Page 89 of Undeniable Love
That only made Jax laugh harder. He needed this. “I don’t want to think too hard about what’s going on and why you’re both here, but…thank you.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Noah said, clapping him on the shoulder. “And we reserved a private room over at Ristorante Duomo because you deserve a freaking feast after that game!”
As if on cue, his stomach growled loudly. It was on the tip of his tongue to argue—mainly because this self-imposed exile he put himself on meant he shouldn’t get to go out and enjoy anything—but these were his brothers and they were here to support him.
“I’m guessing you have a car parked somewhere,” he said to Noah. “Why don’t I meet you guys over there?”
“No car. Simon met me at the airport and then the driver brought us here. We’ll all climb into that ridiculously large truck of yours…”
“Are you overcompensating for something?” Simon teased with a snicker.
“Grow up, and no,” he murmured. “And leave that truck alone. It’s a poor substitute for my old one, but it’s growing on me.”
“Anyway, we can all drive over to the restaurant together,” Noah finished.
“What about your client tomorrow?”
Laughing softly as they made their way down the corridor toward the exit. “I’m picking up a car in the morning. No worries.”
“Oh. Okay, cool.” They passed several of his teammates who were all in big-time celebration mode. Every single one of them asked if he was going to join them over at Bruno’s, but he turned them all down. “Celebrating with my brothers tonight!” No one questioned it, but he was more than a little relieved when they climbed into his truck.
“You know, if you wanted to invite a few of the guys, we wouldn’t have minded,” Simon told him. “We know you have friends, and this was a big win tonight. So if you want to call Declan or Travis or any of those guys, it’s totally cool.”
Did he?
“I’m going to be spending a lot of time with them when we’re on the road next week, so for tonight, it’s fine if we celebrate without them.”
So they drove across town talking about the game the entire time. He knew neither of his brothers really understood all the nuances of the game, but they were more than happy to sit and listen to him talk about all the little things—the actions that the casual observer probably never even noticed—with smiles on their faces.
And random questions that he knew were really just to prove they were listening.
When they got to Ristorante Duomo and were immediately whisked away to their private dining room, he had to admit this was significantly better than takeout and video games.
As if reading his mind, Simon glanced at the menu and grinned. “Not that I wasn’t enjoying all the eating on the couch back at your place, but I thought it might be nice to eat like grown-ups tonight.”
With a bark of laugher, Jax nodded. “I have to agree.”
Within minutes, there were drinks and baskets of bread on the table. Noah cleared his throat and raised his glass. “To our little brother. We might not say it often enough, but we are incredibly proud of you. Watching you play is seriously amazing and I’m glad it’s not me out there getting tackled by all those people.”
Grinning, he nodded, “Thanks.”
“And I’d like to add that Noah and I definitely don’t say this enough, but…we are incredibly thankful for you.” Simon’s tone was solemn. “There hasn’t been a time that I can remember in recent years when you weren’t there with an encouraging phone call and a promise to kick anyone’s ass who upset us. You just showed up so many times because you knew we needed you. Your schedule is just as busy as ours and yet you always make the time for us.” Pausing, he took a moment to compose himself before adding, “I swear we don’t take it for granted, and that’s why we’re here right now for you. It’s our turn to be the kind of brother that you’ve been to us.”
Honestly, he was speechless.
Before he could utter a word, Noah said, “To Jax!” And then they were all tapping glasses and drinking, but it took him a moment to collect his thoughts.
“Guys,” he began, “I never…I mean…I wasn’t keeping score. And you’ve both always been there for me, even when…like…you should have hated me.”
“We never hated you,” Simon clarified. “We hated Dad for the way he pitted us against one another. Big difference.”
“Still, I know I was really a punk about it for a while.”
“You were a kid, Jax. No one’s going to hold that against you. We were all punks over something at one point or another. The fact is, I spent a lot of time being extremely obsessive over my education and career,” Noah explained, “but you always called to check on me and reminded me to relax and enjoy life. You were always ready to just sit and listen when I was freaking out over trivial stuff.”
“You’re a worrier,” Jax replied. “And sometimes you just need someone to remind you it’s okay to take some time for yourself.”
“The thing is that you make time,” Simon clarified. “You’re so good at always making the time to check on us, even when we’re not great at doing the same. But I promise you we’re going to do better. From this point on, you can count on us to be there.”