“Anyway, it’ll all be fine. Like I said, Jack is great. He’s respectful of my boundaries, kind, and handsome. What more could I want?”
A spark.
That’s the one thing missing with Jack. Being around him is nice, but there are no butterflies. No anticipation of what’s next. And shouldn’t there be? Shouldn’t there be some kind of spark? Katelyn talks about the one she still feels with Garrison, and anyone who spends more than ten seconds with Zane and Tessa practically gets zapped by theirs.
The way simply seeing him smile at her gives her the best kind of butterflies.
So where are mine?
With Sawyer. His name rings in my mind, but I shove it aside. No. Not with Sawyer.
“Anastasia, you deserve the best,” Katelyn tells me. “And I want you to find it.”
“Maybe I already have.”
The bell over the door dings, so I hop down from the counter as Katelyn takes her place behind the register. As I wait for the order to come through, I start checking syrup bottles, desperate to distract myself from thoughts of sparks, marriage, and babies. It’s a future I desperately desire.
But do I want it with Jack?
And if not, then why am I still with him?
“Hey, gorgeous.” Jack leans in and presses his lips to mine.
“Hey. How was the trip?”
Jack lives in Savannah, Georgia, working at the FBI field office there. He specializes in homicide, and we met because he was investigating my sister-in-law for the murders of the owners of an environmental agency she briefly worked at.
Of course, she was innocent, and Jack fought to prove it. Over the weeks he spent here, we hit it off. And we’ve been together ever since, making time to see each other whenever possible. More often than not, he comes here, but a few times, I’ve flown out to him.
“It’s better now.” He sets his bags down and lifts me, pressing his lips to mine again as he spins me in a slow circle. His smile is wide, his grey gaze bright. He’s genuinely happy to be here. To be with me.
So what is wrong with me?
“I’m glad.” I start to lift his bag, but he grabs it before I can.
“Nope. I’ve got this. You point the way, and I’ll follow.”
I smile at him, hoping that he can’t see the void slowly growing in my chest, thanks to the Sawyer-shaped hole that won’t stop expanding.
Jack is wonderful. So what is wrong with me?
“Right this way, roomie.” I lead him through the small apartment that Zane and the guys helped me build when we converted the old house into my coffee shop. It’s not much: two bedrooms, an office, a small kitchen, and a living room big enough for my couch and a TV.
But it’s home, and I love it.
I push open the door directly across from mine and reach in to turn on the light. “I changed the sheets and put some towels on the dresser.”
“Thanks, it looks great.” He leans down and presses a lingering kiss to my lips. I pull away quickly and smile up at him.
“You’re welcome. I’m going to go finish getting ready so we can head to my mom’s. You’re still okay with dinner? If you’re tired from the trip, I can postpone.”
“Nope. I am absolutely okay with dinner,” he replies. “I’m looking forward to it. But what else do you need to get ready? You look gorgeous already.”
I laugh. “I look like I just worked a twelve-hour shift at a coffee shop.”
He leans in and takes a deep breath. “Is that the smell?”
Feeling a bit lighter than I did even a few seconds ago, I gently smack him on the chest. “You’d better watch it, Agent Weathers, or I’ll leave you to sleep on the curb.”
