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“I wished we could go back and meet again. Like…I wondered how it would have been if we could have just stayed as the couple who met at the pub. To just be fun and flirty and have the time we spent together, just laughing and being happy and having fantastic sex. But we can’t. We can’t go back and…I know it was crazy to even think that, but…there it is. I don’t know how we move forward from here. Without all the drama, are you still going to feel the same way about me? When life calms down, are you going to realize you’re not in love with me? What about when you find a career you want to pursue? Are you going to see that you don’t have time for me—for us?”
“Okay, so you’ve been thinking a lot,” he said softly, taking both of her hands in his. “And I think I can put your mind at ease on at least a few of those topics.”
She didn’t look even a little convinced.
“I think about how different things would be if we were just a couple who met at the pub too. And yeah, that probably would have been great, but there’s nothing wrong with who we are right now. I feel like I know the real you after all that we’ve gone through in this last month and it makes me love you more. It won’t matter if life calms down or if things get crazy, I’m going to love you.” He squeezed her hands. “And when I figure out what I want to do? I’m going to need you even more because I’ll probably freak out and second guess myself a dozen or so times. You ground me, Savannah. You are my person. I need you, and I haven’t needed anyone in a long time. Please tell me you’re going to stay.”
Looking down at their joined hands, she didn’t respond right away, but when she did, it wasn’t quite what he expected.
“When Henry and Kathryn adopted me, I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world. But when she left, I felt completely abandoned and betrayed. I was too young to have ever had any real mother-daughter moments. We never had any kind of girl chats or did any of the really girly things some moms do with their daughters. But these last few days with Grace…you have no idea what that did for me. For my soul, Jackson.” She looked up at him and he saw all the emotion there. “Cash said to me that there wasn’t a better woman than Grace, and he was right. She sat for hours with me—hours that she probably needed for herself to deal with her grief—but instead she let me talk and never once tried to turn the conversation toward herself. She was completely selfless.”
“That’s what moms do,” he said.
“I know that now and…and I want more of that. I want to be part of a family. There have been a few times that I’ve felt like an outsider, but that’s all on me because every member of your family has embraced me and accepted me. I didn’t know how to handle it, but…I really want to try.”
“So…you’re going to stay…for my family,” he stated, even as his heart sank. It wasn’t him that she wanted—that she loved—it was his family.
It was hard to hate them after inwardly praising them only minutes ago, but…right now, he kind of hated them.
“No,” she said quietly, interrupting his thoughts. “I’m staying because…because I love you. Your family is just a perk.” Smiling, he saw the shining of unshed tears in her eyes. “I want it all, Jackson. You, your family, my job with Parker, and a home here in Magnolia or even Laurel Bay. Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be.”
It was weird to feel so ecstatic when not that long ago they were making funeral arrangements, but right now, he felt like whooping with total joy because his girl loved him. Unable to help himself, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her with every bit of love he had inside of him.
“Hey, do either of you want…oops!Sorry!” Susannah said as she walked in and then right back out of the room.
“Take me home,” Savannah murmured against his lips. “Please.”
“My pleasure,” he said, scooping her up in his arms and striding toward the front door. “Thanks, Aunt Susannah! We’ll talk soon!”
“Jackson! Put me down!” Savannah said as she laughed with pure joy. “This is ridiculous! I can totally walk to your car!”
Looking around, he noticed her car wasn’t here. “Where’s your car?”
“With any luck, at your place. Dom and Colton were taking care of that while we were all in there talking.”
He gently placed her in the passenger seat of his car and dashed around to the driver’s side. “Remind me to thank them tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“The rest of my day and night are completely booked and I’m not looking to talk to anyone but you,” he said gruffly and practically peeled out of the driveway.
“Ooh…talking, huh? Like…dirty talk?”
“Dirty talk, clean talk, sweet talk…I don’t care. As long as you’re there with me and I get to see your beautiful face and touch you, it doesn’t matter what we talk about or how. I’m just so damn thankful that you’re here and you’re staying.”
“Believe it or not, I am too. I’m so sorry about the way I acted the other day. It was all just…”
“I know,” he interrupted, because they didn’t need to keep rehashing it. “You forgave me for the way I acted when I found out who you were and I forgive you because that’s what you do when you love someone. You love them unconditionally.”
“I meant what I said before, Jackson. You’re going to have to be patient with me. This is all so new to me.”
“It’s new to me too, and I’m glad we get to figure it all out together.”
“Me too. Now let’s go home.”
“I’m on it!”
But they didn’t go directly home. Jackson pulling into a parking lot not far from Susannah’s and gave her a knowing grin.
