Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Jacob leaned against the wall of the pub, listening to Trevor tell a wild story about chasing a dog through the supermarket and laughing. He was eating a slice of lemon meringue pie that was rumored to have been made by Dean’s girlfriend, Noelle, and it was absolutely fantastic. He’d been a touch disappointed to learn that, since he’d been hoping to choose a dessert that Hazel had made, but the pie was refreshingly tart and sweet.
Despite how discouraged he’d been about Hazel turning him down a second time, it had been a wonderful evening. He’d been enjoying fantastic food and even better company, talking with his friends and meeting new people. There was a joyful, festive atmosphere pervading the pub, and Jacob was having a particularly pleasant time.
He’d been keeping his distance from Hazel out of respect, although he’d caught himself glancing in her direction many times throughout the evening. He felt a kind of ache in his heart every time he looked at her, but he still felt hopeful that she might change her mind about him. The news that she’d been planning on asking him out a few months earlier made him feel as light as a feather.
I hope she changes her mind and agrees to go out with me , he thought, glancing around the dining room looking for her. I can’t believe she’s been interested in me all this time. Or, at least she was.
The crowd was starting to die down, since it was later in the evening. He didn’t see Hazel in the dining room, but then he caught sight of her through the large windows of the pub. She was standing on the front porch, bundled up in her winter coat and looking up at the stars.
His heart stirred when he looked at her. He wondered if she was all right, and he felt a sudden urge to go speak with her.
“Looking at Hazel Owens like a lovesick puppy, huh?” Trevor said, elbowing Jacob in the ribs. “Stop denying that you’re into her, man. She looks like she’s about to leave, so you’d better hurry if you want to talk to her.”
Jacob turned to Trevor and gave him a look. Trevor held up his hands, laughing.
“Hey, I’m just pointing out the obvious here.”
After giving Trevor another look, Jacob glanced at Hazel again, feeling torn. He did want to speak with her again before she left, and he wanted to make sure she didn’t go home sad. He’d left their conversation somewhat abruptly earlier, and he worried that she was feeling pained by that.
“Okay, you win. I’ll go talk to her.”
Trevor grinned gleefully and thumped Jacob on the back.
“Go get ’em, Tiger.”
“It’s not—oh, never mind.” Jacob realized that it wasn’t fair to protest that he wasn’t going to talk to Hazel for romantic reasons when he’d asked her out for the second time earlier in the evening. “See you later, Trevor.”
“You better come back and try some of that chocolate pie with me. This is the kind of night where eating more than is good for us is the right thing to do.”
Jacob saluted Trevor, grinning. “You’re so right about that. I’ll come back for that pie.”
As soon as Jacob stepped away from Trevor and his other friends, however, he forgot entirely about pie. He could see Hazel through the windows, and he grabbed his coat hurriedly off the hook that it was hanging on by the front door. He stepped outside, and the frosty air brushed against his face. He took a few hesitant steps toward Hazel, but she didn’t seem to realize he was there.
“Nice night.”
She turned to him, looking surprised. “Hey, Jacob.” She smiled at him, and this time her smile looked shy instead of forced. “It is a nice night.”
“Cold, though. I wanted to come out here and make sure you’re all right.” He nestled his hands inside his pockets and came to stand beside her. In the distance, they could hear the sound of the ocean splashing against the frozen shore. The faint sound of windchimes being played by the breeze made Jacob think of sleigh bells.
She offered him a small smile, looking up at him with a sweet expression. “I am all right. Thank you for asking.”
For a few moments, they were both quiet. It had stopped snowing, and the stars glittered like frosty jewels in the velvety black sky. Jacob felt a surge of contentment, standing there beside her.
Even if I never get to go out with her, he thought. This would be enough. It would be enough for me to get to spend time with her as friends.
He glanced at her and saw that she was looking at him. She looked away bashfully when he turned toward her, but he’d seen in that brief instant that there was a look in her eyes that hadn’t been there earlier in the evening. It was a tender, almost hopeful look, and it made his heart beat faster.
“The event went really well,” he said. “It was an amazing party.”
She nodded. “Mmhmm.”
“Now that it’s over,” he said slowly, “do you think there’s space for you to think about us?”
She cleared her throat gently, and the sound was so high-pitched that he couldn’t help chuckling. “I have been thinking about—well, I was just talking to my mom, and she…” Hazel’s voice trailed off. She looked uncomfortable, and he realized that she was trying so hard to act a certain way around him that she was tangling herself up in knots over it.
“Hey,” he said gently. “It’s just me, Hazel. There’s no pressure here.”
A happy expression spread across her face like a sunrise. She let out a relieved exhale and smiled at him.
“Okay. You’re right. Thank you. I have been thinking about us. My mom talked with me inside, and she reminded me that the event is essentially over. I mean, now it is pretty much over because most people have left, but before when she talked to me the planning was over, and that’s what she was talking about. So she said that I should just relax and talk to my friends, and she didn’t say it then, but I know she was implying that I should let myself think about you romantically again, and that’s why I came out here. I’ve been thinking about you and me and everything that we’ve said and what I’m feeling.”
Her words spilled out of her in a breathless rush, like a flock of birds all breaking out of a cage at once.
Jacob laughed, charmed by how freely she was confessing her thoughts and feelings to him. The fact that she’d been thinking about the two of them made him feel aglow with hope.
“Sorry,” she said. “There are so many thoughts in my brain right now, I didn’t know which ones to let out first. When that happens, I just end up talking really fast and kind of unintelligibly.”
“Don’t you apologize. It’s cute.”
She laughed, and her eyes lit up. She glanced down at her shoes shyly.
“So, what have you been thinking about out here?” he asked her, shuffling a couple of inches closer to her. “About us, I mean?”
“I’ve been thinking about how much of an emotional rollercoaster I’ve been on for most of my life when it comes to men. My marriage didn’t work out, and every time I’ve tried to date someone it hasn’t gone well at all. It’s hard for me to know when to stop giving, because I want to give to the people in my life, but then I end up giving too much to someone who doesn’t return that amount of love. I figured that staying focused on my own needs and my self-confidence would fix that. Because I wouldn’t want to date you and have it not work out, Jacob. That would make me even sadder than not getting to date you at all.”
His heart stirred with sympathy as he listened to her. It sounded to him as though she needed someone who would give back to her, and stop her when she was giving too much. Someone who would look out for her in the same way she was trying to learn to look out for herself.
“I understand what you’re saying. And I’m sorry you’ve had to experience that. But I think that as long as you’re dating someone who’s looking out for you, you’ll be able to have a healthy relationship and still take care of yourself.”
Hazel nodded, looking up at him with slightly wide eyes, as if she was excited but nervous at the same time. “That’s what my mom and Alexis have been saying to me. They keep telling me that I don’t need to abandon my own feelings and needs in order to be in a relationship. I can still continue my journey of growth and self-discovery even if I’m dating someone. I have grown a lot these past few months, and I can trust that opening my heart up to you would be a different experience from how it’s been to open my heart up in the past.”
His heart started to beat faster, and he had to stop himself from taking her hand in his. “I couldn’t agree more. I think it would be a very different experience.” He swallowed, feeling an ache of hopefulness in his chest. “Would you go out on a date with me, Hazel Owens?”
She stepped closer to him and took his hand. His stomach did a somersault, because it felt as if she’d read his mind. He held his breath for a moment as she smiled up at him.
“I would love that, Jacob Dorsey.”
A massive grin leapt onto his face. “Yeah? You’re sure? I’ll take really good care of you, Hazel. I’ll make sure I’m taking care of you?—”
She laughed, holding up a finger. “Slow down there, mister. We’ll take everything one step at a time.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath, unable to stop smiling. He felt excited enough to run around the block. “Can the first step be coffee?”
“Perfect. Maybe coffee and doughnuts?”
“I love doughnuts.”
“I know.”
A gust of wind rushed against the porch, causing something that was hanging over their heads to sway and rustle faintly. He looked up and saw that it was a bundle of mistletoe.
“May I?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” she whispered, squeezing his hand, and he leaned forward to kiss her.
The kiss was wonderful, and he felt incredibly happy—but all at once he and Hazel both pulled away from the kiss hurriedly as they heard an unexpected sound. They turned like a couple of startled deer toward the open front door of the pub, where they could see the Owens family watching them with huge grins on their faces. They had all just uttered a joyous cheer, and some of them were still clapping.
“Yay, Mom just kissed Jacob!” Samantha shouted.
Hazel covered her face with her mittens for a moment, blushing and laughing. Jacob grinned good-naturedly. He didn’t mind if all of Rosewood Beach knew that he and Hazel were going out. He felt more than confident that everything was going to work out amazingly between them.