Page 28 of Where We Promise

His steady gaze revealed nothing as he nodded. “Behind closed doors, but in public, you’d be mine.”

Our eyes met, and I let the last part of his sentence soak into my chest as if the words were golden rays of sunshine.

You’d be mine.

The only thing I had ever really wanted, but it would be fake.

I handed him the plate. His eyes held worry as he inspected how much food was left untouched.

“Jameson, I can just leave…I think if I go to the West Coast, Luke won’t find me. Besides, I think his focus is on the club, not me.”

I watched as his jaw tensed before his eyes found the floor.

“You’re not leaving, Pen. He will come after you, if not for any other reason than to make sure you never come back for him.”

My throat was tight as a pathetic defense rested on my tongue. Luke hadn’t ever been malicious or mean, not at all in the years we’d grown up together. His rejection of me, and his son, was painful and hard to process, but he wanted me gone. I never got the sense that he’d come after me.

“If not him, then someone else will, Pen,” Jamie added, almost as if he were reading my mind.

I nodded.

“Look, I know the idea of being married to me doesn’t hold that much appeal, but it’s only temporary.”

“Stop it—” I snapped, “don’t act like I wouldn’t be honored to have you as my husband, Jameson. That was never our issue, and you know it.”

That steel cut jaw continued to work. Emotions I couldn’t name flitted across his face, until he finally cleared his throat.

“Then what is it?”

I wanted him to look at me, and to stop sulking, so I pushed my toes into his thigh. His eyes flew over.

“My concern is you. I can’t stomach you giving up anymore of your life for me, Jamie. I know you promised my mom, but this is going too far. This would mean you couldn't flirt or go anywhere that anyone could see you if you needed to…be with someone. This would mean you’d have to?—”

“I’m fully aware of what it would mean for me, Pen.” Jamie cut me off with a severe glare.

I shook my head, looking off to the side. This would never work…there was just no way.

“We have a past…”

Jameson shrugged but a tiny bit of pink flushed against his cheek. “Hasn’t been an issue so far.”

It was though. I had just been suppressing how painful it was to have him this close, and attentive. My hand went out toward the room. “We have one bed, you’d have to start sleeping here.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “I’ll sleep on the floor if it bothers you so much, but this is happening, Pen. I can’t think of any other way to make the club see you as someone who has my protection.”

It was like he wasn’t hearing me. I knew he was only doing this for my mom…probably a little bit for his dad too, but it was all some hero bullshit that wasn’t needed.

“Luke will come around, Jameson…we just have to give him time. No one is going to come for me if I just slip away for a while and?—”

Jameson suddenly stood and started pacing the room.

“Why can’t you understand this, Pen? I honestly don’t get it. Luke not only rejected you, but he fucked other women in front of you. While you were pregnant with his kid.”

He was scolding me like a child, and I felt fire burn from my ears all the way to my toes.

It took a second, but I stood too, staring off with him.

“I was there, you don’t have to speak to me like I’m an idiot, Jamie.”

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