A Boy Worth Choosing (The Worthy Series Book 2)
Page 10
Slightly taken aback, I start to say, “Well, now that you mention it, I--” but I’m cut off by another soul searching kiss that sends me flying back up into the air.
Chapter Twelve
~Stephen~
“Your dad was right.”
We’re sitting on the tailgate of my dad’s truck, Jessie’s head and halo of hair in my lap as she lays stretched out on her back beside me. I twirl a strand of her chocolate brown hair between my fingers, replaying everything from the conversation I had with her father a few weeks ago to just a few moments before when she made me the happiest man alive.
“Hmm?” Jessie keeps switching her focus back and forth from my face and the twinkling ring on her finger. She looks up from the ring and traces the tips of her fingers over the stubble on my jaw.
I’m glad I had the ring cleaned last week. I had to do something with it. I’ve had that ring this whole time thinking I would never find the “right time” to ask her to marry me. But after watching her with Jake and Maddy last night, I knew there really wasn’t reason for me to be concerned any longer.
“He said I would know when it was time to ask.”
“How long did you wait?” Her eyes are a little glazed over in euphoria. I could get used to her like this.
“About a month.”
The bliss drains from her eyes as she bolts up, swinging her legs over the edge of the tailgate.
“You’ve been holding out on me for a month?!?”
I can’t help but chuckle at her overreaction. I gather her face in my hands and kiss her gently.
“I had to know you’re ready.”
“I thought we’ve had this conversation already?” Her voice softens as her eyes narrow on mine.
“We did. But I had to be sure. I think seeing Jake and Maddy last night really put everything into perspective for me.”
She smiles an I-told-you-so smile as she climbs into my lap and wraps her arms around my neck.
“It did, huh?” Her flirty smile lights a fire in the depths of my gut and my heart rate picks up.
Her fingers slide up the back of my neck and into my hair. Her soft lips find mine and a moan slips out of her. I take advantage of the opportunity and deepen the kiss, pulling her so close to me that you couldn’t slide a piece of paper in between us.
I want so much to take things to the next level, to make the two of us one, and I know that it will happen. Just not today. I promised her and God that I would do things the right way this time and I’m not about to go back on that promise.
The thought is sobering, forcing me to create some space between us. This engagement just might have to be the shortest one in history, though; I’m ready to make this girl mine.
“We should probably go tell our parents,” she says delicately.
The perpetual smile that has barely left her face since she realized which ring I was holding grows a little bigger at the thought of sharing our news. Her excitement is contagious, and before long I’m bouncing right along with her up the steps of her father’s deck where our parents are patiently awaiting us.
“Well?” my dad asks. I hadn’t told anyone what I was planning on doing, but it’s clear on his and Jack’s faces that they saw this coming a mile away.
“We’re getting married!!” Jessie exclaims, jumping into her father’s arms. My dad hops up and wraps me in a tight hug.
“I’m so happy for you,” he tells me quietly before reaching out to wrap Jessie in too. “This is fantastic news.”
I look up to see Mom give me a hesitant smile, but the moment Jess turns to her, she tries to forces it bigger, more genuine. I see the concern in her eyes and I try my best not to get mad at her, but for crying out loud, can’t she just be happy for me on this?
“That is fantastic news.” Jack holds his hand out to shake mine, but then pulls me into a hug anyway.
Like we have our own magnetic pull, Jessie finds my side again. Both hands around my waist she leans her head against my chest. It’s the best feeling in the world to finally have her here, ready to take my name and spend the rest of her days with me.
“Would you guys like some tea?” Mom asks, hesitation hitching her voice. She’s not nearly as excited as I had hoped she’d be. I unlatch Jess’s hands from my waist and kiss the top of her head.
“Let me help you, Mom.” I say, following my mother back into Jack’s kitchen. I don’t say anything until the door is shut behind us. But I can tell she’s holding back mainly because she won’t look at me.
“Mom.”
She stops with the pitcher of tea in her hand. She sets it on the countertop before she looks up at me. I can see that it’s paining her to feel the way she does, but she doesn’t want to relinquish her doubts. She doesn’t say a word, but she doesn’t need to. I know exactly what she wants to say and just like the last few times she’s acted like this, I don’t want to hear it.
“Why…why can’t you just be happy that I’m happy?”
“She’s not ready, and you—“
“Yes, she is. You don’t want her to be, but she is.”
“How can you be sure? How can you know that five, ten months down the road everything won’t come crashing around you as she realizes that she’s rushed into a marriage she doesn’t want.”
“You don’t thinks she wants to marry me?”
“It’s very clear that she cares about –“
“Loves, Mom. She loves me.”
“She thinks she does. But she’s only comfortable with the peace and security you give her.”
“Seriously? How are you the only person who doesn’t see that this is right? Why are you so determined that I will have a failed marriage with Jessie?” I’m fighting the urge to yell at her. I haven’t yelled at my mother since I was in high school, but we haven’t disagreed so strongly on anything since then either.
“You are my only child. It is my job to protect you and keep you from—“
“I’m not a child anymore. And in case you were wondering, I can protect myself. I was able to do so the entire time I’ve had to wait for this moment and instead of celebrating with me, you’re choosing to ruin it. Your job of protection expired a long time ago, Mother, and now all I need from you is to tell me that you are happy for me, you support me and that you’ll be there for me regardless of how things play out.”
I don’t give her the chance to say anything else as I excuse myself to the restroom. Splashing some cool water on my face, I try to calm down by reminding myself that I’m the luckiest man in the world because I have Jessie. By the time I make my way back out to the deck, everyone but my mother is laughing and in high spirits. One look at the girl I’ve waited for and that exhilaration comes rushing back to me, relaxing me enough to laugh right alongside with her.
***
I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t sit at my apartment for five minutes without wanting to be near her, so I find myself knocking on Jessie’s door. She opens the door, hair pulled back and piled on top of her head. Adorned with my favorite outfit of hers: her cat eye Raybans she wears when she’s planted in front of her laptop, and an extra-large Mizzou shirt over a pair of yoga pants, she blushes guiltily as she holds the door open to let me in. I step in and pull her in for a kiss. She has to step onto her tip toes to reach me, and lucky me, she loses her balance and leans into me.
“A little eager to see me? I just saw you a few hours ago at your Dad’s house.” I smirk.
“What?” she says all breathless. “You’re the one at my door, buddy. But I’m not going to say I’m not glad you’re here though.” She closes the door behind us and guides me to the couch where she’s abandoned her laptop and her favorite brown cable knit blanket.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d be working.”
“Oh,” she gives me a guilty smile and reaches for her laptop. “I wasn’t working.” She tries to close her laptop, but I catch a glimpse of wedding gowns. I pull the computer out of her hands and check o
ut the ones she’s looking at.
“Busted. Already dress shopping, are we?”
Her cheeks redden a bit more and I’m loving the color.
“I am trying not to call Daphne. I don’t want to ask her to be my maid of honor over the phone. Have you thought about who you want to stand with you?”
The only thing I have really thought about is how she’s going to look in her dress and the fun stuff we’ll finally get to do afterward, but I’m not about to admit that to her.
“Well, I was thinking I’d have either my dad or Grady be my best man.”
She purses her lips.
“Well, I was actually kind of wondering…and you can say no if you don’t want….but how you would feel about your dad officiating the ceremony? If not, that’s totally okay, I just would really like my dad to walk me down the aisle… if that is okay?”
“Of course it’s okay. I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
I realize a little too late from the look on her face why it wouldn’t have been. Jake was adamant about her dad doing their ceremony since Jack was such a strong spiritual influence on him. I knew that wasn’t what she truly wanted at the time, but since his dad is a deadbeat and wasn’t allowed to even be invited, she wanted to do that for him. Jake’s such a moron.
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll leave that up to my dad. Will you be okay if he doesn’t want to do it?” I ask, not really sure what my father would be up for.
“Absolutely.” She looks relieved, and I see her eyes start to water a little.
All the memories of the drama and anxiety that wedding planning brought her last time come flooding back. I don’t want that for her, I want this to be her day. All I want is for her to show up and say I do. Nothing else really matters to me.
“Hey.” I tilt her chin up and kiss away a tear. “I know how things went last time, and I don’t want you to go through any of that again. Not one bit of it. I want you to have the day YOU want, so whatever it is, it’s yours.”
“So an outdoor wedding in December with dancing flamingos and a pirate magician?” Her eyes light up in total amusement and she starts giggling.
“Um….if you can find a pirate magician who’s willing to perform in ten inches of snow, then by all means, book him.” She raises an eyebrow at me. “Or her, right way.”
She starts giggling again and it makes my heart sing. This is exactly how I want every day of the rest of her life to be, and if that means a one-eyed female dressed in a leather corset doing table magic at my one and only wedding, well then so be it.
She kneels beside me on the couch and wraps her arms around my neck, beaming from ear to ear.
“You’re too good to me, you know that?” she says in a small voice.
“I know, but I’m sure someday you’ll find a way to make it up to me.” I smirk.
She takes the hint, leaning in and matching her lips to mine. My hands find her hips and set them in my lap. She tilts her head, deepening the kiss, causing my insides to growl. I can’t get enough of her. My hands press against her sides as I slide them up her torso. My fingers dig into the softness of her shoulder blades and I feel her shirt tangling up in my grasp. I find the hem of her shirt and slip my hands to the flesh of her back. She reacts to my touch ever so slightly, testing my resolve to stay within the bounds we’ve set for our physical relationship.
Divine intervention kicks in as my phone starts to ring.
My heart is pounding and my head starts to clear as we both freeze. The fire in her brown eyes tells me that she too is fighting the internal war of right and wrong. I shake my head, inhaling deeply, trying to slow everything down. She gently climbs off me and I search for the source of our interruption.
“Hello?”
“Dude, you working out without me?” Grady sounds annoyed. Not nearly as annoyed as I’m trying not to be right now. “You’re breathing like you’re in the middle of a marathon.”
“Something like that.”
“Ah…You’re with Jessie aren’t you?” I can hear the amusement in his voice.
“What do you need, Grady?”
Jessie smiles as she gets up and makes her way into the kitchen. I watch her as she quietly walks to the cabinet, reaches up on the tips of her toes, and pulls out a glass. She fills it with water and turns around, catching my eye as she settles back against the sink and takes a slow sip.
“Just wanted to see if we were still on for the gym tomorrow. But if you’re getting a work out in now…”
“Yeah, tomorrow sounds good.”
“So you seal the deal yet?” Anger immediately flares within me until I realize that he’s asking if I’ve proposed. Although I really shouldn’t be that mad. Had he called a few minutes later there’s no telling what Jessie and I could be doing right now. I shake the thought from my head.
“Um, yeah. This afternoon actually. How do you feel about being my best man?”
“Ah man! I’d be honored. Hey, is the maid of honor hot?”
“See you tomorrow, Grady.”
“Hey, wait. Really, bro, congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“Aww! You finally got your deer,” he says patronizingly, howling when I hang the phone up on him.
I turn back to my blushing bride to be, who is smartly still several feet away in the kitchen. I resist the urge to rush in there and sweep her off to some private place, but simply because I’m thinking those thoughts, it’s time for me to leave her for the night.
“I’m going to need a personal yogi if we keep this up.” She smiles a lazy smile at me, as if she’s reading my mind. But she stays right where she’s at.
I imagine her at a yoga class, which is clearly the wrong thing to do. I shake the thought away quickly and stand up to leave.
“I should probably go.”
I can’t help the throaty sound of my voice, but it is definitely having an impact on her. She takes a step toward the breakfast bar that separates her kitchen and living room, effectively blocking the space between us.
“Do you think your hearing will be done early enough to do dinner tomorrow? I’ll cook. Anything you want.”
How can such an innocent statement sound so tempting? I seriously need to get out of here. And to take a cold shower.
“Sounds like a date.” I reach of the door but realize I don’t want to leave without one last taste of her.
She must have the same thought because by the time I turn around, she’s rushing around the bar towards me. She pins me to the door by her momentum and it’s like we were never interrupted. Hands searching and lips yearning, pressed into one another, the chemistry between us ignites the air and steals the breath out of us both.
All too soon, Jessie lets go and steps back, covering her mouth with one hand and flattening the other on her stomach, holding herself back. She pulls the one over her mouth down and folds it with the other in front of her, giving me as innocent a smile as she can muster given the circumstances.
“Good night, love,” she says sweetly as I open the door behind me.
“Good night.” I close the door behind me before I come up with another excuse to get tangled up in her and step out into the cool night air.
Dear God, please give me the strength to hold my ground and do what is right by her. Oh, and please let this be a short engagement.
Chapter Thirteen
~Jessie~
I’m a little excited to talk to Daphne. Okay, more than a little. More like so excited that I get to the office an hour before I know she’s going to be there. I sip a soy latte as I sit at my desk searching dresses, opting for a healthier coffee since I now need to make sure I can fit into what I want.
What I want. That is somewhat of a new concept. I hadn’t realized how much of a say Jake had in the preparations of that wedding until now. I have free reign over everything I choose. Of course, I’m going to want Stephen’s opinions…but he said I could have whatever I want and that makes me happy to no end.
“Well aren’t you just a ray of sunshine this mornin’?” she asks, taking in my white cropped pants and mint sleeveless blouse, holding my hands behind my back. I picked out some fun sandals and had repainted my toenails to get in the summer groove.
“Cute sandals. Feeling a little giddy today it seems. Wait…what’s up?” she looks at me cautiously.
I purposefully use my left hand to pull a strand of hair out of my face and my dear friend doesn’t miss a beat.
“OH MY GOODNESS!! Ahhhh!!” she screams, jumping up and down. “You’re getting married!! He asked you to marry him. You’re getting married!!” She repeats herself several more times and the only response I can get in edgewise is to giggle and squeal along with her. When she finally does calm down, she pulls my left hand out and completes a thorough inspection of my mother’s ring. My ring.
“Oh, darlin’. He couldn’t have picked a more perfect one for you,” she raves.
“It was actually my mother’s ring.”
Her head jerks up so fast I’m afraid she might have snapped her neck. Her eyes bore into me with understanding.
“Wow. Your daddy….wow. Jessie, that’s…wow.” I smile at her inability to complete a thought.
“I know. I couldn’t believe Dad gave it to him, but he said it just felt right to do so. He had it for a month!”
She blurts out a full on belly laugh. I have tried very hard not to complain to her about his not asking for the last few weeks, but every once in a while she would make me, just to get it off my chest. She told me the same thing every time, “Give him time. It will happen.” And she was right.
She beams at me now, totally thrilled for me.
“So I have a question for you. Will you be my—“
“YES! Yes! I’ll be your maid of honor,” she exclaims, pulling me into a tight hug, before I even have a chance to finish asking.