Page 128 of Could Have Been Us
Jack lets me go, and I move to the other side of the counter so I’m in front of Kinsley. “Stay behind me,” I tell her.
“You think you can protect her too?”
“I think you’re slow and covered in batter and flour.”
He raises one brow. “Is that so?”
“What do you think, Kinsley?”
“You want me to choose who will win?” she asks, amusement in her voice. She steps out from behind me and slides to the right.
I don’t take my eyes off Jack, knowing he’ll pounce if I do. “Pick my team so we can destroy him.”
She laughs, and when I turn my head, Jack attacks. She stands beside him, tossing flour at me, so I fire back with an egg. The three of us laugh as we cover each other and the kitchen in waffle ingredients, battling back and forth until the bag is empty, eggs are gone, and there’s no batter in the bowl.
Kinsley lands a perfectly thrown splatter on Jack’s face, and we laugh.
He moves around, looking for anything he can use as ammo and then stops.
Kinsley and I freeze, waiting and watching. He smiles. “Give up now, my love,” Jack taunts as he raises his hand to reveal the last egg.
“Never.”
Kinsley backs away, leaving Jack and me in a standoff.
I move around the island. Jack watches me, measuring each of my steps.
I keep going, a smile on my face as he lunges for me, but I quickly step out of his reach. “Nice try, babe.”
“I’ll catch you,” he warns.
“You can try, but you’ll never win.”
“I already caught you once.”
I take a step to the left, which he counters. “Yes, but this is different.”
“I will always catch you. Always. You can run. You can hide. You can throw flour at me, but you will never escape me.”
While the words are meant to be playful, I hear the underlying current of what he’s saying. It’s a promise, the truth of his feelings at the core of it all. Jack loves me. I know this, and regardless of what we have to go through, he’ll always be here. I don’t deserve this man, but I’m going to keep him anyway.
My hands rest on the cool marble countertop, and I lean in. “I don’t run from you, Jack.”
“No?”
I shake my head. “No.”
I’ve been doing exactly that, but now, I’m right here. Unmoving, wanting and waiting for him to catch me.
He takes two steps, eyes bright with amusement. “I’m going to catch you.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“One.”
“Two.”
Jack lunges before hitting three, bringing me down to the ground in a cloud of white.
