Chapter 31 #2
“If you find Jerrica, you’ll find the diamond. Either she or Chad collected it from the cleaning cart. I’m guessing Jerrica, ‘cause she can more easily disguise herself as a cleaning lady.”
“Well done, Miss Sinclair.” Chris nods, making a note before pulling out a phone to send a text.
I did it.
I’ve finished this hike, and I helped solve a crime. It was scary, but I didn’t quit because I was scared. Now if only I could convince Jack to do the same thing and choose not to run scared.
Chris has me go over everything one more time, and I want to rage attack him and his mellow vibe. The hangry is at an all-time high.
“Time’s up,” Jack announces, giving a pointed look to Chris. I wilt back against the bed, ready to beg for food and permission to finally get some sleep.
A muffled discussion happens between Jack and Chris while I chug the rest of the water in my bottle, a trickle of it running down my chin. Delirium has taken over and evicted my dignity.
Chris opens the door to my room, ushering in a forensic photographer and a gust of unease.
I won’t get any sleep in this room tonight.
No blood was shed, yet as I look at the multiple yellow and black numbers beside objects around the room—one next to Marigold, another beside a small inch of yellow thread—it’s an unwelcome recap of the events that could have led to a horribly different outcome.
The bottle crunches in my hand when my arms visibly shiver.
“You won’t be sleeping in here tonight,” Jack says soothingly, reading my thoughts as he crouches beside the bed. “Come on, let’s get you to the other room.”
My feet slip back into my dirty shoes, a flash from the photographer’s camera causing me to flinch.
I follow Jack in a daze, taking one last glance back at Marigold.
Who knows if I’ll ever see her again? Jack closes the interconnected door and then places my suitcase on the floor by the far side of the queen bed.
Be strong, Willow. It’s just one night sleeping beside the man you love before you never see him again. You can do it.
Frik.
I do love him.
That’s unfortunate.
I sink onto the bed, my head falling into my hands. “You know the saddest part of all of this? I missed the bolognese.”
Jack’s voice echoes from inside the open bathroom. “You didn’t. Some will be arriving in a few minutes.” My mouth hangs open as he emerges from the bathroom in a pair of sweats and a fresh, snug-fitting T-shirt.
The faint clicking of the photographer’s camera from the adjoining room punctuates the air while my brain attempts to catch up on everything that just happened.
First of all, the universe clearly still needs convincing that I don’t like being tortured, because now he’s ordering my favorite meal to our room, and I’m supposed to just walk away from him tomorrow? Not fair.
Secondly, did this man leave the bathroom door open while changing, and I missed it? Double not fair.
Jack strides closer, the mattress dipping as he lowers himself onto the bed, his large hand resting on my calf while he faces me. “About what I was trying to say at the restaurant—”
“No, please. Just let me enjoy the bolognese before you do this. I need just a few more minutes of ignorant bliss before you end this—”
“End this? Lo…” A chuckle rumbles in his chest, and he reaches up to clasp my hand. “The only way this ends is happily ever after.”
My mouth opens, moving but no words form. “But…I thought you—you acted like you didn’t want anything more…like you wanted us to go our separate ways.”
“Willow Sinclair, I’m an idiot. By the time I finally realized that not giving this thing a chance would be the stupidest mistake I’ve ever made, that text came through at the end of the hike, and I got it into my head that if Owen and Mary suspected how close we’d become, it would only cause more trouble for you.
So I pulled back. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, not hauling you into my arms and telling you that you’re worth taking a chance. Because you’re worth choosing.”
He lifts a hand, caressing away the tear trailing down my cheek. “Wow…um—” I sniffle, unsure of so much but never more certain of the fact that this man is my future. “You know Owen and Mary assumed we were dating, though?”
“Really? They didn’t say anything.” He glowers.
“I’m sorry I did this all wrong and made you doubt how I felt,” he continues as he runs a hand down his face, the rough scrape of his beard against his palm making me want to nestle into the crook of his neck.
“Then I thought I needed to solve this case first so that you’d know my decision had nothing to do with my need to protect you, even though I’m pretty sure that impulse to keep you safe will never go away. ”
He frowns, making me whimper, then his concern-filled eyes bounce up to mine.
“It’s really messed up that I find your frown so attractive. Almost as attractive as your smirk, and your many smiles,” I admit.
“Yeah?” He grins, one side of his mouth curling higher while he leans forward, bracketing his arms on either side of me.
I nod as the space between us shrinks. “It’s my kryptonite.”
His voice rumbles out, soft and gritty. “What does it make you wanna do, Lo?”
“It’s more like…you could probably do whatever you wanted, and I’d happily go along with it…”
The air sizzles between us, and he flashes the full force of his smile again before his eyes drop to my mouth. “Like this?” he asks before closing the distance and searing my lips in a scorching kiss.
His hands remain fisted, pressing into the mattress on both sides of me while my fingers grow bold, raking through his hair.
He tastes like cinnamon and new dreams. I’d told myself that this feeling was a myth or something that wasn’t in the cards for me. Yet here I am, being devoured by the man I’d convinced myself I couldn’t have.
A knock on the door finally cools the heat simmering between us. Jack inches away, his jaw pulsing as he swipes at my bottom lip with a low growl.
And now I’ll be adding that sound to my list of weaknesses.
“We may need to come up with a no-kissing-near-a-bed rule,” he breathes, and I hum a reluctant response. It’s probably a wise boundary, because I can see how things between us can heat up pretty quickly.
“This is going to be the best-tasting bolognese of my life.” I smile coyly, giving his chest a gentle shove.
I place my palms on my heated cheeks while Jack wheels in a food cart with multiple covered plates.
My mouth waters when he hands me a steaming bowl of bolognese, the savory aroma of hearty meat and Italian spices making my toes curl.
I scoot back against the headboard, using up every bit of my manners in waiting for him to join me instead of inhaling my food like Garfield with a bowl of lasagna.
Jack grabs the TV remote before nestling beside me, his thigh pressed against my knees.
I groan after my first bite, wondering if the chef would sell me his recipe. When I look up, Jack is frozen, his eyes heated as they fall to my mouth. “Looks like I’ll be starting my own kryptonite list,” he says, his gaze not leaving my lips.
I lower my bowl, clearing my throat.
“I know we have stuff to talk about…about what happened. But for tonight, can we just enjoy our dinner and fall asleep watching old movies? My brain is fried, and if this food wasn’t so delicious, I’d be at risk of falling asleep with my face in the bowl.”
He slides his empty fork into his mouth before pointing it at me. “So you’re asking if we can snuggle and pretend I didn’t lose another ten years off my life when I saw a gun pointed at you again?”
“Exactly. And you’ll look hot with salt and pepper hair, don’t worry.”
He nods, eyeing me while he chews. “Saying no to you is gonna be a problem, isn’t it?”
“It’ll certainly make your life easier if you stick to yes,” I say with a grin.
He hums an acknowledgment, warming me with joy as he scans through TV channels, settling on Casablanca. I can’t help staring at him, though, even with my favorite movie playing. I’m sitting beside the most handsome man I’ve ever seen, and he chose me.
“Watch the movie, Lo.” He nods to the TV, a new kind of smile making its first appearance.
Rick is murmuring his famous last line to Captain Renault when my eyes blink open.
Jack has cleared the bed of our dinner, and I can’t fight the call of sleep as he pulls the blanket up over my shoulder.
Warm lips pressed to my forehead are the last things I feel before falling back asleep, wishing we could stay in this bubble between his world and mine for eternity.
But I have a huge mess to clean up and my own bomb to drop when I get back to reality and face my parents tomorrow.
Who knows how they’ll handle it when I tell them I’m changing my career path again and that I’ve fallen in love with someone in only five days.