And as much as I wanted to take a trip there, today wasn’t about me. It was about her.
“What are you doing here?” Bella asked, tugging up on the center of her towel, causing her cleavage to spill over. I had to get my shit together—maybe she was self-conscious because I couldn’t stop looking at that area.
I inhaled slowly through my nose and thought about baseball stats.
She continued, a worried furrow creasing her brow, “I thought you had tours all day?”
“I called in a favor.”
Actually, I’d taken advantage of Billy’s good mood, inspired by Reagan finally agreeing to be his wife. When he’d texted a picture of the ring on her finger, I’d asked if he’d cover me for the next couple days because I wanted to spend as much time with Bella as possible.
He’d agreed, most likely still riding the euphoric high of locking down the woman of his dreams. Now, it was my turn.
“Come in.” She held the door open.
As tempted as I was, I knew that I couldn’t. If I took one step toward that woman, especially in her current attire, I’d have her naked and be inside her in thirty seconds flat. I wouldn’t be able to control myself. “I’d love to, but if I do that, we’re gonna miss our first activity, and we’re runnin’ late as it is.”
“Activity?” Her brow creased. “What activity?”
“Time to start crossing things off that list. Get dressed, I’ll be waiting in the truck.”
“Really?” she asked, eyes widening as if no one had ever gone out of their way to do something special for her.
The saddest part was, I thought that might actually be the case.
“Really,” I confirmed.
“Where are we going?” A grin exuding childlike excitement spread across her face. “What should I wear?”
As little as possible.
“It’s gonna be a hot one, shorts and a tank top should work.”
I could hear her let out a little giggle as she shut the door. My heart melted at the sound of it. Or I should say, melted even more.
From the moment that woman walked down the dock and onto my boat, my heart had been a pile of mush. I made sure to be as quiet as possible as I crossed through the house. It was an ungodly hour and I didn’t want to wake anyone up.
The front door squeaked as I opened it and I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw Mrs. B sitting in her rocking chair, sippin’ her coffee.
“Mornin’, Mrs. B.” I tried to cover how startled I’d been. “I used the hide-a-key, I hope ya don’t mind.”
“Hide-a-key, huh? That means you’re not doin’ the walk of shame?”
“No, ma’am.” I’d spent the night with Bella last night, but it had been at my house. “I’m just here to pick her up.”
“So I’m guessin’ y’all’s talk went well.”
She knew about the talk. “It did. Thank you.”
“You take good care of my girl, that’s all the thanks I need.”
I nodded and an unspoken understanding passed between us. The door squeaked again and this time it was Bella’s turn to be startled.
“Oh my gosh!” She jumped and clutched her chest.
Her wet hair was split down the middle in two French braids. She was wearing an ocean blue crop top that matched her eyes, white denim shorts that complimented her sun-kissed tan, and a pair of white Converse.
Between the sliver of exposed skin on her belly and her long, toned legs, I wasn’t sure this was any better than the towel. I was doing my best not to pop a half-chub in front of Mrs. B.
Bella didn’t help matters when she grimaced and turned her head as she lifted her hip in the air and tugged the already short hem of her shorts up revealing the bottom swoop of her backside.
My teeth gritted as I tried to control myself.
“Do I have a bite or something, Mrs. B? Can you see anything?”
Mrs. B lifted the glasses she wore around her neck, put them on, and leaned forward squinting.
“I don’t see anything.” Mrs. B turned her attention to me. “Can you see anything, James?”
I absolutely fuckin’ could see something. I could see the cusp of her ass and if she didn’t have a bite on it now, I could remedy that. I wanted to sink my teeth in her plump cheek.
Using the self-control of a saint, which I sure as hell was not, I leaned down. “It looks like you might’ve got a scratch.”
“Oh.” She straightened and dropped her shorts. “I must’ve got it from class this morning.”
I didn’t want to rush things, but we were on a time crunch.
“You ready?” I asked.
“Yes,” Bella beamed.
“Where are you two off to?”
“I don’t know.” Bella shook her head and looked at me.
“It’s a surprise.” I grinned.
“Well, you two have fun.”
Bella leaned down and kissed Mrs. B on her cheek and then practically skipped down the steps. Her excitement was palpable.
“Bye, Mrs. B.”
“Bye, James.” If I wasn’t mistaken, I caught a glimmer of approval from Mrs. B. It looked like I would live another day being spared the wrath of her rolled-up newspaper.
CHAPTER 33
Isabella
The seat squeaked below me as I shifted again. No matter what I did, I couldn’t sit still. I was too excited. No one had ever done anything like this for me. I’d always wondered what a surprise would feel like, and now I knew. It was Tony the Tiger Gr-r-reat!
My mind was spinning with places Jimmy might be taking me. He mentioned the weather, so I figured there was a good chance we’d be outside. I didn’t know the area well enough to pick up clues from the road we were on. All the backroads looked the same to me.
It was dawn. The sun was on the cusp of rising, casting a red-orange hue over the rolling green fields and ocean. It was peaceful, serene, and almost as beautiful as the firefly phenomenon. Jimmy had mentioned marking things off my list, and I wondered which ones could fit into the landscape that was before us.
“So how was it out at Harlan’s place?”
I’d been so deep in my own thoughts, I didn’t immediately answer. “Oh, you mean Farm Strong?”
“Yeah,” Jimmy smirked.
Nadia had filled me in on the fact that the townies considered the class ridiculous. They all thought Harlan was ripping tourists off. But I didn’t care. I’d never had the chance to work on a farm, and if that was a rip-off, so be it.
Still, I did my best to temper my enthusiasm so I didn’t come off like a totally out-of-touch debutante. “It was fun.”
Jimmy was quiet for a second before his eyes sliced over to me and a wide smile spread on his sexy, stubble covered face. “You loved it, didn’t you?”
“I did!” I clapped my hands together, not able to suppress my excitement. “I got to bale hay, I drove a tractor, and yes, we did move feed and repair a fence which I know was work that Harlan most likely didn’t want to do, but I don’t care. It was so fun.”
“Are you going to go back?”
“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure that Cheyenne, Nadia, and Reagan were just humoring me, and I don’t think I’d want to go by myself.”
“Well, if that’s the issue, I’ll go with you when I don’t have early tours booked.”
“Really?” I couldn’t believe that he was offering that.
I would never take him up on it. It didn’t seem like something he’d enjoy. Or maybe he would. Over ninety percent of the class was made up of females, and most of them were dressed in clothes that looked more like they were made to be worn on a fitness shoot, not for actually working out.
Which brought me to something that I wanted to talk about with him.
“Um…” For some reason this topic had my palms sweating. I wasn’t sure how to broach it, or how he would respond. This was where relationship experience could come in handy. If I had a clue what the rules were, then I wouldn’t feel so awkward.
<
br /> Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. I might still feel awkward, but at least I’d know that I wasn’t making a fool out of myself. What if I told Jimmy that it was absolutely fine if he saw other people, and he looked at me like I was an idiot, because of course it was fine if he saw other people?
The only thing that was driving me to force myself out of my comfort zone and confront this was that I didn’t want him doing anything because of the information that I’d shared with him the day before. I didn’t want him to pity-exclusive-date me. “I saw Reece there.”
“You did?”
I nodded.
“Reece was at Farm Strong?” His forehead wrinkled as his brows lifted.
“Yes.”
He was quiet and I couldn’t tell if he was mad that I’d brought her up or if there was some other explanation for the silence.
“She’s really beautiful.” I prompted, hoping to gauge if it was cool to talk about her.
“Yeah, she is.”
His response didn’t give me any clues as to what he might be thinking. Since I didn’t want to tiptoe around the subject any longer, I blurted out, “It’s okay if you’re seeing her. Or I mean still seeing her. Or whatever.”
“I’m not.” His hands tightened around the wheel. It was nearly imperceptible, but I noticed it. “Not anymore.”
The energy shift in the truck was palpable. A sick feeling settled in my belly. He’d gone out of his way to do this nice thing for me and I was ruining it.
Not knowing what else to do, I doubled down, hoping to fix whatever I’d said that was upsetting him. “I’m just saying if you wanted to hang out with her, or anyone, it’s okay. You can see or not see anyone. We’re not…you know…this is not…I’m just saying I don’t want you to, you know, restrict your social life because of me. That’s it. I know you have a lot of…” I searched for the right word. Admirers sounded antiquated. Women sounded a little harem-ish. Female associates sounded too formal. “Friends. I know you have a lot of friends. And you should have friends. I mean, I’m not asking you not to have friends.”
I forced myself to stop talking because every time I opened my mouth, I felt like I was just digging myself deeper in a hole. I had to bite down on my bottom lip to keep it shut, rather than give in to the temptation of rushing to fill the awkward silence that hung between us. It felt like it went on for at least five minutes, but probably only lasted about forty-five seconds.
Finally, he asked, “You done?”
“Um…” I wasn’t quite sure what he was asking I was done with, so I went with my best guess—he wondered if I was done talking. “Yes.”
Without saying a word, he pulled the truck over onto the side of the road and stopped. Then he shifted in his seat, turning toward me. The intensity in his light caramel eyes, caused my breath to catch in my throat. He just stared at me, still not saying anything for, again what felt like an eternity…but most likely was thirty seconds or so.
“You’re right. I do have friends. I have a lot of friends. I have a lot of people that I can do things with. But a wise person told me that I should find someone that I wanted to do nothing with. I want to be with someone I want to do nothing with.”
Does he mean me?
I wished I was better at picking up on social cues. But as it stood, I was clueless.
Jimmy must have read my mind. Either that, or my facial expression said it all.
“Yes, you.” He grinned my favorite flavor of grin, which was the sexy half-grin. “You’re the only person that I’ve ever wanted to do nothing with. And thank you for giving me permission to see or not see anyone, but if it’s all the same to you, I’d like this to be an exclusive sort of deal.”
“Exclusive?” I thought I’d been excited about this day before, but Jimmy telling me that he wanted to be exclusive had just super jet-fueled that excitement right into the outer atmosphere.
He lifted his hand and cupped my face, running his thumb across my jawline. His voice dropped an octave as he confirmed. “Exclusive.”
“Okay,” I quickly agreed, hoping he would seal our deal with a kiss. Whenever I was around Jimmy, I wanted to be touching him or kissing him, or both, or more.
His presence was a real, tangible force. I felt wrapped in it like a warm blanket on a stormy night. It was comforting and I wanted nothing more than to sink into it and pull it closer to me.
He leaned toward me and goosebumps rose on every inch of exposed skin. I closed my eyes in anticipation of his lips pressing to mine. His breath fanned against my face and I could smell the mix of coffee and peppermint, that same intoxicating scent I’d noticed that first day on the boat.
But instead of his lips, I felt his forehead resting against mine. “I want to kiss you so bad right now. But we’re already late.”
And then he was gone. He was no longer cocooning me with warmth. I opened my eyes and saw that he was back in his seat and was pulling out onto the road.
“Do you have any idea how fucking tempting you are?” he asked.
“No.” I wasn’t trying to be coy. I honestly didn’t.
Still, I liked hearing him say that. And I really liked that he looked genuinely agitated not to be able to kiss me. There was no reason I should be the only one who was sexually frustrated. I’d heard of guys getting blue balls, but I’d never considered that women could get them. Or whatever the lady equivalent was.
“Close your eyes,” Jimmy instructed.
Excitement raced through me as I shut my lids tight and put my hand over my eyes.
He chuckled beside me. “You don’t have to put your hand up if you just shut them.”
“I don’t trust myself not to peek.”
Jimmy’s chuckle got louder. Again, I wasn’t kidding. I was so excited that I was sure my lids would involuntarily open, and I needed the extra barrier so that I didn’t ruin my surprise.
The truck came to a stop and Jimmy teased, “Keep ’em closed, now.”
I heard his door open and shut, quickly followed by my own door opening. The next thing I knew, Jimmy’s strong arms lifted me out of the truck and set me down. He took over blindfold duty as he guided me. I could tell that we were walking on uneven ground and the air smelled fresh, like the ocean—but then again, that could be said for most of the terrain on Firefly Island.
“Ready?” he asked, his large hand still covering my eyes.
“Yes!” In the back of my mind, I saw my father staring at me with disdain for my inappropriate level of excitement, but I pushed that image away.
I wasn’t going to feel bad for being happy, even if it was an overreaction. That would be a total waste of my life, and I was done wasting my life.
He removed his hand and I couldn’t believe what I saw.
“A hot air balloon?” I breathed. “How did you? What… You just found out about the list last night.”
“I told you, I called in some favors.” He grinned.
“I…thank you…” I felt tears begin to prick behind my eyes. “Really, this means so much. Thank you.”
He kissed my forehead but quickly pulled away. “You can thank me later. We gotta go if we’re gonna catch the sunrise.”
We walked toward the balloon and I noticed a man standing inside the basket whose long white hair and beard would’ve easily let him blend in with the band ZZ Top.
“Frank, I’d like you to meet Isabella. Isabella, this Frank.”
“Hi!” I waved.
“Nice to meet ya, pretty lady. You kids ready?” he shouted over the roar of the burner.
I nodded, and the next thing I knew my feet were swept out from underneath me. Jimmy easily scooped me up and set me in the basket, then effortlessly hopped in himself.
He stood behind me, his arms on either side of me, caging me in, his cheek pressed against mine. There was a loud whooshing sound and then the basket lifted up off the ground.
Breathtaking was an overused word, but in this case, it was the perfect description.
And I wasn’t talking about the scenery.
CHAPTER 34
Jimmy
Bella sat beside me in the truck, humming along to Chris Lane’s “Big, Big Plans” as she sipped her red frozen slushy.
On the way to our last activity of the day, we’d stopped at the Git-N-Go Quickie Mart. When we walked in, her face had lit up when she’d seen the ICEE dispenser. Apparently, she’d never been allowed to have them as a child, and as an adult, she’d felt that it would be silly to get one. I could see that she’d been hesitant, so I’d shown her how my brothers and I used to put our mouths below the spout when we were kids and didn’t have money to pay for the drinks.
Mr. Koop, who’d owned and operated the store my entire life, spoke into the mic behind the counter. “I see you, James Comfort. You will be paying for that.”
Bella’s eyes had grown wide and she’d laughed before filling up her very first ICEE. I’d never gotten so much pleasure out of making another person happy in my entire life. Sure, I liked it when people enjoyed their trips out on the boat. But, it didn’t fill me with the sort of pride that watching Bella fill up her ICEE cup did. And if that wasn’t love, I had no clue what was.
Today was supposed to have been about her. But it ended up being one of the best days of my life.
“Oh my gosh! My hair matches my drink!” she exclaimed with a childhood-like wonder.
Yesterday, when I’d read Bella’s list, I’d noticed that number eighty-two was to dye her hair a wild color. So, after the hot air balloon ride and breakfast, we’d stopped at Pretty in Peach, the salon that was run by Mrs. B’s best friend, Miss Shaw.
For a second I’d thought about making her an appointment at The Beauty Mark, which Kendra Montgomery owned, because it had a younger vibe, but then I quickly came to my senses. If I’d done that, it would most definitely have landed me right on the business end of Mrs. B’s rolled-up newspaper.
Bella had decided to go with a bright red color, which somehow made her even sexier. And I sure as hell hadn’t thought that was even possible.
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