Page 38 of Promised Summer
He used one arm to carry Karla. She clung to his neck and looked around excitedly, wearing the blue dress she’d chosen. Today, I’d managed to get her hair into twin buns that turned into dangling braids on each side of her head. She looked super adorable, but also reminded me of the cartoon moon princess who fought evil and enforced justice that I used to watch on TV as a kid.
His other hand was tangled with mine, slowly swinging between us as we made our way to the table. In my mind, the scene was so familial that I had a hard time not getting my hopes up about the future.
Could I really have this? A life with Jones and Karla? Us living together as a family and meeting up with friends? It sounded almost too good to be true.
I’d heard about Jones’ past dating history from the gossip mill in town. Besides his ex, he wasn’t the long-term relationship kind of guy. What if that hadn’t changed? What if Jones got bored with us one day and decided he was over playing make-believe family?
Just thinking about the possibility caused an aching hole inside of me that had absolutely nothing to do withskipping breakfast. Reuniting with Jones unlocked the feelings I’d shoved deep inside when I was going through my dad’s cancer treatment and his eventual passing.
When he first kissed me, it was the first time I realized I might possibly like my friend as more than just a friend. And at seventeen, that scared the hell out of me. Liking a man didn’t scare me nearly as much now at twenty-seven, but we weren’t kids anymore, and what did scare me was the intensity of my emotions.
My teenage crush had evolved into a full-blown, head-over-heels love with the man. And if that wasn’t the most fucking terrifying thing in the world, then I didn’t know what was. Because now, he had the power to absolutely wreck me if he decided this relationship—Karla and I—wasn’t for him, after all.
And where would that leave me? If there was anything this past decade had taught me, it was that there was no getting over Jones Denn.
“Is something wrong?” Jones asked, breaking through my fog of self-doubt. These thoughts slipped through the cracks whenever I was really happy. Like my brain was afraid I was experiencing too much joy and had to knock me down a notch. Didn’t you justloveit when your own brain worked against you?
I shook my head and put on a smile that felt a little too tight, just like how Jones’ hand was now crushing mine. The action only made my smile feel less forced,because even if my mind was working against itself, Jones noticed and had my back.
This was the kind of man he was, always so fucking nice and caring, almost to a fault. He faced everything with his entire heart, and how he’d been trying with Karla and me…Well, I had to have faith his heart wouldn’t stray.
“Just nervous about meeting your friends,” I replied. It wasn’t the full truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.
“You already know all of them, silly,” Jones teased.
“Yeah, but still,” I grumbled. I didn’t have time to say much more than that, because Dan stood up from the table and waved at us.
“How long does it take you people to walk over here?” he called over.
It was only then that I realized we were moving practically at a snail’s pace. Jones grinned, surprise-attacked me with a kiss on the cheek, and said, “It’s gonna be great. We’re gonna eat so much good food and have fun, aren’t we, baby girl?” he said, directing the last question at Karla.
She raised her hands over her head and squealed a “Yah!” It was hard not to laugh when the two of them sounded so enthusiastic.
“Finally! You took your sweet time just to keep me and this pretty lady separated, didn’t you?” Dan shot a glare at Jones, then waved to Karla with a smile. “Do you remember me? I’m Uncle Dan.”
Karla giggled and waved back. Jones just rolled his eyes dramatically and settled her into a seat.
“Where’s Lily?” Clay asked, looking around us like the dog might suddenly appear.
“She seemed worn out from yesterday, so we left her home to rest,” Jones replied, and I could see Clay physically deflate. Jones must have noticed as well since he laughed and added, “You could just raise a dog yourself if you like them so much.”
“Dan’s allergic,” Clay replied.
The person in question nodded. “It’s fine if I’m around them for a little while, but I’d be having coughing fits every day if I lived with one.”
Jones hummed, pulled out a seat for me, then sat at the edge so Karla was between us. He turned to Clay. “You could consider not living together anymore if you really want a dog. The apartment building our team is working on should be finished by the end of the year, and the investors have allocated some units to our company. I could reserve one for you.”
The two men went quiet, and something about the way they looked at each other told me they really didn’t want to live apart. It was sweet how these stepbrothers were so close, even as adults.
That topic of conversation quickly ended when the others arrived. Sam and Ryker came strolling over with the most adorable gray cat on a leash, leading them. Karla’s eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw the chubby cat meandering over. I laughed. I wasshocked too, since this was the first time I’d seen someone walk their cat.
Sam sat beside me with the cat on his lap. Karla scrambled onto my legs so she could meet the fur baby. They introduced the gray cat, aptly named Gray, to Karla. She immediately fell in love with the purring machine, who soaked up all her pets. I had to remind her to be gentle, worried she’d hurt the kitty with her enthusiasm.
Ryker set the cat carrier he was holding in the shade and opened it for Gray to rest in, as well as set up a travel bowl of food and water nearby.
Jordan and Wren were the last to arrive. Our server, Atlas, quickly came to take our orders. He seemed to be on good terms with everyone at the table, laughing and making jokes with them. It was my first time meeting the young man, but he managed to make me laugh too with tales about his Christmas-obsessed hometown.
I convinced Karla to return to her seat when the food came out, but that didn’t keep her from constantly staring at Gray, who looked content to continue lying on Sam’s lap.
