by Kaylea Cross
Tiana smiled and looked back at her daughter. “I know. And it’s mutual.”
“She’s sure attached to Walter.”
“Tell me about it. She asks me every day when she can get a dog of her own.”
“Any chance?”
“I’m softening, but don’t you dare tell her that.”
Molly held up a hand. “Cross my heart.”
Tiana turned toward her more. “How are you feeling these days? Any heartburn yet?”
“Oh my God, yes,” Molly said with a roll of her eyes. “I hate it.”
“Just wait until the third trimester when your stomach’s shoved halfway up your throat,” Tiana teased. “You’ll be popping antacids like candy.”
“Can’t wait,” Molly said dryly. “Right now, sleep is the thing bothering me most. Or the lack thereof. I can’t remember the last time I slept through until morning, and it’s not because of my bladder.”
“I think it’s nature’s way of prepping us for the sleep deprivation of having a newborn.”
“Could be.” Molly leaned back in the chair and put a hand to her adorable baby bump.
Tiana secretly envied her. She’d loved being able to rub her pregnant belly and feel the baby moving inside her.
“How are you doing, anyway? Last time we talked, you were pretty hard on yourself.”
She shrugged, her insides tightening. “I’m okay.” She deserved to be hard on herself after what she put Ella through. Didn’t matter if it was unintentional or not, fact was, it was her responsibility to protect Ella, and her daughter had suffered because of Tiana’s poor decisions.
“You know what?” Molly said, settling a comforting arm across Tiana’s stiff shoulders. “As someone who is also way too hard on herself, I don’t believe that for a second. And you know what I’ve decided? At some point we’ve got to learn to give ourselves some slack.”
Tiana huffed out a grudging laugh. “You’re not wrong. I—” She broke off, her entire body tensing when she spotted that big auburn-haired Scottish guy from the other night walking away with Ella. They were deep in conversation about something as they wandered away from the party together, around the far side of the house.
Tiana jumped up without thinking and hurried after her daughter. “Ella,” she called out sharply, her heart drumming in her ears. People nearby had stopped talking and were staring at her but she didn’t care, her only concern for Ella.
Her daughter stopped near the far corner of the house and looked back at her with a puzzled look on her face. “What, Mama?” The man—Aidan or Mac or whatever the hell his name was—was staring at her too, his expression unreadable.
“Where are you going?” she asked Ella, pushing down the fear rising inside her.
“I was bored, so we were just going to get Walter and take him for a walk up the road.”
Tiana shook her head, willing her heart to slow down. “You and I can walk him together in a little bit. Come back to the table, we’re going to eat dessert soon.”
“But I want to—”
“Now, Ella.”
“Do as your mother says, Ella,” Mac/Aidan said quietly, watching Tiana as he urged Ella forward with a gentle hand on her back. Tiana wanted to rush over and slap his hand away, hating that he’d touched her daughter. “This is my fault, I should have checked with her first.”
Damn right you should have, because I would have said no way. She stared right back at him, chin raised, telling him without words that as far as he was concerned, her daughter was off-limits, charming accent and being a friend of Beckett’s or not.
“Good girl,” she said as Ella came to her, relief hitting her as she turned around and walked back to their table. She could feel Mac/Aidan’s eyes on her the whole time but she dismissed him, not caring what he thought.
Molly was watching them too, mild shock on her face. “Everything okay?” she asked when Tiana sat down and pulled Ella into her lap.
“Yes, fine,” she answered, her cheeks starting to warm. Okay, maybe she’d overreacted. Maybe she’d just made an ass of herself and caused a mini scene with Beckett’s friend, but too bad.
She’d made too many mistakes already because she was a terrible judge of men. For Ella’s sake, she was going to ensure she never made another.
Chapter Nineteen
Molly barely ate anything at dinner. By the time the speeches and toasts were done, she was feeling emotionally fragile and half desperate to escape into the house and up to her room. But she couldn’t leave yet, not until the dancing was done, the garter was thrown, and the bride and groom left for their hotel.
Jase had barely said two words to her the entire day, speaking to her only when necessary. The tension between them was worse than ever, and she was near her breaking point.
Had anyone noticed? Sierra and Beckett seemed too lost in each other to pick up on it, and Molly hoped they hadn’t. She didn’t want anything to put a damper on their day, and she was good enough at hiding her feelings that hopefully no one had sensed any discomfort or tension between her and Jase.
It was driving her crazy, constantly on her mind. She missed the connection they used to have. Yearned for more of what that kiss had promised. She missed him.
Glancing down at the mound of her almost six-month belly, she thought about the life she and her child would have together. A life without Jase, at least without him being one of her closest and most trusted friends.
The future seemed duller, colder because of that. Not to mention lonely.
She stole a glance down the head table where Jase was seated at the end beside Noah. To her knowledge he’d avoided looking at her since the reception began.
She secretly drank in the strong lines of his profile, hungry for the sight of him after wrestling with her feelings all day long. He was the kind of man to stand by his commitments, and he’d made his feelings for her clear before. He would be an incredible father one day and there was nobody she trusted more, alongside Beckett and Sierra.
Much as it scared her, Molly wanted him. And she didn’t want to be alone anymore, she’d been that way for too long. Somehow, she had to find the courage to risk her heart again, risk losing Jase forever if things didn’t work out between them, and tell him how she felt. It was time she needed to learn to live again, woman up and take a chance.
She clapped along with everyone else as Beckett and Sierra cut the cake and shared another kiss, her pulse beating faster now that she’d decided to settle things between her and Jase one way or another. But just as she pushed her seat back to go over and talk to him, the DJ announced the first dance.
Beckett led Sierra out onto the center of the lawn, lit up by strands of lights and lanterns hanging from the trees. The first notes of the slow song Sierra and Beckett had chosen filled the evening air.
Molly turned to look for Noah, since the maid of honor was supposed to dance with the best man. She spotted Poppy standing at the edge of the grass with Jase, waiting for their cue to join the bride and groom.
“Hey,” Noah said, coming up beside her to put a hand on her waist and lead her toward the others. “Great day, huh?”
“Amazing.” Her eyes stayed on Jase with every step, but he never looked her way.
At their cue, Jase tugged Poppy out onto the dance floor, and Molly followed Noah. She reached up to grasp his offered left hand and settled her other on his shoulder, making small talk and smiling as they danced with the rest of the bridal party and the guests looked on.
Noah responded to everything she said, polite and charming, but she noticed his gaze kept wandering to his girlfriend and that he was gradually maneuvering them toward Jase and Poppy. When they got close enough, he leaned his head to the side and said to the other couple, “You don’t mind if we change partners so I can dance with my sunflower, do you?”
Molly stopped dead, her gaze snapping to Jase. He’d gone still too, and when their eyes met her stomach balled up at the resignation she read there. Not only
did he not want to be around her, he dreaded it.
His lips quirked in a smile at Noah. “Of course not.” He handed Poppy over to him, and Molly swore he squared his shoulders before coming to stand in front of her. They stared at each other for several awkward heartbeats, then he held out his hand, palm up.
Swallowing, she laid hers on top, her throat thickening, and ordered herself not to tear up. All her muscles went taut when he settled his warm palm over the small of her back, as though touched by a live wire. That simple touch was like sensual fire against her skin, the imprint of his palm and each long finger clear and distinct.
Her lower belly flipped and her nipples tightened in a rush as the instant connection between them hit her. She stared at the base of his throat just above the black bow tie he wore, her heart thudding a painful rhythm against her ribs.
She didn’t dare speak, afraid she would blurt out something crazy and stupid. I want you. Please say you still want me back.
Instead she focused on his hands, the tempting lure of his body heat as he moved them to the music. A gentle sway, the sure, firm pressure of his hands guiding her.
He’d always been an amazing dancer. She used to love dancing with him whenever they went to a bar or club together with Carter, and even that day in the ER in front of Mrs. Wong. Back when they’d been close and she’d thought nothing could ever change that.
Now it was absolute torture. Being inches from him, breathing in his delicious scent and being achingly aware of every square inch of him. Right in front of her. Touching her. Yet completely out of reach.
She couldn’t ignore the effect he had on her, in a totally different way than Carter had back when he’d first captured her attention. Jase was far more subtle, with a simmering undercurrent of sensuality she ached to experience firsthand. She wanted his hands and mouth all over her. Wanted to feel his heat and power as he held her in place and sank into her. Filling her, making her his. Taking away this terrible ache he’d created inside her.
His quiet, solid presence had her wanting to lean into him, to feel his strength and care wrapping around her once more. To know that it wasn’t too late. That there might still be a chance for them.
Her throat tightened, the searing lump stuck in it all but choking her.
She couldn’t stand that he was seeing someone else. It was killing her. He should be hers, dammit.
But when the song ended, Jase briefly paused to look down at her, gave a tight smile and let go. “Thanks for the dance.” Before she could summon the words she needed to say, he was striding off toward the crowd gathered at the edge of the dance floor.
Tears stung the backs of her eyes, his name sticking in her throat. She wasn’t going to follow him or call him back and risk making an ass of herself in front of everyone. She’d wait until later when she could get him alone.
An upbeat song started up. The guests all rushed onto the dance floor, couples and groups of friends, all having a great time.
Molly moved out of their way and endured the rest of the reception, breathing a sigh of relief once everything finally wrapped up. When all the guests began to leave, she walked Ella and Tiana up to the lane. As she was saying goodnight, a red car parked across the road. A pretty young woman in a blue dress got out as the driver left, her face lighting up with a smile as she spotted someone in the dispersing crowd.
“You made good time,” a familiar masculine voice said.
A sharp pain twisted inside Molly when she saw Jase walking toward the newcomer. They were both smiling, clearly lost in each other.
The woman he was seeing. He’d brought her here as a date.
Which meant things were a hell of a lot more serious between them than Molly had realized.
She whirled around and quickly retreated back to the house, unable to stand there and watch while the remnants of her heart were ground into dust.
It seemed that life had just dealt her yet another crushing blow.
She was too late. Jase had already moved on.
****
The rest of the reception went by way too damn slowly.
Standing at the edge of the lawn, Jase resisted the urge to check his watch for the tenth time as the evening finally came to a close almost an hour later than Beckett had planned.
The groom had just crawled under the skirt of Sierra’s dress to retrieve the garter with his teeth and fling it over his shoulder. Noah had caught it and immediately rushed over to slip it on Poppy’s wrist while he kissed the breath out of her and everyone cheered.
Jase gave it another month, tops, before the sheriff popped the question.
That thought only made him feel more alone, even though Lauren was meeting him soon. And even still, Jase found himself preoccupied by thoughts about Molly, glancing around for her.
Holding her, even just by the hand and the small of her back had been the most exquisite torture, breathing in her familiar scent while all the feelings he’d been trying to suppress had come roaring painfully back to the surface. She’d left the lawn after their dance and hadn’t come back, even though she loved to dance. Now she was over in the far corner, talking with Tiana and Ella.
She laughed at whatever Tiana said, and something twisted deep in his chest. She was so beautiful it made him ache.
The party broke up minutes after Sierra and Beckett left. Molly was nowhere to be seen, and Noah and Poppy were headed for their car with his parents.
Lauren was just crossing the lane when he got to it. He didn’t feel like going out now, but he’d promised so he put on a smile. “You made good time.”
“I may have paid the driver extra to step on it. And wow, you are gorgeous in that tux.”
“Thanks,” he said, feeling awkward.
She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm as he led her toward his truck, smiling up at him. Yeah, she definitely wanted to be more than friends and would be expecting him to make a move tonight.
It made him dread the rest of the night, because he had to end things. He couldn’t see her anymore, that much was clear.
He wasn’t over Molly, and from where he stood, never would be. He’d felt like he was about to come out of his skin for those few minutes during the dance, touching her, his entire body flooded by need and an overwhelming possessiveness.
Spending any more time with Lauren when she clearly wanted more than friendship was wrong. It wasn’t fair to her.
Lauren leaned into him slightly, the lush weight of her breasts pressing into his side. “Where should we go with you all dressed up? Maybe out for a drink?”
“Sure.” He didn’t push her away. He didn’t want to hurt her, she was great. Just not the one for him.
He put her in his truck, shutting the door before she could try to kiss him, and immediately drove away. She tried to initiate conversation several times, but he could only summon a half-hearted response, too busy figuring out how he was going to tell her.
She was quiet when he parked in front of her house after taking her for a drink at a bar in an upscale hotel on the water, waiting for him to look at her. Searching his eyes, she smiled tentatively and leaned forward across the cab to kiss him.
He gently caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, at least having the balls to look her in the eye before he dropped a kiss on her cheek instead and pulled back.
Hurt flashed across her face as his meaning registered. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.
Shit, he felt bad about this. “I can’t give you what you want,” he said, echoing Molly’s exact words to him in her note. “I’m sorry.”
A heavy beat of silence passed. “Is it Molly?”
Taken aback by her astuteness, he lowered his hand and gave a grudging nod. He owed her the truth at least. “Yeah.” It had always been Molly.
“I wondered. You get this…look on your face whenever you talk about her.”
He covered a wince. He hadn’t realized he’d brought Molly up that often, but if Lauren had picked up o
n the intense connection between him and Molly, then others would have too. “I’m really sorry.” He meant it. Wished with all his heart he could have fallen for her and let go of Molly.
Her smile was sad. “Me too. I hope it works out for you. And I hope she knows how lucky she is.”
Jase gave a tiny, stiff smile, not bothering to dissuade her of her assumption that he and Molly would ever get together.
“Well.” She gathered her purse, opened the door and paused to look back at him, the dome light shining on her hair and pretty face, and he wondered what the hell was wrong with him. “Thanks for the ride home.”
“Of course.”
He didn’t walk her to her door, but waited until she was safely inside. Letting out a long exhalation, he pulled out his phone to do what needed to be done.
Sever the cord.
He’d saved the most recent text from the guy from the private security company who had been trying to recruit him for contract work, offering Jase an interview whenever he wanted one.
He stared at the message for a moment, though he’d already made up his mind about this two hours ago. Staying here near Molly, watching her raise her baby and move on to some other guy eventually? He’d rather take a hollow point round to the chest and pour acid into the wound. It would hurt less than living here and having a front row seat to watch from while she moved on with her life.
Once Molly was safe from the threat hanging over her, he needed a fresh start, somewhere far away from her. There was no other way.
If the job’s still available, I’d like to schedule that interview, he typed back, and hit send.
If the company wanted him immediately, he’d work out Molly’s security details with the other guys. Maybe he’d even give Beckett his notice once he and Sierra got back from their honeymoon late next week, depending on how things went.
Having made the decision, his heart was surprisingly heavy on the drive back to Crimson Point. All things considered, he was going to miss this place, and his friends. Most of all Molly, but with any luck that was a wound time and distance would heal eventually.
