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“But you’re too busy doing what you think you should do?” he prompts after a moment.
I nod. “Yeah. I mean, I want to be a good friend and a successful human and a daughter my parents are proud of, but sometimes…” I sigh. “Sometimes, I just want to throw it all away and see what that wild part of me has up her sleeve. I have a feeling it would be pretty exciting stuff.”
“Well, if you come to work for Paradisus, you’ll have vacation time and money to spare,” he says. “Sounds like a recipe for letting Adventurous Jess out of her cage for a while.”
“But what if I can’t get her back in?” I ask. “I’m always afraid that if I let go, even a little bit, pretty soon I’ll be sleeping in a shopping cart on the street and selling dolls made of my own hair to pay for cigarettes and Twinkies.”
He smiles, as if he finds the image of my bag-lady self completely adorable. “Again, I assure you, you won’t end up sleeping on the street.”
“You can’t know that for sure.”
“Yes, I can,” he says. “When it comes to you, I’m pretty good at knowing things for sure.”
And then he kisses me, but it’s different than the kisses that have come before. It’s still sexy and intense—everything about Sam is intense—but it’s also…sweet. It’s a gentle kiss, an achingly tender kiss that makes promises I shouldn’t want him to keep, but a part of me does.
A part of me wants to be the woman Sam Burgos comes home to every night, the one who gets to hold his hand every time I step off the train for a Jersey visit.
But that part should have known better than to go around holding hands without considering the ramifications. That part should have remembered that my mother isalwaysearly and would absolutely be watching as Sam and I emerge from the train arm in arm to find my entire family waiting in the parking lot, including my very perfect—and very pregnant—cousin Vicky.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Sam
“Jessica Allison Cho, what are you up to?” As we reach the parking lot, Jess’s mom props her small fists on her hips, shooting me a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. She quickly scans my face before returning her focus to Jess, making me guess she doesn’t recognize me even before she adds in a syrupy voice, “You didn’t tell me you were bringing a new friend.”
“You didn’t tell me Vicky and Steve were bringing a new friend,” Jess shoots back, motioning toward Vicky’s hugely rounded stomach. “Dear God, woman, how are you? That looks like…a lot.”
Vicky, who’s even shorter and more petite than Jess, laughs and rests a hand on her truly massive belly. “Yeah, next time Steve’s carrying the kid. They’ll have technology for that by then, right? Because if they don’t, I’m pretty sure Melissa is going to be an only child.”
“Sure,” Jess says as she leans in for a side hug, the only kind possible at this point in Vicky’s pregnancy. As she pulls away, she adds, “But if she ends up being an only child, she’ll be fine. Look how great we turned out, right?”
Vicky laughs. So does Mrs. Cho, but her breathy giggle quickly transforms to a disapproving grunt as she reaches out to rub Jess’s khakis between her fingers. “Are you shopping at the Gap again? I told you, you should come to Lady Spencer in town for khakis. They’re the only store that has the nice, thick ones that don’t wrinkle or shrink around the waist.”
“It’s fine, Mom,” Jess says, clearly fighting an eye roll. “I don’t mind a few wrinkles.”
“And your nails are a mess,” Mrs. Cho mumbles beneath her breath, gathering Jess’s hands and holding tight to her fingers when she tries to pull away. “Just because you don’t like colored nail polish isn’t any excuse to neglect your cuticles. These don’t look like they’ve been trimmed in months.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, Mom, I’ll get right on that,” Jess says, forcibly snatching her hands back to her chest before reaching for my arm with a smile. “In the meantime, you remember Sam. From high school?”
Mrs. Cho’s eyes widen and her already pale skin blanches so white, I’m worried she’s going to faint. But after a beat, she sucks in a breath and rests a steadying hand on her chest. “Samuel. Well, well, you certainly have grown. Does your mother know you’re coming? She didn’t call me, and I really think Maria would have called. She’s very considerate that way.”
“Mom is out of town,” I explain. “Visiting some family in Miami. And no, she doesn’t know I’m here. It was kind of a last-minute thing.”
“When I heard Vicky and Steve were coming to dinner, I figured it would be best if I brought a date, too,” Jess says, sending a rush of electricity across my skin. “I’ve had enough of being the fifth wheel.”
“Well, we’ll just have to hope we have enough food for everyone,” Mrs. Cho says with a sniff, shooting another critical look up and down my frame. “And that Samuel fits in the Mini. If I’d known we were going to have another tall person to fit in the car, I would have brought Daddy’s van. Or rented a moving truck.”
“Mom, please,” Jess starts, but I interrupt her with a smile.
“Actually, I need to run a few errands downtown before I join you guys.” I give Jess’s upper arm a gentle squeeze as I motion toward the shops with my other hand. “I’ll take care of those and grab an Uber to your place. No problem.”
“And I’ll come with you,” Jess says, earning a heat-seeking missile of a glare from her mother. “You don’t need me at home right away, do you, Mom? Knowing you, I bet you had everything prepped to cook three days ago.”
“No, go with your family,” I say, hurrying to get a word in before Mrs. Cho explodes. “Have some alone time and enjoy catching up. I’ll be there soon.”
Jess sighs, but takes a step back, falling into line with the other women. “Okay. Shop safe. Don’t talk to strangers or buy any torn jeans. You’re too old for torn jeans.”
“And too tall,” Mrs. Cho agrees, earning a surprised look from Jess. “What?” her mother asks, lifting her hands at her sides. “Torn jeans are bad enough on short men, when there isn’t so much furry leg to show through the holes. For a tall, hairy man, it would be an embarrassment.”
