Page 6 of Choose You

I roll my eyes. “Like I can control my flight. Besides, it’s only a few minutes after ten.”

“You know Richard. He’s waiting for you in the back office.”

I groan. It figures he’d be angry over a few minutes. Richard is the last person I want to talk to right now, angry or not. I’d rather open a bottle of wine with Nick and drink our sorrows away. “Do I have to?”

He chuckles. “Afraid so. Best to just get this conversation over with. Shouldn’t take him too long before he pisses you off anyway. I imagine you’ll be hightailing it out of that office in less than ten minutes.”

I put my hands on my hips and grin. “You make it sound like I’m some kind of hothead.”

“Well, if the shoe fits. Wear it with pride.”

Steppinginside The Wine Room is like stepping back in time. I’m flooded with memories from my childhood. I can see my younger self following Dad and Uncle Jimmy around like a shadow.

After a quick scan of the room, I’m pleased to see the inside isn’t as worn and outdated as the outside. Updating some of the decor and refinishing the floors and trim would make this place look pretty good.

My eyes are immediately drawn to the small booth in the back corner. Without thinking, my legs take me to it. I have so many memories in this booth. All of them shared with Matthew. I search the wood framing around the top edge, worn and defaced from years of people carving their names into it. My eyes find the one Matthew carved when we were fourteen. It’s starting to wear thin, but I can still make out the words clearly—Matt + Jess 4-ever.

I satin the back booth waiting for Matthew to arrive. He was late and our ice cream was melting. I’d already taken a few bites, but I was trying to be nice and wait. If I ate too much of it before he arrived, he’d get mad.

Just as I started to pick up the spoon again, the front door opened. Matthew walked in and made a beeline for me. His smile was so huge. Any frustration I had with him for being late vanished. I instantly smiled. But then again, I always smiled around him. We’d been best friends ever since he came to live with the Langdon’s, my next-door neighbors. That was two years ago.

They were his foster parents now. He didn’t know who his birth father was, but his biological mother died of a drug overdose a few months after he came to live with them. He spent the next several months worried Rosie and Leo Langdon would send him away. Even now, at fourteen, he still worries about that.

“What’s with the smile?” I asked as he slid in beside me.

He didn’t answer me. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a tight hug. My heart immediately picked up speed and my breath caught in mythroat. If he had any idea how his touch made me feel, he wouldn’t do that. I’d been in love with him ever since he stole my horse two years ago by the creek that separates my family’s property from the Langdon’s. But I’d been too scared to tell him.

He pulled back, his smile wide and a sparkle in his dark green eyes. His hand cupped my cheek, and I sucked in a breath. His smile slowly faded, and when his eyes shifted to my lips, I think my heart stopped beating. He’d never looked at me like that before.

“They adopted me, Jess.” His words dragged me out of my love-filled daze.

“What?” My hands rested on his arms, and he dropped his forehead to mine.

“It’s official. I’m now a Langdon. I never have to worry about leaving you. I’m staying forever.”

His lips touched mine before I could respond. It was just a light brush at first but when I didn’t pull away, he pressed his mouth to mine. Every inch of my body tingled, and my belly felt so light—like whatever was inside me could lift me up and fly away with me.

When he pulled away, I moaned in disappointment. I’d waited so long to kiss this boy, and now that it happened, I didn’t want it to stop.

“God, I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since I met you. I hope this is okay.” He searched my eyes like he was trying to find the answer.

“It’s more than okay.” My reply came out breathy and heady. “I want you to do it again.”

And he did. This kiss lasted longer. He even teased my lip with his tongue, though I didn’t open my mouth to let him in. This was my first kiss, and I wasn’t sure about the whole tongue thing yet.

I felt his lips turn up into a smile before he sat back in the booth and watched me. “One of these days, I’m going to marry you, Jessica. You wait and see.”

He stuffed his hand into his pocket and pulled out his knife. Turning in the booth, he started carving into the wood like so many before him had done. “Matt, what are you doing? My dad is going to get mad. He hates that people do this.”

Matthew just grinned. “He can get mad all he wants. But I’m declaring my love to you right now and immortalizing it into this wood.”

“Okay,” I whispered. Because what else could I say? The boy I loved justkissed me and told me he’d marry me someday. It was everything I’d ever dreamed about since the day he entered my life.

“Jessica.”Nick’s voice drags me out of my memory. “Richard’s waiting.”

“Sorry, I’m coming.” I shake my head and push out the memories of Matthew. Nothing good will come from thinking about him anyway. Especially not my foolish childhood dreams. When I look up at Nick, the sadness in his eyes tells me he knows what I was reminiscing about. I sigh and head toward the back room.

When I reach my father’s old office, I find Richard sitting in his chair behind the desk. “Isn’t that my seat?”

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