Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
JORDAN
Bouncing on my toes, a little wired from too much caffeine and no sleep at all, I raise my hand to knock on Jo’s door but hesitate before my hand strikes the wood. I glance around, suddenly acutely aware that it’s not even six in the morning, and it’s still dark out.
From the time Cooper said the words road trip last night, my mind has had one single track.
Get to Jo .
Tell her you love her and can’t live without her.
Beg her to come to Boston.
Grovel if necessary.
I didn’t stop to think much about the details, which is why I’ve been driving for the last nine hours straight and am currently about to wake her up when she is extremely not a morning person. I wonder briefly if I should wait until a more humane hour, but my overwhelming need to get my arms around my girl as soon as humanly possible makes the decision for me.
I knock.
And I wait.
When I don’t hear any movement from inside, I knock again, and then again, suddenly unreasonably angry at this piece of wood separating me from Jo.
I knock again.
“Okay, Jesus, fuck, I’m coming. Ouch! Shit!”
At the sound of Jo’s irritated voice, my smile spreads. Everything inside of me lights right up, and my hands literally twitch with the need to touch her, the words I’ve been dying to say to her already bubbling up in my throat, ready to be set free.
“What?” she demands, yanking open the door. She freezes, blinking at me. “Oh, holy fuck,” she mumbles, immediately slamming the door in my face.
I snicker at the thud I assume is her leaning heavily against the door and then let out a full blown laugh at her muttered, “Of course he looks amazing at the ass crack of dawn.”
I knock again. “Hey, Hurricane?”
“Yeah?” comes her muffled voice.
“You want to maybe open the door? I’ve been driving for a pretty long time, and I really want to see your face.”
I hear her sigh heavily, and then the door opens slowly.
I’ve never really understood the expression my heart leaped , but then Jo is standing in front of me in sleep shorts and an oversized T-shirt, wool socks on her feet—one pulled up over her calf and the other bunched around her ankle. Her eyes are heavy with sleep, and her hair is in a messy ponytail with pieces falling loose around her face. She has a fleece blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and I grin even harder when I see it’s the one with tornados all over it I sent her in my movie night package a couple weeks ago.
Every single thought empties from my head because she’s here and she’s perfect and she’s so completely mine. The love that rushes through me is strong and true, and in this moment, I can see my entire life stretching before me and every single part of it looks like Jo.
Jo tilts her head to the side and studies me. “Are you real? Because I drank, like, all the margaritas last night, and it’s early enough in the morning that I may still be a little drunk, so there’s a non-zero chance that you standing at my door right now is some kind of tequila-induced fever dream.”
Not able to wipe the grin off my face and even less able to keep my hands off her for one more second, I take half a step forward and wrap my arms around her, holding tight. Jo lets out a surprised gasp but recovers quickly. She winds her arms around my neck and hops up, wrapping her legs around my waist. I anchor her to me with one arm tight around her waist and push my other hand into her hair, cradling her head against me.
“It may be a fever dream, but I assure you I am completely real. I fucking missed you, Jo Jo,” I whisper in her ear. “Nothing felt right without my arms around you.”
“A month is too damn long,” she mumbles, burying her face in my neck. I press a kiss to the side of her head and breathe in her familiar scent, filling up all the parts of me that have been empty for the time we’ve been apart. “I missed you too, J. More than is probably reasonable. What are you doing here anyway? Not that I’m complaining because you’re here, and you being here is better than you being not here, but is everything okay?”
I tip my head back just enough to see her face and consider that maybe I should put her down for this and we should have a conversation like normal adults, but fuck that. I don’t want to let her go, and now is the best time because it’s now.
I tighten my arm around her waist and with my other hand, I brush the loose hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear and skimming my fingers over her jaw, watching her still sleepy eyes go soft the way I love.
“Everything is perfect. Better than perfect because I get to be here with you. I love you, Jo. I love you so fucking much. I love your smiles and your sunshine and how you turn everything we do into an adventure. I love your pink Converse, your love of dinosaurs, and that you know things like when National Lost Sock Memorial Day is and sent me a gift card to buy crazy socks when I hadn’t done anything fun in years. I love that you love disaster movies even though they make you yell at the TV and that you always have Fireballs in your pocket. I love that you need to have two different breakfasts because you don’t decision well and that you would rather do anything in the world except for sleep. I love that you have themed pajamas and that you got so excited that we take our coffee the same way and how you were so right about the free mugging thing that I walk around Boston with an open mug every morning and think of you. Everything makes me think of you. I love that you are my very best friend in the whole world, and all I want to do every day is kiss you and hold you and tell you how you are my favorite person on earth. And most of all, I love how you light up my whole world and make me feel like I can do anything and be anything because you’re right there with me.”
Jo’s eyes fill with tears, and as I swipe a thumb under her eyes to wipe away the ones that escape, she leans her forehead against mine. “You brought me back to life, Hurricane, and I’m so excited to live it now because I get to live it with you.”
“I love you too,” she says, her voice shaky with emotion, her arms tightening around my neck and her forehead still pressed to mine. “I love you so damn much, J. You’re my best friend too, and my favorite person, and I never want to be apart from you ever again. Kiss me, J. A month without kissing you is a month too long.”
“Fucking right it is,” I say, running my thumb over her bottom lip before I cover her mouth with mine. My entire body lights up at the feel of her lips on mine. At the way she nips at my bottom lip. At her happy hum when I lick into her mouth and the way she slicks her tongue along mine in a sensual dance that has my whole body lighting up and my cock hardening between us. I have so many more things to say to her and a whole future to plan, but in the doorway to Jo’s house with the soft light of dawn filtering in around us and her in my arms, everything in my world rights itself, and the only place I want to be is right here.
“It’s about time you got to the good stuff.” At Noah’s voice, Jo and I break apart, eyes still locked on each other, hers sparkling with amusement. I lean my forehead back against hers and we breathe against each other, neither of us eager to leave this perfect moment. Or, it would be perfect if my brothers weren’t standing right behind us.
“I thought I told you assholes to stay in the car.”
Elliot scoffs. “And miss this? You must have us mistaken for different brothers.”
“Ones who care about giving you privacy for private moments,” Cooper says, voice full of humor.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to Jo’s forehead. “They were my wingmen for the nine-hour drive. I should have known better. Can’t take them anywhere.”
She giggles a little. “They’re fine. I think whatever we do is always destined to be a family affair. I’ve got some sisters inside.”
Jo barely gets a chance to finish her sentence before Hallie and Hannah appear behind her, both of them stumbling and bleary-eyed and sleep-rumpled. Jo unwraps her legs from my waist and hops down, turning to face her sisters. I wrap both my arms around her and tug her back against me, unwilling to let her get too far away.
Hallie eyes me with a grumpy look that would probably make me laugh if I didn’t think she would remove my balls from my body with her bare hands. “You couldn’t have waited until a reasonable hour to make this love confession? Like maybe after we slept off the tequila?”
I smile at her, propping my chin on Jo’s shoulder. “No can do, Hal. I drove all night to get to my girl. Couldn’t wait any longer.”
“And what exactly are your intentions with my baby sister?” Hannah asks.
One of my brothers snorts out a laugh behind us, and even without looking at her face, I can feel Jo grinning as she brings her arms up to cover mine.
I shrug. “To love her forever.”
Both Hallie's and Hannah’s eyes go soft, and I feel Jo’s breath hitch, her arms tightening over mine.
Hannah nods. “I’ll allow it.”
Noah circles around and wraps both Jo and me in a hug. “I’m happy for both of you. Welcome to the family, Jo Jo.”
“You’re the best, Noah,” Jo says, settling deeper into my hold.
“Is he though?” Elliot asks as he and Cooper join the group hug from behind. “I think I’m the superior Wyles brother.”
“Fuck off assholes. Go find your own girls.”
“Oh, my god, this is going to be so much fun,” Jo laughs. “I’ve always wanted brothers.”
“Well, now you’ve got three of them,” Cooper says, stepping back and smiling at both of us. “Come on, guys.” He glances at Elliot and Noah. “Let’s give them some privacy. I think they’ve earned it.”
Noah swings an arm over Hannah’s shoulder. It’s friendly, but the look in his eyes is a few notches above friendly and belies the casual gesture. “Hannah, you’re looking ravishing this morning. Can we take you lovely ladies to breakfast?”
Hannah stiffens slightly and ducks out from under his arm, scowling at him. “Only if you’re buying and only because I need a vat of caffeine because I think I might still be a little drunk. And if you never call me a lovely lady ever again.”
Noah grins at her. “Well, that’s the most delightful way a girl has ever accepted a breakfast invitation. Come on, let’s go find a place to get you that vat of coffee.”
He claps me on the shoulder and trots back to the car with my other brothers following behind him. Hannah and Hallie both look at Jo, and something wordless passes between the three of them that I can’t quite grasp but feels like both happiness and a touch of something else. Hannah hugs her first and touches my shoulder before following my brothers to the car. Then it’s just me, Jo, and Hallie.
Hallie wraps her arms around Jo and whispers something in her ear I can’t hear, and then she leans up to kiss my cheek. “I love you, Jord, and I’m really, really happy for you. Allie would be too.”
I smile as emotion bubbles up in my chest and Jo laces her fingers through mine, squeezing. “Thanks, Hal. Kiss the babies for me.”
She smiles and heads down to the car, and then it’s just Jo and me.
She spins in my arms and links her hands behind my neck. “I’m pretty mad at you, you know.”
I lean in and kiss her, grinning as I pull away, leading her inside and shutting the door behind us. “Are you?”
She pulls me into the kitchen and hops up on the counter, chuckling as I lay my hands on her knees, pushing her legs apart to crowd between them.
“I am. I sent you the best package in the history of care packages, and then you went radio silent on me after it was delivered. I mean, not even a thank you, J? Disappointing.”
I run my hands slowly up and down her thighs, smiling when she sucks in a breath. “Your New York package was the best present I’ve ever gotten.”
“Ever?” she asks, and I immediately hate the tiny flicker of doubt in her eyes.
I lean in and kiss her softly. “Ever, Jo,” I say against her lips. I pull back so I can look her in the eyes. “You gave me our love story. Every single amazing part of us was in that box, and the second I opened it, all I could think about was getting to you as soon as humanly possible, to tell you I love you. That I’m always going to love you. I was in the car five minutes after I opened the package, and now I’m here. You’re my favorite everything too, Jo Jo, and I’m so sorry it took me so long to find the words to tell you.”
Jo shakes her head, her hands coming up to cup my face. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now.”
“It does matter. I was scared. Terrified, actually, at the idea of opening myself up to this kind of love, knowing what it feels like to lose it. But the thing I realized last night is nothing is as terrifying as the idea of spending the rest of my life without you. And that’s what I want most of all. To love you as well as I can, for as long as I can. I never expected you, Hurricane, but you found me when I needed you most, and I promise to be my absolute best for you, to give you everything you need, and to never, ever stop telling you how much I love you.”
Jo gives a watery laugh, leaning her forehead against my chest. I lean down and kiss the top of her head, trying to memorize everything about this most perfect moment.
“I quit my job.” Her voice is muffled against my shirt and when she lifts her head she’s beaming. Her gorgeous green eyes sparkle.
“You did what?”
“I never told you, but toward the end of the summer, I got an opportunity to start consulting—to work with museums all over the country to set up the kinds of programs I started here and in New York. I love the Carnegie, but the idea of being able to do what I do on such a massive scale was too exciting of an opportunity to pass up. It involves some travel to the museums I’ll be working with, and there are a bunch of other details that aren’t that interesting, but basically, I’m my own boss now. Hurricane Consultants, LLC.”
I smile even as emotion tightens my chest. “You named your company after the nickname I gave you?”
Jo shrugs as if this isn’t one of the best things I’ve ever heard. “I wanted you to be a part of this piece of my new life.”
I bring my hands to her hips, running them up and down her sides. I can’t stop touching her. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop. “Any chance this new life involves you moving in with me? I want…” I pause for a second, swallowing against the bubble of emotion still clogging my chest. “I want you to be with me in every way imaginable, Jo. If you want to stay here, then I’ll come back here too. I don’t care where I am as long as I get to be with you.”
Jo leans forward and kisses me, smiling against my lips. “I didn’t quit my job for you, but the flexibility is a really good side benefit. You’re not coming back here, J. You belong in Boston. It’s your place, and it’s where you were meant to be. If you’ll have me, I want to come with you. I love it there, and I love your family. I don’t care where I am either if I get to be where you are. You need to be there, so I need to be there too. I set up my LLC in Massachusetts.”
“Really?” I ask, the grin spreading over my face.
Jo nods, grinning back at me. “Really. Just doing a little manifesting.”
“Fuck, I love you so much.”
“J, I love you so much right back.”
We grin at each other like idiots, and then we move at the same time. The kiss is wild and free and full of love and the knowledge that whatever we do from here forward, we do together. There is nothing in this world I want more.
“I didn’t tell you the truth about why I haven’t found a place to live yet,” I murmur, running my lips down her jaw, licking at the spot behind her ear, smiling against her skin when she gasps.
“Oh, yeah?” Jo says, a little breathlessly, as my lips continue their journey down her neck where I flick my tongue over her pulse and then over her collarbone and the shoulder bared by her oversized T-shirt.
I tug the T-shirt further down over her shoulder to give me more places to kiss and then slide my hands under the hem, running my fingers slowly back and forth over the waistband of her shorts. “Yeah,” I say, bringing my mouth back to hers for a long, slow kiss before breaking apart and bringing my gaze to hers. “I never really looked all that hard because I didn’t want to do it alone. If I’m going to start a new life, I only want to start it with you. When you’re ready to come to Boston, I want to find a place to live together. I don’t want anything to be just mine. I want everything to be ours.”
Jo smiles, fisting my T-shirt and tugging me closer to her. “That sounds perfect, J. And I’m ready right now.”
I give her a sly smile and slide my hands up her torso, rubbing my thumbs over her nipples and relishing in her sharp intake of breath. “Like, right now, right now?”
Jo crashes her mouth to mine, all teeth and tongues and absolute fire. “I mean, it’s like six-thirty in the morning, so no one is moving states right now, but I can think of all kinds of other things that can be ours right now. Like multiple orgasms right here in this kitchen, and maybe another one or two in my bedroom?”
I laugh, pressing my lips to hers. “You are my absolute favorite human.”
“J, you’re mine too. This is my favorite morning.”
I lean down to kiss her, and know, without a doubt, that it’s mine too.