“Let’s save the phone calls for the morning, yeah?”
“You’re so smart, dimples,” he says as he lets me lead him to the couch.
“How’d you get here?”
“Cab. I sent him home though. He was getting sick of my shit.”
“I can’t imagine why.” I giggle as he lands his butt on the couch with a thud.
He closes his eyes and leans his head back against the cushion. “I just need to close my eyes for a little minute and then I wanna talk to you.”
I reach for a blanket on the arm of the couch and drape it over him. He won’t last another thirty seconds.
Whatever big talking plans he’s got — they’ll have to wait until morning.
“Dimples?” he says with a yawn.
“Yeah, dreamboat?”
“Lizzie was right, I should listen to you.”
I stare at him, unsure of what to say, not that it would matter anyway — he’s softly snoring now.
‘Lizzie was right’… I don’t know what that means, but my gut tells me it can’t be good.
I sit next to him on the couch and tug half his blanket over me. I was bone tired before he turned up here, but I doubt I’ll sleep a wink now.
I know I’m stupid for getting attached to a man who isn’t emotionally available, but it didn’t seem like I had a choice.
I guess this is the part where I have to accept that whatever will be, will be. It’s what I’ve thought I believed my entire life, but now that I’m here, in love with the most incredible man I’ve ever met, I really want him to love me back. I don’t want to hear him mention his ex’s name as he falls asleep.
I want him to be saying mine.
That’s the universe for you though, it’s got a mind of its own.
I sigh as I lay my head back and close my eyes. I beg for sleep to take me, but I know it probably won’t.
I listen to each inhale and exhale of his breath and hope that tomorrow he’ll wake up and it’ll be my name he says.
***
“Wake up, dimples,” I hear Jackson whisper.
I smile at the sound of his voice, even half asleep he still makes me smile.
“Five more minutes,” I answer sleepily.
I don’t know when I finally drifted off, but I feel like I’ve only had about thirty minutes sleep.
I’m shattered.
I spent all night thinking about Jackson and me, and what the hell we’re going to do.
“You can sleep when you’re dead.” He chuckles as he tries to pry my arms from my face.
“You and your snoring didn’t get that memo last night,” I grumble.
He snuggles his face into the crook of my neck and kisses me, just one soft kiss. “I’m sorry if I kept you up all night.”
I breathe in his scent. He smells like whiskey and fast food.
“You smell,” I murmur as he sits back up. “Like alcohol and shit food.”
I don’t know how he does it, fresh from sleep and no doubt sporting a hangover, he still looks sexy as hell — even if he doesn’t smell so great.
“I had a great pie last night.” He holds out the hem of his shirt and looks down it, presumably to see if he lost any down the front, and judging by the stain halfway down, he did.
“Oh, I bet it was the best pie you’ve ever tasted,” I say with a roll of my eyes.
“How’d you know?” He chuckles with a wink.
I almost sigh as I watch him smile at me. I don’t want to give him up. I don’t want to only be his friend.
“So, you went on another drinking bender…” I prompt.
He shoots me a sheepish look. “I seem to have a habit of drowning my sorrows at the bottom of a bottle.”
I nod. Can’t argue with the truth.
He fidgets nervously with the blanket I threw over us last night. And I can tell he’s got something more to say — whatever it was that he came here to tell me is about to come out.
“It happened again,” he says. “I went to see Lizzie.”
I knew this was coming, truly I did, yet I still feel the force of his words hitting me like a punch to the chest.
“She was home this time,” he carries on.
My heart rate has risen to a gallop, and nothing I can tell myself seems to be able to slow it down.
“And how did that go for you?” I manage to ask.
“It went well actually, really well.” His voice sounds serene, like he’s finally found peace, and with every word he speaks, my heart sinks a little further into my stomach.
“I’m happy for you,” I whisper, and suddenly I can’t be here a minute longer; I feel physically sick, like I might throw up.
I don’t know what I was thinking, telling Lizzie that she was stupid to choose Grant over Jackson. I practically put the idea of taking him back into her head.
“I’m sorry,” I say as I jump to my feet and attempt to bolt to my bedroom, but he’s too fast. He’s on his feet in a flash and catches my arm, pulling me to a halt.
“Dimples, what’s wrong?” he asks, his handsome face a mask of concern. “Why are you running?”
“I want you to be happy, Jackson, I do, but I can’t watch you go back to her, not when I love you the way that I do.”
The corners of his mouth turn up slowly, until a full smile graces his face.
“I knew you’d fall in love with me. I told you that you would.”
I sniff back the tears that are threatening to fall and pull my arm from his grasp. “Well congratulations, you were right after all. Are you happy now?”
I turn away from him and head for my room again so he can’t see the hurt in my eyes, but it feels wrong. I hate this version of myself. I’m okay with being vulnerable, but I don’t know how to deal with this.
Being in love hurts.
“Katie,” he says and his voice stops me in my tracks.
I feel him come up behind me, he’s standing so close I can feel the heat of his body through my clothes.
“I’m not going back to her, not in a million damn years.”
I hear his words, but they can’t be right. He’s still all messed up over her. He goes back to her constantly without even knowing he’s doing it.
I turn slowly around so I’m facing him. “You’re not?”
He shakes his head and runs his hand down my arm. “Not when I love you the way I do,” he says, mimicking my earlier sentiments.
I can almost feel my heart catapult from my stomach back up into my chest where it belongs.
The sick feeling disappears as his eyes search mine, saying everything I’ve ever wanted to hear from him without actually saying any words at all.
“You’re finally over her?” I ask in a whisper.
I want to believe it could be true, but I won’t until I hear the words from him.
“I stood in front of her and felt nothing,” he says in a voice that is so honest I’d never doubt it. “All I could think about was you. I’ve been over her ever since I met you — I just didn’t know it.”
“You love me?”
“I think I’ve loved you a long time, dimples, I’ve just been stupid and blind.”
“I’ve loved you a long time too,” I confess.
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I knew you weren’t ready to hear it.”
He shakes his head in disbelief.
“You are the most patient woman in the whole world,” he says as he wraps his arms around my waist and drags me against him.
“Tell me about it,” I say with a roll of my eyes. “But some things are worth waiting for.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Jackson
I lean down and kiss her, and every inch of my body is overcome with a feeling of relief.
This is where I’m meant to be.
She pulls back and grips my chin between her thumb and finger. “I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you need a shower… and to brush your teeth.”
I chuckle. �
��You’re telling me that whiskey and pie isn’t a winning flavour combination?”
“As tempting as it sounds, I’ll take peppermint.”
“Will you come home with me?” I ask as I brush the hair from her eyes. “I’ll get less stinky, and you can get less clothed while you wait.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “With pick-up lines of that calibre, how’s a girl meant to resist?”
I chuckle. “I’ll have to practice some new material on you.”
“I think you’ve already successfully picked me up,” she says, and I can hear the emotion in her voice. She really does love me.
“Let me grab some stuff.” She goes to walk away, but I grab her hand, halting her.
“Pack a bag.” I almost growl the words at her. “I’m not going to let you out of my sight for a while.”
“You kidnapping me, dreamboat?” she almost coos as she looks up at me.
“You’ll have Stockholm syndrome by the time I’m finished with you.”
She throws back her head and laughs, and it makes me so happy. “You are so strange.”
“I love you, dimples.”
“So you keep telling me.” She smirks, all sass and smart mouth as she pulls away.
I smack her ass and send her off in the direction of her bedroom, but she simply turns and walks backwards slowly while her eyes stay trained on me.
“Any weird little quirks you want to share with me before I commit to doing this thing with you?” she asks, her tone teasing.
“There is something.” I smirk. “I’m a closet Harry Potter fan.”
She gasps. “No!”
“Yes.” I chuckle.
“Wizards and shit?”
“My favourite character is Dobby.”
She groans. “What the hell is a Dobby?”
“Surely you’ve heard of Dobby?” I ask as I flop down on her couch.
She lingers in the doorway. “I’ve heard of Harry. And what was that ginger kid’s name, Rob? It’s Rob, right?”
I shake my head in disappointment. “I might have to rethink having a relationship with you after this.”
“Hey,” she raises her hands in surrender, “you’re a grown-ass man that likes movies about wizards, and I’m the disappointment here?”
I groan. “Please tell me that you’re aware they were books before movies?”
She shrugs at me. “I’m more of a film kinda girl.”
“Oh I know you are, I’ve seen your Netflix suggestions… You’re the one who should be embarrassed out of the two of us.”
She laughs and shakes her head at me. “If you say so, dreamboat.”
“Go and pack your shit already, before I decide we have nothing in common.” I grin at her.
“If only I owned a magic wand or some underwear with lightning bolts or something,” she mocks me as she disappears from sight.
***
“Who the fuck cuts onions like that? I mean, dude! Are you serious? You just slice them… Oh for fuck’s sake, give it here, I’ll do it myself. Go and peel the potatoes. Surely you can’t get that wrong.”
Katie covers her mouth and giggles.
I shake my head in amusement. I don’t know which one of my staff Bryn is yelling at this time, but he’s been watching too much Gordon Ramsey by the sounds.
“Watch your language in front of my girlfriend,” I tell him as I lead Katie into the kitchen by our joined hands.
I get a long, loud wolf whistle, courtesy of my best friend as a reply.
“Your girlfriend, you reckon?” Katie asks with one of her brows raised at me.
“Yeah. Girlfriend.” I grin at her. “If you’d had a wand or a wizard hat or something, I might have promoted you straight to fiancée.”
“You’re an asshole,” she says as she smacks me on the arm.
“So, you finally listened to me, huh?” Bryn says smugly as he looks back and forth between the two of us.
I raise my brows at him in question.
“You went to bed and didn’t do anything stupid last night,” he prompts.
I shoot him a sheepish look.
Of course I didn’t do that. That would have been the smart option, and if I’ve established one thing over the past twenty-four hours, it’s that I do things the hard way whenever and wherever possible.
Katie snorts. “Oh no, he did all the stupid things. Then turned up on my door step smelling like grease and booze with something super important to say… Then he fell asleep.”
“Oh man, c’mon!” He throws his hands in the air. “I gave you one instruction, Jack, one, and you say I’m the one who never listens.”
“Yeah, yeah, get to the good bit already.” I give her a gesture to wrap it up.
“Oh, you mean the part when you woke up and had figured out that you can’t live without me?” She scrunches up her nose and grins at me.
I shrug at Bryn. “Who knew? Turns out I love her.”
“I knew you liked that girl,” he says as he raises his hand in the air. “I fucking knew it — you’re a shitty liar.”
I glance around the room, and everyone else in the kitchen has their hands raised too. “I think we all knew, boss,” one of them calls out.
“Just me out of the loop then?” I look between them all. “Good. Excellent. That’s just great.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I think I might be in love with her too,” Bryn tells me as he makes heart eyes at my girl.
That’s when I know I’m finally over what happened with Lizzie — when a joke about my mate and my girlfriend makes me grin instead of wince.
“Get back to work before I cut you with your own knives,” I threaten half-heartedly.
“Feisty.” He chuckles. “Calm yourself, Casanova, it’s actually perfect that you’re here — both of you.” He looks at Katie. “That nightmare you call a best friend is coming in tonight to ‘confirm the menu’.” He does a scarily accurate impression of Tillie’s voice.
“Oh lord, that woman!” Katie groans. “We’ve confirmed the menu already.”
Bryn shrugs. “I think she’s just looking for a free feed from the hottest chef in town.” He winks.
“I’ll handle it,” I tell Katie, who is now wrestling her cell phone out of her jeans pocket.
“I’ll handle her just fine myself, thank you very much.” She pulls the phone out finally and holds it up triumphantly.
I snag it out of her hands before she has the chance to verbally abuse her best friend.
“I will handle it, dimples.”
She makes a humph noise and glares at me. “But it’ll make me feel better to yell at her.”
“That might be true, but I’m your boyfriend now, so it’s my job to make sure you don’t blow a gasket.”
She pouts.
I take her hand and tow her out of the kitchen. “Clay!” I call.
He appears after a few seconds.
“I need a table for four tonight please.”
He nods at me and disappears again.
“I’ve had sweet fuck-all sleep, dreamboat, I might kill her.”
I wrap my arms around her and breathe in the scent of her perfume. “I’ll make sure you can’t reach the knives.”
“You promise?”
I kiss the top of her head. “If I’ve managed this long without stabbing Bryn, the least you can do is not kill Tillie when she’s only weeks away from being married. Imagine the news headlines.”
“You’re right,” she says into the front of my shirt where she’s buried her face. “Murdered bride-to-be doesn’t read well.”
“Especially when the bridesmaid did it,” I chip in.
She sighs and looks up at me with her big dark eyes. “I’ve got something to ask you.”
“I’m not killing her for you if that’s where you’re going with this.” I chuckle. “I’m too pretty for prison.”
She swats at my chest. “Not that. I wanted to ask you to be my plus one to the wedding.”
�
�You’re inviting me to the wedding from hell?”
“Bite your tongue, the wedding will be flawless — covered in flowers — but flawless, it’s just the bride you’ve got to look out for… and if she doesn’t calm down by then I’ll have you spike her drink with a sedative anyway… so, problem solved.”
“You’re crazy.”
“And you’re coming with me to the wedding.”
I cup her face in my hands and lean in to brush my lips against hers softly. “Maybe I could make an appearance, since I own the place and all.”
She pushes up to her tip toes, and her lips graze my ear, making me shudder. “I’ll make it worth your while,” she whispers.
I don’t know how she does that. I had her in the shower upstairs no more than an hour ago, but just like that I’m ready to go again.
If her best friend and this damn wedding doesn’t turn out to be the death of me, then I think this woman just might finish the job herself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Katie
“If she pushes my buttons tonight, I swear I’ll slap her,” I grumble as I pull out my chair at the table Jackson arranged for us.
I’m exhausted, thanks to the gorgeous man next to me. Frankly, he’s lucky he’s so god damn sweet and good looking right now because I’m not one of those people who can deal with getting no sleep. I’m a seven hours kind of girl. Five or six at an absolute push.
“I’ll push your buttons later,” Jackson tells me with a wink.
He waits for his lame joke to do its job and make me laugh, and it does.
It’s really hard not to smile and laugh with him around. I hope that never changes between us.
“The eagle has landed,” he whispers in my ear as he wraps his arm around me and pulls me in close.
“Well this looks awfully cosy.” Tillie beams down at us as she and Reece reach the table hand in hand.
Jackson chuckles. “Have you met my girlfriend? She’s extremely tired and she’s also entirely out of fucks.”
“Ohhh girrrrl,” Tillie cries as I roll my eyes at Jackson. “It’s about time you two got your shit together.”
Mr. February: A One Night Stand Romance (Calendar Boys Book 2) Page 11
