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EVERLEIGH
Jensen hadn’t shown up, which was surprising since it was late morning. He had been hanging out on the back deck for the past two days, trying to draw me out. I had to admit, I’ve wanted to go out there and be with him, but I couldn’t bring myself to give in; at least, not yet.
Turning away from the window, I focused on my grandmother’s box of love letters on her dresser. They sparked something inside of me. A part of me felt guilty for being so intrigued, especially since the letters were not from my grandfather. I loved my Poppy, but I wanted to know who T was. I’ve always heard that most people fall in love three times in their life. You have the first love, which usually happens in high school. It’s all-consuming and most people think it’ll last forever. But, of course, it doesn’t. The love isn’t as deep and raw as the other relationships you experience later. Then, you have the intense love that feels like a rollercoaster. The relationship comes with massive highs and dramatic lows, a love that will turn your world upside down. The heartbreak from that one can be indescribably painful, but it also helps you grow and find the inner strength to move on to the final love. It’s the one where you find unconditional love. The one that comes out of nowhere and feels completely right; it is the beginning of forever.
All I’ve ever known was Jensen. He was my first love, and I knew without a doubt that was my intense as well. However, I had yet to find out if he was my unconditional, but a part of me hoped it to be true.
I walked back to the window and peered out, not seeing him anywhere. I decided to change into my teal bikini and sunglasses and once I’d done so, grabbed my grandmother’s favorite pirate romance and my phone, and headed outside to the garden where I already had a lounge chair by the koi pond; I didn’t want to sit out on the beach today.
The sun was hot overhead, but the intermittent clouds floating by gave me some short moments of relief. I opened the book and was just about to start on page one when a familiar sound echoed down the road. It was Jensen’s Bronco. He could easily be going over to his parents’ house, but I doubted it.
Instead of running inside and avoiding him, I planned on doing the opposite today. If he wanted to annoy me, I had ways to torment him. But who was I kidding? I wanted to be around him, and staying away only made me want him more.
Resting a hand behind my head, I held the book in my other, stretching my body out on the lounge chair. His car door slammed and a few seconds later, I heard him marching up the stairs to my deck. He wouldn’t be able to see me unless he looked down. But unfortunately, I couldn’t see him in the position I was in.
I waited for him to call me, but all I heard was his footsteps as he descended the stairs to the walkway. He wandered over to the other side of the pond, shirtless with his shorts hung low on his hips. My heart started to race, and I was glad he couldn’t hear it. He set down the bucket he’d been carrying and peered deep into the pond.
“No snarky comments today?” I said.
He knelt beside the pond and shook his head. “No time for that. I have work to do.”
“What kind of work?” I asked, setting my book aside.
He looked me up and down, his predatory gaze sending shivers throughout my body. No one had looked at me like that in a long time—and I didn’t realize how much I needed it until now.
Jensen turned away and gestured to the pond. “I don’t know if you knew this, but every month, I come here to clean your grandmother’s pond—it’s way past due for its monthly cleaning.” He was right, I didn’t know that.
“It seems you and my grandmother spent a lot of time together.”
Jensen reached into the pond and tossed a handful of slimy muck in the bucket. “She was all I had as far as a grandparent is concerned,” he replied, his voice deep and smooth as he continued to clean out the pond. “You already know all my others passed away years ago.”
So had mine. My grandmother was all I had left.
“What else do I not know?” I questioned. “It seems like my grammy kept lots of secrets from me.”
Jensen’s brows furrowed when he looked over at me. “Me visiting her wasn’t a secret, Everleigh. You just didn’t want to hear about it.” He reached into the water and pulled out more debris. “Is there something else on your mind? I can hear it in your voice.”
He stopped what he was doing and rested on his knees, his full attention on me. The only thing on my mind was my grandmother’s mysterious love letters, but I wasn’t about to talk to him about them.
“I’m fine,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. Then, sighing, I looked up at the house. “I’m still trying to decide what I’m going to do with this place.”
Jensen stood and grabbed the bucket of muck. “The offer still stands; I’ll buy it.”
Grinning, I cocked my head to the side. “Didn’t I tell you the other night that I’m not selling to you?”
A smirk spread across his lips; it was very sexy and devilish. The sight made my body heat up like fire. “Maybe. But I can always persuade you to change your mind.”
“And how do you plan on doing that?”
His smile widened and he stepped closer, his gaze raking over my body. I shivered in anticipation of what he might say next, but my phone trilled from beside me before he could answer. I grabbed it off the cushion, noting Nyla’s name flashing across the screen.
“It’s my friend from Boston,” I said, sliding my legs off the lounge chair. “She’ll be here in a few days for the rest of the summer.”
A hint of disappointment passed over Jensen’s face before he nodded and backed away. “I see. Are you going to take her around to all the favorite spots?”
I gave him a smile as I got to my feet, my heart pounding hard in my chest. “Of course. I’ll make sure you meet her.”
Spinning around on my heel, I sprinted up the stairs two at a time, knowing I couldn’t answer the call with him around. He would definitely hear her talking about him. When I reached the top step and opened the glass patio door, I had very little time to accept the call before it went to voice mail.
