Page 122 of Dr. Brandt

“You’ve heard of it, I’m sure.”

“Don’t know too many people who haven’t,” she said.

I wasn’t backing down.

“So, then you’d understand why I compared your shitty car to Bella’s,” I recovered, taking another sip of wine.

She challenged me with an arch of her eyebrow, to which I laughed but kept my game pulled in tightly.

“My car is nothing like hers,” she said.

I reached into the basket for the bread, buttered a piece, and handed it to Jessa, “It’s everything like hers. It’s like, she had that car just because Edward had money—”

Jessa’s eyes squinted in humor, and she covered her mouth with her napkin after looking out the windows to the right of our secluded table.

Something wasn’t right. What the fuck was so funny?

Her face dropped into her hands, and something told me I wasn’t proudly defending a vampire novel near as hardcore as Interview with the Vampire.

“My God, Cameron, I love you. I really do,” she said, tears in her eyes as she shook her head. “But please stop acting like you’ve read and loved Twilight, or I’ll lose my shit and choke on this bread and die or something.”

“At least I know that acting like a jackass is what brings the words I love you out of your mouth,” I said, folding my arms and finding my adorable Jessa more beautiful with this laugh and humorous expression than anything in the world. “Now, please tell me what this book series is about.”

“You honestly don’t know?”

“I remember the craze or whatever, but I was buried more in medical terminology books than best-selling books at the time,” I said. “Are the vampires gay or something?”

She lost it, and I wanted to read the fucking books to figure out what Collin and Jake read with their wives more than ever.

“Who compared my car to Bella’s truck in that book? Which, by the way, it’s a pretty damn good comparison. I didn’t see that until now, but who told you that?”

“Collin and Jake. They’ve made it sound like all I had to do was read that with you, and voila! I’d have my beautiful woman back.”

Her eyes grew serious, but she quickly recovered her expression. “First of all, they’re right.” She smiled warmly at me and reached her hand across the table, and I quickly responded by placing my hand out to cover hers.

“Second?” I questioned, not knowing if this would get serious or funny again.

“Second, the vampire thing has a lot to do with Collin and Elena getting back together. Well, not Twilight, but The Vampire Diaries. Elena told me how Collin was just as clueless with that series as you are about Twilight. Anyway,” she said, speeding through this explanation, “Collin got into it after Laney’s accident, and then he and Jake admitted to everyone they were closeted teen vampire junkies. It got Collin through some pretty dark times, I guess. But,” she squeezed my hand, “since that show was Collin’s help while Elena was gone, I’m going to assume that Twilight was your comfort while I’ve been gone.”

“I’m never living this shit down, am I?” I questioned. “I’ve never read it, Jessa. So, I don’t even know who anyone is.”

“Well, no better time than now to prove your love to me,” she teased.

“And what will Jackson think about his mother and father reading Twilight alone in their room?” I said, feeling more confident, relieved, and happy than I had in over a year.

The look in Jessa’s eyes, the smile on her face, and the slow way she rubbed her thumb over my hand let me know the love of my life was back.

“Our room, eh?”

“I love you, Jessa,” I said, feeling it in my core. “I can’t go another day, not knowing if I will ever really have you back. Not knowing if you truly love me or not?”

“It’s been a very interesting year, you know? Learning what I wanted for myself. I made huge decisions on my own, purchased station wagons like Bella’s, and did not know where my future would lead me. Would I be single or in another bad relationship that I trusted would be good? I didn’t know. I learned that my heart has always been yours, Cameron,” she said, and my own heart nearly stopped. “I just needed to learn to love and trust myself before I could trust you, or anyone else, with it again.”

“So, you’re giving me a third chance?” I said, standing up and walking over to her. “For the first time in my life, I honestly don’t know what to do.”

“Tell you what,” she said, pulling the napkin from her lap and placing it on the table, “take me home, and we can figure it out from there.”

I helped her from her chair and paid for what we’d hardly nibbled on and drank at this dinner. I couldn’t get her out of here fast enough.

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