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“Bye, Mom,” Brooklyn says, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay, honey. Drive safe,” I say, knowing she chose to be the designated driver tonight for her friends and that she’s staying with them at their apartment tonight.
After the last of the guests have left Hot Toddy’s, it’s just me, Jacob, and his
employees finishing up for the night. It’s after two o’clock, and I’m tired but not sleepy. I’ve been craving more of Jacob since our tryst in his office. Tonight has been the best New Year’s Eve I’ve had in a long time––maybe ever––and I know it’s due to the past few weeks with Jacob. They’ve been the best I’ve had in a long time. My relationship with Jacob has evolved and grown quickly… and my feelings for him are intense. He makes me feel beautiful, secure, and cared for. He makes me feel loved.
There’s no denying it––I’m in love with Jacob.
But I’m not going to be the first one to say it. I’m not going to jinx the best relationship I’ve ever had by saying those words too soon. I don’t want to lose Jacob because I scared him away.
I met his parents tonight, and his mom and I made plans to hang out and do crafts together. I’ve never hung out with any of my ex’s moms before without them being there, too. Even my former mothers-in-law and I never made plans for just the two of us. This is new territory for me, and while it may seem premature to be hanging out with the mom of a guy I’ve only been seeing for a few weeks, it doesn’t feel weird at all. I’d actually met his mom before when she shopped at Cheerfully Yours, and I remembered her immediately, which isn’t easy for me to do. I meet a lot of customers who come into my store, and I don’t remember them all. After all my cancer treatments, my memory’s not what it used to be. However, his mom was familiar to me right away.
Brooklyn approves of Jacob, too. She thinks he’s nice, and that he’s perfect for me. I’ll introduce him to my parents and the rest of my family soon… if things continue to go well for us… which I hope they do.
I sit at a booth and watch as Jacob and his employees finish what they need to do. His employees begin leaving, and before I know it, we’re left alone. He saunters over to me and sits in the seat across from me. Stretching his arms out on the table, I take his hands in mine. He looks exhausted.
“You did it, babe,” I say. “Your soft opening was a success!”
He smiles. “Thank you. Hopefully, it’ll be a success when we open to the public tomorrow afternoon.”
“It will be. I just know it,” I reply, and I’m not just saying that to be nice. I really do think Hot Toddy’s will be the hot new bar in town.
“I’m exhausted, babe. Are you ready to go?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes. Let’s get outta here.”
I rode here with Amber and Markus so I could go home with Jacob. Cheerfully Yours will be closed tomorrow––or, rather, today––for New Year’s, and the plan is that Jacob will drive me back to my place before he has to return to open Hot Toddy’s later in the afternoon.
We pile into his car, and he starts the engine. He doesn’t put it in gear, though. He looks thoughtful for a moment before taking my hand and turning to face me.
I turn to look at him, too.
“Heidi, I have something to tell you,” he says, and his words fill me with dread. He’s so serious; I wonder what he’s going to say. Is he seeing someone else? Does he want to see someone else? Anytime I’ve heard a man say the words I have something to tell you, it’s never been good.
“O-okay,” I stammer, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I’m afraid of what he’s going to say. Please don’t let this be the end of Jacob and me! Our relationship has just begun, and I thought everything was going well.
He rubs his forehead with his other hand, then looks me in the eyes. “I… I’ve wanted to say this for a while now, but I was afraid of how you’d react.”
My mind races with the possible scenarios that could play out right now. Is there another woman? Is he not happy with me? Does he think we’re moving too fast? Does he not want to be in a relationship? Is there something else entirely that I haven’t even considered?
“Heidi, I––” He looks down at our hands for a moment, and I swear my heart stops.
Just say it and get it over with! If he’s going to end things with me, I want it to happen quickly.
He rubs his thumb back and forth over the back of my hand before looking back up at me and continuing. “I know this may be too soon, but I have to tell you how I feel.” As he pauses, his words give me a sense of hope. Maybe he’s not going to say something bad after all…
But what is he going to say?
He quickly licks his lips, then says, “I love you, Heidi.”
I suck in a breath, and my hand flies to my chest. Did I hear him correctly? He loves me?
“You… you love me?” I ask, hoping I didn’t black out and imagine him saying that when, in reality, he said he doesn’t want to see me anymore.
He nods, his lips lifting a fraction, and I exhale. I didn’t black out. He really did say the words I wanted to say to him but was afraid to.
“You don’t have to say it back to me,” he says. “I know it’s early in our relationship, and I haven’t even asked you to officially be my girlfriend, but we’ve been spending all of our time together, and I––”
