Page 105 of And I Love Her

“I heard there was a special screening, and I didn’t want to miss it.” He nodded toward the seats. “Will you join me?”

Tightening her grip on the railing, Callie forced her feet to move. Her heart raced, filling her with a combination of excitement and unease.

When she reached him, she couldn’t stop herself from drinking in his appearance—astonishingly gorgeous in a tuxedo and a crisp white shirt that stretched beautifully over his broad chest and shoulders. His dark hair was brushed away from his forehead, emphasizing his strong features, and up close, his face held a thousand emotions—love, wariness, hope, even a touch of fear.

She curled her fingers into her palm to stop herself from reaching for him. “You look incredible.”

“So do you.” He skimmed his gaze over her dress, his eyes warming with appreciation. “More than incredible. That dress looks like it was made for you.”

“My mother just had a town party for me over at Sugar Joy.” She ran shaking hands over her hips. “I was granted tenure on Monday, and my book proposal was accepted by Cambridge Press.”

A heartbreakingly beautiful smile crossed his face. “I read about the tenure on the college website, but I didn’t know about the book. Congratulations, Callie. I’m not the least bit surprised. You deserve both of those so much.”

“Thank you.” The tension in her shoulders eased a little. “When did you get back?”

“This morning.” Stepping aside, he glanced at his watch. “Gus told me about this movie, and I wanted to see it. Have a seat. I think it’s about to start.”

Callie sat down, her pulse jumping as her arm brushed against his. This close, she sensed the warmth of his body heat and breathed in his delicious scent—a combination of the outdoors and his woodsy, citrus shaving cream.

She suppressed a tiny spark of hope. Even if he was here to make amends, which appeared likely, she still couldn’t imagine them finding a way to be together.

“Popcorn?” He picked up a large carton from another seat and extended it toward her. “I also got you your own box of M&Ms since you ate most of mine last time.”

With a smile, Callie accepted the box and thanked him. As the theater lights darkened, the red velvet curtain in front of the screen swept to the sides.

A grainy image flickered. The titleAnd I Love Herappeared onscreen as the Beatles’ song spilled from the speakers.

A montage started—still photos intercut with videos of Bliss Cove. The ocean and beaches, the boardwalk washed in the light of dawn, the bustling interiors of the Mousehole and Ruby’s Kitchen, Sam glowering at the camera from behind a stack of books, Destiny smiling and fluttering her eyelashes, the bakers rolling out dough at Sugar Joy, her mother and Rory busy behind the counter, pedestrians walking down Starfish Avenue, Aria nuzzling a plump orange cat. The shops, people, and coastal beauty of a town that contained Callie’s entire life.

A town that Jake had left…and returned to.

Her throat constricted. The image onscreen shifted to a video ofher. Clad in a pink shirt and jeans shorts, she was throwing darts at a boardwalk game booth, pausing between throws to make faces at the camera.

Callie pressed a hand to her racing heart. The image shifted to a close-up of her and Jake at the Love Tester machine, both of them smiling—until he tested asClammyand his face darkened with a scowl. Then her again, laughing, before the scene changed to another one of her working at home, again tossing amused and chiding glances at the camera.

The whole movie was about them and the town where they’d once known each other and met again, unexpectedly and with a force neither of them had anticipated. Bliss Cove was where they’d both come of age, navigated their high school years, and suffered great loss. This was where their lives had diverged so drastically.

But somehow, the universe had intervened and brought them back together. This was where they’d fallen in love. The evidence was all there in the movie—the affectionate, tender way he looked at her right before swooping in for a kiss, the adoring way she touched his cheek and tweaked his ear. The smiles she gave to the camera that were, of course, meant just for him.

The montage continued—Jake, shirtless in the kitchen cooking breakfast as she unabashedly filmed close-ups of his flexing biceps and ladder-like abs. Callie on the porch of his rental beach cottage, her hair whipped by the ocean wind. Endless shots of them kissing, laughing, touching. Based on this movie, they’d packed a lifetime into three short weeks.

Callie wiped a tear running down her cheek.Happy.She had been so happy when she was with him. She looked like a different woman than the rigid, controlling academic she’d been before he rescued her and her shoe in the elevator. She was carefree, pretty, in love. She was a woman who knew that every minute of life wasamazing.

The song began to slow. The movie zoomed in on a slow-motion, close-up of her smiling face before fading out to the final strains of “And I Love Her.” The screen flickered and went dark.

“That was beautiful.” Callie fumbled in her purse for a tissue and couldn’t find one. Jake handed her a napkin. She wiped her eyes again. “Thank you so much, Jake.”

She hiccupped and turned to face him, everything inside her weakening as their eyes met. He gazed at her with such blatant adoration that even if she’d been a woman who didn’t believe in love—though she most assuredly did—that one look from him would have changed her mind forever.

“It was all the truth.” He took her hands. A sudden nervousness flashed across his face. “I love you, Callie. I want to be with you forever. I’ll do whatever it takes to convince you I mean that with my entire heart and to earn your forgiveness. I know I should have—”

“Jake, wait.” She wiggled one hand out of his grip and placed it on his chest. “I love the movie. I loveyou. I’ve missed you so much but being apart made me realize that there isn’t anything to forgive. If things hadn’t happened the way they did, you mightnothave come to my office to ask me to hang out. And frankly, that would have been a tragedy worse than Antigone disobeying Creon’s orders and then getting caught for burying Polynices.”

He blinked. “Uh…okay.”

“My point is that I’m glad you and my mother cooked up that little deal because it ended up bringing us together.” She moved her palm right above his wildly racing heart. “And I never want…” she swallowed past the tightness in her throat, “…I never want usnotto be friends.”

“I want more than friendship from you.” His blue eyes darkened. “I want to marry you.”

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