Chapter Ten
Jagger drove them to the ski resort, and Justice almost had a mind to ask for two separate rooms or at least a suite with two bedrooms. She needed time to think about what he said to her.
Justice needed to decide if she wanted to follow her own heart and admit she felt the same way about him, even if that meant opening herself up to hurt and disappointment.
She also knew Jagger wouldn’t allow her that much distance.
He hadn’t let her out of his sight since the day he found her in the alley.
She was pretty sure he would follow her to the ends of the earth, and his declaration of love proved that to her today.
Justice was afraid to hope for anything from Jagger, especially his love.
But when he admitted to her what she had been secretly hoping for, she acted like a complete ass.
She just couldn’t let herself believe it was all so easy, falling in love.
This was all so new to her that she had no real frame of reference to judge what was happening between them.
She wished that she could call her grandmother or a friend to talk through her feelings, but that wouldn’t change the way she felt about Jagger. She was in love with him.
Her mother used to tell her that when she met the right man, it wouldn’t feel like such a fight, that they would just click, and she would know.
She felt that way about Jagger, but given the circumstances of the way they met and how they got together, she doubted her feelings, even putting up walls to protect her heart.
Jagger opened the door and deposited their few bags in the bedroom.
She stood in the living area of the suite and stared out at the view of the ski slope just outside their balcony.
It was breathtaking. The skiers looked like little ants making their way down the massive mountain, and she couldn’t wait to spend the day out there.
She had been cooped up in a tiny cabin for two weeks, missing her friends back in Harvest Ridge.
Dean relayed a message from Sunny that they were all thankful she was safe and that they understood she couldn’t talk right now.
She knew that Sunny’s due date was fast approaching, and it made her sad that she was probably going to have to miss the birth.
She promised to take care of the bakery for her friend while she was out on maternity leave, and she hated leaving her high and dry.
Justice sometimes wished she could just go back to her old life, but then Jagger would walk into the room and remind her that her new life wasn’t so bad.
“You’ve been quiet,” he said, watching her from across the room.
He kept his distance since blurting out that he was in love with her, letting her have time to process his words.
Honestly, she needed more than just a couple of hours to figure out how she felt about his declaration.
Justice worried that his admission would change things between the two of them, and that was the last thing she wanted.
If she admitted her feelings now, he might think she was just telling him what he wanted to hear.
If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be being true to herself or her feelings, and that wasn’t who she was.
It was almost time for dinner, and her stomach protested loudly.
“I’m just tired and hungry, and I’d love a bath.” She knew she was being a coward again. Justice was trying to hide from Jagger, and that was something she promised not to do. But she needed some alone time, and a hot bath sounded like heaven.
“I’ll go down to the restaurant and order some food.
You can take your bath, and I’ll have dinner ordered by the time you are done.
But I won’t let you hide away from me forever, Justice.
Sooner or later, you and I are going to have to talk about what I said.
You’re going to have to stop hiding from me and admit how you feel, for better or worse.
” He smiled at her, crossing the room to give her a quick kiss.
Justice knew he was right, but she needed to talk to her best friend.
Sunny would know exactly what she should do.
Hearing her voice and getting her opinion about Jagger would mean everything to Justice, but that would mean sneaking a phone call.
Jagger would never let her take a chance and call back to Harvest Ridge.
Since she didn’t have a phone, that would mean using the one in the room, and she worried that he would find out at checkout that she went against his orders and called back home.
But by then, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
Her Granny Norma used to say that when it came to men, it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.
She didn’t quite understand what her grandmother meant until now.
Jagger headed down to the lobby and the little restaurant and told her he would be back in about thirty minutes.
That didn’t give her much time, but she knew she could quickly explain everything to Sunny and hopefully get some of her friend’s advice about the whole messed-up situation before he returned.
Justice watched through the peephole in the door to see Jagger get on the elevator.
As soon as the doors closed, she ran into their bedroom to find the phone.
She hesitated, feeling slightly guilty about breaking the rules, but in the end, she gave up the fight and dialed Sunny’s number, hoping her friend would pick up.
“Hello,” Sunny’s voice felt like a balm to her frayed nerves. “Who is this?” Her friend’s question reminded her that she was calling from an unknown number.
“Sorry, it’s me, Sunny—Justice.” She choked back her sob. She couldn’t waste her time crying on the phone—she had too much to say.
“Justice! Where the fuck are you? Tell me that you are all right, honey.” Sunny seemed to explode with questions, and Justice worried that her time was ticking by.
“I’m fine, Sunny. Listen, I don’t have much time. I’m safe, but I’m not supposed to call you. I might be putting you all in danger,” she said. Justice second-guessed herself for calling. She was being selfish and possibly hurting all the people she loved.
“I don’t care about that, Justice. It’s so good to hear your voice.
Your friend, Dean, called to tell me you were safe and that you were with some guy named Jagger.
Tell me that you haven’t been abducted and are being held against your will.
” Justice barked her laugh into the phone.
She couldn’t tell her that—it would be a lie.
Except now, she was willingly being held by Jagger every night.
“Well, it’s a long story—one that I don’t have time to explain, but I will, someday,” she promised.
“I am with a guy named Jagger, and well, he’s my husband.
” Sunny gasped into the phone, and she couldn’t help her smile.
Not much surprised her friend, so it was nice to hear that she could keep her on her toes.
“Husband!” Sunny yelled back into the phone, making Justice pull the receiver from her ear.
“Husband,” she confirmed. “Another long story, but I will fill you in later. Jagger married me to keep me safe from my father. My dad had plans to marry me off to a business associate named Jordan Wolf.” Sunny gasped into the phone again, but this time Justice didn’t give her time to ask questions.
“Just stay with me, Sunny. I’ve fallen in love with Jagger, but I don’t know how that’s even possible,” she whispered.
“Stockholm Syndrome,” Sunny barked. “He’s brainwashed you. You are being held against your will, and now you think you’re in love with your captor.” Justice laughed at Sunny’s assessment.
“I thought the same thing at first. But I’m not being held against my will.
He gave me my truck keys back the same night that he took me and told me that I’m free to leave anytime.
I’ve chosen to stay, to marry him, and to fall in love with him.
He said he loves me, but I’m too chicken to say it back,” she admitted, feeling like an awful coward.
“You’re telling me that he let you go and you stayed?
” Sunny whistled into the phone, and Justice felt panicked.
Was her friend right? Should she have hightailed it out of there when she had the chance?
At first, she stayed with Jagger to save her ass and because she wanted to help Jules.
But, if she was being completely honest with herself, she stayed because she felt this indescribable force drawing her to him.
Justice felt it every damn day they were together.
“I know this all sounds crazy, Sunny. But I love him and I’m not sure if I should trust my heart and tell him or keep my guard up.” Justice felt raw from the unshed tears she refused to release.
“You should tell him,” Jagger whispered from the doorway behind her, causing her to jump.
“Shit, Sunny, I have to go. I love you and will try to get you messages as I can.” She hung up the phone before allowing Sunny to ask more questions.
She knew her friend would try to keep her on the phone and make her give answers that she wasn’t sure she had.
She turned to face Jagger, her stubborn mask in place.
“I won’t apologize for calling my friend,” she said.
She didn’t like the way Jagger looked her up and down, almost as if he was trying to decide if she was worth all the trouble that she was giving him.
“I had to talk to someone, Jagger,” she needlessly protested.
“You get to talk to Dean, and I should be able to talk to my best friend, too.” Justice crossed her arms over her chest, and Jagger did the same, widening his stance as if in challenge.