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“It’s Nolan to you.” His blue eyes twinkled. “Or you can go with King Papa like Sunny does.”
Jennifer smiled. She’d seen the adorable little girl interacting with the family from a distance during the wedding. She’d especially loved seeing the child in Tristan’s arms.
“Nolan,” she said. “Thank you.”
“Of course. Henry is my best friend.” He paused, cleared his throat, and continued, “And Leslie was Anne’s ‘soul sister.’ We’ll find them and bring them home safe.” He turned to go as if the emotion was too much, but then he paused again. “T … I almost forgot. I promised Philippe you and I would go on an early morning hike with him, Curt, and Aliya. They believe they’ve found the cure for the curse.”
Tristan grimaced.
What cure? What curse?
So many questions right now.
“Can’t it wait?” Tristan asked. “With all that’s going on?”
“I suppose it could. Only … those three rarely ask anything of me and they were ecstatic when I agreed.”
“I imagine they were. Maybe in a couple days?” He looked at Jennifer. Everything was up in the air right now. They didn’t know if William would contact her tonight or in two weeks.
“I’d love to go on an early morning hike,” Jennifer said, meaning it. She’d also love to get to know Curtis’s new wife, the spunky Southern beauty.
The two men exchanged a look. Tristan gestured to his dad as if it was his decision. The king nodded. “We’d love to have you come with us. I’ll talk to Philippe and Curt and plan a time, but we can put it off if we see anything from William.”
“All right.”
“Goodnight.” The king nodded to both of them and let himself out.
Tristan turned to her. Jennifer’s heart picked up its beat at the meaningful look in his blue eyes. She wanted to flirt and tease with him, but the timing wasn’t right.
He looked her over carefully and murmured, “I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I’m terribly sorry, Jenn.”
She bit at her lip to keep from crying. His thoughtful concern brought all the repressed emotion to the surface. Despite how much she loved the little ones she helped in third-world countries around the world, she’d dealt with extreme loneliness the past eight months. She’d missed him, her parents, her home, and her friends. The pictures online of him with Macey and different women had made it even worse. Then to see her mum, abused and in that monster William’s power, and now to lose her dad and not know what awful things William and Naomi were doing to them, if they were even alive … It was devastating.
Sniffling, she was afraid she’d start sobbing if she tried to speak.
“Ah, Jenn.” As usual, Tristan didn’t need any words to know what she needed. He gathered her close, tugging her onto the couch, easily lifting her onto his lap, and wrapping his arms around her.
Jennifer forgot all the resistance she was supposed to be clinging to. She laid her head on his shoulder and let the tears fall, wetting his neck. He held her as she cried.
After a few tender minutes of snuggling into his strength, his delicious scent, and the peace he gifted her with, he gently tilted her chin up and searched her face. His blue gaze begged her permission to kiss her and take away all the pain and loneliness she’d dealt with. She’d been alone for far too long.
Shouldn’t she take this slow, make sure he was committed to her and only her, focus on her parents? Instead, she found herself nodding to him, anticipation swirling in her abdomen.
His lips quirked into an alluring smile, but he got serious more quickly than she’d ever seen him. Apparently knowing that someone would bust back through that door any moment and interrupt another kiss took away his natural playfulness.
Tristan tenderly kissed the wetness on her cheek, and Jennifer sucked in a breath. The warm touch of his lips filled her with heat. When he tilted her face toward his, all reluctance was shoved away as she eagerly drew him closer.
A loud rap on the door announced yet another interruption.
The door swung open. Jennifer glanced over to see Chad standing there. Tristan’s best friend. It should have been awkward, but she liked Chad too much.
“There she is. I hear tell the most beautiful woman in the world has returned to Augustine’s fair soil, but she didn’t feel it important or urgent enough to come give me a hello hug and kiss. Hmm?”
“If you kiss my girl, I’ll thump you,” Tristan growled at his friend.
Chad only smiled, but Jennifer’s stomach flip-flopped. Tristan calling her ‘his girl’ and the possessiveness in his tone thrilled her. Was she only one of his girls, or was she his only girl?
Jennifer slid off his lap to greet Chad. Tristan caught her hand. “This will be continued very soon,” he promised.
