Actually Love - Jessie & Zach (33 page)

Jessie nodded in approval. “Just make sure she drinks water. Lots of water.”

Brian smiled and gave Jessie a little salute as he wrapped his arm around Becca’s waist to steady her. Then they walked towards the dance floor.

Before they made it very far, Becca looked over her shoulder, snapped her fingers, and declared, “I think
you
should marry
Zach
.”

Jessie froze. She had no idea what to say to that. She knew her sister was drunk and that nothing she said mattered, but for some reason, hearing the words come out of her mouth paralyzed her for a moment.

“Okay? Ooookaaaay!” Becca gave her two thumbs-up gestures as if Jessie had agreed to her outrageous suggestion. “I’m gonna go dance with
my
lobster now.” With that parting statement, she pulled Brian onto the dance floor.

Lobster, huh?
Sooo, maybe
not
brother and sister.

“How’s my favorite third daughter?”

Their dad had always told Jessie and her sisters that they were his favorite first, second, third, or fourth daughter. When they were little, they used to laugh and say that they were his only first, second, third, or fourth daughter. Then he would reply, “That’s why you’re my favorite.”

“I’m good, Daddy,” Jessie said as she kissed him on the cheek.

“Doesn’t your mother look beautiful tonight?”

Jessie followed his stare and saw her mom talking to Anna and Grace about something that had all three of the women cracking up. She did look beautiful.

“Yes, she does,” Jessie agreed.

Seeing the way her dad still looked at her mom made her wonder if she would ever have anyone who looked at her like that. Then she remembered the way Zach hadn’t even noticed that the pastor had instructed everyone to take their seats because he’d been too busy staring at her.

But what they had was just physical, Jessie quickly reminded herself. It wasn’t real, like what Jessie’s parents, cousins, and sisters had. It was so hard to keep straight in her head because it was definitely starting to feel real.

Jessie’s dad interrupted her inner thoughts. “I talked to Zach about the fight he has coming up.”

“Yeah, it should be good.” Jessie tried to swiftly change mental gears.

“He says you’re not going out to see it?” His tone sounding fairly close to accusatory. Then he softened slightly as he asked, “Is it because of the blood?”

“What? No.” Jessie shook her head. “We’re not
really
together, Dad. You know that.”

“I know it started out like that.” Her dad’s voice was in full parental-lecture mode. “But I also know the way you two were together at Thanksgiving. The way you look at him like he knows you, the real you, the part of you that you’ve always kept locked up inside. He sees that. Somewhere along the line, you let him in, sweetheart. And he’s a good man.”

Her dad wiped his thumb and forefinger beneath his eyes, and Jessie realized that he was tearing up. “Dad?” She reached out and touched his arm.

“I’m a lucky dad.” He sniffed then cleared his throat and looked out onto the dance floor where Becca was dancing with Brian. “My girls all found good, stand-up men who I know will love them and take care of them when I’m not around anymore. I couldn’t ask for more for my baby girls.”

“Daddy.” Jessie reached out and hugged her father tight. She hated when either of her parents talked like that. In Jessie’s mind, her parents were going to live forever.

After patting her back twice, he pulled away and pointed to her mom. “I’m gonna go see if I can take that pretty lady for a spin on the dance floor. Love you, sweetie.”

He kissed her forehead, and Jessie watched as he walked up to her mom, whispered something in her ear that caused her mom to blush, whirl her head around, and give him the don’t-you-dare-I’m-dead-serious look. Laughter danced in her dad’s eyes, and she could tell that he thought her mom was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. Then he held out his hand and led her onto the dance floor as she shook her head at him with a huge smile across her face.

Jessie sighed. She did want that. In fact, right now, she couldn’t remember why she had ever
not
wanted that.

“Are they behind me?” Grandpa J asked with a twinge of panic in his voice as he walked up and stood facing Jessie.

Jessie knew exactly who “they” were without Grandpa J having to spell it out. Leaning forward so she could see past him, she saw Margie and Mabel across the room, searching the area like bloodhounds.

“Not yet, but I think they may be on your trail,” she said. Grandpa J’s shoulders slumped, and Jessie couldn’t help but feel for the guy. “What do you say we hit the dance floor?”

Just like that, life breathed into his wrinkled face. “Now
that
sounds like a mighty good idea.”

As they stepped to the dance floor, the music slowed and Grandpa J held out his hand. Jessie placed her right hand in his and rested the other on his shoulder. As he guided them around the floor, Jessie had to admit that he had moves.

“I like your fella,” he told her in his
serious
tone.

“He’s a good guy.” Jessie had probably said that twenty times tonight. Everyone
loved
Zach. She was beginning to think that “everyone” might just include her.

“Good men like that don’t grow on trees,” he said, again invoking his serious tone.

“I know.” Jessie tried not to let her irritation bleed into her voice, but she did not understand why everyone felt the need to point out how great Zach was and tell her that she better not mess this up. Not that that was
exactly
what Grandpa J had said, but she could read between the lines.

“When I met my Marie, she thought I should date her sister.”

“What?” Jessie had heard countless stories about Marie Elise Hunter. Sadly, Jessie had never met her because she’d passed away before Grandpa J had moved to Harper’s Crossing to live closer to his son and grandkids. Grandpa J’s granddaughter Sophie was married to Jessie’s cousin Bobby, the youngest of the Sloan boys.

“Yep. She thought I had eyes for her sister Lynette, but I was only nice to Lynette to get close to Marie.” Grandpa J wagged his eyebrows. “So when she wouldn’t let it go, insisting that I take her sister out to a show, I convinced her I was nervous and wanted to practice going on a proper date with her.”

“You sly dog, you.” Jessie laughed as she playfully swatted his arm, which was surprisingly strong for a man of his age. Grandpa J had moves
and
guns.

Smiling from ear to ear at the compliment, Grandpa J continued. “Well, after the first
pretend
date, I told her I might just need
one
more to get my confidence up.” Grandpa J winked. “That lasted all summer. Finally, on a hot August day, just before I was going to get shipped out, I kissed her. She looked at me all starry eyed and said, ‘These weren’t
really
practice dates, were they, James. You didn’t need to get your confidence up.’

“Well, I puffed out my chest and put on a little show like I was mighty offended at her accusation. Then I got down on one knee, pulled out the ring I’d been saving up for all summer, and I said, ‘Yes, ma’am, they were. I was practicing keeping a smile on your face, which I plan to do for the rest of my life, and getting my confidence up to ask you to do me the honor of being my wife.’”

Jessie felt the moisture on her cheeks and realized that tears were falling from her eyes. She sniffed, and Grandpa J handed her the handkerchief he always kept in his right chest pocket. “That’s so sweet. I can’t believe I’ve never heard that before.”

Eddie and Alex were always arguing over who had the most romantic proposal, but Grandpa J had them beat. Hands down. No contest. That man knew all about playing the long game.

“Can I cut in, sir?” Zach’s deep voice startled Jessie, and she jumped a little.

“Well now.” Grandpa J looked him up and down. “That depends.”

Both Jessie and Zach waited to see what the conditions were.

Grandpa J’s brows rose and he looked Zach dead in the eye. “Do you promise to take care of our girl?”

Jessie had heard that tone before. She’d never heard Grandpa J speak to any of the girls with it, but there had been several times as she was growing up that that tone had been directed at her cousins. She thought now what she’d thought then.
I’m glad I’m not on the receiving end of it.

“Yes, sir. I do,” Zach said with far more gravity than Jessie had expected.

The two men stared at each other for several more moments before Grandpa J nodded once and placed Jessie’s hand in Zach’s. Then, before he left the dance floor, he turned and winked at Jessie, saying, “Keep practicing.”

Jessie felt herself tearing up again and was only able to nod and smile. She couldn’t believe how emotional she was being.

“You okay?” Zach asked, pulling her close to him, and she rested her head on his firm chest.

“Yeah,” Jessie assured him as she luxuriated in the strength of his arms. There was no better place in the world than in Zach’s arms. Well, maybe his bed. But only if she was still in his arms.

She felt him kiss the top of her head before he spoke softly, his lips brushing against her scalp, causing goose bumps to rise all over her body. “I’m going to head home after this dance. My mom is starting to look tired.”

“Oh.” She tried to step away. “You should go. I don’t want her to get too worn out.”

Jessie appreciated the fact that Anna and Zach had sacrificed a holiday not once but twice this year and spent it with her family. But she knew how taxing these days must have been on her and she didn’t want to wear her out any more than she already had.

“She’s fine. I just need one more dance with you,” Zach said as he continued holding her in place.

Jessie’s heart beat faster at the fact that he said
need
instead of
want
. Maybe to someone else, that wouldn’t be that big of a distinction, but it was to Jessie. Laying her head back against him, she let herself pretend that this was real. That they were here as a couple. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Or better yet—husband and wife.

As they swayed back and forth to the music, Jessie pictured what it would be like to be Zach’s wife. To have a legal document that said they belonged together. Forever. To introduce him at parties as her husband. To go to bed with him every night and wake up with him every morning.

The music came to an end all too soon, and Zach squeezed her tight once more before kissing her on her forehead. “I guess I’ll see you next year.” Emotion swam in his clear green eyes as he stared at her, looking like he had something he wanted to say.

She found herself holding her breath as she waited. For what, she wasn’t sure. A declaration of love? A marriage proposal? After Grandpa J’s story, she felt like anything was possible.

After several excruciatingly long moments, Zach simply said, “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” she repeated back to him.

A smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, tilted his mouth as he turned to walk off the dance floor.

“I miss you already,” flew out of Jessie’s mouth, and the second it did, she held her lips tight together.

Zach turned, and when he saw the expression on her face, he just smiled, threaded his fingers through her hair, tilted her head, and kissed her like he needed her more than he needed his next breath. The kind of kiss that people wrote love songs about. The kind of kiss that, if you were lucky, happened once in a lifetime.

When he pulled away, his breathing was labored as he said, “I miss you, too.” And with that, he turned and walked away.

Jessie stared after his retreating back and thought,
If my life is a rom-com, shouldn’t he turn around and ask me to marry him? Or at least ask me to go to Vegas with him?

He didn’t…but she really wished she could rewrite the script so he had.

J
essie shut her laptop and, threading her fingers together, stretched her hands over her head. She yawned loudly and looked over, narrowing her gaze, at the bed a.k.a. her nemesis, sitting in the middle of the hotel room. Its mere existence mocking her.

She made up her mind then and there that she was going to win round three. That this time it would not get the better of her. With steely determination, she stood and made the short walk from the small desk in the corner of room to the queen-sized bed that had been taunting her with its emptiness all night.

Twenty-six years,
she told herself as she slipped beneath the cool cotton sheets and pulled the covers up to her chest. Twisting she fluffed her pillow, then laid her head on it, staring at the popcorn ceiling above her. She had been sleeping alone for twenty-six years with no problems whatsoever. One week was not going to come in and undermine that impeccable track record. Nope. Jessie would not allow that to happen.

Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes and attempted to clear her busy mind. If she could do that, then she would be able to drift peacefully into Slumberville, a lovely place she’d very much like to visit. Unfortunately, the same thing happened that had occurred the last two times she attempted this feat. Zach popped into her mind.