Page 106 of Just Like That

“Shh,” he soothed as he held me close. “He won’t. We won’t let him.”

We.

One word and I felt my heart completely unravel.

“It’s only been a few months, but he doesn’t cry. He doesn’t eventalkabout her. That’s not normal.” I was lost and couldn’t help but feel like I was completely failing my nephew.

The cabin of the yacht shrank around us as JP opened up to me. “In a strange way, I know what he’s going through. It wasn’t exactly the same for me—I thought my mother left us—but she was still gone suddenly. I couldn’t speak her name for a long, long time.”

My chest ached for the lost little boy he had been. “What helped you?”

A wry laugh escaped him. “I didn’t get help.” He eased back to look at me. “But we’ll do better by him. Do whatever it takes to help Teddy. I promise. But please ... don’t ever think you’re someone else’s placeholder, because you’re not.”

My eyes clamped shut and I buried my face into his chest. “Thank you.”

JP’s attention bore into me as though he was assessing my every need. I’d never felt so cherished.

So taken care of.

“We have one more day, but if you want to go home, we can leave right now,” he said.

Part of me wanted to say yes—to head back and hug Teddy so tightly that he would always know how loved he was.

I shook my head and offered a watery smile. “I’m good. I promise. Just a little tired, I think. I’d like to stay.”

JP looked at me and gave a firm nod.

What I failed to communicate was that I didn’t really mean I wanted only to stay in Italy.

My heart wanted to stay with him indefinitely.

“Scusa, miss.”Tommaso, our private butler, handed me a tall stemmed glass. “Prosecco for the lady.”

I accepted the slender glass of golden bubbles as I walked from the cabin out onto the bridge deck. Tommaso held out his hand so I wouldn’t trip on my dress. “Thank you.”

JP had spoiled me with a shopping trip in an obscenely expensive boutique. I got to live out my girlish fantasy of trying on expensive dresses just for the hell of it. When I’d stepped out in a slinky, floor-length gown that pooled at my feet and cut in a low V in front, his jaw had visibly dropped. I had protested at the price, but JP insisted and we’d walked out of the store with the dress to be delivered to the yacht.

I had never felt more elegant.

With my hand in the nook of Tommaso’s arm, he guided me toward the small table at the end of the deck. “The wine is light bodied with aromas of pear and honey. Mr. King requested your approval.”

I took a small sip and enjoyed the rich flavors as they washed over my tongue. The bubbles tickled my nose. I smiled. “It’s delicious.”

Tommaso nodded. “Very good,signora.”

On the bridge deck, a small table had been arranged for our dinner. Warm candlelight flickered, and the aroma of freshly cut flowers mixed with the sea air. JP was standing at the back of the yacht in a dark suit, his back to us.

As we approached, we caught his attention and he turned. A smile lifted his features, and I was struck by how devastatingly handsome he was. With one hand in his pocket and his other holding his own glass of Prosecco, he looked as though he was born to enjoy a life with a yacht.

He certainly fit in more there than when we’d been camping with the skoolie. The thought caused a small giggle to titter out of me.

JP’s hand brushed down his suit jacket. “Something funny?”

I nodded a thank-you at Tommaso as he guided me toward JP and slipped away into the darkness. I took another step toward JP. “Just thinking about how this yacht suits you a whole lot more than the skoolie, that’s all.”

His arm snaked around my waist and pulled my body flush to his. “I think you suit me.”

I inhaled sharply as his mouth found my jawline and moved its way down my neck. Warmth hummed in its wake, and heat curled down my back. When his lips reached my collarbone, he stopped, his entire body stiffening.

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