to start the next phase of their lives. Aunt Gina’s out-of-her-mind excited to have her family back on the same side of the country. And now that Mom and Caleb are coming too, it’s exactly right. Picture perfect, in fact.” He had no idea what it was like, after all these years, to finally have Mom agree to move back. That alone carved my decision in stone.
“It doesn’t sound like you believe that—at least not anymore.”
I should have been pissed at his boldness, but I wasn’t. He was right. Crazy how he read me so well. No matter how badly I wanted to laugh in his face and tell him he had no idea what he was talking about, I couldn’t. I was no longer one hundred and twenty five percent positive that New York held all the answers.
“It is what it is,” I hummed, raising my face to the sun and letting it warm the chill that passed through me when I thought about letting go of what had popped up so unexpectedly.
“You say that a lot. You shouldn’t feel that way. There’s always a way to change things, especially when you actually have the power to do so. If you have reservations, why don’t you take some time to decide for yourself? It sounds like your sister, your mom, and your aunt will all be very happy once you’re there, but will you be happy or are you simply following the herd?”
Jumping on the defensive, I clicked my tongue. “Hey, I ain’t no sheep, Jacky pants. I do what I want, for the right reasons, and think everything through to the last possible scenario. I didn’t just wake up one morning and say, hmm, maybe I should uproot my whole life—again—just for shits and giggles. It’s part of my future plan, and it’s a really good plan, too. Just because I feel a little vulnerable because I met a cute guy doesn’t mean I’m second guessing the blueprint I designed for myself—a long time ago.”
He didn’t even give me time to realize what I said. Jack stopped walking and turned to me. “You gossipy witch, you spoke to Emma last night, didn’t you?” His smirk and the way he crossed his arms over his chiseled chest had me knitting my brows.
“Huh?”
“You called me Jacky pants. Only Emma calls me that. Did you have fun chatting about the cute guy you met who’s making you second guess your blueprint?”
Jack
Ha! She called my sister. That meant she was thinking of me. It also meant that even though she was trying to keep things platonic, she felt the same way I did—so unplatonic it was fucking ridiculous.
The revelation made me want to scoop her up and drag her into the ocean. After I got her all wet and excited, I’d kiss the salty water from her lips and grope that gorgeous body of hers that she’d had the decency to keep barely covered all day. God, I wanted to touch her so badly. I needed to kiss her, to determine if our chemistry went beyond wanting what I couldn’t have. Sometimes the chase was better than the victory, but with Stella—the victory was definitely what I craved.
Eyeing her up and down as she tried to weasel her way out of another verbal blunder, I inched closer to her and gripped her shoulders. “Stop fighting it, Stella. There are certain things in life that happen for a reason. You and I are going to happen—no matter what the fucking purpose or result entails.”
I was done putting on a façade. She’d given me an opening when she showed her hesitance about leaving for New York. I never passed up an opening when it was advantageous for me. I was the ultimate opportunist, and today’s opportunity had struck like a lightning bolt of hope.
“Jack, we’ve been over this before.” Stella’s hands covered her eyes and then scrubbed her face as she let out a musical little sigh.
I could not pull my attention from her hands—that were now resting on the sexy hollow of her throat—so I reached out to grab them. “Are you a fan of Disney?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Hear me out. Are you?”
She allowed
“It doesn’t sound like you believe that—at least not anymore.”
I should have been pissed at his boldness, but I wasn’t. He was right. Crazy how he read me so well. No matter how badly I wanted to laugh in his face and tell him he had no idea what he was talking about, I couldn’t. I was no longer one hundred and twenty five percent positive that New York held all the answers.
“It is what it is,” I hummed, raising my face to the sun and letting it warm the chill that passed through me when I thought about letting go of what had popped up so unexpectedly.
“You say that a lot. You shouldn’t feel that way. There’s always a way to change things, especially when you actually have the power to do so. If you have reservations, why don’t you take some time to decide for yourself? It sounds like your sister, your mom, and your aunt will all be very happy once you’re there, but will you be happy or are you simply following the herd?”
Jumping on the defensive, I clicked my tongue. “Hey, I ain’t no sheep, Jacky pants. I do what I want, for the right reasons, and think everything through to the last possible scenario. I didn’t just wake up one morning and say, hmm, maybe I should uproot my whole life—again—just for shits and giggles. It’s part of my future plan, and it’s a really good plan, too. Just because I feel a little vulnerable because I met a cute guy doesn’t mean I’m second guessing the blueprint I designed for myself—a long time ago.”
He didn’t even give me time to realize what I said. Jack stopped walking and turned to me. “You gossipy witch, you spoke to Emma last night, didn’t you?” His smirk and the way he crossed his arms over his chiseled chest had me knitting my brows.
“Huh?”
“You called me Jacky pants. Only Emma calls me that. Did you have fun chatting about the cute guy you met who’s making you second guess your blueprint?”
Jack
Ha! She called my sister. That meant she was thinking of me. It also meant that even though she was trying to keep things platonic, she felt the same way I did—so unplatonic it was fucking ridiculous.
The revelation made me want to scoop her up and drag her into the ocean. After I got her all wet and excited, I’d kiss the salty water from her lips and grope that gorgeous body of hers that she’d had the decency to keep barely covered all day. God, I wanted to touch her so badly. I needed to kiss her, to determine if our chemistry went beyond wanting what I couldn’t have. Sometimes the chase was better than the victory, but with Stella—the victory was definitely what I craved.
Eyeing her up and down as she tried to weasel her way out of another verbal blunder, I inched closer to her and gripped her shoulders. “Stop fighting it, Stella. There are certain things in life that happen for a reason. You and I are going to happen—no matter what the fucking purpose or result entails.”
I was done putting on a façade. She’d given me an opening when she showed her hesitance about leaving for New York. I never passed up an opening when it was advantageous for me. I was the ultimate opportunist, and today’s opportunity had struck like a lightning bolt of hope.
“Jack, we’ve been over this before.” Stella’s hands covered her eyes and then scrubbed her face as she let out a musical little sigh.
I could not pull my attention from her hands—that were now resting on the sexy hollow of her throat—so I reached out to grab them. “Are you a fan of Disney?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Hear me out. Are you?”
She allowed
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