Page 54 of Forever After All

Now, after seeing what it meant to Jess and imagining what it might be like to have the kind of amazing, pure connection Jess could offer, his chances of being a man worthy of her were non-existent.

A proud grin spread on his face thinking about Jess dodging a kiss from the loser who took her out tonight. He’d almost recovered his good mood when Jess walked back in. She handed him the bowl and took her seat on the couch beside him. At least she faced him this time.

“What are you smiling about?” she asked. The little wrinkle between her brows said she had no idea what to make of his expression.

“I was picturing you ducking and swerving away from fast lips tonight.”

She rolled her eyes, but a smile lit her face too. “It was probably a funny sight. I almost knocked my drink over.”

“Would have served him right if it ended up in his lap.”

Jess tucked her feet under her and wiggled a little as she got comfortable. “I thought things were gonna be weird now.”

Linc reached into the bowl and grabbed a handful of the warm popcorn. “Not weird. I’m still processing. Is there a reason why you haven’t kissed anyone before? No judgment.”

She scoffed. “Do I look like the kind of woman a man wants to kiss?”

Linc had a very strong answer to that question, but he kept his mouth shut as she went on without missing a beat.

“The answer is no. Guys seem interested at first, but they all run away screaming as soon as I open my mouth. I’m too outspoken. Too honest. Too assertive.” She shook her head. “Men don’t like that.”

Linc shoved popcorn into his mouth. This was Jess’s turn to talk, and he was about half a second away from setting her straight.

Because he definitely liked a woman like that. He liked everything about Jess. All those things she’d just listed were his favorites. What was wrong with a woman who knew what she wanted and stood by her convictions?

Nothing. If no one else saw the value in those things, they were the ones missing out.

Linc offered her the popcorn bowl. “Don’t ever be anyone but yourself. If a guy doesn’t like who you are, then he’s not the guy for you.”

Jess glanced at him so quickly he almost wondered if he’d imagined it. If she didn’t look him in the eye soon, he’d crack and challenge her to a staring contest just to see the full beauty of those green eyes.

They were the color of early summer grass. He’d memorized the color a long time ago and searched months before he found anything that rivaled the vibrance.

She ate one tiny bite of popcorn. Then another. There were hundreds of differences between them, and knowing they didn’t even eat popcorn the same way just made that list longer.

“Jess?”

She looked up at him, finally pinning him with that beautiful stare. “What?”

“You okay?” The words were almost a whisper.

She nodded. “I’m over it now.”

She probably wasn’t, but Linc would die before pointing that out. “I just want to remind you that you deserve better than that. A whole lot better.”

Jess rolled her eyes, but a true smile played on her lips.

Lips he shouldn’t be thinking about. At all.

“Next you’ll be telling me I’ll make a wonderful wife someday.”

“You will. True story.”

She looked around the room, and Linc followed her gaze. “In case you haven’t noticed, I like things a certain way. Having a boyfriend, getting married, sharing a life with someone–it means I’ll have to be able to change and compromise, and half the time, I don’t know how to do that.”

“I guess none of us do at first, but you’ve had roommates before.”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t a lifetime commitment. Remi was here about as little as I was, and she didn’t move things around. I never said anything to her about my weird quirks, but I’m sure she noticed and just didn’t care enough to make a fuss out of it.”

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