In Jacob's Arms
Page 14
“Yes, Mackenzie,” I tell her, my eyes still locked on Jacob. “I have an incredible boyfriend.” Jacob grins at me.
“That’s awesome!” Her voice is high. “Well, you better bring him because I want to meet him. Congratulations!”
“Hey, Mackenzie, I’m kind of busy right now. Can I call you later?”
“Sure, but before you go, I have a quick question for you.”
“Yeah?”
She pauses for a moment, adding suspense, and then squeals as quickly as humanly possible, “Will you be my maid of honor?”
I’m thrilled by the invitation. “I’d love that, Mackenzie. I’m kind of busy right now. Can we talk more about this another time?”
“Great! I’ll call you later. Bye.”
As I hang up, a man with a camera around his neck comes up to us. I can tell he’s part of one of the news crews. He’s very tall and attractive, almost model-like with wispy blonde hair and strong muscles. This is the type of guy that Juliet would date. “Mind if I snap a photo of the happy couple?” the guy asks, and Jacob and I strike a pose, his arm draped around me.
“Thanks,” the guy says as he turns away from us, searching for other shots that he can take.
“So, I’m invited to your sister’s wedding?” Jacob asks.
“You sure are,” I answer.
I hear the click of heels from behind me.
“Hey, guys,” a woman’s voice says, greeting us.
I turn around, and I recognize the woman.
“Hey, Jen,” Jacob greets as they embrace.
“Hi,” I squeak, my voice not quite working because I am utterly embarrassed to be facing Jacob’s sister. She must have thought I was crazy to think they were together.
“That was a beautiful speech, Siobhan,” she compliments as she comes in closer to embrace me.
For a moment, I’m shocked, but I quickly relax.
She pulls back from me and says, “It’s about time my big brother finds a girl. We were all starting to think he was gay, what with the art and the lack of girlfriends.” She nudges him and laughs.
I’m shocked by the way she stereotypes artistic culture, but I don’t let my surprise show.
“Jen,” I say, “I am really sorry about everything. I’m sorry that, you know, I thought Ben was Jacob’s kid.” I don’t know how I know, but I can tell that she’s already in the loop on all of this. Surely Juliet filled Jacob in and Jacob shared with Jen. I’m no longer mad at Juliet for talking about me to Jacob.
The visitations don’t end there. Once Jen walks away, Jasmine and Abby greet us.
“Oh my God, Siobhan,” Abby cries—literally, there are tears falling from her eyes, but she wipes them away. “That really was the ultimate love display.”
“I wish a guy would do something like that for me,” Jasmine agrees, embracing me.
I thank them for coming, and after they leave, Jacob and I stroll the gallery, taking in all the glorious works of art.
“So,” Jacob says, elongating the word. “What exactly don’t I know about you?”
I think for a few moments, really trying to rack my brain for an answer. “I think you know about everything now,” I tell him, and we continue moving around the gallery. “No! Wait,” I stop. “My middle name is Anne.”
He looks at me from the side, biting his lip. “Actually, I did know that one.” What? I never told him that. “Wikipedia,” he explains. Of course Wikipedia would know my middle name.
“Well, I don’t know yours,” I tell him, remembering how difficult it was to find him online without a middle name.
He smiles, then answers. “Cole.”
I take in this new information. “Jacob Cole Bishop,” I repeat. “What else don’t I know about you?”
He puts himself in front of me now, placing his arms on each of my shoulders. “That I am utterly captivated by you,” he whispers as he leans down and pecks me on the lips. “That I think your eyes are gorgeous, and that I love your pouty bottom lip.” What? He likes that? He runs his thumb across my bottom lip as he says this. “That you taste magnificent.”
My God, is he trying to seduce me? And which part of me is he talking about? He’s moving closer to me. I take in his scent. I want him, right here, right now. I bite my bottom lip and stare him up and down as seductively as I can. Jacob has me in a trance, and I can’t control myself. After a moment, I regain my strength and give him a friendly push.
“Not here, Jacob,” I scold with a bit of humor to my voice.
He raises his eyebrows at me and whispers seductive words into my ear.
“Stop it,” I complain with a giggle, and then in a whisper I hiss, “There are people around.”
We stay for the rest of the reception, and I end up meeting a bunch of my Twitter followers. Soon, though, the crowd begins to clear. We’re ready to go when Juliet comes up to us, her arm wrapped around the sexy photographer’s.
“Hey, guys, I won’t make it home tonight,” she informs us, batting her eyes at the gorgeous man beside her. “You two have fun,” she says as she waves goodbye.
“We will,” I promise, waving after her. I look up at Jacob. “Well, shall we?” I stick my elbow out the same way the hot photographer had his out to Juliet. Jacob wraps his arm into mine as we mimic them.
“We shall,” he says, and we stroll out of the gallery, our heads high, and make our way back to my apartment.
It doesn’t even take a moment after we enter the door before his hands are already around me. I kick my heels off, hike my dress up, and wrap my legs around him. Our lips crush into each other’s.
He carries me into my bedroom and gently helps me out of my dress before placing me on the bed.
Jacob climbs on top of me and kisses me. He tastes sweet.
I pull back for a moment. “Jacob,” I say. “I don’t want to hide anything from you.” I pause for a moment. “I kind of kissed a guy last week.”
He stares at me a bit shocked for a second before shrugging his shoulders and pressing his lips against mine gently. “That’s in the past,” he says, and then he pushes into me.
We lay awake the rest of the night cuddled close, and we divulge every single detail of our pasts. I can honestly say this now: I am fearless.
Epilogue
People always want to know about me. They want to know where I am today and how I’ve grown from 20 years ago. Well, there you have it. Everything about me is out in the open.
Jacob is rushing me right now, holding my lavender maid of honor dress out in front of me and prompting me to get ready. I’m glaring at him as I type, telling him just a few more minutes. He’s already in his suit and ready to go. I still have to shower, do my hair and makeup, and get dressed. He’s still trying to hurry me, but I have plenty of time.
“Siobhan, you haven’t even started getting ready yet,” he’s saying.
“I’m almost done,” I complain, and I continue typing just to smite him.
I’m sitting in my hotel room in L.A. just hours before my sister’s wedding, and I am thrilled for her. I’m also thinking about how she’s going to have to fly to New York City in six months to attend my wedding and slip on her own bridesmaid dress.
I sit here admiring my gorgeous white gold diamond ring that Jacob gave to me last month, and I want to scream to the world that I’m engaged, but I certainly don’t want to take away Mackenzie’s thunder, so I will quietly admire it on my own.
So now, with reluctance, I will have to end my story and get dressed so that I can lead the wedding party down the aisle. I’m not stalling this because I’m not happy for my sister, but the dress she chose is ugly, which is why I haven’t started getting ready yet. Plus, my aunt has brought her Chihuahua along, and she plans to bring him to the ceremony because, “Snowball is part of the family.” Those damn dogs. I’m probably going to strangle Snowball before the ceremony is over.
With that, I hope that my story brings you inspiration and that you know that you should
never be afraid to fall in love. You never know what amazing guy is waiting for you. I guess Juliet was right all along. Jacob is supposed to be with me. And now here I am in Jacob’s arms.
Acknowledgements
In Jacob’s Arms is a book I never really planned to publish, but as more and more people have encouraged my writing career, I didn’t want to let Siobhan’s story go untold. With most of my stories, the characters feel like a part of me—somewhat an extension of my own personality, but it’s not like that with Siobhan. As strange as it may sound to thank a fictional character I created, I wanted to start by thanking Siobhan for her voice.
I also want to thank the numerous people who have continued to support my writing career, even when they don’t have the time to read everything I write, including Paul, Heather, Deb, and Rheanna.
And finally, I want to thank anyone who has downloaded my books and left reviews. That’s what keeps me writing and publishing stories like this.
About the Author
Alicia Rades is a freelance writer, blogger, and editor. When inspiration strikes, she is also an author. Alicia mainly writes in the young adult paranormal genre but dabbles in other topics—like New Adult Romance—when her characters demand their story told. In college, Alicia majored in professional writing. Alicia lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two kittens.
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