Damn him for that wink mixed with the amazing laugh and the beautiful comment. No one had called me beautiful since my dad died when I was fifteen. I’d been called hot and sexy, but no one had called me beautiful, like they saw through the shell I hid behind to the insecure girl on the inside. I didn’t care he had a girlfriend, I was going to make him mine. I know, I know. Bitch move on my part, but I never said I was nice.
He held out his hand. “I’m Jeff.”
I placed my hand in his. “I’m Kylie.”
We stared a little longer, still holding hands when the Goddess cleared her throat. Jeff jumped back, shaking his head. “Oh, um, this is Danielle. My sister.”
Sister? Didn’t have to pull the bitch move after all. I held out my hand to Danielle and she took it, “Hi, Danielle. I’m Kylie.”
“Please call me Dani,” she said shaking my hand, looking between Jeff and me with a knowing smirk.
I returned my attention to Jeff for him to say something, but he stood staring. I thought for sure he would at least ask me out, but no such luck. I wasn’t opposed to making the first move, but something held me back, knowing he needed to make the first move. Disappointment filled me as I realized he wasn’t going to. “I guess I better get going. It was nice to meet both of you.”
I turned to walk away, when suddenly I heard, “Wait.”
The rest, as they say, is history. He asked me out and we were inseparable after that. We dated for a year before he proposed, then married a year later after I graduated. He constantly has girls staring at him and glaring at me because he never notices them. I’m all he sees.
I’m used to being ignored by women when he’s around. The hostess shows us to our table and smiles at Jeff as she walks away. Jeff helps me with my coat, holds out my chair, then goes around and sits on his side of the table. He takes my hand and gazes at me. “Have I told you how much I love you today? And how fucking amazing you look tonight?”
“Well, not in those exact words, but it never hurts to hear it again.”
“I can’t wait to get home and rip that dress off you. We’re skipping dessert.”
I lick and bite my bottom lip, the strawberry flavor from my lip gloss hitting my tongue. “Good,” I agree. “I actually have your favorite dessert at home.”
“Chocolate cheesecake?” he asks.
I open my mouth to respond when the waiter arrives for our drink order. We both order waters. It’s a Sunday night, so we have work in the morning, not that I could have alcohol anyway. The waiter goes over the specials and we place our dinner order, brisket tacos for me and fajita combo for Jeff.
“How is my crazy brother-in-law? Is he still with the love of his life, Amber?”
I laugh. “Tristan? Ha! Amber is old news. Now he’s onto his reason for breathing, Tiffany. He’s such a man whore.”
Tristan is my older brother by two years. He’s all the family I have left. Our mother died of breast cancer when I was eight. When I was 15, our dad died in a car accident on his way home. Since Tristan was only seventeen, we were put in foster homes for a year until he turned eighteen and petitioned to be my legal guardian. It was the worst year of my life with lots of emotional damage. Tristan held it together after losing Dad, so he could gain custody of me, but being forced into a foster home sent me on a downward spiral I was lucky to make it out of alive. Sex, drugs, sex, alcohol, sex. Once Tristan became my guardian, I straightened up until I turned eighteen, when I occasionally slipped into my old ways, but my life got incredibly better after I met Jeff. My last three years of college, I made the Dean’s List. Jeff has an amazing talent to make me feel better about myself and all the goals I want to accomplish.
Tristan was solid until I graduated high school. Then he went a little crazy being a carefree young adult and now he thinks he’s in love with every girl he sleeps with. He dates clingy girls needing protection. His security company protects people and it rolls over into his personal love life. His apartment is a revolving door of dumb bimbos. Jeff and I constantly make bets about how long his current love interest will last.
We finish up dinner, making small talk about my brother and his sister, Dani, who happens to be my best friend. Plans are made for spending Easter at Jeff’s parent’s house in Austin next month. They recently moved from Carmichael, which is just a few towns over from where I grew up. In college, Jeff always said he was thrilled to get away from the small town mentality. When I first moved away from my own small town, I had the same feelings, but recently I’ve found myself missing the familiarity. Jeff pays the check and we put on our coats to walk outside. Jeff gives the valet the ticket for his car. While we wait, Jeff pulls me in his arms.
“I love you so much, honey. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I can’t wait to grow old with you,” he whispers in my ear.
“I love…”
“Give me all your money,” I hear behind me. Jeff jerks me behind him quickly, creating a barrier between me and the man making threatening demands. I peak around to see a man in a mask pointing a gun at us.
“Listen man, I’ll give you my wallet and watch. Reaching in my back pocket for it,” Jeff responds calmly.
“The broad’s purse and jewelry, too!”
I take my earrings and necklace off. I look at my engagement and wedding rings and sigh. I’m handing them to Jeff as the valet pulls up in our car and jumps out with a smile on his face, unaware of the scene he is coming upon. I hear gun shots go off. Jeff pushes me to the ground and covers my body with his. Everything happens so quickly I don’t even realize Jeff isn’t talking. Someone pushes him off me and suddenly I’m kicked in my stomach and ribs. I curl myself in a ball to protect the baby. My head gets hit a couple times. My body screams in pain. Sirens in the distance hit my ears and everything stops.
“Jeff?”
My gaze moves to the last spot I saw Jeff. He’s reaching out for me with pain written all over his face. There is a dark red spot on his chest getting bigger as he lays there. I try to crawl to him, but things are fuzzy. Bright, flashing lights appear. An EMT runs to Jeff. They check his vitals. Jeff eyes meet mine and mouths “I’m sorry.” Then he closes his eyes.
“Jeff? Jeff? Wake up! Open your eyes!” I’m screaming still trying to crawl to him while another EMT tries to hold me back. That’s when I notice his chest isn’t moving.
“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”
Everything goes black.
“How is she?”
“…shock…broken ribs…. concussion…. couldn’t save the baby.
Love Me ~ Through the Storm Page 23