Page 21 of His Jersey

“I’d like you to eat a cheeseburger with me.” His tone is sincere yet firm.

I nod because I kind of owe him an explanation. His hand finds mine and an inner thunderbolt rocks through me. When I don’t move, Jack leads me into the enchanted garden area. I wait for lightning to strike. Maybe it already did.

The low table surrounded by cushions is almost the same as last time, except the resort’s decorators changed the color scheme from vibrant orange and pink to blue and silver. The low lighting flickers romantically.

Bark Wahlburger sits expectantly off to the side. He yips when I sit down as if to say,Finally.

Domes cover our meals and we take our places, same as before.

This time, Jack says a quick word of thanks and we dig in. At least, I do because I’m ravenous.

He starts to take a bite of his burger, then sets it down and asks, “So, are you going to tell me what brought you back to Jewel Island and why you were in my bed?”

I hesitate before replying, “Testing it for you.”

“Princess and the Pea style?” He chuckles.

I offer a weak nod.

“But for real.”

It takes me a long time to swallow as more fibs fly at me. Instead, I opt for the truth. “I never left.”

His eyes widen because this must surprise him.

Biting my lip, I ask, “Do you mind if I finish eating and then tell the story?” I don’t want to get indigestion or accidentally talk with my mouth full. His seeing me in all my messy bedhead morning glory was bad enough.

“Sure, but only if you tell me your real name.”

How’d he know it’s an alias? Sharing my name is a risk, but I nod and scarf down the rest of my food. We make small talk as if we’re easing into a cold pool of water rather than when we both jumped in last time—rather, he gracefully dove and I plopped in so he didn’t have a chance to see my underwear.

After I polish off my milkshake, I say, “Shall we take a walk on the beach? It’s neutral territory.”

Jack frowns. “Technically, I believe it’s resort property.”

“International waters?” I try.

“Do you have a boat?” he asks.

This time, I take him by the hand and drag him off the resort’s main drag and into the sand. Granted, he followed me on his own steam because the man is a giant. I cannot imagine him going anywhere or doing anything against his will.

Bark Wahlburger trails behind, stopping and snuffling the ground like a little detective that’s caught a scent—if I don’t come clean, he’ll likely sniff out the truth.

When we reach the water’s edge, the moon rises in the sky, and I take a deep breath. “Okay, here goes.”

Amusement flickers in Jack’s eyes as if he’s prepared for more tall tales.

“My name is Ella Hibbert and I have a bad habit of falling for attractive jerks. Well, two, and the most recent is why I’m here.”

He nods and then tips his head. “For the record, I’m not a jerk.” He scrubs his hand down his face. “Though, there’s probably an arena full of women who’d disagree.”

“I wasn’t including you.”

“So you don’t think I’m attractive?” he asks as if shocked.

My cheeks blaze like the midday sun in the summer. “I didn’t say that I fell for you,” I correct.

I didn’t fall for himmuch, maybe teetered on the edge. Dipped in a toe. But the conversation and kiss we shared was my fallback when I needed to escape the monotony and challenges of life. So perhaps I fell halfway. Like IFaand still have the twoLs to go.

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