Chapter 42
forty-two
. . .
Brynnlee
“Someone had themselves a sex filled night,”Taylor announces much too loud as I enter Marco’s in desperate need of coffee.
“Shh.” I narrow my eyes at her and both Marco and Taylor laugh.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” she challenges me and I roll my eyes and walk to the counter, to get my awaiting coffee. We”d planned an eight o’clock coffee date and I may have been a little late.
“It was hot, but you are almost thirty minutes late.” Ignoring Marco I lift the cup and take a sip. It’s not hot, but warm enough and telling them I need it warmed would only give them satisfaction so I ignore it.
“So things seem to be going well.” Marco arches a brow when I join them. “He is completely in awe of you, last night was testament to that. The way he watches you, and smiles when you don’t know he’s got you in his sights. Girl, I’m jealous.”
“Is it wrong that I’m still waiting for something to explode and this bubble I’m in to pop?”
“There is no way that man is going to let anyone or anything get in his way this time.” Taylor says this like she knows something I don’t know. “I’m just saying.” She shrugs and both Marco and I stare at her. I’m not letting her off that easily.
“Taylor.” She quickly looks down. “Mind sharing your thoughts?”
“No thoughts.” She shakes her head, refusing to look at Marco or myself.
“You forget that you can’t lie for shit.” Her eyes narrow, but again she is focusing on the table or her hands wrapped around her cup, versus looking at me. “And you avoid eye contact, which is a dead giveaway.”
“Whatever,” she scoffs, forcing herself to look at me and when she does I can’t help but laugh. Her face is pinched, like she’s concentrating really hard.
“Fine, Connor always puts his phone on speaker when he gets a call. He thought I was sleeping and I wasn’t.”
“And?”
“I had to endure more than thirty minutes of conversation where Jensen may as well have said that you hung the moon, the stars, and all the fucking planets. The guy is head over heels for you. He may not say it aloud, but I swear I’ve never in my life heard a man talk about a woman the way he talks about you. He’s had shit, like capital shit, with Chrissy. The man knows firsthand what it”s like to be trapped in hell with no escape. You, my lovely friend, shook his core. Not only is the sex incredible, but you’ve also stopped his heart. I’m not talking infatuation, no guy tells another guy the things Jensen did without the worry of being ridiculed. Jensen didn’t care, he laid it all out. You’ve got him, like really truly got him!”
All I can do is stare at my best friend. My heart feels so tight in my chest that I’m afraid to speak.
“He didn’t have to say the things he said.” Taylor offers me a true genuine smile. “But there he was pouring his heart out to the pig of all men, knowing that it could very well be used against him. Connor isn’t a feelings kind of guy, he doesn’t care about all the love shit, but Jensen bared his soul. For the first time I was literally jealous of what he feels for you. The guy’s in love with you, Brynn.”
I take a slow deep breath.
“You may not admit it, you might be afraid to, but I know you’re in love with him too.”
I bite at my lower lip.
“Let go of the fears, because I can assure you he’s not going anywhere.”
“Even if Sebastian warns him away?”
“What?” Marco interrupts.
“Apparently Sebastian made it a point to tell Jensen to stay away from me.”
“When?” Taylor looks confused.
“I don’t know exactly because Jensen wouldn’t tell me more, but I’m assuming shortly after I found out about Chrissy.”
“Yet here he is, doing all he can to be a part of your life. So I’d have to say with or without Seb’s warning the man is still right at your feet.”
“The wedding may be interesting,” I confess, as my stomach knots. “I invited Jensen as my plus one.”
It’s already been decided that Marco would be joining Taylor and I so I knew she’d be well entertained.
“Areyou sure you’re up for this?” Jensen’s grin should scare me, but to be honest I’m excited. I’ve met his sisters, though Jenna’s introduction was a little odd being that it was in a restroom and during a time when I’d thought of her brother as a cheater. But the way she stood up for him, but in a kind way, said a lot. She obviously loves Jensen.
I’ve heard so much about his mother, her kindness, and the way she refuses to let them falter on their weekly dinners. I love her need to hold them together. It’s sweet really.
“Yes,” I assure him with a smile.
With his hand linked with mine, he drags his thumb along my palm and we walk toward the front door. It is comforting.
Pausing as we reach the front door, Jensen curls our joined hands around my back, pulling me in close, his lips hovering above mine. “Just so you know, if they freak you out, and you feel like running for the hills, I’m not letting you get far.” He smiles as he presses a kiss to my lips.
Lifting my free hand up, I cup his jaw. “I’m not going anywhere.” He pulls back. “I’m exactly where I want to be.”
The words Taylor spoke linger in my mind, as I stare up at him. She was right, I am in love with him. I think I was long before I should have been. I’ve let go of the fear, I’ve given into the want and owned the need.
I want this.
I want him and all the crazy that comes with it.
“I’m gonna hold you to that, babe.” He kisses me again just as the door opens and there in the doorway stands not one sister but both. Each smiling happily and just over their shoulder the woman I assume is his mother, a smile from ear to ear.
“Jensen.” She waves her hand as she moves forward. “Let go of her.” She pats at his arm. “Please, you’ve kept me waiting long enough to meet this beautiful girl.”
Hooking her arm with mine, she drags me off and I glance back to see his sisters descend on him.
“We’ll let them have at him,” Jensen’s mother says as she leads me to the kitchen. “You and I are gonna get to know one another.”
I should be nervous, but I’m not. She reminds me of my own mother, her kind smile, and sweet eyes. Nothing about her made me uneasy.
“I can already tell I’m gonna love you,” she gushes. “I knew two-seconds in when I met Chrissy that she was all wrong for my boy. But you sweetheart, you are a gem.” She leads me to the chair opposite her and then rounds the small island as she gets back to chopping tomatoes.
“Would you like help?” I ask as I start to stand and she instantly tells me to sit. “You are a guest, you sit. Let’s chat, tell me all about yourself. How did you and my Jensen meet?”
And just like that I’m lost in conversation with her. Time passes and we laugh and she is quickly telling me all about the boy before the man. Sharing stories of Jensen and his siblings and I am in awe of the woman that brought the man I love into this world.
“What’s so funny?” Jensen steps up behind me and places his hands on my hips, leaning in to kiss the space beneath my ear. The gesture seems so natural to him. I notice how his mother observes him, like she knows some kind of secret no one else knows. “You’re not spilling any secrets are you, ma?”
“Never.” She waves him off as she turns to pull something out of the oven.
Jensen takes this as the chance to kiss me, whispering near my ear. “She is in love with you already,” he assures me before backing up and leaving us once again.