In so many ways, when I’m with him, I see pieces of Dave and Holden that I always wished he had, but had never seen until we started dating. I had always let myself believe those tender parts of him were reserved for friends and not lovers.
I had gotten lost in my thoughts and was snapped back to reality when Mrs. McMillan threw open the door with a loud cheer. “I thought you’d never get here!” She reached out for me, tearing me away from Joey’s hold and into her arms.
Mrs. McMillan is a tall, statuesque woman, with long blonde hair that looked as if she just came from a salon. Even in casual distressed jeans and a light blue cardigan, she looked like someone famous. She released me and smiled from ear to ear. “Sweet Kat. How are you, dear? Are you getting ready for the school year to be over?”
“Mom, how about we get inside before you start drilling my girl?” Joey leaned into his mother and kissed her forehead. The way she looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with love and admiration, wasn’t surprising. Joey’s a son any mother should be proud of.
I looked up at Mrs. McMillan and smiled. “Thank you for having me tonight, Mrs. McMillan. You have such a lovely home.”
Before I could say any more, she took my hand and led me through the grand foyer. “First of all, call me Angie, and don’t you dare call Don Mr. McMillan. He says it makes him feel old. So we’ll also not address the fact that he really is old.” She laughed playfully and I noticed her smile is just like Joey’s, so sincere and happy.
Just being there with Joey in this intimate situation gave me a peek into a life that most of us rarely saw. The night was filled with little unexpected surprises about his family that I’d never known. I’d always known that although Joey didn’t see his parents often, but didn’t realize they spoke every day, even now that he’s a grown man. I also didn’t expect Helen to join us at the table after she served the food, seeming more like the matriarch than Angie in many ways. I’d always known of Joey’s close relationship with her, but hadn’t expected his parents to have the same affinity for her. Seeing them all together that way, it was clear to see why. She was as loving and loyal as they were with Joey. She clearly loved and cared for Joey and it was comforting to see how much his parents appreciated her for that, treating her like family instead of hired help.
The most surprising thing I learned, however, was that Joey’s a trained classical pianist. I haven’t seen him play anything on his piano in his home since we were all much younger, and even then, it was never anything as impressive as Mozart or Beethoven. While they all sat and chatted about his disdain for practicing growing up even though he had a gift for music, I remembered times when the guys would be drunk at a late night party and Joey would hop on and pound out some rock song, but never anything classical. Joey’s fondness of music made more sense now. He always said he mostly liked to listen to music he could feel. I can only imagine how much he feels when he plays something with as much heart behind it as classical music has. The rest of the dinner I could think of only one thing: having him play for me, and then making love to him on the piano.
The way Joey watched me through dinner couldn’t be mistaken for anything but pride. Neither of his parents hid the fact that they were not only overjoyed to see Joey settling in with someone, but that they were also glad it was me. Throughout dinner, his hand was draped around me, only leaving its place to cut his steak or asparagus. I’d never thought of Joey as an affectionate person, but I love the possessive way he’s always touching me when we’re together, as if I might disappear into thin air.
Our drive home was a welcomed quiet; the cool night air settled the emotions that were beginning to overtake me. My parents would be coming down in a few days and be seeing Joey and me together as a couple for the first time, and I have no doubt their encounter won’t be quite as pleasant. It worries me how they will treat him. They’ve always had a soft spot for Kevin, but that’s only because I’d always been too embarrassed to admit to them the many times he cheated on me. We don’t have the close relationship that the others have with their parents. Mine always kept me at arm’s length, as if parenting were just another one of their jobs that were necessary in life.
When Joey turned the corner to our street, my heart skipped a beat, and the familiar ache that always came when I knew we’d be parting ways seeped through me. I held on a little tighter, even though he’d slowed to a crawl down the empty street. I could feel the beating of his heart pick up pace when I slid my hands under his shirt and up to his well-defined pecs. His heart felt as if it was about to burst through his chest when I gently pressed my nails into his chest, wishing so badly that I could kiss his neck if it wasn’t for the damn helmet.
He pulled into my driveway and put down the kickstand, but left his motor running. I couldn’t hide the look of disappointment when he lifted my helmet off my head.
“What’s the pout for, Kit Kat?” His look of concern melted my heart a little more.
“Come inside with me.” I was breathless with desire for him and didn’t want to wait another minute to show him rather than tell him that I was in love.
Joey’s frown answered my plea before he could say anything. “You have no idea how badly I want to, babe. But I promised Helen I’d come back and help her with a few things.” He brushed my hair behind my ear, leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “How about tomorrow night?”
I could tell he had no idea that when I invited him inside, it was to give myself to him, and I don’t know why I’d expected him to considering I invite him over almost every night without a promise of making love. I still haven’t even told him how much he means to me. I didn’t think; I just let my heart guide me when his intense blue eyes met mine. “I love you, Joey.”
His casual expression turned serious, and for a moment I thought I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. I knew I should have waited for him to say it first.
All of my doubts were quickly erased when he hopped off his motorcycle in one quick movement, lifting me up with him, and kissed me more passionately than ever before. He carried me over to the dark side of my house and pressed me up against the cool wood. His hands tangled through my hair; he kissed me as if it was the one thing he needed to survive. Even though my eyes were closed, I could’ve sworn there were fireworks exploding all around us. The heat that was building between us was far too powerful to be contained. I was beginning to think that he would forget all about his promise to Helen and take me inside to prove to me all of my fantasies about him were true. But before I could have another thought, he pulled away and took my face in his hand, directing my gaze only to his. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that.” He gave me the devilish smile that I love and kissed me quickly three more times. “I love you, Kit Kat. Always have and always will.”
Right there and then, my heart became his, and it’s the first time I didn’t worry about it being broken. I knew Joey would keep it safe.
Joey and I haven’t spoken since last night, just a few texts with sweet songs attached for me to listen to, and I actually allowed myself to realize that he sent these songs to me for one reason: to show me the many ways he loves me.
I hop in my car and head over to Jess’s place for our final fittings before the wedding. She’s been surprisingly mellow about the details of the wedding thus far, but Cam warned me that she’s had a few meltdowns the past few days, so I knew I needed to be prepared for anything—meaning I have two bottles of pinot noir in my trunk ready to go in case of an emergency. Every time I pull down the cul de sac where Gage’s bed and breakfast sits, I’m filled with hope. Jess lost everything when Dave died. They loved each other in a way that seemed irreplaceable. I thought it would be impossible for her to ever find anyone who could ever come close to measuring up after he died. But Gage came into her life at the perfect time and is someone who could understand her pain and give her the time to heal in all the ways that she needed to. Gage is as close to perfect as any person can get, and Jess deserves som
eone like him to give her her happily ever after. He was patient and understanding with Jess when Dave died. He understood her loss in a way that none of us could, and was the perfect fit to heal her shattered heart. He’s loved her spunky, crazy personality from the get-go, and has always respected and honored Dave’s memory. This wedding is going to be an emotional one, but one that I think will have everyone believe in the power of true love.
Charlotte and Sophie are running around in front of Gage’s house next to the bed and breakfast, and Ellie calls over to me from the porch of the restaurant, waving hello while she holds up a picture she drew. I get out of the car and wave over to the girls and wonder where Holden or Gage are. They were supposed to be on kid duty while we did our fittings and are nowhere to be seen.
“Kat!” I hear Joey’s deep, raspy voice call my name and I think I’m imagining things until I see him emerge from the restaurant with the guys. I didn’t expect to see him until later today and his presence makes my insides do somersaults.
I can’t hide my smile when he hops over the fence of the porch and stalks towards me with eyes filled with desire. He doesn’t pause when he reaches me; instead, he lifts me up onto the hood of my car and kisses me wholly on the lips. I could explode with pleasure just by the greedy way he’s kissing me. Any hesitation or worry we had about each other or the direction of our relationship seems to have been erased with our confessions last night.
Gage and Holden holler comments at us to get a room and that children are watching, making us both giggle through our kiss.
“I can’t stop thinking about being with you tonight. If you don’t let me have you soon, I may go crazy.”
I slap at his chest, even though I feel exactly the same way and nibble at his lip seductively before I pull away completely. “If you play the piano for me tonight, you may just get your wish.” I try to tease him even though I’m pretty sure he knows he can put on The Simpsons and make me grilled cheese, and I’d still let him have all of me.
“I’ll fucking play you anything you want, as long as the rest of the night, my hands are only on you.” His eyes meet me with a heated dominance that has my insides doing backflips again.
I roll my eyes and bite at the corner of my lip, only because I know it drives him crazy. “Sounds like a deal to me. See you tonight.” I hop up on my toes and kiss his cheek, and the way we smile at each other makes me feel as if we are kids experiencing love for the first time rather than adults, well into our mature lives.
I turn and make my way up to Jess’s house, and ignore the comments Gage and Holden continue yelling down at Joey—surely for my pleasure as well. All of these years, it’s been Joey and I picking on the others for their affectionate ways, and I have to say it feels better than I imagined to be on the other side of things. When I was in my relationship with Kevin, I felt as if I was always walking on eggshells, trying to be the perfect girlfriend, trying to make him want me more than any other—but there were always others. When I started dating Joey, I thought I’d be plagued with insecurities about myself because of his promiscuous past, but instead, I feel more solid and more secure than ever in my life.
When I walk through the door to Jess’s house, I pause to look at all the pictures they have displayed in the entryway. The bright blue walls are both soft and welcoming, accented with pale white crown molding that frames the many happy pictures of their family and friends. At the center of it all is a picture of Dave and Gage’s deceased wife, Cassie, together with the happiest smiles I’ve ever seen. It’s strange to think about the fact that they were all friends in college, and that Cassie and Dave lost their lives far too young. It’s like their lives were meant to cross paths so that Gage and Jess would find each other when they needed it most.
“Can you please keep things PG around the kids next time?” Cam walks down the hallway, carrying a glass of champagne. “You’ll need this. She’s on a rampage,” Cam whispers as she hands me the wine, and turns back towards Jess’s office and waves me along with an apologetic glance. “The dresses are back here…” She clears her throat, trying to stop herself from bursting out laughing and takes a sip of her drink. “There seems to have been a slight miscommunication with the color.”
“The flower samples are all fucked up, too. They fucking cut the long fucking stem roses I ordered and put them in plastic holders. Who the fuck does that?” Jess’s voice shrieks down the hall and with the amount of F-bombs she’s dropping, I know things aren’t good. I take Cam’s advice and down the glass of champagne before I turn the corner to see my cousin, slumped on the floor and surrounded by florescent green pools of fabric, drinking champagne straight from the bottle. She’s holding what is most definitely a bouquet of white roses attached to some sort of plastic disk with a handle. I can only laugh at the sight before me. This is like something out of some romantic comedy.
“What am I going to do, you guys?” Jess asks, completely defeated.
“Well, the flowers are just a sample, so nothing’s final. I’ll call the florist and have them fix it. I promise.” I walk over to Jess and hold up one of the dresses. I laugh again, but this time they both can’t help but laugh along.
“It’s pretty awful, Jess. I love you, but there’s no way I’m wearing that.” Cam looks away from the fluorescent dresses as if they’re too bright for her eyes.
“I wouldn’t ever think of asking you to wear this catastrophe. But what do we do now? Even if I found something for you two to wear, what about Charlotte and the girls? It took forever to find dresses they liked.”
I lift up one of the dresses and look at the fabric, trying to think of anything that can be done to make these dresses look like something other than nuclear waste.
“I’ll dye them black. I know it’s not perfect, but these dresses are still our sizes and the styles we wanted. I’ll take them all home tonight and dye them, and can have them at the tailor to be steamed and pressed tomorrow so that they are all ready to go for the wedding. Problem solved.”
Jess holds the bottle up to me with regret. “I can’t have you do all that. You have school tomorrow.”
“I already took it off so I could spend the day with you. It’s no problem at all.” In the back of my mind, I can think of only one thing. I won’t be able to have the night with Joey that I’d planned.
“Then how about I handle the florist, and you take care of the dresses.” Cam walks over and grabs Jess’s hand, pulling her to stand with us. “We got this. Now let’s try these on to make sure they didn’t mess up the sizes, too, and get on to eating some of that grub you have out there.”
Jess has been so secretive about her dress that she still won’t let even me and Cam see it. She’s keeping it hidden away until she walks down the aisle. She says she’s never loved another piece of clothing more, and that’s saying a lot for a woman who has a hundred pairs of shoes.
Jess seems to relax when she sees that other than the color, the dresses are beautiful and fit the two of us perfectly. “So Kat, how are things with you and our Joey?” She helps me out of my dress that luckily still fits, even after all of the pigging out I’ve been doing lately with Joey.
I know I’m blushing when they both squeal and bounce up and down. “Things are good.” I know that isn’t even close to the answer they’re waiting for.
“Kat, don’t be a brat. Spill it. I’ve never seen him so whipped—it’s honestly pathetic. You’ve turned Joey into a total lovesick puppy dog just like Cam said you would.” Jess playfully pouts, thankfully getting out of her bad mood. One of the things I love most about Jess is her ability to always try to find the bright side. Her rainbows and butterflies, she calls it.
My heart flutters, just thinking of how things are between Joey and me. They’re perfect. Too perfect, but I don’t question or doubt it. I’ve been surrounded by perfect relationships for most of my life, and although they’ve all been scarred with heartbreak and pain, they’ve also come out stronger and happier than ever before.
“We’re pretty great right now. There’s so much more to him then he lets on. I was too scared of having him break my heart when we first started dating that I’ve been honestly surprised by how easy it’s been to trust him. Even knowing his past, I completely trust him. I never once trusted Kevin as much as I do him, even before he cheated on me. I feel myself when I’m with him, and I like how that feels.”
“Kevin was such a douchebag, Kat. You deserve someone who will make you forget that your heart was ever even broken in the first place.” Cam pops a chip into her mouth and leans back in her seat, clearly proud of her insightful comment.
“Joey makes me see what I’ve missed out on all these years while I’ve tried to make things work with Kevin, and I don’t want to waste another second without him. He’s much more caring and patient than I ever thought he’d be.”
“By patient, are you saying you still haven’t boned yet?” Jess jokes.
“Really, Jess, how many words do you have for sex?”
Even though it’s a rhetorical question, she responds. “I’ve never counted. There’s my personal favorite, fuck, um…nail, screw…”
“Jessica, stay focused.” Cam turns back to me as Jess pushes her teasingly. “So are you guys in love or what?”
I smile and they both squeal again. “He makes me happy, you guys. He makes me feel loved.”
They both squeal again and hug me tightly. “All of our brainwashing all these years has finally worked. Our circle is complete,” Jess jokes before she pulls back and looks at me seriously. “Joey’s always had the biggest heart in the group, Kat. You know that. He was my rock when Dave died, and he deserves someone like you.”
“Thanks, Jess. We’re happy right now. I just hope it lasts.”
Joey
“Take Me to Church”
I grab a bottle of wine and head over to Holden’s after Kat breaks the news that the romantic night I had planned is ruined. Tonight was supposed to be the night that I would finally have the chance to worship every inch of her naked body, but now it wasn’t going to happen. Even though I’m bummed that Kat has to spend the night fixing her and Cam’s bridesmaid dresses, I appreciate what she’s doing for Jess. Both Jess and Cam have their kids to take care of on top of getting all the crap they have to get done before the wedding completed. Kat stepped in because she knew she could do it, and cared more about Jess’s happiness than her own. I swear, if Kat and I ever get married, I’m making sure they all pay me back big time.
His Jar of Hearts (A Broken Fairy Tale #3) Page 9
