“Nah. No. He’s a real ‘American dream’ kind of guy. A car mechanic. But he was always into some scheme or another to try and figure out how to make more money. How to build prestige and clout and all that bullshit. Needless to say, he did not understand his son who went to yoga with his mother and clipped six-pack rings and scrupulously saved his allowance to be able to donate to a Save the Whales charity.”
Mari grinned, totally able to imagine the picture that Jay was painting of himself as a young boy. “Did you ever do car mechanic stuff with him?”
“Yeah, of course, I know my way around a popped hood.” He gave her a lascivious grin that had her raising an eyebrow and swallowing down her smile. “But even then I was reading about greenhouse gases and realizing that cars were the enemy.”
“You drive now,” Mari pointed out.
Jay nodded. “It’s electric. And I pretty much only drive it when I need to haul my surfing gear someplace. Otherwise I bike.”
“Hmmm,” Mari considered. “Boston was too big to bike. But maybe I could do that in Ocean City.” She side-eyed him. “You bike to work every day?”
He nodded. “Most days.”
She side eyed him further. “But you’re all… fresh.”
Jay laughed. “Are you telling me that I don’t reek of B.O.?”
She shrugged.
Smiling, Jay leaned toward her. “One, I change clothes when I get here so I don’t offend my coworkers’ sensitive sensibilities. And two, I do reek. Just a little bit.”
He lifted his arm and leaned toward her even further. Mari squeaked out a surprised laugh and tried to lean away from him in indignation, but she didn’t manage it before his scent washed over her. He didn’t smell like B.O. Not in a bad way. He smelled like Jay. A scent that Mari had thought of a hundred times since the island. It was unique and earthy. Like copper and the ocean and the forest all at once. Suddenly, the morning that they’d hiked through the forest to get to the waterfall washed over her all at once, the scent of him ripping the memory out of her. She thought of the moment he’d picked her up, pinned her against a tree to get a good smell of her. She thought of joining him in the waterfall. The intensity of his stare.
Mari got a distinct pain in her chest that radiated up in waves. The heat of the pain settled behind her eyes and she rubbed at it.
“You alright?” Jay asked her, pushing her thermos of tea into her hand.
Mari took a grateful sip. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly.
He held her eyes, and realizing that she was seconds away from pulling away from him, he frantically changed the subject.
“Anyways, we were talking about you. About living in Boston.”
“Right. Right. Yeah. Anyways. There were things I liked about it and things I was over. And it just felt like time for a change.”
Jay’s ears perked up. Time for a change was very different than I couldn’t live without Linc.
“So you two were in a long distance relationship for a while?”
She glanced at him, assessing. “Yeah.”
“And then you were suddenly living together?”
She assessed him further. “Yeah.”
“So you were suddenly living in a new place, living with your boyfriend, engaged all at once, and you weren’t regularly surfing?”
Mari frowned. “What are you getting at?”
“Nothing in particular,” Jay shrugged. “That’s just a lot to adjust to in two months.”
Mari didn’t understand why something in her wanted to insist that it hadn’t been that big of a deal. That it had been easy. That she had no doubts that everything had gone exactly according to plan. But she did. She wanted Jay to stuff whatever he was really saying.
“Well, I’ve been through bigger, faster adjustments before. And I handled those just fine.” She stood and shoved her food into her lunch bag. “I gotta get back. But I’ll see you this weekend, okay?”
Jay nodded. Watching her scrambling to get away from him. “Sure. Alright.”
He handed up a Tupperware she was forgetting and searched out her eyes. He didn’t mention that there were two more days that they could potentially eat together before that party. He already knew, from the set of her shoulders, the determination in her lips, that she wouldn’t be eating in the courtyard.
“Later, Jay,” she muttered. And then, because she was who she was, she raised her eyes to his. He held them for a second, even though it was like trying to harness lighting. The spark of temper and confusion and vulnerability swirling through those green, green eyes.
***
Mari stood outside of Eli Bird’s house and shifted from foot to foot as she chatted with Linc. He was in London, trying to start an international chapter of his charity. And with the time change, this was probably the last time she was going to get to speak with him tonight.
“You sound a little nervous,” Linc said, knowing where she was and what she was about to do. “Is it because Elijah Bird is so famous?”
She quirked her lips up at that. “Nah. You know I don’t really care about that kind of thing.”
Linc cleared his throat. “Is it because Jay is there?”
“No. Jay doesn’t make me nervous, and besides, you know I’ve been seeing him at my lunch break every now and then. So it won’t be weird to see him tonight.” Mari had been scrupulously honest with Linc about everything that was going on with Jay.
“Okay,” Linc answered carefully. “Then why are you nervous?”
“You know I’m not great at parties. Especially ones with women. I should have dressed up a little.” She muttered the last part to herself, looking down at her slim black jeans and the midnight blue sweater she wore. She tugged on the lapels of her black bomber jacket. Vegan, of course.
“How many times do you have to learn that lesson, Mari? You hate dressing up and then you always feel out of place if you haven’t.”
The irritation in Linc’s voice didn’t surprise her. Her personal style was something of a sore spot between them. But his manner certainly ignited a little something in her own. She resented that representation of herself. “I don’t feel out of place. I just, I don’t know, you saw how all those women were dressed at the last party for Elijah Bird. There’s no way I’m gonna go out and buy something just to fit in at a dinner party.”
“Mari, that was a gala. I’m sure things will be more casual.” Linc was gripping the bridge of his nose, she was sure of it. He’d grown up in high society, and was often frustrated with her complete lack of a grasp on things like dress code. It all came so natural to him. “If you’re so worried about it, leave and change and come back.”
“No, I don’t want to be late.” It was ridiculous, standing out on the curb, arguing with Linc about something she barely even cared about. She didn’t want to stick out as a too-casual shlub, of course, but in the end, Mari didn’t really care about that. She was more nervous about something else. Something she couldn’t put her finger on.
“Well, then, you better go.”
Mari frowned into the early evening. “So, you are mad that I’m going to this party without you?” She and Linc had already discussed this at length earlier in the week, and she’d thought they’d gotten to a good place about it. But he was being so annoyed with her right now that she suddenly wondered if he’d changed his mind.
“No, no. Of course not, my love. I’m sorry, I’m being irritable. It was a long day, and not a very successful one. I think I’m taking it out on you.”
“Oh. Good. Not good that you’re taking it out on me, but good that you’re alright with me going.”
“Uh huh.”
“You know? Linc?”
“Yeah?”
“I think it’s natural to take stuff like that out on your partner every once in a while. We’ve got a long life ahead of us, you know? It’s gonna happen from time to time.”
Linc was quiet for a long minute before he cleared his throat. “You think that’s true?”
; “I do,” she answered without hesitating.
It wasn’t until they’d hung up with one another and she was striding toward the front door of the house that she wondered if he’d been asking about taking things out on your partner, or whether or not she and Linc were going to have a long life together.
***
“If you don’t chill the hell out I’m going to pin you down and make you eat mayonnaise,” Marcus growled at Jay, threateningly extending a shivering spoonful of the disgusting white condiment in question.
Jay scowled at Marcus, the longevity of their friendship making both of them perfectly comfortable being jerks to each other. “I’m chill, asshole.”
Marcus raised a dark brow at his friend. “Yeah, that’s why you’ve rearranged that vegetable platter in fifteen different ways.”
Jay looked down at the handful of carrot sticks he’d been artfully arranging over a plate for the last twenty minutes. He tossed them down in disgust. “You’re right. I’m nervous.”
Marcus nodded. “Because she always makes you nervous or because she’s meeting your mom or—”
“I don’t know, okay?” Jay hissed temperamentally.
Eli walked into the kitchen at that moment and raised his eyebrows. He’d never known Jay to hiss temperamentally. Jay was cool, calm, very adept at yoga breathing.
Eli and Marcus exchanged looks.
“Dude,” Eli began, snatching a carrot stick off the platter. “I gotta be honest, this isn’t a good look for you.”
“What?” Jay looked down at his t-shirt and worn jeans. “You think I should have dressed up?” Stupid. He’d known he should have dressed up. But a fit of stubborn energy had kept him from putting too much energy into it.
“I don’t mean your clothes,” Eli said, and then raised an eyebrow. “But I mean, you are dressed like a hobo. No, I mean your attitude. Wired, nervous Jay is not nearly as cool as relaxed, confident Jay. You’re not doing yourself any favors.”
The doorbell rang and Jay turned away without answering his friend’s comment. There wasn’t anything to say anyways. He knew he wasn’t at his best right now. He didn’t need to have to defend it. Of all the people who were coming to this gathering, only Mari would ring the doorbell, so he knew it was her.
He strode through the house, ignoring the eyes of the guests in the other room, who also knew that it must be Mari at the door.
Jay flung open Eli’s front door to find Mari taking a quick, defensive step backwards from the aggressive movement of the door.
“Mari.” His eyes swept over her and all the nervous, uncertain energy just sort of funneled out of him. She was here. Where he could hear and smell and touch her. She was here and that was all that mattered to him. Even if she was here as another man’s fiancé, honestly, Jay couldn’t care less right now. All he cared about was that she was here, looking up at him. So flipping good looking that his mouth watered. God damn, she was an attractive woman.
“Hey, Jay.”
“You’re wearing blue,” he observed, somewhat obviously.
She looked down at herself and then back up to him. “Yeah.”
“I’ve never seen you in blue before.”
Mari gave him a long look. “Is that going to be a problem?”
It was her words from the morning they’d surfed together. He knew what those words really meant right now. That his feelings were showing. He was looking down at her so tenderly and his feelings were leaking out all over the place. She was telling him that if he kept looking at her like this, then it was going to be a problem.
Jay swallowed. He figured he had a few choices here. He could suck those feelings back in, and act like she wasn’t making his heart swell, or he could channel that energy a different way. Never one for retreat, Jay made his decision. “Nah, not a problem. I’m just saying, you look pretty in blue.”
Her eyes darted up to his. Maybe she was surprised at his honesty, he couldn’t tell, but he didn’t give her too long to think on it. “Come on back, most people are already here and we’re gonna eat pretty soon.”
“Did I get here late?”
“No, but Eli and Tia have an open door policy, people are always showing up early and leaving late for parties.”
“Tia is his…?”
“Girlfriend,” a woman’s voice said down the hall to Mari’s left.
A taller woman with a squarish, very attractive face walked gracefully down the hall toward Mari. She wore clear, thick-framed glasses, black leggings and a white, flowy tunic. She had the shiniest hair Mari had ever seen.
“Hi,” Mari said, holding out her hand. “I’m Mari Brady.”
Jay’s stomach flipped when she said her name. He knew it was the name she’d been born with. But he couldn’t help but feel as if she’d somehow taken his last name.
The two women shook hands. “Tia Camellia. Welcome to my house.”
“I hate it when you call yourself Eli’s girlfriend,” Jay said from where he observed the two women together. He’d known Mari was short, but she looked so much smaller than Tia it was almost comical.
“Why?” Mari was the one to ask, not Tia.
“Because Jay thinks me and Eli should just get married already. Is that right?” Tia raised her eyebrows affectionately at her friend.
“Uh, and that’s Jay’s business why?” Mari asked skeptically.
Tia laughed, delighted. “Exactly.”
“Fine,” Jay said as he held his hands up in surrender. “Do whatever you want with Eli, I’m just saying, I’m gonna start referring to you as my sister-in-law, alright?”
Though her face remained very serious, Mari could see the glow of love there. The two of them were obviously close. Tia fiddled with a gold chain around her neck that held what looked like an engagement ring on it. “Fair enough. And you can be my brother-in-law. Even though you and Eli aren’t technically brothers and he and I aren’t technically married.”
“Works for me,” Jay shrugged, leaning forward to kiss Tia square on the mouth, the way he often did.
He didn’t notice the way that brought a flush to Mari’s cheeks, the way her eyes followed Jay’s lips, but Tia noticed it just fine.
A jingling down the hallway behind Tia had them all turning to look.
“Oh. My. GOD,” Mari semi-shrieked. It was the girliest Jay had ever seen her act. She ripped off her coat, shoved it in Jay’s arms and fell to her knees right there in the entryway to Eli and Tia’s house.
The source of the jingling sound waddled right into Mari’s outstretched arms, obviously recognizing he’d just accrued another diehard fan.
Ham the dog was an ugly, pudgy bulldog mutt. He was shaped like a sausage link and as friendly as a daisy. The second he was in the circle of Mari’s arms, he flipped onto his back and let himself be adored. It was what both of them wanted anyways.
It wasn’t unusual for someone to be taken with Ham, he was a hell of a companion. But Jay hadn’t been ready for the sheer, walloping force of seeing Mari squinch her face up, kiss the air, whisper sweet, soft nothings into the dog’s ugly little ear. She immediately found the spot on his belly that had his leg kicking and his tail thumping.
Mari laughed in delight and looked up to Jay to make sure he was watching the brilliant dog’s response.
Tia bit her lip. This was an intense moment. Eli had told her that things between Mari and Jay were very murky. That there was love there, but there was also reticence and confusion. Tia did not sense the second two things at all. She sensed a holy love whipping off these two people like wind off the ocean. She sensed comfort, protection, understanding, rightness. And as Mari turned back to the wiggling Ham, and Jay’s eyes darkened as he watched the tumbling fall of her hair over her shoulder, Tia sensed white hot desire.
She didn’t know who these two thought they were kidding. But they were going down hard. Feelings like this ended up in devotion or wild, life-changing heart break. Glancing at her dear friend’s face, Tia desperately hoped it wa
s devotion.
***
Two hours later, Mari cornered Jay in the kitchen; it was their first chance to be alone since she’d walked in. And she was, frankly, a little pissed at him.
“What?” he asked in alarm, the second he saw her face as she swung through the door of the kitchen.
She strode forward, one finger out in front of her. Suddenly Jay found himself with his back literally in a corner and he wasn’t quite sure how she’d managed to back him up so quickly and efficiently.
“This isn’t a party!” she hissed, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one else could hear her noxious, accusatory tone.
“I’m sorry?” He raised an eyebrow at her. He considered sliding out from the front of that pointing finger, but he realized that this was pretty much the closest they’d stood since they’d hugged at the gala and he didn’t want to waste the moment.
“I said, I was invited here under false pretenses. I was told this was going to be a party.”
Jay raised an eyebrow even further and tried to catch up. “I mean, it’s not a rager, sure. But there’s beer and food and music and chatting. What would you call it?”
“I’d call it a frickin’ family reunion plus Mari!” She threw her hands up in the air.
“Oh,” Jay furrowed his brow and reflected on the guest list. It was Eli and Tia, Marcus, Kat, Ryan, and Laura and her boyfriend Jace, who also happened to play on Eli’s football team. “Yeah, I uh, guess you kind of have a point. We’re sort of a family unit.”
“I mean, you even sprung your mom and her boyfriend on me? What the crap is that?”
Jay’s mind completely blanked for a second. “What? My mom doesn’t have a boyfriend. You mean Ryan?”
Mari threw her hands out to the sides like Duh.
“No, that’s not her boyfriend. Ryan is Eli’s dad. He’s like my dad too. He raised us. All three of us pretty much.”
Mari gave him a look like he was being dense. “And he couldn’t be both? Your father, for all intents and purposes, and your mom’s boyfriend? You know, those two labels often go hand in hand.”
“I—” his brow furrowed, completely stymied. It was this look of true confusion. True bewilderment that saved him from any more of Mari’s wrath. Wow. He really couldn’t see what had been so obvious to Mari. It was actually kind of cute that the idea of his mother with a boyfriend befuddled him so much. Jay cleared his throat. “You really think so?”
Bachelors In Love Page 36
