Page 55 of Forever After All

Linc was in over his head. Talking about marriage and getting along was rich coming from him. He’d annoyed Brett on a regular basis just by staying quiet. The guy liked to talk way too much, and Linc didn’t have two things to say most days.

“I guess when you find the right person, all that stuff works out.”

“Or the two of you have to work it out,” Jess said. “I never got good grades on group projects in school because I don’t work well with others.”

Linc gasped. “You don’t say.”

Jess chuckled and brushed a hand through her long hair. “I know that’s no surprise.”

He knew why she had all the doubts. Growing up the way they had would do that to the best of them. They had to sort through a lot of lies to get to the truth, and determining one from the other was never easy either.

It still crushed his heart a little bit every time her chin fell. He watched her closely while she stared at her hands in her lap. Her eyes were usually so bright and fierce. Seeing her like this was like listening to mournful music.

Sitting up straighter, Linc cleared his throat. “It’ll all work out. You don’t need to stress about it.”

“You’re right.” She pushed her hair back and lifted her chin, seeming bolder and more confident already. “Listen, what I said about kissing. Could you not tell anyone?”

Linc nodded. “I’ll keep your secrets if you’ll keep mine.”

Jess handed the popcorn back to him with a whispered thanks, and the urge to pull her in tingled in his hands. But Jess wasn’t the touchy-feely kind. He wasn’t either, but something about Jess made him wish for more than he had any right to want.

She turned the volume up on the TV. “It’s a new round. Want to make it a competition?”

Linc rubbed his jaw. “I usually don’t get into fights I know I can’t win.”

Jess scooted closer to him, and his throat locked up. She’d never been this close for any extended period of time. In fact, no one liked to be around him that much. He didn’t have to growl and bare his teeth for people to keep their distance. There was probably some instinctual warning he put off.

But Jess was moving in, and he wanted to meet her halfway, or all the way. He wanted more of her like he wanted water on a scorching hot day.

Wait, that was a need. Maybe he needed her.

But he couldn’t have her. Basic human rules said that two loners didn’t make a right, so he put the thought behind him as they settled in to watch the show.

They both tanked atJeopardyto the point that it was sad and funny. With one correct answer each, Jess declared it a tie for last place.

But Linc didn’t mind being a loser, as long as he got to sit at the losers’ table with Jess.

Jess rested her cheek against the back of the couch beside him and yawned. With her legs curled up on the couch, she looked like a little bunny cuddling up to sleep. “Want to go another round?”

Linc grinned. She was beautiful all the time, but she was adorable when she was tired. There wasn’t any hardness in her expression. Her skin was smooth without a single furrow between her brows. She wasn’t putting on a brave face for the world; she was just hanging out with him.

He wanted to be the only one who made her feel safe like this. He wanted the secret moments when she revealed her true and vulnerable self and trusted him to keep the inner workings of her heart to himself.

“You sure you’re not ready to call it a night?” he asked as her eyes slowly drifted closed before opening again.

“Not yet.”

She stopped adding her answers before the commercial break, but Linc kept watching the game show. If sitting with her had made her feel better after the bad date, he didn’t want to leave without making sure she was truly good for the night.

When she rested her cheek against his shoulder, his work was done. Soft snores lifted to his ear, and he turned down the volume. Better be safe than sorry and stay for another episode.

He blinked up at the clock on the wall. How was it eleven thirty?

The ache in his back said he’d fallen asleep with Jess slumped against his side, which meant Ms. Landry was going to have plenty to talk about tomorrow. She might even call the preacher.

Linc looked down at Jess. She was sound asleep with her cheek pressed to his shoulder. He rubbed his eyes and turned off the TV.

After a deep breath that would hopefully wipe out his groggy thoughts, he wrapped an arm around Jess and gently eased her down until her head was lying on a couch pillow. He grabbed a blanket and covered her up.

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