21. Tripp
TRIPP
Tripp stood in the farmhouse kitchen, watching the kids model their clothes for the formal and pose for photos together.
Tag’s daughter Olivia looked on, laughing as Dulcie’s little sister Delphine and her best friend, Sadie Fournier posed for selfies. The two were going without dates, which Tripp thought was a pretty good idea for a pair of sixteen-year-olds, especially when one was basically his niece.
Cash’s son, Cody, was pinning a rose to Annika Corbin’s dress, his hands practically shaking.
Cody and Annika were juniors, and they had been best friends since the year Cody and Bella moved to town. But Tripp was pretty sure there was a lot more to their feelings than friendship these days.
I hope he doesn’t get his heart stomped on, Tripp thought darkly before he could stop himself.
But Cody and Annika weren’t Tripp and Jillian. They were still young and innocent. Everything would turn out just right for the two of them, if it was meant to.
The front door opened.
“Shoes,” everyone yelled.
A moment later, Levi Andrews appeared, looking very sharp in a tux with a turquoise bow tie that perfectly matched Olivia’s dress.
“Whose limo is that out there?” he asked.
“Limo?” Cody echoed.
The kids all scrambled for the front door, in a hurry to see what all the fuss was about.
“Whoa, Olivia,” Levi said as they headed down the hall. “You look incredible.”
Tripp couldn’t help noticing Olivia’s cheeks go pink as she took Levi’s hand and headed down the hall with the others.
“Did you send a limo?” Tripp asked his brother, Cash, who was sitting at the kitchen table with a few of the other adults. Cash was a bit of a rock star, and though you might not believe it these days to look at him, he did still have rock star money.
“Not me,” Cash said. “I didn’t even know we had a limo company around here.”
“Uncle Tripp,” Olivia yelled from the front door. “I think you better come out here.”
“What is it now?” Tripp mumbled, heading down the hall to where the kids were all gathered out on the front porch.
As he got closer, he could hear music playing.
The kids sort of giggled at him as they made room on the porch so he could step outside.
The scene awaiting him on the front lawn was so unexpected that for a few seconds, he just stood there, unable to process what he was seeing.
Levi was right—there was an enormous limo parked right in the middle of the gravel driveway.
And there was no mystery about who sent it, because standing in front of it was Jillian.
She was wearing that beautiful dress, with her golden hair swept up to reveal the elegant curve of her neck and a twinkling golden necklace.
The look in her eyes was a little reckless, and she was holding a big old boombox-style radio like the kind they’d had in high school.
“Tripp,” she called out to him. “I made a mistake.”
Before he could even think about a reply, she hit a button on the boombox and the opening notes to Paul McCartney’s “Silly Love Songs” began to play.
Tripp watched in utter amazement as Jillian cleared her throat and sang right along, her voice bright against the hush of the breeze, and her delivery nice and strong, even though she looked terrified.
As much as she’d hurt him, and as hard as this last week had been, he couldn’t help the warmth that spread through his chest as he watched one of the most reserved people he had ever met put herself out there for him, in front of a gaggle of teenagers, in the biggest way she knew how—a way she knew he would like.
Before the song was over, he found himself chuckling and singing along with her, with one or two of the kids joining in, Cody really giving it some enthusiasm.
By the time it was done, everyone was smiling and laughing, including Jillian, whose eyes had gone from fearful to hopeful.
“Tripp Lawrence,” she called to him. “Will you go to the Winter Formal with me?”
The kids all whooped out happy sounds of surprise and approval. Delphine said, “Uncle Tripp just got a prom-posal.” And a few of them made kissy noises.
“Okay, kids,” Tripp said. “Everybody inside. Get ready to go. I’ll be right in.”
There was some grumbling, but all six kids piled back into the house, leaving Tripp alone outside with Jillian. Well, mostly alone. He wasn’t about to kid himself into thinking that everyone inside wasn’t watching through one of the windows.
Jillian stood there awkwardly on the lawn, the boombox still in her hands.
“I’m sorry,” she said after a moment. “I know this wasn’t really enough to make up for dumping you like that.”
He came down the steps to join her.
“What happened, Jillian?” he asked. “Why did you run away like that?”
“I was afraid to tell you what I wanted,” she said, meeting his eyes bravely.
“What do you want?” he asked her.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “But I know I do not want to keep things casual.”
“That’s good,” he said right away. “Me neither.”
She frowned and looked down.
“Did you think that’s what I wanted?” he asked.
“Everyone in town was warning me about you,” she admitted.
“I see,” he said, trying to crush down his frustration over his reputation. After all, he had it for a reason.
“Also, I, um, was getting something out of my coat that night when we were over here for dinner,” she admitted, looking ashamed. “I promise I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help hearing what you were saying to West on my way past the living room.”
“What was I saying?” Tripp asked, frowning and trying to remember the conversation with his brother.
“You said, We’re just going to keep it casual,” Jillian said, not meeting his eyes.
“What?” Tripp asked, frowning.
“West said, Are you sure she’s okay with it?” Jillian said. “And you said, We’re just going to keep it casual.”
The words didn’t make any sense, but they actually did sound sort of familiar for some reason.
“Oh,” Tripp said as the pieces clicked into place for him. “Oh, wow. Okay, I see how you got there. I did say all that. But you weren’t there for the first part of the conversation.”
“What do you mean?” Jillian asked.
“He was asking if I wanted a tux instead of a suit,” Tripp said simply.
“Okay?” Jillian said, clearly not getting it.
“He offered me a tux instead of a suit,” Tripp said. “And I said definitely a suit. And he asked if you would be okay with that.”
“And you said we were keeping it casual,” Jillian finished for him, dropping her head into her hands.
“I knew it was what you wanted because you told me the day you got your dress,” Tripp said.
She nodded, not lifting her head from her hands.
“It’s okay,” he told her. “I know what that sounded like now. I get it.”
“I was so afraid to be foolish that I made an even bigger fool of myself,” she wailed into her hands.
Tripp couldn’t help chuckling.
“You’re adorable,” he said. “Did you know that?”
She shook her head, still not lifting her face.
“I like that you want something serious,” he told her, moving closer and gently placing his hands on her shoulders. “I want something serious too. Very, very much.”
She finally looked up, her beautiful green eyes meeting his.
“Really?” she whispered.
“Really,” he told her. “Do you want to hear a secret?”
She nodded.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” he admitted. “And I think the reason I didn’t want a girlfriend all these years was because the only person I ever wanted to get serious with was you.”
Her eyes widened, and then she went up on her toes.
One moment, he was mesmerized by the trust and sweetness in her gaze.
The next, her soft lips were pressed to his, and the world around them was melting away as a surge of love rose up in his chest, so passionate that all the kisses in the world wouldn’t be enough to satisfy it.