“I didn’t. I just wanted to make sure you were safe, Brenna.”
I don’t know if it’s the wine, but the air is so thick around us. He lifts his hand and brushes the pads of his fingers gently down my cheek. “Why?”
“Why, what?”
Why do I feel this way?
Why does your touch feel so damn right?
Why am I not stopping this?
“I don’t know,” I confess.
Jacob’s green eyes are soft in the moonlight. My breathing is heavy as his thumb traces along my jaw. “Are you going to be okay?”
I want to tell him no because this, right here, is making my head spin. He’s dragging me back to a place I don’t know if I’m ready to be.
I take a step back, needing to get control before I do something stupid like kiss him. I give him a soft smile, hoping that it lessens the awkwardness. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for bringing us home.”
“You’re good?”
“I’m good.”
And I am. I think I’m getting there, at least. While there are things that feel unsettled in my heart, I know that this is all part of the process.
Like the girl in the movie who is finding her legs, I might not be able to run yet, but I’m not crawling any longer.
Chapter Ten
Brenna
“Brenna?” A deep voice calls from behind me as I’m on my way to my car. I don’t have to think hard on who it is. I hear his voice pretty much once a week on my television. And I can’t lie . . . I am a little excited to see him since it’s been almost a week.
I take a deep breath and mask the slight joy racing through me as I turn. “Jacob, hi.”
“Hey.” He smiles, and I swear my heart sputters. “I was just finalizing some paperwork with Mrs. Symonds, and I thought that it was you.”
“Yeah, it’s me,” I say, feeling shy. “I was just heading to lunch and then I have a break before I have to get the kids from school.”
He nods. “A break?”
“Yup. It’s a luxury I do not squander. I have this glorious two-hour break once a week.”
“I don’t blame you. I was heading to grab a bite too.”
“Oh?”
There’s only one restaurant in this town that serves anything edible. I’m not sure what the hell to say. Right now, it’s sort of awkward.
“What if we eat lunch together?” Jacob suggests.
“Together? Us?”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, of course not!” I say quickly and then clear my throat. “I just . . . I was going to read over something, and I was a little . . . anyway, I just . . . I haven’t had a lunch date in forever.”
“Are we going on a date?”
“No! I didn’t mean to imply that we were going on a date-date.” Please let there be a meteor or something that comes down and saves me from myself.
Jacob smiles but then covers it quickly. “Would dating me be so bad?”
“I’m sure you’re a great dater,” I say and then shake my head. “I mean, I’m just going to run myself over with a car now.”
He laughs louder, and my belly dips. “I’m kidding. I wanted to talk about the plan for the play. Mrs. Symonds said it’ll take another few days to process the paperwork and since you’re my assistant—”
My eyes widen. “Assistant?”
“Did you want to be a co-director instead?”
“I want to be the silent teacher who is just sitting there making sure you don’t turn Grease into some crazy movie with space aliens.”
“Now that would be interesting.” He grips his chin and stares off.
Oh lord, nothing good comes from that look. “Let’s go get lunch and discuss your evil plans.”
“Sounds like a date.”
I laugh, and then Jacob goes around the front of my car and opens the passenger side. “What are you doing?”
“Getting in the car . . .”
“My car?”
“Did you want me to drive for our date?”
“No, it’s not a date, remember?”
“Of course.” His voice dances with mischief. “We both have to come back here anyway, and it’s easier than taking two cars.”
As a matter of principle, I want to argue, but he made a good point. “All right, then.”
We drive in silence the whole six minutes over to the café and grab a seat.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the Navigator in all his glory.”
He smiles up at the waitress. There stands a girl with huge breasts that are barely contained by her top and very large—like 1980’s size—blonde hair. I wonder if she’s single-handedly keeping Aqua Net in business. “Magnolia Knightingale, you are the same specimen as you were when we were kids.”
She rolls her eyes. “And you haven’t changed a bit. You’ve been back in this town a month now and haven’t come to see me? For shame, Jacob Arrowood.”
“I apologize, I’ve been working on some projects. This is Brenna Allen, not sure if you know each other.”
Instead of smiling and doing what most would, she plops down in the seat next to me and grabs my hand. “Oh, you poor thing. Your mother-in-law is one of my favorite people. She comes in here once a week, and she was just heartbroken when he died. We all were, especially me. I don’t know if you knew this,” Magnolia’s voice is quiet and sad, “but Luke and I dated in high school. We were in love at one point.”
“Well . . .” I look to Jacob for some help, but he just grins. “That’s . . . nice.”
“So many thought we’d make it, but it wasn’t in the cards. He was in such a hurry to get out of this town, and I was never going to leave.” She sighs dramatically. “And now he’s gone. He’s gone, and we’re left picking up the pieces of our broken hearts.”
I grab a napkin from the table and hand it to her. “It’s all right.”
Magnolia dabs her eyes, and I want to laugh. I’ve never heard of her. At all. Not once in all the years I was with him did he talk about an ex-girlfriend from home. But Magnolia seems pretty torn up over it.
“Thank you, honey. I was so sad to hear about his death. The town mourned for him. I think I’ll always have a part of me that feels sad about what could’ve been. I was going to stop by when you all moved in, but I thought it would be awkward.”
Jacob coughs to cover a laugh. I glance at him and fight back my own burst of laughter. This is the oddest and funniest thing that has happened since his death. I’ve cried, held friends crying, and dealt with a lot, but this is nuts.
Finally, Jacob gets control and takes pity on me. “Magnolia, why don’t you get us both some lemonade and buttered rolls.”
She shakes her head and rises. “Of course. Anything for Luke’s widow.”
Once she leaves, I cover my mouth with my hand and chuckle.
“Oh, that was priceless.”
My hand drops. “That was crazy.”
“That was Magnolia. She’s a piece of work. I think she and Luke might have dated for a whole day before he realized her nickname Hell-no-lia was earned because that’s what you said when she asked you out . . . hell no.”