Jackson chuckled. “I sure can.”
I smiled up into his beautiful blue eyes, glad I’d been able to make him laugh. “I think what’s important is finding a person who makes you better. And someone you can trust with your heart. And, Jackson? I trust you with mine.”
Even after our rocky start, I trusted him.
“Can I tell you a secret?” He leaned down and whispered, “I have a crush on you.”
I smiled. “It’s about time.”
He laughed and dropped his forehead to mine as I laughed too. When we stopped, he blew out a long breath and muttered, “I’d better go.”
“Okay.” As much as I’d like to make out with him on the couch all night, I had a long day tomorrow. I stood first and he followed, standing too fast and hitting his head on the slanted ceiling.
“Ah, fuck.” He rubbed the back of his head, ducking as he maneuvered to the center of the room.
I winced. “Sorry.”
“Told you.” He shrugged. “One more time and I’ll remember not to stand up so fast.”
“I’ll stock up on ice packs.”
He grinned and snagged my hand, dragging me into his chest. “Next time maybe we’ll be horizontal on the couch and I won’t have to worry about it.”
Oh. My. Goodness. My core quivered and I was suddenly quite aware of my nipples. Horizontal couch time was definitely a go. I wasn’t sure exactly what it meant, but I’d figure it out as we went along.
“Thea comes back Monday,” Jackson said. “I’m hesitant to ask, given the other times you’ve shot me down, but since I’ve had a rough night, I’m hoping you’ll take it easy on my ego. Dinner? How about Tuesday or Wednesday?”
I’d have to cancel my weekly dinner with the girls, but I didn’t care. The only one I’d really miss seeing right now was Leighton, and even though it was after two in the morning, I was calling her the second Jackson left.
“I can do both nights.”
He grinned. “Both it is.”
“No, I meant either.”
“Too late. You agreed. We’ll go up to Kalispell on Tuesday and do something nice.”
“I could cook,” I offered.
“You can cook on Wednesday.”
I smiled and nodded. “You got it.”
With a quick brush of his lips on mine, he gave me a soft, sweet kiss, then walked to the door. “Lock up after me.”
“I will.” I nodded and closed the door behind him. When the deadbolt clicked, his boots thudded down the stairs.
I pressed my fingers to my lips as I watched through the window next to the door. He looked back over his shoulder twice this time as he crossed the yard. And somehow, he knew I was watching because he blew me a kiss.
Air kisses. Sweet kisses. Soft kisses. Hard kisses. Wet kisses.
Tonight, I’d learned it all.
And I couldn’t wait to see what he’d teach me next.
The morning of my date with Willa, I stopped by the bar to check on Thea. It was nice to have some time off now that she was back from New York, but it was hard to enjoy when she looked so miserable.
As I came down the hallway from the back door, I found her in her office. Her shoulders were hunched over a list. Her eyes were rimmed with red as she sniffled. She’d heard me open the door and was trying to hide her tears.
“Hey,” I said as I leaned on the office door.
“Hey. I didn’t think you’d be in this morning.” She swiped her cheek with the back of her hand, then went about shuffling a stack of papers. “Thanks for taking care of everything while I was gone. Looks like things went well. I’ll get all of the cleaning supplies from your list before we open today. Anything else you need?”
“No, that should do for now.” I stepped into the office and went right around to her side of the desk, perching myself on the edge. I held out a hand, waiting for her to place her palm in mine. The moment she did, the tears came back.
“Sorry.” She swiped at them with her free hand, but they were falling too fast.
“Don’t be sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
She shook her head, pulling herself together. That was one thing about Thea: if she did cry, it never lasted long. “We’ll be fine. It’s not like we didn’t know this would happen. Logan lives in New York. We live here. It’s for the best to end things now before it gets even harder.”
After their trip to New York, Thea and Logan had decided to end the relationship they’d been testing ever since he’d found out about Charlie earlier in the summer. His job as a prominent lawyer and philanthropist for his family dictated he live in New York.
But with Thea’s history there and her desire to raise Charlie in a place where she’d flourish, they needed to be here in Lark Cove.
So Logan and Thea had sacrificed their happiness together, knowing it was best for their daughter.
It had been a huge relief when Thea had called to say they were back. A part of me, a big part, had expected her to tell me they were staying in New York. I’d expected to be left behind.
But they came back, and while I was so damn happy, they were sad. After the relief subsided, the guilt settled in because my happiness was at the expense of their misery.
It wasn’t right.
“It’s no secret I wasn’t happy that Logan showed up.”
She scoffed. “Really? I hadn’t picked up on that.”
I grinned, glad she wasn’t too upset to still tease me. “But I’ll give the guy credit. He did the right thing by not forcing you to move to New York.”
“I almost did,” she whispered. “It was so tempting. But being there was . . . hard. Harder than I thought it would be. And it just wasn’t the right place for Charlie.”
“I missed you guys when you were gone,” I told her. “Things weren’t the same without you around.”
That was an understatement, but I didn’t want Thea to feel bad for leaving. She didn’t need to know how lost I’d felt the day they’d left for New York, wondering if they’d come back. She didn’t need to know how scared I was that I’d lose yet another family.
“We missed you too.”
“I know I acted like an ass when Logan showed up. I was pissed things were changing because of him. But I should have been more supportive. I guess it took you guys leaving and the scare that you might not come back to realize I was just worried about myself. I felt like my family was slipping away and I didn’t handle it well. I’m sorry.”
She squeezed my hand. “It’s okay.”
Maybe it was them leaving that had opened my eyes to what I’d been missing in my life, but if Thea wanted to be with Logan, I wouldn’t stand in the way. He wasn’t the enemy I’d made him out to be.
“I’m glad you’re home,” I told her. “But if you do decide to move, know that I’ll be here for you. I just want you and Charlie to be happy. Hell, I’d even come out and visit.”
Thea pulled her hand from mine and stood from the chair. Then she threw her arms around my shoulders. “Thank you. But we’re not going anywhere.”
I hugged her back. “Good.”
We stayed like that for a few moments until she patted my back and sat back down. “I’d better get back to work.”
“Yeah. And I’d better get going. I’m heading over to the camp to hang with Charlie for a while.”
I’d seen them briefly the day after they’d come home, but we hadn’t really had much time together. I’d missed Charlie too and was just as worried about her as I was Thea, maybe more. Leaving Logan had been hard on her little heart. I hoped some time to just play and laugh and do the things she loved most would make her smile.
“She’ll love that. She really missed you and Hazel while we were gone. I’m sure she’d like to spend some time with you.”
“Call me if you need anything,” I said as I walked out of the office.
“I will.” She waved, then dove back into the paperwork stacked on her desk. I’d taken care of all the logistics for the bar while she’d been gone, but I’d left her the bills to pay and supplies to order. Thea loved mixing drinks, but she had this weird thing where she got off on paperwork.