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Chapter Ten
When Isabel had opened the door at her grandfather’s cottage and Jackson had gotten his first look at her in that purple dress, he’d actually felt a little dizzy. As soon as his gaze had landed on that amethyst hanging between her breasts, he made an instant plan to see that pendant against her naked flesh later on tonight. Listening to her apology on the drive over made him feel as if they had a clean slate in front of them. He’d apologized for leaving. She’d apologized for walking away from him. They could move forward now and see what happened.
Jackson knew what he wanted to happen, but just because he wanted it didn’t mean he’d get it. When he’d been getting ready for tonight’s date—and freaking out a little over what to wear—Landon had stopped by and told him to be genuine with Isabel. He’d wisely pointed out that Isabel already knew all his quirks and flaws and yet, she’d agreed to the date. She knew what she was getting into with Jackson and had decided to go for it.
“She’s still into you, Jackson,” Landon had said, sipping a beer as Jackson paced in his living room. “Be yourself and you’ll be fine.”
“But where can any of this go?” Jackson had asked. “Neither of us lives here.” He’d been questioning the logic in attempting to date Isabel if they’d both be leaving Maplehaven at some point in the near future.
“Don’t think so far ahead,” Landon had said. “You don’t know how things will shake out. Ask me if I thought a chick could coax me out of my house.” He shook his head. “I’d decided to live the life of a hermit, but Aliza came along and changed everything.”
“And now you’re so disgustingly happy all the time.”
“Exactly.”
Jackson had seen his brother’s point, but that hadn’t stopped him from nearly wearing a rut in the wood floor of the living room with his pacing. He’d gotten ready for the date way too early, but he hadn’t wanted to sit and wrinkle his clothes. Isabel had seen him looking like a messy child playing in the dirt today. The least he could achieve tonight was to replace that image with one where he looked somewhat refined.
Now he was seated across from Isabel, the low lighting in Albero’s setting a romantic tone, and her beauty tempting him more than any of the delicious scents of food floating in the air. Her eyes were an electric green, reflections from the candlelight on the table making them sparkle. A slight gloss slicked her lips, but he liked knowing they’d kissed some of that away in the jeep. Coils of her hair rested around her face, while the rest of her hair was gathered in a low ponytail. Jackson’s fingers longed to free those tresses and rake through them.
Later.
Now was the time to channel Christian and turn on the charm. He picked up this full wineglass and held it up. “To serendipitous nighttime encounters over a wet dog.” He winced. That might not have been how Christian would have said it.
Isabel grabbed her own wineglass and clinked it to his. “To reconnecting.”
They both took a sip of wine and Isabel glanced around the restaurant. It wasn’t too crowded because it was a weeknight, but Jackson knew Albero’s to be a hopping place come the weekends.
“Have you been here before?” he asked.
“Yes. Grandpa and I had Christmas Eve dinner here once when I came home for the holidays. Most of the time Grandpa came to Pennsylvania though.” She looked up to the transparent ceiling which allowed patrons a view of the clear, starry sky. “I actually scribbled notes about this place because it would be the type of fancy dining that would make a resort attractive to tourists. Not this exact design, of course, but see how this place highlights the natural features of the geography here?” She pointed to the knotted wood walls lining the circular main room, the log tables and seats that were both rustic and fancy at the same time somehow, and the floor that looked as if it had natural items fossilized into the wood. “I’d love to do something similar, but with features of the place where I locate my resort.”
“Where have you decided to locate?” Jackson wasn’t sure if he wanted the answer to this question. It had the potential to destroy the illusion that dating Isabel would turn into something more.
Isabel fiddled with the silverware at her place setting. “I haven’t decided yet.”
Hope soared in Jackson’s chest, but he wasn’t sure why. Saying she hadn’t decided only meant she had many options, all of which would take her away from him again.
“What’s in the running?” he pressed, suddenly desperate to know where her work might take her.
“As of today, places I hadn’t originally considered.” She held up her hand and raised a finger as she listed. “Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, along the Gulf Coast were all on my initial list. I’d added South Carolina and Virginia after hearing about land for sale on the coast in both areas.” She blew out a breath. “But after being back in Maplehaven, today I included Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, having a strange desire to make my resort a northern destination.”
Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island weren’t Vermont, but they sure were a hell of a lot closer than the first states she’d mentioned. Why Jackson cared if Isabel was closer to Vermont, he couldn’t quite explain. Vermont wasn’t his home anymore. Hadn’t been for a long time, but it was starting to feel that way. With his findings in the woods today, maybe he’d stick around a bit longer than he’d planned. Knowing that Isabel might potentially stay in the New England area made Jackson feel more in control of the situation.
The situation in which he wanted to be with her. Like all the time.
“That’s quite a list,” he said instead of voicing any of the other things he’d been thinking.
“Yeah, and it makes me sound as if I don’t have a solid plan.” Her shoulders sagged a little. “What kind of business plan doesn’t include its definite location?” She raised her hand then pointed at herself. “My kind of business plan.”
“Location is a big part of it, especially if you want to do something like Albero’s where you incorporate the local geography,” Jackson said, “but I imagine there are many other things to plan out that don’t rely so heavily on where you put the resort.”
“There are a ton of things to plan and things to avoid. I talked to Nicole and Tessa at your birthday party about their experiences working at a resort in Hawaii. They were eager to tell me all the things they hated about their jobs.”
“Yeah, they are both much happier doing what they do here now. Tessa loves teaching dance at Aliza’s studio and Nicole has proven to be a solid farmhand while she studies to be a counselor.”
“I wonder if either of them envisioned themselves settled in a small town in Vermont.”
Jackson shook his head. “I don’t believe they did.”
