Page 46 of Kiss the Girl

He followed her into the kitchen and he poured them each a glass of sweet tea while Savannah took the casserole out of the oven. The kitchen set was tucked in the corner and not very large. The nights when they had company, everything was done as a buffet and people sat wherever they could. Part of her wished Cash’s family would simply invite them to their homes so there’d be more space, but no one wanted to tire him out.

Still…she found herself wishing for a little more elbow room.

“Wow, this looks fantastic!” he said as she placed his plate down in front of him. “Is there any sour cream?”

“As if I’d serve something like this without it?” she replied with a laugh. Once she was seated and comfortable, Savannah told herself to relax. She’d shared a meal with him before and it was fine. Plus, Cash was just in the other room, so…everything about this was completely normal. It wasn’t a date and it wasn’t anything romantic. This was simply two friends sharing a simple casserole.

She picked up her fork and was about to take her first taste when Jackson cleared his throat.

“So, uh…I kind of have a confession to make,” he said.

“Oh?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I knew Cash was going to cancel on my brothers. Actually, it was my idea.”

Eyes wide, Savannah had no idea how to respond to that.

“Basically, I told him I wanted a chance to be alone with you but…there’s never an opportunity, so…he made one.”

“Are you telling me he went to bed without eating because of you?”

“What? No! No,” he said more calmly. “He was exhausted and all the dinner plans were already in the works and he suggested that I still come over anyway and…please don’t be mad. I really just wanted to spend some time with you. I knew if I came out and asked you, you’d find a reason why it wasn’t a good idea, but a situation like this kind of took the pressure off.”

And once again, she was speechless.

“Look, you’ve been spending a lot of time with my family and everyone thinks you’re great. I already knew that, but I remembered what you said that day at the beach and I really tried to honor it, but…I can’t. Every time someone talks about you, I want to know more. I still do.” Boldly, he reached across the table and placed his hand on top of hers. “I’ll leave if you want me to, but…I really hope you don’t want me to.”

The ball was completely in her court and she had a huge decision to make. She could keep avoiding him and be miserable or…

Grab the damn bull already, Savannah!

“I don’t want you to leave,” she admitted shyly.

* * *

Thank God.

Yeah, Jackson wasn’t sure about this plan, but now, as relief washed over him, he was glad he’d taken Cash’s advice.

Actually, he was glad he’d been talking to Cash, period.

The week had been a little surreal. The time the two of them spent together wasn’t anything out of the ordinary; they were just two guys sitting around and shooting the breeze. Jackson talked about his time in the military and Cash shared stories of his life growing up in Magnolia Sound and some of the more bizarre life experiences he’d had since leaving.

With every story his father shared, it seemed like he was just a man who was lost and had no idea what he wanted out of his life. He’d hitchhiked across multiple states, worked odd jobs, been homeless—he didn’t take life too seriously, and seemed to find joy in all the little experiences he’d had.

Even the bad ones.

He hadn’t mentioned the inheritance again, and Jackson hadn’t wanted to be the one to bring it up. And if he’d talked about it with Austin or Garrett, they hadn’t mentioned it. Basically, they were just a family, hanging out and spending time together. No one was rehashing the past; it was simply about being together and enjoying the mundane.

Realizing he was getting too deep in his own head, he looked up and smiled at Savannah. “I’m glad. I honestly wasn’t sure if you’d be interested in hanging out with me because you think this is weird.”

“It is weird,” she countered. “Don’t get me wrong; I’ve genuinely enjoyed getting to meet your family and it’s so good to see Cash smiling and finally getting to spend time with all of you.”

“But…?”

“But…” she paused and seemed to struggle to find the right words. “It’s almost like…like Cash wants me to be a part of it—his family. And if you and I were to get…involved…wouldn’t that be like…icky?”

The laugh was out before he could even stop it. “You think being involved with me would be icky? I don’t think I’ve ever had a woman say that to me.”

---