Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Preston
Iheld tight to Jess’s hand as she accepted congratulations and offers of support.
Of course, the committee members all wanted to talk about what she’d discovered in that asshole’s proposal.
All except Tilley, who wanted all the details of our relationship first, hoping she could take credit for pushing us together in some way.
As for me, I just stood there with a proud smile on my face, watching the woman I was no doubt incredibly head over heels in love with, handling the attention like she’d been doing it her whole life.
There was a lot ahead of her, ahead of both of us—I had no intention of letting her do it alone—but I had no doubt she’d handle the pressure with grace.
And more than that, she’d do what was best for Trickle Creek.
I don’t remember deciding to leave the meeting.
One moment, we stood there surrounded by everyone we knew; the next, I was opening the passenger door to my truck and helping her inside. I’d get her car in the morning, but for now, I didn’t want to be apart from her. Not for a moment.
I shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side, climbed in, and stared out the windshield.
I didn’t start the engine. Instead, I sat back and told myself to breathe.
It’s not that I was some calm, unshakable presence. I’d lost my temper more than once lately. I’d snapped, sworn, and walked away when I should have stayed. I’d screwed up. But this was different.
Because I wasn’t trying to cool down.
I was trying not to unravel.
“Preston,” Jess said quietly.
That was all it took.
I turned toward her, and whatever restraint I’d been clinging to finally gave way. I reached for her without thinking. My hand slid into her hair as I leaned across the space between us and kissed her hard.
It was the kind of kiss I’d been waiting far too long to make happen, fueled by everything we hadn’t said and everything we’d both been pretending wasn’t there.
She made a soft sound against my mouth, her hands gripping my shoulders like she needed something solid to hold onto. I kissed her like I’d been holding back for weeks, like every second I hadn’t been touching her or holding her had been a mistake.
When I finally pulled away, it was only because I needed air. My forehead rested against hers as I tried to steady my breath.
“I haven’t stopped wanting you,” I said quietly. “Not since the day you dropped those daisies.”
Her breath caught, her hands tightening on my shoulders.
“I wanted you then, too,” she said, the words rough and honest. “I was just too scared to be the girl who said yes.”
“You’re saying yes now?”
She smiled. “Oh, I’m definitely saying yes now.”
Her words were my undoing. “I need you, Jess,” I rasped. “So badly.”
She responded by crawling over the distance and straddling my lap. Her hands cradled my face. She looked in my eyes. “I’m here.”
I kissed her again, tasting the sweetness of her as she shifted closer. My hands settled on her back, drawing her in until her warmth was pressed against me, her hips grinding into me.
She smiled into the kiss, like she knew exactly what she was doing to me as she rocked her hips in a lazy rhythm. The friction built heat between us, and my cock hardened against my jeans with her movements.
I gripped her hips lightly, guiding her pace and syncing us together like we’d done this in the cab of my truck a million times.
“Mm-mm. Feels good,” I murmured against her mouth, while one hand slipped under her shirt to trace up her side and to cup her breast gently. She sighed and arched into my touch, her fingers threading through my hair as our kiss deepened, our tongues twisting together lazily.
Still, I kept the rhythm steady, my thumb circling her nipple through her bra until it tightened into a hard pebble that I flicked lightly. Just enough to make her moan.
She ground down harder, her breath quickening and her body responding with soft shivers. “Preston…”
I held her gaze. The words I’d been needing to say for too long tumbled from me, raw and vulnerable. “I know what we said, Jess. But this isn’t just one night for me. It never was.”
Her breath hitched, her eyes softening. “Not for me either, Pres. I think I’m falling in love with you.”
“I’m already there, sweetheart.” I kissed her again and pressed my hips up to meet her.
The pressure built, her movements growing urgent, but unhurried. My hand on her hip held her firm. I wasn’t letting her go anywhere. Not anymore. My fingers teased her bare skin under her shirt as she chased her release.
She came with a quiet moan, trembling against me, her forehead resting on mine as her climax washed through her. I kissed her softly through it and held her close until she relaxed into my lap.
We stayed like that for a moment, breathing each other in. The cab of the truck was suddenly so quiet after everything that had just exploded between us.
Jess moved first.
“There’s something you need to understand,” she said quietly.
My chest tightened, but I didn’t interrupt.
“When I told you I invested in Timberstone, I didn’t tell you all of it.”
“Jess, I—”
“No.” She stopped me. “You need to know.”
I sat back, giving her the space to say what she needed to.
“I put everything I had into this project.”
I nodded; she’d told me that already.
“And I told you my parents helped me cover the rest.”
Again, I knew all this.
She inhaled slowly before breathing out. “What I didn’t tell you,” she continued, “was that my parents gave me everything they had. All of it. Their entire retirement savings.”
My breath caught.
“They did it for me,” she said quickly. “Because they trusted me.”
Jesus.
“It was when I tried to end things with Trevor before the wedding that I realized just how complicated walking away was really going to be.”
I frowned. “You still ran—”
“I did.” She nodded. “But I hoped there might be a chance to fix things without blowing up everyone’s lives.”
“So…just now…”
“We lost everything,” she said, her words simple but devastating.
“Jess. But…you—”
“It was the right thing to do, Preston.”
I nodded, but my heart ached for the load she’d been carrying alone. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to think it was about money.”
“God, Jess.” I grabbed her hands. “I don’t think that. How could I?”
Her eyes lifted to mine.
“Hell,” I continued. “When I saw you standing there, in the middle of an impossible situation, trying to hold it all together by yourself, all I could think of was the strong, brave, amazing woman you are.”
Her breath hitched.
I squeezed her hand. “But don’t ever think I could look at what you did tonight and see someone who would ever choose money over people. You chose the town. You chose what was right. Even when it cost you.”
She blinked fast, emotion shining in her eyes.
“I don’t know what comes next,” she said.
I leaned closer, resting my forehead against hers.
“Whatever it is, you don’t have to handle it alone,” I told her. “Not anymore.”
Her fingers tightened in mine.
“Thank you,” she said simply. “For always being there for me. Even when I don’t make it easy.”
I chuckled. “You never have to make it easy for me, Dots.” I pressed a kiss to her freckled nose, and her mouth curved into a small, real smile.
Whatever she was risking, I was in it with her.
And whatever came next, this was only the beginning.