by Lacey Black
“Don’t be scared, baby. I won’t ever hurt you the way Gavin did. I only want to love you and spend as much time with you as I possibly can. And when you’re ready, I want to live with you. I want to wake up beside you every morning, and fall asleep with my arms around you every night. That’s what I want, and I’m hoping you want that too.”
I pull back, her eyes are wide with something that resembles fear. She’s quiet for several moments, the only sound her shallow inhales.
“I need to go,” she whispers, looking at me for the first time since I dropped my bomb in her lap.
I jump to my feet moments after she does. She starts to move towards the front door, retrieving her bag that I deposited on the floor earlier.
“Jaime, I know you have some things to process. Make a checklist,” I add with a smile. But her eyes don’t display a hint of humor. “Take your time and think about it. But know this: I’m not going anywhere. If you’re not ready, that’s fine. I still want to date you, get to know you, love you. But if you do want to move in with me, I promise to make you happy and smile and laugh, and maybe even scream my name at the top of your lungs every night.” That got a crack of a smile.
“You’re welcome to stay here tonight, but something tells me you need some time alone to think. So know that I’ll be here, waiting for you, whenever you’re ready.”
With that, I place a hard kiss on her lips. It’s a proclamation. The kiss says she’s mine and I’m not letting go. I don’t let the kiss deepen the way my body craves. Instead, I grab the bag from her hand and follow her to her car. She doesn’t speak as she slides into her warm car, shaky hands trying to start the engine.
When the car finally starts, I crouch down beside her open door. “I love you. I’ll talk to you soon,” I reiterate. Leaning forward, I give her another kiss, this time in the middle of her forehead.
Jaime still doesn’t say anything, and I try not to let it get to me. I know she’s trying to process what I’ve said. Instead of trying to force her to talk to me, I stand up, leaning down with one arm on the roof of the car, the other on the door. “I love you,” I repeat with conviction and meaning.
She glances up and gives me the slightest smile. Her eyes soften, my words seeming to push away the worry and fear that was so dominant only moments ago.
Without waiting to hear if she returns my sentiment, I shut her car door. I tap on the roof twice before stepping back, allowing her to pull away. She sits there for several tense moments, but eventually puts her car in drive and heads down the road.
I ignore the pang of dread that threatens to overtake me. I refuse to believe that this is it, that she’ll run away from the happiness I’m offering. Instead, I focus on that tiny smile and the love in her eyes. She loves me, I know it. She believes we can have a future together, I see it. I just need to step back until she allows herself to believe it.
This might be my greatest challenge, yet, but one I’m committed to.
I will make her see how fucking amazing we are together.
There’s no other option.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jaime
Me: Code Red! Emergency gathering at Beaver in 20 minutes!
The group text message, which includes all of my sisters, is sent before I’m even out of Ryan’s neighborhood. My hands are shaky as I grab the steering wheel and head towards one of our favorite hangouts.
My phone pings with responses, but I don’t look at them. I don’t have to. I know they’ll be there if they can. There’s something to be said for when a sister sends a code red message. Each one drops what they’re doing and comes running, if at all possible.
It doesn’t surprise me that I’m the first one to arrive. Snagging the round booth in back, I order a pitcher of strawberry margaritas and wait for my sisters to arrive. My leg taps nervously on the old, worn hardwood floor, anxiety has me wringing my hands together.
Abby is the first to arrive, which is no shocker since she lives only a few blocks away. She rushes in, hair wild in a high ponytail, and heads towards my reserved table. “Is everything okay?” she asks in a hurry, green eyes scanning me from head to toe as if checking for injuries or something.
“Can we wait until the others get here? I don’t want to go through this four more times,” I comment while pouring a strawberry margarita into one of the glasses left on the table.
Abby takes a tentative sip while we wait for the others. She’s never been a big drinker. In fact, Abby’s probably the most straight-laced, docile out of all of the Summer sisters.
Before I can make small talk with my youngest sister, Lexi and Meghan fly through the door at the same time. They’re both attempting to talk over the other as they head towards our table. “What did he do? I’ll kill him,” Lexi proclaims while dropping on the booth and sliding around to my other side.
“Can we wait until the others arrive?” I ask, her eyes narrowing into little slits.
Just as I complete the question, Payton and AJ hurry inside. Lexi takes it upon herself to pour the rest of the margaritas into the empty glasses, and as soon as the others are in the booth, everyone has a drink in hand.
“Okay, spill,” Payton instructs before she takes a sip.
“You all know that Ryan and I went away for the weekend,” I start, which results in collective acknowledgements from the table. “We had an amazing time, even though Grandma and Grandpa showed up at the Bed and Breakfast we were staying at.”
“Wait, what?!” AJ exclaims, wide eyed and mouth agape.
“Oh yeah, totally embarrassing, but I’ll get to that in a minute.” I take a hearty drink from my glass, the cold tequila burning my throat as it slides down. “Anyway, it was an amazing weekend, and when we got back, he asked me to move in with him.” The words fly from my lips in a huge rush of air and excitement.
“What?” is hollered across the table at the same time as “Are you kidding me?”
“Oh my God, Jaims! What did you do?” Meghan asks with a straw in her mouth.
“I, uh, freaked out,” I confess.
“I bet,” Payton snorts before guzzling her drink.
“Did you breakup with him?” Abby asks beside me, her mostly untouched drink still sitting on the tabletop.
“Breakup with him? Why would I break up with him?” I ask, abandoning my own glass.
“Why? Maybe because you’ve made it very clear that you’d never put yourself in a position to be hurt again. You’ve been adamant for the last six months that you’re going to be single until the day you die,” Meghan adds.
I recall saying each of those things, mostly while I was consuming alcoholic beverages. And I feel that way, at least I did. Before Ryan came along to prove to me why I wasn’t destined to live out my days lonely and afraid.
“I know I said those things,” I confess. “I also know I didn’t mean them, not really.”
“So you’re not freaking out right now?” AJ reiterates.
“No. Actually, it’s completely the opposite. I want to move in with him.” As soon as the words leave my lips, I feel the weight of the world lift off my shoulders.
“You do?” Lexi asks with a broad smile across her face.
“Yeah. I do.”
“But you’ve only known him a few weeks.” This from Abby, the ever-present voice of reason. She’s like the angel conscience sitting on your shoulder.
“It’s been almost two months, and you know what? I’m happy. Happier than I’ve ever been in my life, and I’m not scared to move in with him. I’m excited, and even more so to see what’s in store for us next.”
Realization dawns on me while my sisters all give me goofy grins. I’m in love with Ryan and want to spend the rest of my life with him. So what if it’s fast? So what if it’s scary? Love is scary. Giving your heart to someone is the greatest risk, but if you can overcome that fear, it’s the most rewarding thing ever.
And Ryan is offering me what I�
��ve always wanted. A life filled with love.
Will it work out? Maybe not. But I’m pushing all of my reservations aside to find out if a life spent with Ryan is as wonderful as I anticipate.
I smile as I glance around at my sisters. Each of them wear their own grins, drinking and laughing at something another one says. These are the moments I’ll always cherish, moments filled with shared laughter and tears. These are my sisters, my best friends.
“So tell us about the bed and breakfast,” Lexi encourages.
“Well, Ryan and I were kinda in bed together when we could hear this other couple going at it hot and heavy on the other side of the wall, and it turns out…”
***
Later that night, after we drank two pitchers of margaritas and consumed a few sample platters of appetizers, Josh arrives to take us all home. It takes two trips to get us all safely to our destinations, but he manages. He even arranges for a friend to help drive our cars.
Lying on my side in bed, the clock on the nightstand reads ten-thirty. As it has all night, my mind continually wanders to a certain tall construction worker with dark brown eyes and a sexy smile. As if he knew I was thinking about him, my cell phone chimes with an incoming text.
Ryan: I know how much you like lists, so here’s my top reasons why you should move in with me.
I think U R the most incredible woman I’ve ever known.
I want to spend the rest of my life proving to u how grateful I am that u chose me.
Because u make me smile & hearing ur laughter is sweet music.
And the most important reason of all…because I love u.
As I finish reading, I see the bubbles appear and know that he’s typing.
Ryan: I see that u’ve read the message. Don’t reply. I want you to wait until you’re ready & the answer is YES.
I smile at his words and picture him lying in bed as he types them.
While I’m on the verge of typing that one word back to him, I know that he’s right and I need to make sure this is what I want beforehand. So instead of replying, I reread his list a few dozen times before setting my phone down on my nightstand and curling up against my pillow. Ryan wants me to move in with him. He has asked, and I will accept. I feel it in my bones, there’s no other option for me.
However, I might just sit on it for a few days and make him squirm.
***
It’s Friday. My last day at Blossoms and Blooms. I’m beyond excited to start my new job on Monday at Addie’s Place, though a twinge of sorrow creeps in every once in a while when I think about not working with Payton every day. I’ve become accustomed to working beside her and now depend on her daily dose of dry humor to get me through. I’m going to miss her face.
I’ve also received nightly text messages from Ryan. He has continued with the same pattern and given me a few more reasons why I should move in with him. Out of all of them, the one that made me laugh the hardest was ‘endless supply of orgasms.’ What girl would turn that down? And, of course, he always ends his messages with ‘Because I love u.’
I’ve kept my word not to reply until I was ready to say yes. Every night, I would actually type that one word–three little letters–but then I would delete them. I didn’t want to tell him via text message. I refuse to be that person like my ex, even if it was good news. Instead, I plan to tell him this weekend. In person.
As I tidy up the workbench for what could be my last time, I feel my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. When I pull it out, I see a certain someone’s name printed boldly across the screen and a smile instantly spreads across my face. His messages have been arriving later in the evening all week, so this mid-afternoon text is a welcome and pleasant surprise.
I slide my finger across the screen until his words are displayed.
Ryan: I need to see you. Can’t wait. Dinner tonight. My place. 7p. Say u’ll come.
My fingers fly over the keys as fast as they can to type out those three little letters.
Me: Yes
Ryan: That’s my new fave word. See u tonight, gorgeous.
My heart sings in my chest at the thought of finally seeing Ryan again. It has been the longest and loneliest week of my life without him, especially when he’s just a text away. I’m still smiling when Payton comes back from her afternoon deliveries.
“Anything happen while I was gone?” she asks, dropping down onto the wooden stool behind the counter.
“Nope. Nothing.”
“Damn. I was hoping you’d have some massive floral rush that required half the town to stop in and purchase flowers.”
“Well, I did sell something to the pharmacist who stops by to get something for his ‘friend’.” His friend is his mistress.
“God, what a tool. I hate making money off a jerkwad like that,” she says before looking me over with a critical eye. “What’s going on? Why are you so happy?”
“Oh, nothing, except that Ryan just sent me a message asking me to dinner tonight,” I say in a singsong voice.
“And you’re going, right?”
“Of course I’m going. I miss him like crazy,” I reply, turning my attention away from the already clean bench.
“Are you going to answer him tonight?”
“Yep. Definitely going to give him an answer. I can’t wait to see the look on his face,” I add, recalling how happy he was the moment I told him that I loved him too. I imagine the moment is going to rank right up there with that one.
“I would ask you to call me with all the details, but I imagine the two of you are going to be pretty busy most of the night,” she sasses. “Especially when you haven’t seen each other all week.”
We’re laughing together as the bell over the front door announces a customer. Payton looks up first, her face instantly full of surprise. Her statuesque posture causes a tingle of unease to slip down my spine. I’m almost afraid to turn around and see who just walked in. Whoever it is has left my sister speechless.
Finally giving in to the temptation, I turn towards the door and come face to face with Gavin.
My ex.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ryan
Tonight. She’s coming for dinner tonight. I’m not sure if she’s any closer to giving me an answer to my question or not, but at this moment, that doesn’t fucking matter. Seeing her, kissing her, and hopefully making love to her is what matters right now. My body craves her like never before. Five days is too long to be without her, and tonight I’m going to have her.
I pull in front of her sister’s flower shop, a handful of wild flowers resting on the passenger seat, anxious to go inside and see her. I know she just replied to my text thirty minutes ago and I’ll be seeing her in about four hours, but I’m driving by, heading to the office to collect paychecks, so it’s only logical that I stop in and say hello. And maybe steal a kiss. Every day for the last four days, I’ve contemplated stopping by, but always talked myself out of it.
Not today.
Flowers in hand, I pull open the front door, the familiar bell announcing my arrival. When I step inside, I’m disappointed to find only Payton standing at the counter. As I step closer, her face registers shock and something else. Maybe worry?
“Hey, Payton, is Jaime here?”
She glances nervously over her shoulder and averts her eyes. “Um, yeah, she stepped out back for a minute. I’ll go get her,” she says quickly turning towards the back entrance where she parks her delivery van.
“No, you stay. I’ll go,” I tell her, walking around the counter like I own the place.
“No!” she exclaims with a squeak in her face. Her eyes are wide, her entire face clearly betraying the composure she’s desperately trying to hang on to.
“Why are you acting weird? Am I not allowed to go out and see her?” I ask, curiously.
“No, it’s not that. Of course you’re welcome,” she starts.
“Great. Then I’ll just head out this way,�
�� I reply, indicating the back door.
As I approach the back door, I see Jaime standing out back talking to a man. They’re smiling at each other, standing about a foot a part. The man reaches forward and pinches the tip of her nose, making her laugh. My gut tightens painfully as I watch their exchange, unable to push the door open. They look comfortable. Familiar.
I’m rooted in place, watching as the man steps forward and hugs my girl. Fucking hugs her and I see red. Jaime smiles as she wraps her arms around his chest and squeezes. That single act mimics what’s happening to my heart right now. It feels like someone is squeezing my chest, stripping me of the ability to breathe.
Hell no. You don’t touch her.
Before I can even give an ounce of consideration to my actions, I push open the door and step outside.
“Ryan, it’s not what you think,” Payton says behind me, but I’m already gone, heading towards my girl and her douche of an ex. I know it’s him. I can feel it.
The caveman in me wants to race up to them, throw her over my shoulder, and stomp away. Maybe even throw a right hook in the middle of the smug bastard’s face on my way by. But that won’t get me anywhere, especially where Jaime’s concerned.
I keep my steps deliberate and steady and do my best to keep my breathing the same. There’s no time to take any deep, calming breaths as I reach them too quickly. When my movement registers to Jaime, she turns towards me, shock mixed with something lighter spreading across her gorgeous face.
She takes my breath away, every damn time.
“Ryan,” she whispers, a soft smile spreading widely across her face.
The man beside her turns full on and faces me. Gavin Morris is just as Jaime had described him, lean and tall and wearing crisp Dockers with a wrinkle-free polo. His blue eyes are wary and take me in from head to toe, as if sizing up the competition.
Game fucking on, asshole.