“Brynn…”
“You’re beautiful,” she added and watched his eyes widen with recognition of what was coming next. He didn’t stop her this time. “And I’m in love with you and just thought you should know.”
She let him kiss her then, surrendered to him as he rolled her to her back, all the while keeping himself deep inside her. He plunged in and out, slow and achingly sweet, his eyes on her until they both were so close. Jamie’s movements picked up momentum, and with his thumb circling her just above where their bodies joined, he made sure she came apart both inside and out. And if the other B&B patrons had any doubt as to their supposed newlywed status, all of it was wiped away as Brynn let out one last cry, and Jamie hissed her name before collapsing against her.
He twitched inside her, and she drew in a breath. Then he brushed a curl off her cheek and pressed his lips to her forehead. All she could think was Thank the stars for crashing weddings and October rain in Amarillo.
“Fine,” Brynn finally said when she’d regained the ability to form coherent speech. “It was a lucky bouquet.”
And they both began to laugh.
Chapter Nineteen
After slipping back into his almost-dry jeans, Jamie dragged their bags in from the hallway. He’d insisted that Brynn have the first shower. With an hour before they had to show up for their “newlywed” dinner, he wanted her to take her time. Not that he hadn’t thought about joining her, but he needed some time to think.
She loved him. There was a sobering thought. She’d made her choice, and he was still wrapping his brain around the fact that it was him.
He tried to free her from the obligation of those words, only wanting her to know he wasn’t entering this situation lightly, that he’d never let happen what just happened—and, holy shit, did something happen—if he wasn’t sure how he felt about her.
He could forgive himself for being a scared teenager, watching what he thought was his parents’ perfect marriage dissolve in front of him and not wanting to see him and Brynn go down that road. What he couldn’t forgive was holding on to that fear for so long, doubting that he could have meant something to her then—that he meant something to her now.
Neither of his brothers had it easy on the other side. Ben and Theresa separated for six months but were trying to make it work. His mom let it slip that Denny and his wife were in counseling. He got it. Marriage was hard. But he and Brynn were only pretend married. Otherwise, what were they? What did this all mean, this loving each other at the strangest possible time? He wanted to rationalize that it would be easier for them because they were Jamie and Brynn. She was his ridiculous Sleepy Jean, belting Monkees tunes from the shower as he sat on the edge of the bed trying to make sense of it all.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to spill the news to Annie if she was texting to goad him again. But when he looked at the screen, he realized it was Brynn’s phone he grabbed instead. The screen woke, and though it was locked, he could still see the first line of the text and who it was from.
Spencer: If you make it by Friday, our room is booked…
He dropped the phone back on the dresser, face down. This was way out of line. Thinking it was his phone was one thing, but reading any further was definitely another. Obviously she’d been talking to Spencer since the reunion. He couldn’t fault her for that.
He tried to swallow back a bitterness rising in his throat. But she was, after all, on her way to him. To Spencer. Who had a room booked for the two of them. Together. And Brynn was on the pill.
He shook his head and groaned.
She said she loved you, asshole.
He had to give her—them—the benefit of the doubt. She could have said what she said because of the whole about-to-orgasm thing. Shit. That would suck. But Jamie knew how he felt. If she really did love him, that text would prompt her to tell Jamie she was calling things off with Spencer and staying with him for the remainder of the trip. And then they’d go home, together, where they’d figure out the rest.
He flopped back on the bed and closed his eyes, ready to surrender to the utter physical and mental exhaustion that was this trip. When he heard the bathroom door open, he left his eyes closed, not ready to enter reality.