Page 65 of His Jersey

When we get to the airport, Leah all but throws herself out of the moving vehicle and onto the sidewalk, but then I clobber her with a big hug.

“Thank you,” I say.

“Can’t wait to see you in Cobbiton.”

Words I never thought I’d hear about a place I never knew existed from a friend I never thought I’d have. For now, my heart is full.

But it does something else entirely several hours later when I emerge from the spare bedroom in Jack’s condo, ready for dinner. He’s gazing out the floor-to-ceiling window and turns when I close the door behind me.

His mouth slackens and his eyes are on fire.

My pulse goes bippity-boppity. But it does notboo. It cheers at how attractive Jack looks in his charcoal gray tailored suit, complementing his athletic build. The white dress shirt underneath brings me back to the resort when he had a couple of buttons open. He’s confident and sophisticated.

Jack belongs. I fear that I do not.

His voice is husky when he says, “You look lovely.”

My cheeks flame and I try to hide behind my hair, but he kisses each one, making me feel, at least for now, that I’m his.

“Bark Wahlburger, you hold down the fort. Carlos will be here to take you on a walk later. Don’t bite him.”

The dog lets out a happy bark and returns to his chew toy.

Jack had meetings all day, so we catch up on the ride to the restaurant. I tell him about my shopping experience followed by Leah’s extreme makeover intervention.

His gaze hovers on me, drinking me in. “You don’t need a makeover. You’re beautiful.”

“I mean that she gave those rude salesclerks a personality makeover.”

He laughs and I almost forget to be nervous about meeting his father again. The first time, I was running on new-girl-in-a-new-place fumes, not fully understanding the reality I’d entered.

I still don’t but hope @QueenAston is nicer than the women at the stores earlier.

When we get out of the SUV, Jack’s hand lands on my lower back, guiding me inside. I’ve only seen this gesture in the movies and didn’t understand it. Was the guy operating her like a remote control car? Fearing she’d get lost in the wide maze of dining room tables? But with the warmth of his hand at the base of my spine, I get it. I can’t explain it, but I want his hand there. He could glue it on for all I care. Low back touch for the win!

Having gone out to a few of the upscale restaurants with Charity and her family to celebrate birthdays and from working at the resort, sophisticated places like this with polished wood gleaming under dim lighting aren’t entirely unfamiliar, but I still feel like an imposter. Like someone will get a transmission in their coms unit, informing the staff that the riff-raff arrived and they’ll permit me to quietly leave through the back door if I don’t make a fuss.

My guilty conscience must be a result of illegally living at the resort because I can practically hear the whispers about how I don’t belong.

A candle flickers on the table as Jack and I take a seat. He’s completely at ease in his bougie confident way. I wonder whether, if I save up enough, I can buy an ounce of it. He could get away with kicking his feet up on the table and no one wouldsay anything. Not that he would. Jack is a gentleman despite his reputation.

The attentive server asks if we’d like something to drink while we wait, but Jack waves her off. It would be rude to request just water in a sophisticated place like this, but I probably couldn’t even afford the glass it’s poured in.

When the young woman leaves us, Jack says, “He’s late. Punctuality was one of my mother’s hallmarks. She really valued time.”

“I wish I could’ve met her.”

The look Jack gives makes me feel like I’m being poured over with warm, milky, sweet love. But it abruptly vanishes, turning to stone.

25

ELLA

Allain Bouchelle breezesin on an air of having billions in his bank account or it could be that his collar is too stiff.

I’ve seen people like him at the resort and they can never fully let themselves relax in a chaise lounge or plunge into the depths to see the underwater world because they’re waiting for a business call or have to dial into a meeting.

I realize now it’s because they have something to lose. A lot of somethings that they value more than whatever is right in front of them. Not to say we shouldn’t look after our earnings, but there’s more to life, namely relationships, and I glean Jack and his father don’t have a great one.

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