Loving Her Nemesis

by Zoe Ann Wood

  Jade’s dark eyes were wide, her full lips pressed in a thin line. A moment passed, then another, but finally, she dipped her chin in a curt nod and took a step back to let him pass. As the door closed behind them, Ben turned to her.

  “I found your pumpkin bread,” he said, not knowing how to begin.

  Well, no, he knew exactly how he wanted to begin: by telling her he’d fallen for her completely, and that he wanted to make sure she was the happiest woman on Earth. But he had no idea what she meant by her gesture, so he waited for her to speak.

  Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She was wringing her hands, mauling the sleeves of her tunic, so Ben threw caution to the wind and stepped closer. He caught her hands in his and held on. Her fingers were cold, more delicate than his. A shiver ran through her body, and Ben glanced around for a sweater or a shawl for her to put on. Seeing nothing appropriate, he shrugged out of his own jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

  Then he reclaimed her hands, unwilling to let go of this small step forward she’d conceded to him.

  “Did you bake in the middle of the night?” he murmured.

  Jade looked up at him, and her lips parted. “Yeah. After our…um, our fight, I couldn’t sleep.”

  Ben lifted a hand and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. At the first contact, she closed her eyes and leaned into his palm as though she couldn’t help herself. Ben wasn’t sure if he was breathing, but he ran his thumb down her jaw, tracing her cute chin.

  “Why didn’t you wake me?” he asked.

  Jade’s eyes opened, and she gazed straight at him. “You seemed tired last night. I know you’ve been working hard…”

  He shook his head. “It’s not work that’s been keeping me awake.” He stepped closer to her, into her personal space. “Jade, I need to know. Why did you bring me the bread?”

  Her lip wobbled, but she seemed to steel herself. When she spoke, her voice was hesitant, yet strong. “I wanted to apologize for how I treated you. I shouldn’t have listened to rumors.”

  Ben huffed out a soft laugh. “No, but that’s all past now. I want to know what you feel now.”

  Jade’s eyebrows came together in a fierce frown. “I—I really like you.”

  Ben’s heart soared at her words, but she wasn’t done.

  “It hurt, being left at that restaurant. I was humiliated, and I felt like everyone was laughing at me, sitting there in a pretty dress, all alone.”

  “You put on a pretty dress for me?” Ben asked.

  Jade poked him in the shoulder, glowering.

  “Ow, okay,” he said, catching her fingers in his hand. “I’m really sorry. But for the record, they weren’t laughing at you at all. When I came there two hours late, the guy with the scary mustache chewed me out good.”

  The corners of Jade’s mouth turned up in a small smile. “Louis? But he’s so kind.”

  “He wasn’t kind to me,” Ben assured her. Then he went all in and asked, “Do you think you could let me make it up to you? Take you on another date, I mean.”

  Her eyes glittered with some emotion he thought was affection, but he wasn’t sure. Ben decided it was absolutely time to play dirty, so he lifted her fingers to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

  “Please,” he said.

  Jade cocked her head to the side. “You’re a wicked man, Ben Charles.”

  He grinned. “Is my strategy working?” Then, before she could either agree or disagree with him, he pushed on. “Look, I never wanted to hurt you. I was a stupid teenager, but I’m not that kid anymore. I know what I want now.”

  Jade smiled up at him. “And what’s that?”

  “You.”

  That was the truth, plain and simple. He wanted her in his life, in his house, in his bed, and he’d work for it, too. He didn’t expect her to magically trust him, but if she was willing to let him show her the man he was…

  “I’m in love with you, Jade. I want to take you out on dates and fix this house of yours, and eventually, one day, I’d really like to marry you, if you’ll have me.”

  Ben closed his eyes. He hadn’t meant to blurt all that, but it was out now, for better or for worse.

  A soft palm touched his cheek, and he opened his eyes to find Jade grinning at him, her eyes liquid with tears.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Yes?” Ben asked, just to clarify.

  “Yes, I’ll marry you,” Jade said. “Eventually, one day.”

  Ben pulled her in for a kiss, and her warm lips parted for him. He angled his head to the side and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close, until they melded together in a rush of lips and hands and skin. She responded so well to him, tugging at his hair to bring his face to where she wanted it.

  He grinned against her mouth, dizzy with happiness. She hummed and hugged him tight, her head on his chest.

  “I don’t want to wait long, you know,” she muttered against his sweater. “For the wedding. I feel like we’ve lost a decade already.”

  Ben put his chin on top of her head and sighed, content. “Not lost. We both needed to grow up.”

  “Psh.” Jade grinned up at him. “I was very mature and serious for my age.”

  He kissed her again, unable to stop himself.

  Much later, they sat on the couch together. It was a Saturday morning, and they’d enjoyed a quiet breakfast, followed by more kissing. Jade’s legs lay across his lap, and she was toying absent-mindedly with the hair at the nape of his neck. The sensation was both foreign and so comforting, Ben didn’t want to move a muscle so she wouldn’t stop.

  “Ben?” Jade said suddenly.

  “Hmm?” He was too cozy to open his eyes, and he wanted to remain on her couch forever.

  “You know, we don’t have to fix this house,” she said.

  That caught his attention. He lifted his head and looked at her. “How come?”

  She lifted one eyebrow at him. “You hate it.”

  Ben thought about denying it, but asked instead, “How do you know?”

  “You cringe every time you look at it.” Jade’s lips twitched as though she was trying to keep herself from laughing at him. “I think it offends your professional sensibilities.”

  Ben snorted. She wasn’t wrong, and it pleased him that she knew him well enough to know that. “Well…” He caught her hand and squeezed it. “There’s this house I like. It’s big, with a huge garden. It doesn’t look like much right now, but in a couple of months, it’ll be pretty great.”

  The vision he’d had of the big Victorian, filled with joy and laughter, was not an illusion anymore. Jade leaned into him, and her warm body felt so right in his arms. Ben held her close and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair.

  “I’d love that,” she murmured. “We can even rename it. The Charles house.”

  He lifted her chin and pressed a kiss to her lips. It felt like a promise for the future, and he knew they’d make it work, no matter how much effort it took.

  “Deal,” he whispered against her mouth. “It’ll be our perfect home.”

  Epilogue

  Jade

  Eight months later

  Jade dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, hoping her waterproof mascara would stay put at least until after the wedding photos were done. She wouldn’t be starring in any close-ups, but she didn’t want to look like a raccoon anyway.

  It was hot in the church, and she was glad she picked a light summer dress for Millie and Luke’s wedding. Ben, who sat next to her on the pew, had to be boiling in his suit jacket. The wedding guests shuffled and fanned themselves as the kind reverend droned through the service. Jade glanced to her right, across the aisle, and smiled at Sara, the librarian, who winked back at her. She was accompanied by her very handsome husband, Grant, and her son, who was fidgeting beside her.

  “There are so many people here,” Ben whispered in her ear suddenly.

  His warm breath tickled her skin, and she shivered.

  “Do yo
u regret not having a big wedding?” he asked.

  Jade looked at him. Her husband of four months was staring at her with a serious, intent expression, so she found his hand and squeezed it.

  “No regrets,” she whispered back. “I only needed you there.”

  He smiled and ran the pad of his thumb over her wedding and engagement rings. He’d proposed in January, and they got married in a small, private ceremony in February after deciding they didn’t want to wait any longer. They’d invited Millie and Hailey with their partners, Jade’s parents, Ben’s dad, and Betty Smith and her son, who had become a permanent part of their lives since. It had been a rare sunny winter day, and Jade’s memories of it were filled with so much happiness, her heart nearly burst at the mere thought of it.

  Ben had joined her in her house for the winter, and he’d completed all the major renovations on the newly christened Charles house only days before the first big snowfall. They’d moved into the big Victorian in May, and the house was nearly finished. Jade picked out the kitchen, and Ben built her a nook in the living room for practicing her violin.

  As for her grandparents’ house, it was no more. They’d debated selling it, but it was old and would have needed extensive renovations. Instead, they razed it to the ground and Ben was working with Austin, the architect, to build a new home on the property, their first project together. They intended to sell it and use the money to buy more land for similar jobs.

  The reverend asked them all to stand, and they said the final prayer together. They sat, and the older man turned to Millie and Luke who stood in front of him. Hailey stood on Millie’s left, and Gordon, Luke’s coworker from the police station, stood on his right. Hailey’s round belly was perfectly accentuated by her periwinkle matron-of-honor dress, but it was Millie who stole the show, of course.

  She’d chosen a mermaid wedding dress with a sweetheart neckline that suited her so well, that Jade didn’t even blame Luke for staring at her throughout the service. Her red hair cascaded down her back in perfect curls, but it was her radiant expression that made her more beautiful than ever.

  When the reverend announced them to be man and wife, the otherwise reticent sheriff pulled Millie close and kissed her passionately while the guests hollered and clapped. After a moment, Luke lifted his head, scowling at them as though he’d only then realized he and the newly-minted Mrs. St. Clair weren’t alone in the church.

  The wedding reception somehow turned into a massive picnic. Millie and Luke had planned for a band and a country-style dinner served on long trestle tables, but as the news of their wedding got out, the good people of Hidden Hollows decided they wanted to send their sheriff and favorite baker off in style. The fire department provided benches for everyone, and people brought food of their own, enough pies and casseroles and ice-cream to feed every citizen who wandered into the town park that Saturday afternoon. Music played, local bands taking up the stage, and people danced under long strings of fairy lights hanging in the trees.

  Jade and Ben spoke and laughed with their new friends, and watched kids run around the tables as they invented new games to play. Austin sat at their table with his wife, Everly, and daughter, Jessica, who stared at Millie’s dress in awe. Catalina and Westley, who’d recently gotten engaged, slow-danced to a soulful country tune.

  Ben tucked Jade into his side and bent down to kiss her neck. “Hey,” he said. “I’ve been thinking.”

  “Mm?” Jade leaned her head to the side, wishing for more of the sensation. She was relaxed and warm, and thinking it might be time to sneak off home with Ben.

  He lowered his voice. “Do you think that after the house is finished …”

  He stumbled over his words, which was so uncharacteristic, Jade sat straight and looked at him more closely.

  “What?” she prompted when he just sat there, staring at her.

  “Do you think we could start thinking about kids?”

  Jade’s breath caught in her throat. They’d talked about children, of course, back before the wedding, so they knew they were both interested in having them someday. But the work on their house would be completed by the end of the summer, if things went well, which meant Ben was getting serious about having kiddos.

  “Yes,” she breathed. “I’d like that very much.”

  His smile was so handsome and joyful, and she couldn’t believe her luck.

  “Fantastic,” he said. “I love you.”

  Jade leaned her head against Ben’s shoulder and sighed. “I love you, too. And I’m really happy right now, even though I ate too much of Betty’s peach crumble.”

  Ben kissed the top of her head. “You can never have too much crumble.”

  She looked up at him, then pressed a smacking kiss on his cheek. “I knew I married you for a reason. You’re a very smart man.”

  He snorted, then pulled her in for a deep kiss. “And you’re a very smart woman for marrying me.”

  “You two are so cute,” a voice squeaked from beside them.

  Jade lifted her head to find Hailey standing there, holding hands with her husband Rhett. She pointed at Jade.

  “Come on,” she said. “We’re taking friend photos.”

  “Can I come?” Rhett asked, smiling down at her.

  But Hailey shook her head. “Ladies only. You can keep Ben company.”

  Ben winked at Jade, and she pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “I’ll be right back.”

  She let Hailey drag her over to the bonfire, where she took her place beside Millie and Hailey, Everly, Catalina, and Sara. She didn’t know all of them well, but they were fast becoming her favorite people: strong, loving women who fought for the ones they cared about.

  She put her arm around Hailey’s shoulders and smiled into the camera. She’d made the best decision of her life when she moved to Hidden Hollows, and she was looking forward to making it her permanent home with Ben.

  The End

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  About the Author

  Zoe Ann Wood is a writer of clean contemporary romance. With her books, you'll always get an evening of sweet escape.

  When she's not writing, Zoe Ann loves spending time with her husband and two boys, hiking, and baking. Her obsessions include peanut butter, notebooks, and planning.

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