance back over my shoulder, I find Jack ’ s eyes
lingering intently on my face. I let my eyes lock with his as the service
concludes, and a hundred strangers rise to their feet, glad to have made it
through the motions of mourning once again. When I stand, peering around the
milling bodies in search of Jack, he ’ s nowhere to be
found.
    Is he gone already? Why did I dash away from him,