“Isn’t a soulmate who you fall in love with? I loved Bennett, but we weren’t in a relationship,” he argues. “Even though some people would argue we were,” he mutters, and I roll my lips together hoping to hide the giggle that threatens to escape.
“Well, I like to think a soulmate is someone whose soul feels familiar, even after you’ve just met.” I look down at my hands, memories of my childhood coming to the surface—when I wished for a best friend or someone to see through my fake smiles and bandages or my lies of where I got the bruises from. Someone who would be there for me—to see me…saveme. “It’s a bond that doesn’t need any explanation. And sometimes it’s romantic, but other times, it’s platonic. Either way, it’s someone who is always with you, the connection never fading.”Even after death, I want to add, but the sentiment remains unspoken.
Though I think Jack hears it loud and clear.
I look up to find him watching me, as if looking for an answer written on my face. Then, he looks down at the gummy bears sitting on the blanket. “Can you have more than one soulmate?”
“I like to think so.”
Jack nods, watching me closely, before he clears his throat with a slight shake of his head. “Bennett and I were friends since we were kids,” he says. “There’s not a single memory I have that he doesn’t play some part of, and we really did know each other inside and out. We went to school together and eventually thefire academy after Bennett dropped out of law school, realizing he wanted to help people, keep them safe—not protect rich CEOs and their big corporations. That’s how we ended up at the fire academy together.”
“And then to the Northshore Fire Department?”
Jack raises a brow at me. “You studying up on me, pretty girl?”
“Oh, totally,” I joke. “It’s not like I just happened to notice the logo on the shirt of the firefighter who broke into my house.”
We both laugh, remembering how our paths couldn’t help from crossing all those weeks ago, how that moment had a way of bringing us here.
“Bennett would have gotten a kick out of that.” He pauses for a moment, like the words made him realize something. A small curve graces his lips, even though his eyes are clouded with the grief I know he always carries. “But I think you’re right. He is always with me.”
“He would’ve cheered you on when you decided to be my knight in shining armor, huh? Hearing the damsel in distress scream and rushing in to help?” I tease.
Jack eyes me up and down, amusement in his features, his voice taking on a more serious tone. “Something tells me, you’re not used to anyone coming to save you.”
“You think I need saving?” I challenge.
“I don’t think there’s anything you can’t handle,” he answers. “But I wouldn’t mind being your knight in shining armor once in a while.”
I roll my eyes, but the sentiment hits me right in the heart.
Something about the way he looks at me, how he thinks I’m strong when I’ve felt weak my whole life, reassures me that I wasn’t wrong about Jack—that I was right to trust myself with trusting him, that while I might not need him to rescue me, he sees me as something worth saving.
Something passes over his eyes, and his mouth opens like he’s about to say more, but then he blinks, and it’s gone. I’m about to ask him what he wanted to say, but Evee lets out an annoyed wail, and I know it’s her saying,I’m hungry,Mom.
“Me too, sweetheart,” Jack says to her, somehow understanding her as if she actually said the words, and our moment fades away, reality settling back in.
Jack grabs the picnic basket next to him. “I hope everything I packed is okay.”
I watch as he takes out a few containers, setting them down on the blanket—there’s one filled with fresh fruit cut into pieces the perfect size for Evee to eat, another with carrots and hummus, and the last one has peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, one cut into little bite-size squares. He reaches back in the basket, pulling out two bottles of sparkling lemonade, a water bottle, and a sippy cup that looks like one I have for Evee but in a different color.
Looking at the spread, I’m left speechless.
Not only is everything he packed okay, but it’s all things I can eat and feed Evee.
He even got her a sippy cup.
“It’s perfect,” I say, and I hope he doesn’t think I’m crazy for how much emotion I’m showing over packed and prepared food.
How else can I saymy standards for men are at the bottom of the ocean?
Jack smiles, running a hand through his hair. “I made sure everything was vegan. Oh, and—” He reaches back into the basket, pulling out one last container. “I used the recipe you taught me, one whole bag of vegan chocolate chips and all,” he teases, uncovering the container of chocolate chip cookies. I can’t help but notice the skin peeking out from the collar of his T-shirt reddening, his features softening with a shyness I’m not used to seeing on him.
“Thank you,” I say, proud of myself for not even thinking about saying how he didn’t have to go through all this trouble—knowing that he did it because he wanted to.
And that makes it all the more meaningful.
“This is a first for me, so I hope I’m doing an okay job,” he admits, and I never—not in a million years—thought I would use the word “cute” to describe Jack Hasting.
