Just Say Yes (Just Say Yes Book 2)

by Jen Andrews

  “Yes, Zoey, I’ll do what I need to. I give you my word.”

  All the passengers were almost off the boat, so we needed to get moving.

  “Me too. We’re getting ready to get off the boat,” I said. “I need to go for now, but I’ll call you tonight after dinner, if it’s alright with you. We can Skype. How does that sound?”

  There was an unmistakable smile in his voice when he replied. “Sounds perfect. I can’t wait to see you.”

  I felt my heart slowly start to beat again. “I love you, Andrew James Tate. Please never forget that. I will see you later. Give James a kiss on the head for me, will you?”

  He chuckled and it was the sweetest sound I’d heard all day. “I will not kiss James for you. I think he needs another bath. But I will see you later. I love you.”

  We ended the call and I handed Jess’s phone back to her. Then I jumped up and hugged her. “Thank you. You just saved my life.”

  I knew it seemed unhealthy that both of us had issues to work on to be in a relationship, but the issues were not between us. They were incidents from the past preventing us from moving forward. I loved him and I was willing to do what I needed to do. I have to get myself straightened out.

  The rest of the day, I had a great time because the weight of everything had been lifted from my shoulders. The girls and I did more shopping and decided to go for drinks at the Cabo Wabo Cantina.

  I felt much better about where Andy and I stood. I didn’t know what Jess said to him when she called him, but it helped. I was excited to see him later tonight, but didn’t even care that it was going to be over a computer screen. I could see his beautiful face while we talked and I wouldn’t need to guess what he was feeling, like I did over the phone.

  “Earth to Zoey. Zoooey,” Jess whined. “Snap out of it.”

  I blinked a few times, bringing myself back to the present. On the bar in front of me sat two shots of tequila that were not there before. “Sorry, I’m good. Just got lost in thought for a sec.”

  My best friends laughed as the bartender set their tequila shots down in front of them. “So we noticed. Bottoms up, bitches,” Sasha quipped. We each downed our shots then squeezed limes between our teeth to ease the burn of the tequila. Yum, I needed that.

  We were hungry, so we decided to order an appetizer off the menu. No one could decide on just one appetizer, they all sounded so delicious, so we ordered several.

  As we ate, my mind kept trailing back to Andy and everything that happened over the last few days. I wanted him to understand the way I was feeling earlier on the boat. It was our ‘thing’ to send each other songs to listen to ever since my birthday so I sent him a text.

  Listen to “Run” by S.P. when you get a chance. Can’t wait to see you later.

  We finished our lunch and hit the pavement again to shop. I bought a cute pair of sandals and a dress to wear when we went out to the club on Friday night.

  Later on in the day, my phone pinged with a text from Andy.

  I’m off work now, listening to the song. I want you to listen to “I Miss You” by Incubus. James says hi. Gonna hit the shower in a few minutes. Can’t wait to see you later, too, Beautiful.

  I smiled and couldn’t stop myself from imagining him naked, glistening with droplets of water, soap cascading over his tattoos down his gorgeous body. I quickly fired off another text to him.

  Thanks. Now I’m going to have to live with that visual the rest of the day.

  We were on our way home when my cell pinged with another text from Andy.

  It was a picture. Holy fucking shit.

  He was naked in the shower, holding his cell high up over his head from an angle. He was looking into the camera, smiling that devious, smoldering grin of his. Fuck me.

  The photo was so small all I could see was down the arm holding the camera, his back, and a tiny bit of the slight roundness of his sexy, muscular ass.

  “Holy shit, he’s trying to kill me,” I muttered, feeling heat creep up my neck and into my cheeks.

  Sasha snatched the phone from my hand and looked at the picture. “You are one lucky bitch, Zoey Lynn James. Does the man even have any tan lines?” She tilted the phone sideways to get a better look then passed the phone to Jess, who blushed when she saw the picture.

  Nope, there was not one tan line anywhere on his perfect body. He was naturally golden and gorgeous. Sasha was right. I was one lucky bitch. I wrestled my phone back from Sasha, who had a death grip on it, ogling Andy again. Not that I blamed her of course, he was magnificent naked. I responded to his text.

  The girls think you’re hot, TTYL.

  We made it home and relaxed on the patio with my aunt and uncle, who were home from work for the day. I called my mom to let her know how the trip was going so far.

  “Is our Andy okay, Zoey?” my mom asked as we chatted about work.

  “I think so. Why?”

  She took a breath before responding. “Mija, he’s been a little out of it at work. Today, after he took a break, he came back and was back to normal. I was worried about him.”

  Ah, he’d talked to me on his morning break then went back to work. I wasn’t happy he was ‘out of it’ at work though. That is too dangerous in a place like the shop, when you have cars weighing several thousand pounds over your head on car lifts, and handling high-powered tools.

  Not good. I would need to talk to him about it, not because I was worried about the shop’s liability if something happened, but because I loved him and didn’t want him distracted at work by us. That, along with the previous issues with Rob, was one of the original reasons I didn’t want to date him in the first place.

  That night, the girls helped me cook dinner for my aunt and uncle then clean up the kitchen afterward. Unable to wait any longer to see Andy, I went to my bedroom and fired up my laptop. I logged on to my Skype account and contacted him. It took a couple minutes for him to login, but when I saw his blue eyes on the screen, my own blue eyes welled with tears.

  “Hi,” I said. I was so happy to see him. He was sitting on his couch, his laptop on the coffee table in front of him. He was shirtless. Thank you, God.

  “Hey, love. How are you?”

  “Better than I was this morning. You?”

  He smiled, his blue eyes sparkling. “I couldn’t be better, now that I’ve seen your beautiful face.” Andy looked at me curiously. “Why are your eyes watery?”

  I blinked a couple times so the tears wouldn’t spill over. “I’m just happy to see you. I truly thought we were over after the other night.”

  “Zoey, I just want to say again that I’m so sorry for being a dick.” His indigo eyes burned into mine with such intensity, I knew he really was sorry. “I didn’t sleep at all the night after I hung up on you…which by the way, I am sorry for that too. It was an immature, shitty thing to do. I’m glad Jess called me this morning from the boat. Remind me to thank her later.”

  I put my hand up so I could say something. “The picture you sent me today was probably thanks enough for her,” I laughed.

  He looked embarrassed. “Yes, I was going to ask you about that. How did they see it?”

  “Sasha’s pretty quick and snatched it right out of my hand. I’ll need to be more careful the next time you sext me. If there is a next time, that is.” I let out a breath of relief when he laughed and told me he’d sext me anytime I needed to see his gorgeous body.

  By the time we finished laughing, it was time for us to get serious and talk. “Did you listen to the song?” I asked, referring to the text I sent him earlier.

  He nodded. “Yes, I did. I understand why you needed me to listen to it. Do you know how happy I am right now to be talking to you?”

  His question made me smile. “Hopefully as happy as I am. I’m sorry about everything, Andy. I was stupid.”

  He shook his head in disagreement. “No, you tried to talk to me and I shut you out. I guess it took actually losing you to put things into perspective. After your ac
cident, I was so scared I would lose you, that I did. I was being stupid, not you.”

  I listened to him as he talked, refusing to take my eyes off him. I noticed the neck and headstock of his guitar poking out from behind the couch. He must have been playing it then set it on the stand when I called him.

  “Have you been playing your guitar?” I asked when he finished talking.

  He glanced over his shoulder at his guitar and turned back to me with a happy grin on his face. “Yeah, I was messing around on it, trying to remember the songs I’ve learned. It’s been a while since it’s even been out of the case.”

  “I’m happy you’re playing again. Maybe you’ll play something for me when I come home?”

  He smiled. “Maybe I will.” He looked so handsome sitting on the couch, shirtless. I smiled at the thought of tracing over his tattoos with my fingertips.

  “Will you finally take me to get a tattoo when I come home, please?”

  “Of course,” he replied. “Are you getting the snowflakes you said you wanted a while back?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  He chuckled. “You better do more than think, Zoey. It’s going to be on your body for the rest of your life, you know? I still can’t believe you want snowflakes because you love Snow Patrol that much. Maybe I’ll get another one too.”

  Yes, please. I laughed. “God, you make it sound like I’m going to get the words ‘Snow Patrol’ tattooed across my ass, Andy. I just want a pretty swirl of snowflakes, that’s all. Nothing major like what you have all over your body.”

  “You love my tats and you know it,” he smirked, causing me to stick my tongue out at him playfully.

  We talked for a while longer about our relationship and us. It felt like it did before the accident.

  “I wish you were here,” I said suddenly. “I think you’d like it here. It’s sunny and warm.” I sat up a little higher in my seat then moved the screen of my laptop back a bit so the webcam was not cutting off the top of my head.

  “Is your hand hurt, Zoey?”

  “My hand?”

  “You have scrapes on your hand. Is it from when you fell this morning?”

  Shit. “Yeah, they’re fine though. One of the girls from the boat crew cleaned my hands and knees up.” I held my hand back up so he could see it better. He seemed fine with my answer.

  “I’m glad you weren’t hurt worse. What happened, anyway? Jess called to apologize for what she said to me the night of the accident and to tell me something happened on the boat. Were you crying because of me?” He scooted closer to his webcam, not waiting for an answer. “Zoey, I’m so sorry I was such an asshole to you.”

  “Stop, please. It’s over. We’re good now.” He nodded and I explained everything that happened on the boat that morning.

  “So you tripped over a bag on the deck?” he asked after I finished providing him with the details about my literal boat ‘trip’.

  “Yep, that’s all it was. I was trying to get out of the group of people and my foot hung up on the strap of it. It’s no big deal. I am a klutz.” I searched his eyes, trying to read him, to see what he was thinking. “You look tired. Are you alright?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I am now. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

  His comment about him not sleeping well reminded me of my earlier conversation with my mom.

  “Andy, you need to be careful at work, please. No working when shit like this happens. My mom said you weren’t yourself the last couple of days. I don’t want you getting hurt at work if you’re distracted because of me, okay?”

  There was no point in trying to deny the fact we were well past the point of no return. We decided weeks ago that we would try a relationship, even though he worked at my dad’s shop.

  “Of course, I promise. But, I also don’t plan on fighting with you ever again, so we shouldn’t have any problems,” he laughed.

  “Sounds good,” I said. “No fighting ever again. I can agree to that.”

  It was getting late and he had to work the next day. “I should let you get some sleep since you have to work tomorrow. It’s good to see you. I’ve missed you.”

  He smiled. “I love you, Zoey. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  I didn’t want to close my laptop. I wanted just to stare at him, but no sane person would do that. Deciding I wanted to be sane, I finally said my goodbyes to him.

  “Sleep well, Sexy. I love you.” After our chat ended, I went to find my friends and family.

  All was right in my world again and for the next couple of days, the three of us lived it up in Cabo. We went on all the excursions we had booked. The horseback tour on the beach was definitely my favorite. The guide gave me the most beautiful gray and white horse to ride. I’d never been on a horse before and instantly fell in love with riding.

  We rode down the beach with the sun high in the sky and puffy white clouds off in the distance. The day was absolutely breathtaking. I walked my horse over to Jess and asked her to take a picture of me with my cell so I could send one to Andy and my family back home. Leaving my cell with Jess, I turned my horse around, walking him down to the ocean.

  He acted as if he liked the water, so I continued down the beach. His feet seemed to dance in the surf. I laughed and smiled the whole time, finding that I was so at peace in my own little world that I didn’t notice Jess had been taking pictures and video of me with my cell.

  I could definitely do this every day, I thought. At the end of our ride, we took the horses back to the barn where I convinced the owner of the stable to let me help brush them down. Her name was Josie, and she was a wonderful person who took great care of her horses.

  “Josie, what’s his name?” I asked, referring to the horse I had ridden and was currently brushing.

  “Smoke,” she answered with a smile, pushing her bangs away from her sweaty forehead. Her dark eyes sparkled with admiration as she twisted her long, black hair into a bun at the nape of her neck.

  “He’s amazing. I love the way he sounds when he breathes and the noises he makes. Is that weird?” I laughed when I realized I might sound like a crazy person.

  She stopped what she was doing, turning to me with a knowing expression on her face. “Not at all, Zoey. It makes perfect sense to me. I’ve never found more peace and serenity in my life than when I’m around horses. It’s why I do what I do.”

  As strange as it was, I knew exactly what she meant. “How did you become interested in horses?” I asked.

  “I grew up in one of the orphanages in Mexico, then one day, out of the blue, they bussed a small group of kids to a horse ranch to teach us to ride and take care of the horses as part of our therapy.” Josie paused, taking in a deep breath before she continued. “I fell in love with horses and when I was old enough, found a job at the ranch taking care of them. Through the years, I worked my way up and became one of the therapists at the ranch, working one on one with the kids and the horses. I retired from the ranch two years ago then spent most of my life savings on the stables.”

  I swallowed hard, thinking of what she must have gone through but I didn’t want to be nosey. From what I’d learned over the years, I was well aware that the orphanages in foreign countries were much worse than they were in the US.

  “I’m so sorry, Josie,” I said quietly, feeling guilty for bringing up bad memories for her. “I know how hard it must have been for you, not having any family.” I thought about how Andy had lost his family and how I was taken away from my mother at age eight.

  She studied me curiously for several long seconds then asked me a question I didn’t expect.

  “Zoey, you seem to personally understand everything I’ve told you. Do you have experience with orphans?”

  “I was one,” I admitted plainly without thinking about it first. “How did you know?”

  “We orphans have an unknown connection to each other, honey. Whether we want to or not, we’re bound together by the lives we had, lost, and started again.” Josi
e studied my face thoughtfully and took in a deep breath before she asked, “Why are you here, Zoey?”

  Good question. Why am I here? I explained to Josie about my time in foster care, adoption at age fourteen, the opening of my store and marriage to Rob. After that, I couldn’t keep myself from rambling on about my problems.

  “I see,” Josie said when I’d finished speaking. “What is it you’d like to accomplish while you’re here?”

  “Honestly, my original intention was to come here to take a break from my life. Everything was going well after my divorce, but then something happened and I let my life slip away from me. I fell into a depression for several months, pushing everyone away from me so I didn’t hurt them. I started therapy again, but recently I’ve been having brief episodes of anxiety,” I admitted.

  Josie nodded her head as her sympathetic eyes met mine. “And what is your intention now?”

  “Most importantly, I need to find out who I am. I have an amazing family now, great friends and a new boyfriend who has had a rough life himself. There are things in our lives standing in the way of our happiness…stuff we’ve both agreed to try to fix while I’m here. I was in an accident recently, which is the reason why my boyfriend, Andy, and I have issues to work out.”

  I took some time to explain Andy’s past, my accident, and how he’d become distant because of it.

  “Zoey, I’m pleased to see that you’re both aware of how your life and the troubles you’ve had recently are affecting you and your new relationship. Your boyfriend must be quite the man to realize his own past issues need to be dealt with for you both to move forward,” she said. “Do you want to tell me what happened to cause your depression? I’m a good listener.”

  The way Josie smiled at me eased the tension that started building when we began our discussion. She was easy to talk to so I told her about Rob suing my dad and me, then about him being vindictive, taking my prized possession Chevelle as his settlement payment.

  Josie nodded her head in understanding. “That must have been very stressful for you and I can see why you decided to take a vacation. How long are you here for?”