Heavy Petting (Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild #2) - Erin Nicholas Page 0,2

Jason was good-looking (according to others), talented (also according to others), and charming (to people who didn’t know him very well). And did things like giving to charity and visiting sick kids in the hospital.

Fletcher hated the guy.

Because Jason had also been dating Fletcher’s best friend, Jordan, since they’d been fifteen. Which meant that Fletcher had hated Jason since they’d been about fifteen and a half, and Fletcher had realized Jordan was going to keep dating him.

At first it had been fine. Fletcher had liked seeing Jordan happy and it seemed that Jason treated her well. Of course, Fletcher threatening to end his life if he didn’t might’ve had something to do with that. It hadn’t hurt, either, that he’d been backed up by his cousins Mitch, Josh, and Owen. All of whom also had no trouble getting a little bloody for the right cause.

They all would have considered Jordan the right cause.

But then Jordan had actually fallen in love with Jason and told Fletcher all about it with a sweet smile on her lips and a dreamy look in her eyes.

He’d started to hate Jason then.

He hadn’t stopped since.

Jason did three numbers and the family all ate in relative silence. There was never total silence when it came to the Landry family, but when there was food involved it was a little better. And the way Ellie had the TVs turned up, it was difficult to make conversation. Thank God. It was maybe the first time he’d been grateful that his grandmother was a huge fan of Jason’s.

Because he was sure that his family, specifically his twin brothers, Zeke and Zander, would be monitoring his reactions to Jason and whatever he had up his sleeve tonight. Not having to talk while he struggled to hide his reactions would be great.

The thing that made the whole situation even worse, was that Jason was actually pretty good. Fletcher would never buy an album and he would continue to turn the radio away from any of Jason’s songs, but it wasn’t like his ears were bleeding or anything.

“Vegas, wow, that’s fun,” Tori, the wife of one of Fletcher’s cousins, said. “I’ll bet Jordan’s having a good time.”

Jason was performing at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Yeah, he was doing very well in his career.

The fucker.

“Shhh!” Ellie told her. Everyone’s eyes widened. Tori never got snapped at. She was sweet and kind and patient. And pregnant with Ellie’s first great-grandchild. She’d basically been treated like a princess since she’d moved here and like a queen since she’d shared the baby news.

But Ellie really was a big Jason fan. And the rumor was that he had something big planned for his live show tonight.

The further rumor was that he planned to propose to Jordan. On stage.

Fletcher pushed his plate away. Not even jambalaya could make that feel good.

Jason moved to the microphone, grinning into the camera. He had a room full of fans at that casino as well.

“Hey, everybody, thanks for coming out tonight!”

The crowd roared.

His grin widened.

Fletcher sighed.

“This past year and a half or so has been pretty crazy for me. All my dreams seem to be coming true and there are some really important people who have been a part of that.”

He thanked his manager, his parents, and a couple of people Fletcher didn’t know. Then he said, “But there is one very special person who’s been here with me from the beginning and who I have a very special question for tonight.”

The crowd went crazy. Ellie gasped and grabbed her husband Leo’s arm. The women at the table sat a little straighter.

Fletcher rolled his eyes.

This was where things were really going to start to suck.

The noise in the casino was incredible and Leo reached for one of the remotes to turn the volume down. Ellie slapped his hand, but thankfully he managed to reduce it by a few notches.

“Yeah,” Jason said grinning. “I hope she feels the same way about it. Now I just need her to come out here with me.”

The camera swiveled and focused on a beautiful blonde who had just stepped out from backstage.

It was Jordan. Kind of.

Fletcher’s chest tightened and his heart thumped hard against his breastbone. He’d know that face anywhere, of course, but a lot of people who knew Jordan would be shocked to see her tonight.

Jordan was a tomboy. A natural beauty. A girl who wore lip gloss on Saturday nights. Maybe. If she remembered. The first time she’d ever tried to use mascara,