Page 98 of Duke's Daring Bookworm
“Jess,” he said, a bit exasperated, “let me help. Do you have anything else out in the car? I can go get it for you while you warm up by the fire.”
“No. I’ve got it,” I said as I pushed past him.
“Alright.” He stamped the snow from his boots and shook out his flannel coat before hanging it on a hook by the door, wisely choosing not to argue with me. All things I should have done before stepping into the main room of the cabin, but didn’t. Why does he have to be so damn perfect?
“I got here and settled in yesterday. Why did you wait until today with the weatherman predicting snow?” He said all this conversationally like we were old friends. That just angered me more. I didn’t even think about checking the weather when I booked my flight. All I thought about was how to fulfill the terms of the will without spending any extra time here.
“I had to work,” I spat out as I stomped out of the central room in search of my bed. I came up short when I realized thatthere were only three rooms in this cabin, well technically four if you counted the entryway.
“There’s only one bedroom,” I said stupidly.
“I noticed that.” He smirked. “Only one bed in that one room, too.”
“Well, I hope you like the couch,” I said as I moved to the door to the right. The door to the left was open and showed an enormous bathroom, out of place in the small cabin.
“I’m not sleeping on the couch,” he said as he glanced at the small green loveseat. “My torso won’t even fit on that thing, much less my legs.”
He folded his arms in stubbornness, a movement that sent a pang of nostalgia through me. How many times had I seen him take the same stance when we were teenagers? I’d loved that streak of defiance in him. The firm set of his jaw had caused my hormone-riddled teen heart to race right from the start. I matched his stance with one of my own. He wasn’t going to win this time. I had a decade more experience than that teenager and a ball of anger fueling my stubbornness. He wouldn’t sway me so easily now.
Chapter 2
Charles
Stubborn, wind-swept Jess was a sight to behold. Snow dusted her platinum hair, and her cheeks were pink from the cold, her anger, or both. She was just as beautiful as I remembered, and seeing that fire in her eyes eased something inside me. Charlotte, Jess’s grandma, always assured me I would get another chance with her.
“Oh, Charles,” Charlotte had said over cookies just two days after Jess had broken up with me and I had gone over there looking for Jess and hoping for answers. She wasn’t there, but her grandma let me in and fed me some homemade cookies. “I promise you she doesn’t hate you. She’s just going through some things.”
“What things?” I pleaded with Charlotte to tell me. “What is she going through? She shouldn’t be going through it alone, whatever it is.”
“That’s not my place to tell,” she said as she put the cookies in front of me. They were some kind of buttery sugar cookie. She had served them to me before, but I couldn’t eat them now. Jess was hurting, and I couldn’t help her. “I’m sorry.” She patted my hand like that made anything better.
“Can you at least tell me — tell me if there is someone else?” My voice broke, and I wasn’t ashamed of it. I may be an adultnow, but everything felt broken, and Charlotte had always been so nice.
She laughed, and I just furrowed my brows. This wasn’t a laughing matter. “There isn’t anyone else. I’ve seen you two together. Do you really think there could be anyone else?”
“I didn’t think she would break up with me like this, and yet here we are. Anything is possible now.” I slumped in my chair at the small table she had in the kitchen. I just couldn’t believe it. She was gone.
“I know, son. You love her. I’ll do what I can to help her, and you’re always welcome here. If there is anything I can do to help you two, I will,” Charlotte promised me. It wasn’t enough, but I didn’t think I would get anything else.
“I leave in three days,” I said. “You don’t have to give her any letters, but I’ll still write her. I don’t want to hurt her more, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving her.”
“I hope you don’t. Lord knows she needs all the love she can get. I’ll keep your letters, but I know she won’t want to see them. Not now, anyway.” She took a sip of her sweet tea. It was always too sweet for me to enjoy and my glass sat untouched. She sat calmly across from me while I thought, trying to decide if I really trusted her with this.
“If she — if she moves on with someone new, tell me and I’ll stop writing,” I said, giving her an out to her agreement. It didn’t matter what anyone said, this wasn’t just puppy love. I knew what I wanted in life and that was Jess.
“I will let you know.” That was the last thing she said to me that day and she kept to her promise. Looking back, it was probably unethical that Charlotte gave me so much information about Jess, but I craved it. I tried to get over her. I tried dating. It never worked out. No one was Jess. No one could compare.
Now here she was, standing in front of me. All fire and determination and my heart beat out of my chest at the sight.Ten years of hoping and waiting, and here we were. A smile spread across my face and I tried to stamp it down. Charlotte had told me just before she passed she had made a plan. Now I just needed to let that plan play out. I wanted too badly to spill it all to Jess, my love for her, my longing for all these years, my conspiring with Charlotte, all of it. I wanted her to know how much I’ve always wanted her, but we haven’t seen each other in a decade and I didn’t know how she really felt. We needed to do this right. She needed time to figure some things out for herself. I knew how she thought and just how much she tended to over think. I knew she needed time for that, but I wasn’t going to give her space. Not anymore.
We had to share a bed. There was no getting around it. She would realize that soon enough.
I’d spent the night last night tossing and turning, imagining this moment, imagining waking up with her warm, soft body pressed against mine. I was done with imagining. Now, I wanted the real thing.
We stood there in our stand-off a few moments longer until she unfolded her arms and stomped her foot. “Fine,” she said, pointing at me, “you win.” She smiled slyly before turning and walking into the room. “We’ll share.”
“We’ll what now?” I pretended outrage and followed her into the room. This room remained cold despite the warm fire burning in the main room. We’d have to share body warmth.Fuck. I couldn’t wait to share her warmth.
“We. Will. Share. The Bed.”
