Page 51 of The Last Love Story
I set the smoothies down and walk over to her, resting my hand on her arm to draw her focus to me.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
She tosses her phone on the counter and shakes her head. “My mother is what’s wrong.”
“What happened?”
She sniffs, a look of resolve appearing on her face, like the last thing she wants is to let her mother bring her to tears.
“I called last night to tell her we got married. She didn’t answer, so I just said I had exciting news. When I told her, she seemed happy—ifsurprised—then asked about you. All I had to do was say a few words, and she figured out who you were. She found your social media and a picture of us and proceeded to critique every little thing about it.”
She sighs, shutting her eyes for a moment and taking deep breaths, but when she opens them again, her eyes are glassy.
“She said I should’ve smiled better, done my hair differently, and if I was planning on getting married, I should’ve told her so she could’ve found a diet for me.” She clears her throat and looks away. “She said I looked out of place next to you. And though she didn’t outright say it, her tone conveyed what she meant by that. I looked like a girl in a frumpy garbage bag compared to the glowing, handsome man next to me.”
Rage burns in my gut, but I tamp it down and focus on Jade. She doesn’t need my rage. She needs my comfort.
Cupping her face in my hands, I turn her head until her eyes land on mine again.
“Fuck her.”
“Justin—”
“No. I mean that. Every letter of every word. And if she ever says shit like that in front of me—if I ever overhear you on the phone and suspect that’s what she’s saying—I won’t be nice. I’ll morph into the biggest asshole you’ve ever met and tell her precisely what I think of her and where she can go.”
Because fuck anyone who treats people the way Jade’s mom is treating her. Her own daughter.
Jade laughs, but it’s more in defeat.
“Darlin’, I’m going to need you to listen when I say this. You are beautiful in every possible way. You don’t need a diet, a different hairstyle, some other smile, or another dress. You are perfect as you are. And in our wedding photos, you are the shining star. Everything else pales in comparison to you, so do not for a second let her unkind words get in your head. They aren’t true, and you deserve better than that. Better than her.”
I sweep my thumbs over her cheeks as she stares up at me.
“Justin,” she breathes, all the pain gone from her eyes as desire blooms in them.
“You have no idea what you do to me.”
I pull her closer, then spin her around, leaning her against the kitchen island. My hand slips to the back of her neck as she licks her lips, chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.
God, I need her. Need her lips on mine. Need to know what it feels like to have her curves pressed against me. What it would be like to be buried inside her.
I fight back a whimper as I lower my mouth to hers, giving her time to stop me. But she doesn’t. She leans in, ready for me.
Her breath tickles my lips, and?—
Clunk.
Thunk.
We jolt back at the loud noises, followed by some soft metal whirring and a final clank.
What the fuck?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
JADE
My fuckingair conditioner just cock blocked me.
