Chapter 25
A week later,Jack was back to working on Charlie’s place. Jo had returned to New York shortly after the wedding. He’d heard she wanted to talk to him, but he’d also overheard her conversation with her boss. Her dream had come true. She would be writing her articles, and her photos would be published with them.
He was happy for her, but that didn’t mean he was strong enough to watch her go. Given the chance, he may have begged her to stay, and that wouldn’t have been right. Oh, it would have been great at first, and over time, she would have resented him for standing in the way of her dreams. He couldn’t and wouldn’t do that.
When he’d approached Charlie about buying the place, she’d flat-out refused to even hear him out. She wasn’t selling to Craig, and she wasn’t selling to him. It was her house, and that was that.
It’d been a second blow to his heart within the week. After taking a couple of days to get himself together, he’d returned to the house with a plan to replace the siding. If he worked fast enough, he’d move on to painting this weekend. Hopefully, Charlie will have a color picked by then.
The back screen door opened and then slammed shut. Likely, it was Charlie bringing him something to drink. Now, June, the heat was kicked up a notch, and she was intent on keeping him hydrated.
“You look a little hot and sweaty.”
Jack stopped what he was doing, positive he’d just hallucinated.
“I brought you something to drink.”
He slowly turned around. “Jo? What are you doing here?”
Her lips quirked up. “I live here, don’t I?”
“Live here? What? You live in New York.”
She set his glass down on a nearby stack of wood. “Correction. I lived in New York.”
“What?”
“What about your job?”
“I quit.”
His mouth dropped open. “Quit? But I heard?—”
“Only part of the conversation, apparently. I’m still keeping some of the commitments, but I’m freelance writing for Eternal Vows.”
“But your dream.”
She smiled. “It’s changed a little.”
He held her gaze as his heart raced. “It has?”
“Yeah. I’ve got this idea about a bed and breakfast. So many ideas about that… But I should probably talk to my business partner before I get ahead of myself.”
Now, he was thoroughly confused. He set his hands on his hips. After all the work he’d done? “Your business?—”
“You, Jack. My grandma is selling it to us.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, he blinked. “Us?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“That’s not all. While I was in New York, I talked to one of my contacts who owns a gallery about displaying some of my photos?—”
“That’s great!”
“And about your art. I waited for you and your family to leave for the wedding, and took a few photos .” She smiled as Jack’s jaw slowly dropped. “He loved them.”
He pointed to himself. “My carvings?”
“Your art. He said, and I quote, anyone with any sense would love to have one of your exquisitely detailed pieces. He said he’s looking forward to discussing it more with you, and I told him I’d pass his information on to you.”
“I can’t…” He ran one hand down his face and set the other on his hip. For a heartbeat count of at least ten, he was quiet. “What brought all this about?”
She erased the rest of the distance and placed her hands on his chest. “You were right. I was selfish. I realized I’d let my grandma think that she was inferior and that all the great times we had were somehow overshadowed by my mom. I realized that I’d never really loved Craig. I’d pretended to be what he wanted because it was easier than taking a risk.” She moved even closer. “I also realized something else.”
“What’s that?”
Jo lowered her gaze to the ground, waited for a beat, and then lifted her gaze to his again. “I realized that I love you. That if you want it, you can have my heart. I realized that I’d rather risk everything with you than ever live safe again.”
“Oh yeah?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her off her feet. “I’d hate for you to be without a heart, so how about a trade? I give you mine, and you hold it softly, and I’ll do the same for you.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. “I’ll take that trade.”
“Good because I love you, too.”
He held her to him with one arm and slipped his free hand behind her neck as he brought her lips to his. He’d only thought her lips were sweet before. They were soft and moved against his in a dance that made the world fall away. The gentle kiss quickly turned heated, hard, and demanding, like they were making up for the time lost.
All that wishing. All that wanting and hoping, and here she was in his arms, kissing him with a need that matched his own. He didn’t want anyone else, ever. He’d given her his heart, and she’d offered hers to him. He wanted more than this, though.
He broke the kiss. “I want more than just a few kisses and walks home.”
“I do, too.”
“Will you marry me?”
She took his face in her hands and grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.” She chuckled. “Yes, I would love to marry you. You can have all of me forever.”
“I love the sound of that.”
“I love you.”
He crushed his lips to hers again, using more than words to tell her how much he loved her that he’d love her forever.