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Jack’s cheeks flamed, and he looked at the ceiling with a breathy laugh. “Yes.” Then he looked down, taking her hands in his. “Yes, I am.”
“I would love to.”
His heart swelled as he noted the sincerity in her smile, and he reached up to cup her cheeks. The electricity between them filled the pantry, buzzing and crackling around them in dull, pulsing waves. He lowered his mouth to hers, only intending to give her a quick kiss like the one she’d given him.
But she was so sweet, her lips so soft, he couldn’t help but linger. She seemed to welcome it, leaning into him and bringing her arms around his neck, which only served to make him deepen the kiss and banish all thoughts of pulling back.
He didn’t know how long they stood there in the pantry like a couple of teenagers hiding from their parents, but as Jack’s mouth moved over hers, he found that he didn’t care. An inn full of people? What inn full of people?
Then a low moan escaped the back of her throat as she pulled him closer, and he met her enthusiasm by stepping her backward until she hit the wall. He’d placed his hand behind her head at the last second to cushion the impact, his thoughts centered on getting closer to her in any way he could.
A shocked laugh had her pushing him off as she fell into another fit of giggles, and he braced his hands on the wall on either side of her small frame. His breath came out in short bursts as he hung his head, shaking it back and forth to clear the fog.
She continued to giggle while he collected himself, then she ducked down and pulled his face up to meet her eyes. “So, that was hot. And totally unexpected. But we should probably get back out there before we get carried away.”
“Beforewe get carried away?” he asked, continuing to use the wall for support as she giggled yet again.
“Yes, Jack. Let’s go.” She punctuated her statement with a soft peck on his still-hungry-for-more lips, then bobbed under his arm and danced out of the small space without looking back.
He let his head drop forward again and heaved out a sigh. Yep, no doubt about it. He was in love with this woman, one kiss and one absurdly cute giggle at a time, and there wasn’t a thing in the world he could do about it.
But hey, at least she was his girlfriend now.
CHAPTER16
Robin
The night of the ball,Robin was a nervous wreck. She’d been so happy spending time with Abby and Jack for the last few weeks, along with his family, who’d already felt like family to her long before the two of them started dating. They fit together like pieces of a puzzle that had been waiting for someone to come along and make them whole, and she loved it.
But when she was alone at night, when the house was quiet and Abby was fast asleep, that happiness was hard to reach. She’d find herself gazing around the home she’d once shared with Matthew with her heart pulling in two different directions. Past and present—a present that was starting to lead to a future. She felt like two different women in those moments, with two different hearts.
Would it always feel like this? Matthew had been her high school sweetheart. Her first kiss, her first love, her first everything. He was the father of her child, and the man she’d sworn to love and cherish for the rest of her life. If she’d known she’d only have a few short years with him, she wouldn’t trade a thing. But that didn’t change how much it hurt that she’d made that vow, and now she had to love him for the rest of her life without getting to share that life with him. It was something that had tortured her on many sleepless nights over the last four years, decreasing in both frequency and intensity with time, but never fully disappearing.
And now, as she studied her reflection in the floor-length mirror in her room, she wondered how it was possible that she’d love him forever, and yet she’d recently made room in her heart for Jack too.
Was that fair to Jack? When he’d asked her to be his girlfriend in the pantry the other night, she’d been so enamored by his earnest—and nervous—smile that she’d agreed wholeheartedly.
Or so she’d thought. It was only after she was in bed that night that she realized part of her heart would always belong to Matthew, and it felt mildly treacherous to give other parts away.
Before things got even more serious between her and Jack—because wow, there was something about that man that had captivated her from the very start, and it was only getting worse—she needed to make sure he understood that.
“Wow, Mama,” Abby said, rushing into Robin’s room with a swish of her sparkly red dress made of tulle and lace.
She’d chosen the dress herself, and Robin loved that it made her daughter look like a little Christmas princess even though she was growing up so fast. It was the perfect mix of big girl meets little, and it complimented Robin’s own dress in just the right way.
“I’m so glad you picked the green one,” Abby preened.
Robin nodded in agreement as she turned back to the mirror. She’d been torn between the red one Jack loved and this green one she’d tried on right after he’d left, so she’d purchased both. She figured letting Abby help her choose would be more fun than going it alone, even if it had meant switching between the two dresses four times because Abby kept telling her she needed to see the other one again.
“You’re gonna wear the red one next year, right?” Abby asked as she stood next to Robin in the mirror.
Robin steered her daughter in front of her and picked up her brush from the elegant vanity on their right, sliding it through her daughter’s hair with ease. She was so grown up. She remembered when Abby used to scream and cry when there were barely any tangles in her wavy blonde locks. But now? She seemed to have already brushed it herself, and she’d clearly done a great job.
“Yes, I think that’d be better than having to find one I like just as much when the time comes.”
“If you wear the red one next year, I should get a green one. That way we’ll still go together like this but not be matchy-matchy.”
Robin grinned at her reflection. “Sounds like a plan, Abbs.”
