After a moment, they pulled away from each other. Danielle felt slightly dazed. Jack knew how to kiss. She couldn’t help but imagine his lips gliding across other parts of her body. Her whole body was buzzing with energy as she looked up at him. He had a smile on his lips and he moved to kiss her on the cheek.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said before he turned and walked back to his car.
Danielle stood there for a moment longer and watched him. He turned to wave one last time before he got in his car and drove away.
********
“So, how was the date with Jack?” Danielle’s friend Alice asked when she showed up at the bar halfway through the night.
Danielle was aware of the grin that hadn’t left her face, so it was obvious that the date had gone well. “I don’t want to speak too soon, but I honestly think he and I might have a future.” He was so genuine. Not at all what I expected. And when we talked, it was so natural, once we got started, it wasn’t awkward at all. We’re both looking for the same thing, we’re both hard-working, and well, I think there’s hope for us.”
“I’ve honestly never seen you this way before. You’re almost giddy,” Alice said.
“I don’t know when I’ll hear from him, but I have hope that he liked me as much as I liked him.” Danielle shrugged, trying and failing to talk herself into acting calmer about the situation. She really didn’t want to get her hopes up only to have them let down, but she had a really good feeling about their date.
“Did he say anything about seeing you again?” Alice asked.
“He did, he said we’ll meet up for dinner soon,” Danielle said joyfully, “it’s my turn to pick the place.”
“Well, let’s hope he sticks to his word,” her friend replied.
“Please don’t bum me out about this. I literally just went on my first date in years. Let me be excited for a while before you ruin it,” Danielle pleaded as she poured another customer a drink.
Danielle was so good at her job she didn’t need to look at every move she took. She had everything memorized in her mind. She could remember customers' orders easily as well as the names of all her regulars. She took pride in making everyone feel welcome and at home while they were in her bar. Most of her advertising was done through word of mouth.
“I don’t mean to bum you out, I just care about you and want what’s best for you. If this guy treats you well then I’m all for him, but I’ll need to meet him and see if he’s right for you,” Alice said.
“Oh, so you’re going to choose who I date now?” Danielle questioned as she went back over to Alice’s side of the bar.
“No, of course not. But let’s face it, you haven’t been a good judge of character in the past. You need someone to look out for you,” Alice replied.
Danielle could appreciate her friend, and the way she wanted to make sure she didn’t get hurt, but she also didn’t want to spiral into negative thoughts about Jack. He’d given her no reason to do so, and she didn’t want to sabotage their relationship before it even started.
“I’m a big girl, Alice. I can look after myself,” Danielle insisted.
“That may be true, but it won’t stop me from scaring away the scumbags,” Alice said with venom in her voice.
Danielle wasn’t surprised by her attitude. Alice had a very bad perception of men. Danielle had seen Alice get heartbroken time and time again, and it had caused her to develop a hatred towards men. It wasn’t a good look on her, but as much as Danielle tried to make her see sense, she never agreed.
“I know you’ll like him when you meet him, so get over yourself and just be happy for me,” Danielle fired as she poured a shot for her friend, and then one for herself. As the owner, she could drink if she wanted to. It was just everyone else behind the bar who couldn’t.
“Fine. Cheers,” Alice said as she lifted the shot to her lips.
“Cheers,” Danielle replied as she did the same. Together, they threw their heads back as they swallowed the burning liquid.
“Tequila will be the death of me,” Alice complained as she made a face and placed the glass on the bar.
“You and I both,” a voice said. Danielle looked in shock as she saw Jack standing behind Alice. He hadn’t been there before they had taken the shot, so she was sure he hadn’t heard any of Alice's griping.
“What are you doing here?” Danielle asked, gaping at Jack.
“Well, I got home from our date and realized that I still wanted to spend time with you, and because I know where you work, I thought I’d just pop in,” he said sheepishly.
A smile spread across Danielle’s face. She was so happy to see him. All she wanted to do was to walk around the bar and hug him, but she stayed where she was. She needed to remain a certain amount of professional here, and she didn't want to come off as too eager with Jack either.
“Well, you must be Jack,” Alice snarled, leveling a judgmental look at him.
“Alice, don’t be so rude,” Danielle hissed at her friend.
“No, it’s okay. Yes, I’m Jack,” he said as he stretched out a hand for her to shake.
Danielle watched as Alice looked Jack up and down without taking his hand. “Jack, I’m so sorry. Do you want to take a seat over there and I’ll come join you in a minute?” Danielle asked as she pointed to an empty table.
With a nod and a smile, he went over to the table without any complaints.
“Alice! How can you be so rude to someone you don’t know? He was being perfectly friendly. You’re so childish,” Danielle snapped.
“I don’t trust him,” was her friend's response. She shrugged her shoulders, as if that could explain away her attitude.
“You don’t know him!” Danielle hissed, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. “Argh, if you’re going to be rude to him, then you’re welcome to leave. If you can try to be a decent human being, then you’re welcome to join us. Maybe then you can actually give him a chance before you judge him.” Danielle grabbed three beers from the mini-fridge and placed one in front of Alice before she left the bar to her employee and made her way over to Jack.
“I’m so sorry about her, she can be a little overprotective,” Danielle explained as she sat down across from Jack.
“Don’t worry about it. I know I have a bit of a reputation so I don’t blame her,” Jack dismissed as he took a sip of his beer.
Danielle could appreciate his outlook on the situation. She just wished her friend hadn’t been so rude to him in the first place.
Chapter Eleven, Closer Than Ever
“So you’ve seen Danielle how many times now?” Jake asked as Jack sat at his desk with a smile on his face.
“I’ve seen her almost every day this week,” Jack replied.
He had been seeing Danielle more and more since their first date, and after their impromptu second date, it was even harder being apart from her. It was difficult for Jack to understand his own feelings, he had never experienced anything so strong for someone.
“You two are really getting closer. It’s been a month now since you met her, right?” Jake asked.
“Yup, a month. I can’t believe it. I feel like I’m breathing freely now, you know? It's as if I haven't been breathing properly for all these years,” Jack replied.
Although they were spending a lot of time together recently, Jack hadn’t slept with Danielle yet. He wanted to take things slow so they could really build a relationship that wasn’t just physical. That’s how he’d done things before and, obviously, it hadn’t worked out very well. He wanted to have a strong emotional bond with Danielle, and it seemed as if she wanted that too, because she was happy with how the relationship had been so far. She always seemed so eager to see Jack, and he would often visit her at the bar, even if it was busy, just so he could be near her.
“You’re really turning things around. I mean, you’ve been working so hard here that sometimes I go to do something and you’ve already done it. It’s good to see you happy. That’s real
ly all that matters to me,” Jake said.
“Thanks man. I’m sure I’ll introduce her to you soon. We haven’t had the conversation about making things official yet. I have a feeling we’re on the same page, but of course, I want to make sure of that before I put myself out there and get it all wrong,” Jack admitted. He was still scared that things could get messed up for him, even though he felt pretty positive about things with Danielle. He wasn’t sure if he was making it obvious that he wanted to take things to the next level considering he had never really wanted to be with someone so much before. He had zero experience communicating his feelings in this situation.
“I’m sure you’re both on the same page. Maybe bring her for a family dinner, she could meet Caroline and Jonathan,” Jake suggested.
Jack wanted to introduce her to his family, but he didn’t want anyone to get attached to her if she planned on leaving any time soon. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her when they were just starting to get to know each other. The thought of her leaving him made him feel anxious.
“Soon, let me just talk to her first. I don’t want Jonathan to fall in love with her and then she leaves,” Jack explained.
“Are you talking about Jonathan or yourself?” Jake asked.
It was no surprise to Jack that his brother had read beyond his words and saw the real meaning behind them. He didn’t want to think about losing Danielle, but he also knew that it was out of his control. He couldn’t force her to stay, and as much as he liked her—possibly loved her—he wouldn’t push her into being with him if that wasn’t what she wanted. Even if it hurt him in the end, Jack wanted her to be happy. Just like with Caroline.
“Damn, you can see right through me,” Jack said with a laugh, shaking his head.
“Of course I can, I’m your brother,” Jake replied with a wink.
“I guess I'm just scared of all of this. I’m scared that I fall for her completely and then she walks away. I’ve never been the relationship type, and I guess on some level, I’ve put it off because I’m scared of getting hurt,” Jack admitted.
He was not only admitting it to Jake, but also to himself. Deep down, he had always known that was his problem. He had hid his fear behind his playboy lifestyle for years. He had seen how broken his brother had been when his marriage fell apart, and he didn’t want to put himself in a position where the same thing could happen to him. He had spent so much time building walls around his heart, never allowing anyone close enough to knock them down, because he didn’t want to feel any sort of pain.
“Loving someone is always hard, and there are always risks, but sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and go for it. Yes, you may get hurt, but you may also experience the best thing you’d ever imagine,” Jake replied knowingly.
Jack was proud of how far his brother had come. He also hadn’t had it easy. He was sure that if his brother could get through pain and come out stronger on the other side, then he could too, but he still had his reservations. It would be easy to assume that Jack didn’t have a heart after everything he had done to women, but it was actually the opposite. He had a big heart. A heart that he had guarded closely all his life.
“What if things go south with Danielle? What if this is my only chance?” Jack asked.
“You can’t seriously believe that this is your only chance at finding love? There are tons of amazing women in the world, hell, just in this city even. And you, Jack Jamyson, are telling me you think not a single one of them will fall for you?,” Jake replied incredulously. “When I met Elizabeth, I thought she was the one. I thought things between her and I would last forever. We did love each other at one point, but as it turns out, she wasn’t the one,” Jake added.
“But when you and Elizabeth split, it broke you,” Jack pointed out. “Why would I want to put myself through that?”
“Because sometimes things happen and things change, but look where I am now. If I hadn’t been with Elizabeth, I wouldn’t have Jonathan, and if Elizabeth and I hadn’t split up, I wouldn’t have met Caroline,” Jake said.
Jack knew his brother was making sense. Everything had worked out well even if the start had been a complete train wreck.
“I guess you’re right. I suppose I’m just worried,” Jack replied.
“And that’s okay, it’s natural. Just don’t let that stop you from putting yourself out there,” Jake advised, clapping his brother on the shoulder.
“Hmm, good pep talk. I needed that,” Jack said as his brother walked away.
Once alone, Jack went over what his brother had said and he knew that he was right. He shouldn’t hold back anymore. He should go with his feelings and open himself up to having a relationship even if it could end badly.
Jack pulled out his phone and decided to text Danielle. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot today. Can we meet up and talk later?”
He knew what his message sounded like, and although he didn’t want to scare Danielle, he wasn’t sure if there was any other way for him to bring up the fact that they needed to hash things out. He needed to know where she stood, because he was in a great place. His phone pinged.
Danielle’s reply read, “Hey, I’ve been thinking about you too. Sure, you can come by my place at 7.”
Jack was happy to see that she didn’t seem to be upset with his message so he replied letting her know that he would see her then.
********
The day went by quickly, and soon, Jack was outside of Danielle’s house with a bouquet of flowers in hand. His nerves were going crazy and he counted to 10 before knocking on her door.
“Hey, come on in,” Danielle greeted as she opened the door and moved aside for him. “These are beautiful, thank you,” she added as Jack handed her the flowers.
She closed the door behind her and joined him in the living room. He watched as she got a vase, filled it with water, and placed the flowers gently inside. She moved so gracefully; he was imagining what it would be like to run his hands over her lithe body as she sat down next to him.
“How was your day?” he asked as he slung an arm around her shoulders. She rested her head against his shoulder, her hair smelled clean but earthy somehow, like grass after a rainstorm. He loved it.
“It was good. What about yours?” she asked.
“Good. I had a conversation with my brother that got me thinking,” he said.
He could sense that she was nervous. Clearly, the message he had sent was playing on her mind. He wanted to relieve her of her nerves, but he was trying to find the right words. He had to get everything out there to know that they were going in the right direction.
“Oh, what did you two talk about?” she inquired.
“Well, you see...as I’ve told you, I’m not the dating type. I mean... I haven’t been the dating type in the past. I’ve been keeping people at arm’s length for a long time. What we have, at least, what I think we have, it’s pretty new to me. But talking with Jake made me realize that at this point in my life, commitment doesn’t scare me so much anymore. Not with you at least,” he said with a smile.
Danielle smiled back, her body relaxing as she started to realize that he wasn’t there to break things off as she had probably expected.
“We’ve been seeing each other for a while now, and I want to make sure that we’re both sure of what this is. I know what I want, and that's you. I want you to be my girlfriend, and possibly one day, more than that, depending on how things go,” Jack finally concluded.
It felt so good to get his feelings off of his chest because he had been trying so hard to push them away. After getting so close to Danielle so quickly, he had been nervous about the intensity of his feelings for her. But after thinking about it, he knew he was in it with her for the long run. He just hoped she felt the same.
“Here I am thinking you’re going to break up with me. Meanwhile, you want me to be your girlfriend. You really know how to scare a person, Jack Jamyson, but to give you peace of mind, the answer is yes.
I’ll be your girlfriend,” Danielle said as she threw one leg over his lap, straddling him. She grabbed his face between his hands and pulled him in for a kiss.
“It should be a crime to be this happy,” he said as he quickly pulled away before kissing her again.
Together the couple enjoyed an evening together, laughing and watching movies after they had ordered dinner. It was strange to think that she had been there the whole time, at the bar he went to on a regular basis, but he had never taken notice of her. He realized that things were falling into place just as he’d hoped they would. First, it was his job and his family, now it was Danielle, a woman he could see himself spending the rest of his life with.
Passion For Change (Jamyson Brothers Madison Heights Book 2) Page 7
