Authors: Jessica Wilde
She nodded and took another bite
of her burger, chewing slowly and letting me prepare myself for the next
question that would open a huge door to something I may or may not have wanted
to open.
"And you?"
I quirked an eyebrow, trying to
hide my anxiety. "What about me?"
"Are you getting
attached?"
Her eyes flickered with mischief
and I laughed at the realization that this was more than just a friendly lunch.
"Really Maddy? You are the worst at being subtle."
"Damn! I knew you were going
to see right through me. I told Andrew I wasn't the right person for this
mission."
Andrew had sent Madison to find
out how I was doing with him 'invading my life' as she so eloquently put it. I
got butterflies in my stomach at the notion that he was wondering how I felt
about him. I patted myself on the back for apparently being able to hide my
feelings so well.
"So," Madison snapped,
"You going to give me anything or do I have to just make something
up?"
I took another bite of chicken
and looked up at the ceiling deciding what I should tell her. "Well, you
can tell him that I'm very happy he
invaded
my life. Olivia loves him
and looks forward to seeing him and I have had a great summer so far. He made
the move here extremely easy and he is the greatest friend I could have ever
asked for."
"Friend. Hmmm, he might not
like that so I'll just leave that part out."
I laughed and shook my head,
"What do you mean he might not like that?"
"Don't worry about it. I'll
tell him what he needs to know. Now, be completely honest with me. Do you have
any kinds of feelings for my big brother, and, if so, are you planning on
telling him anytime soon? Because any kind of subtle hint will not penetrate
that thick skull of his." She tapped her temple and rolled her eyes.
I did want to tell him, and soon,
but I didn't want to ruin what we had. What Olivia had. He may be interested in
me, but he may just be worried about his impact on Olivia more than anything. I
knew that it was all Madison in that question. I wanted to tell her that I was
falling in love with her brother, so deep I was afraid I wouldn't make it out
alive. I wanted to tell her that I was terrified he might not be around for
much longer. I wanted to tell her that her brother was the sexiest, sweetest,
most enticing man I had ever met.
But this was his
sister
.
And even though I knew I could trust her, I didn't want her to be the one to
accidently inform him of my feelings. I wanted to do that, when I was ready,
which seemed like it would be sooner rather than later.
I met her eyes and let her know
that I was serious, "I care about your brother very much, Maddy."
"Got it, that look in your
eyes tells me everything I need to know, and I know that you will tell him
sooner rather than later." She was too observant for her own good and she
knew it.
"How did you get to the
point where nothing got passed you?" I asked with a sigh, wishing I could
read other's minds like she could.
She laughed hard. "Well,
that is actually a funny story. It's all Andrew's fault. He took care of me
after our parents died and I learned everything I needed to know from him,
which was never take a man completely serious unless he is talking about actual
love and always watch the body language. He tells everything with a single
movement, you know? So do you." She winked at me, then narrowed her eyes
and pointed a long manicured finger at me. "Don't hurt him. He's had some
bad experiences, but I think you are good for each other. Just… be
careful."
She took a sip of her drink and
carried on as if that was just some kind of subliminal message and I couldn't
help but wonder if I imagined the whole thing. "Anyway, I just got really
good at reading him which in turn helped me read other people. Ty hates
it."
We both laughed and chatted for
another hour and it was nice to have a girlfriend I could hang out with. She
asked about my pregnancy with Olivia and listened in fascination as I explained
what everything felt like. Or at least tried to explain it.
"You won't understand until
you experience it, obviously, but that first kick… oh man. I knew after that
first kick that I was never alone. That I was hers and she was mine. She was
very active during the day and some nights I thought she was trying to push her
way out of there, but it was a wonderful pregnancy." My eyes watered at
the memories I had of my pregnancy and the first time I saw Olivia.
"Did you get sick at
all?"
I blinked away the nostalgia,
"Not really. Nauseous a few times but that's it. Near the end I was really
uncomfortable and my feet and legs hurt, but it was tolerable. My friend
Benjamin and his wife Linda never left me alone that last month. One of them
was always around. Unfortunately, it was Ben who had the shift when my water
broke. Poor guy. He has twins, but they were delivered by a scheduled cesarean.
I thought he was going to pass out when he saw me standing there dripping all
over the floor."
We were both giggling and I was
feeling extra light with the memories that Olivia had given me before she was
born. Ben was so woozy when we got to the car, I had to drive myself to the
hospital while contracting. He apologized profusely afterwards, but I just
hugged him and told him I wouldn't have had it any other way.
"Ty almost passes out just
thinking about me going into labor. I think I may have to carry him into the
hospital." She ran a hand through her hair and checked her watch.
"Shoot, speaking of Ty, we better get going. He is coming home early
today."
I smiled at her anticipation of
seeing her husband every day when he got home from work. They were so in love
and I admit I was a little envious of that. It wasn't very likely that I would
feel that way anytime soon. Unless you count how excited I get when I know
Andrew is about to come see us.
Madison dropped me off at home
later and made me promise to tell Andrew that her intentions had been discovered
today and to promise to remember every detail of Andrew's face when I did.
I brought it up very casually and
he wasn't expecting it at all. I had to hold back a giggle when he wouldn't
look me in the eye. He was extremely embarrassed, but he didn't deny anything
and made no excuses. Just smiled shyly and blushed while he cleaned up the
popsicle wrappers littering the floor.
When his phone chimed with an
incoming text message, I knew it was Maddy, and judging by the smile on his
face, her mission had been successful.
Andrew
The 4th of July parade was better
than I hoped it would be. Olivia was thrilled with all the different floats
that passed by and when she realized that it was candy being thrown from them,
she stayed standing and pulled each of us up to the curb to get some.
"Canny!" she shouted.
"Mommy, canny!" She kept trying to pick up more pieces, but her hands
were too small to hold more than a couple so she kept dropping them and tried
again. I grabbed as much as I could and shoved it into my pocket to save for
her for later.
She had a mouth full of taffy by
the time we got back to our seats, waiting for the next round of floats to pass
by. Jocelyn said she couldn't have anymore until after lunch, but being the
sucker that I am, I kept handing her pieces, unsuccessfully trying to hide it
from her mother. We got caught, but the only punishment was a shake of her head
and a brilliant smile.
Yes, it was punishment.
Torture to be so close, yet still
so far away from being with her the way I imagined.
After the parade finished we
walked back to my car to load the chairs. I had purchased a stroller the night
before and wanted to surprise Jocelyn. It was hot out and I knew she was
thinking about how hard it would be to carry Olivia to the park. There would be
no way to park anywhere closer to get to the fair, so we didn't really have a
choice.
When I opened the back door of my
Land Rover and pulled the stroller out, her jaw dropped to the ground. I
unfolded it and helped Olivia climb into the seat and turned back to Jocelyn.
She had her arms wrapped around my neck before I could stand up all the way and
nearly tipped me over with the force of her hug. I closed my eyes and wrapped
my arms around her waist to lift her off the ground and buried my face in her
neck to inhale the lavender scent I knew was already there. It felt so good to
touch her. To hold her. I never wanted to let her go.
"Thank you," she
whispered close to my ear and her cool breath made me shiver. She sobbed
quietly as I held her and the people passing by kept giving us long looks. No
doubt this would be all over town before the end of the day. Gossip travelled
fast, but I didn't care. They could talk about it all they wanted, it would
never ruin the moment. Making Jocelyn happy was worth anything.
When she loosened her grip around
my neck, I set her feet on the ground, but kept my hold on her. "Thank you
so much, Andrew. You didn't have to--"
"I know, Joss. But I really
wanted to. I have for a while now," I said. Our faces were so close, all I
had to do was bend my head just a fraction and my lips would be on her.
It took everything I had not to
kiss her right then.
She hesitated for a moment before
her eyes dropped down to my mouth which nearly knocked the breath out of me.
She nodded and turned to Olivia with a big smile, "You ready to try out
your new stroller, babe?"
Olivia giggled and tried to say
stroller, but couldn't quite get it right and kept saying 'stower'. Jocelyn
praised her for trying a new word and kissed the top of her head. I was still
reeling from having her in my arms.
When we started the mile walk to
the park, I stopped fighting against the urge to touch her and wrapped my arm
around the small of her back, resting my hand on her hip. She leaned into me and
that was all I needed.
Madison had been no help in
getting any information from her, but she reminded me that words weren't
everything. Jocelyn took obvious comfort in my touch and it made my chest swell
with satisfaction. Tonight, I was going to tell her that I wanted more than
just friendship. I wanted her. All of her.
***
The fair was going full swing by
the time we got there. Maddy and Ty were waiting for us by the stage where the
live music was already going. Ty's sister, Catherine and her husband Ethan,
were trying to clean up the ice cream that Josh and Ella had spilled all over
the front of them.
Olivia shouted Ella's name, but
it sounded more like 'Elwa' and giggled. Josh peaked over his mom's shoulder,
his curly blonde hair bobbing against his forehead and his bright green eyes
twinkling, and waved at us, but Ella was already at a full sprint to get to
Liv. When she finally reached her, she cupped her face and said, "Oh, Liv,
you are so cute!" Her 'cute' sounded like 'toot' and made me laugh.
Ella was the complete opposite of
Liv in the looks department. Her hair was as blonde as could be and her eyes
were a light green like her brother's, but she was hilarious. I hoped that they
would become good friends as they grew up.
"It is so freaking hot out
here," Maddy said as she fanned her face with a paper plate. "I
swear, if I didn't have to worry about what people would say, I would just walk
around in my bikini all day."
Jocelyn laughed and gave Madison
a hug, "Same here. Only the talk about
you
would be a whole lot
nicer, I'm sure."
"Oh stop it, Joss. I'm sure
you have a gorgeous body. You look great to
me…
and I know other people
think so as well." Maddy winked at me over Jocelyn's shoulder and I shot
her a warning look. She rolled her eyes at me and moved to Olivia. "Hey
there Liv. Did you like the parade?"
"Canny!" she giggled
and touched Maddy's cheek.
"Oh, I bet Andrew got you
lots of candy. You will have to share with me." Olivia had already turned
her attention to the ice cream that Ty had in his hand and was reaching for it.
"Oh, I know! Why don't we go to the pool? The kids probably should cool
off before running around on all the rides."
"I don't have a suit for Liv
with me. I didn't even think to bring one," Jocelyn said.
Madison frowned and continued to
fan herself, "Well, shoot! We will just have to improvise then. Come on, I
saw some kids playing with a hose and some water balloons earlier. Let's go
check it out."
I was still stuck on the image I
had conjured up of Jocelyn in just a bikini and apparently, so were a couple of
guys who had overheard the conversation. They were staring at Jocelyn as she
walked away and eyeing her like she was their next meal. I started seeing red
and was just about to walk over there and take care of it, but one of them
turned my way and saw my glare. He grabbed his friend and quickly walked the
other way.
I would definitely have to take
care of things tonight. No way was I going to let another guy get his paws on
my Jocelyn, and I think Monty would agree with me.