He laughed. “Well, she certainly didn’t think you were honest when she thought you were fucking your ex…dude.”
Little motherfucker must want me to pound him in the ground.
“It might have taken her longer than I would have liked, but she figured it out, didn’t she?” I said.
His smile faded as he looked down toward the sand. He slowly nodded before looking back up at me. “I love her.”
“You just met her.” I felt the anger building inside me.
“I think I’ve loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her.” He let out a smile. “I only had one problem…she didn’t love me back. All she ever told me was how she just wanted to be friends. When I finally thought I had won her heart, she shut me out and told me she loved you…that she’d always loved…you. Then, when she was trying so hard to get to you the other night…hell, it about killed me to hear her tell you she loved you when she left you that voice mail. I think I knew then and there that I never stood a chance. But that didn’t mean I was just going to walk away. Then, she found out she was pregnant. When you walked up to us standing outside, she was telling me about how she’d loved you since she could remember. She was excited about telling you about the baby. Seeing the love in her eyes as she talked about you destroyed me, but I tried to be happy for her.”
I thought about walking up and seeing them. I remembered the look in her eyes. Was she talking about me when she had such love in her eyes?
“And then, right on cue, there you were, Prince Charming coming in to save her. I know she loves you, Scott. But I also know a part of her loves me as well, and I’ll always hold on to that hope.”
I wanted so badly to punch this guy. “Well, you’re going to be holding on to that hope for a very long time because I don’t ever intend on letting her go.”
He laughed and raised his eyebrows. “If she were mine, I’d be saying the same thing.”
“She’ll never be yours.”
He nodded and gave me a cocky smile before turning and walking away.
I could have sworn I heard him say, “We’ll see.”
I watched him for a few minutes before I spun around and quickly started running back to the house. The whole way there, I kept replaying everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
We just need to get off this fucking island and get back to Texas.
I stopped running and pulled out my cell phone and sent a text to Lark.
Scott: I’ll pay you double what I paid you before if you take Jessie and me back to Austin today.
Lark: Let me get rid of the girl I’ve got here, and we can leave in thirty minutes. Shit…give me an hour. She’s got strawberry-blonde hair. You know how I love blondes. Plus, she gives good head.
Scott: Dude, too much information. Forty-five minutes, and we’ll be up at the main house.
I started jogging. Shit, I really walked a long way. Jessie was probably going crazy. I’d been gone for over an hour. As I picked up my jog to a run again, I was more determined than ever to prove to her how much I loved her. I just needed to keep telling myself that she’d stopped him. She’d stopped him because she still loved me, even when she’d thought I had done the worst thing imaginable.
Our love is too strong to let some little pretty boy prick tear it apart.
As I walked up the stairs to the deck, I saw Jessie sleeping in one of the chairs. I smiled, looking at her all wrapped up in a blanket. Damn…she’s so beautiful with that blonde hair. There wasn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for her, and now…now, it wasn’t just her. It’s our unborn child also.
I dropped to my knees and gently pushed her hair back. She looked like an angel while she was sleeping so peacefully. My heart began hurting when I pictured her standing here, crying, as I’d walked away from her earlier.
“I’ll never leave you, baby. I promise, I’ll never leave you. It’s me and you, always and forever.”
She moved a little and opened her eyes. She smiled. “How much do you love me?”
I let out a small laugh and kissed her nose. “To the moon and back, then back to the moon, and back again.”
“That’s a lot,” she said with a giggle.
I gave her wink. “Yeah, it is.”
“Scott…”
I shook my head and put my finger up to her lips. “I love you, Jessie, and I’ll always love you. You’re my whole world, and there is no way I’m going to let this thing come between us. I want to make love to you, baby. I just want to hold you in my arms.”
She nodded and started to get up.
“Not here though. I want to get you home. I just want to leave and go home.”
She bit down on her lower lip. “Me, too,” she whispered.
“Lark has got some girl with him, but he should be ready in about forty-five minutes or so,” I said as I rolled my eyes.
“Okay. Can we just sit here for a bit? Will you just hold me for a while, Scott?”
I stood, and she started to slide over. I crawled into the chair next to her. I pulled her close to me and silently thanked God for bringing us back together.
“Scott?”
“Yeah, baby?”
She turned and looked at me, tears filling her eyes. “I love you. I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
My heart broke in two. The last thing I wanted was for her to be stressed or worried, especially with her being pregnant. I kissed her forehead and pulled her closer to me.
“I love you, too, baby, and I’m sorry for getting angry earlier. I need to be honest with you as well, baby.”
She looked up at me, and I saw the fear in her eyes.
“At the bar one night, I kissed another girl, and I touched her breasts when I was drunk, but that was all I did. I swear to you…all I could see was your face, baby, and I couldn’t do it.”
She swallowed and gave me a weak smile. “Can we just forget that the last five weeks ever happened?”
I kissed her forehead. “Let’s just get home and share our good news with everyone, okay?”
She gave me a weak smile and nodded as she snuggled in closer to me. As I looked out over the ocean, I thought about Trey and what he’d said. I was pretty sure that was not going to be the last time I ever saw him.
As we got closer to Austin, I looked down at a sleeping Jessie in my arms.
Lark had been on the radio with someone, talking about a mission or something. When I realized he was talking about a girl and not his job, I rolled my eyes. He glanced back at me and winked. I couldn’t help but laugh. I’d met Lark in college, and we had quickly become friends. I swore that we’d done everything together. Lark’s father was in the Secret Service, and Lark seemed to have followed in his footprints. Whatever Lark did for a living, it sure as hell was a secret.
I woke Jessie up when Lark said we were about fifteen minutes out.
“Are we stopping for fuel again?” Jessie asked.
“Nah, we’re fixin’ to land in Austin, baby.”
Her eyes lit up, and she smiled so big that it caused me to laugh.
“Glad to be almost home?” I asked.
She nodded her head and put her hand on her stomach. “I’ll be glad to land, too. I feel sick.”
Lark snapped his head around and looked at Jessie. “There’s a puke bag, doll, right there if ya need it,” he said with a wink.
By the time we landed and made it through customs and all that bullshit, Jessie was practically running to the restroom. I felt so bad. I watched her as she almost plowed over a poor old lady.
Lark came walking up and slapped me on the back. “Thanks for the mini vacation, dude,” he said with a grin.
“Pesh, I paid you good enough for that quick little trip.”
His crooked smiled spread across his face, and he nodded his head. “Yeah, ya did. Boss man said anytime you need the use of the helicopter again, just let him know.” Lark threw his head back and laughed.