“You had my favorite food ever delivered to a dinner in the woods. I don’t know what to say.”
“How about we eat it before it’s totally ruined.”
Every now and then it’s nice to be me, and this was one of those times. I called the owner who sent his chef here to make the grilled cheese so it was fresh. She will never know how much I just ended up paying for a sandwich, but it doesn’t matter, Brenna is happy.
She shakes her head and gets up, making her way to me. “I don’t care about the sandwich right now. I need to kiss you.” I pull her onto my lap, and her fingers are against my scruff. “This is the sweetest, most thoughtful thing that anyone has ever done for me. I love your surprise. I love . . .” She stops, leaving me to wonder how that statement was going to end. If it ends the way I expect it to, what will I say? Do I tell her that I’m falling in love with her and it scares the shit out of me? Instead of saying it, she smiles. “I love everything about this, and you’re making it really hard not to feel more for you.”
“What if I don’t want you to feel less?”
Brenna’s blue eyes are searching mine. “What do you want me to feel?”
“Special. Cherished. Desired. I want to make you smile and give you the world. This is our last weekend before we tell everyone and I want you to know what that means.”
I should tell her, but I don’t want to scare her. Fucking hell, dating is not fun.
“It means everything to me, and every time I’m with you, I feel that way. Thank you.”
“You never have to thank me for wanting to show you how I feel.”
A second later, her lips touch mine, and I never want this kiss to stop.
“I think they need to be a little closer in the shot,” Catherine instructs as she looks at the back of the camera.
I groan. “Cat, seriously. We’ve been at this for an hour.”
She glares at me and then gives Brenna a soft smile. “I’m sorry, but we need the image to say more than the story will.”
Needless to say, I was surprised to wake up to a short brunette with a bag of bagels banging on the door. Catherine had flown in to make sure I didn’t “fuck it up” with the photographer. She wants the photos to have a very specific feel to them. After a lot of arguing, we settled on which magazine will break the story. She wanted more of a newspaper, but after we talked, we both agreed on a celebrity magazine that focuses on the story and won’t sensationalize things.
And here we are, in the field with the mountains behind us and the slightest hint of sunlight on the horizon.
Brenna’s hand rests on my chest. “It’s fine. She’s thorough, if nothing else. Besides, it’s beautiful out here, and I’m getting to kiss and touch you a lot.”
I kiss the side of her head and sigh. “I guess that is the silver lining here. But we have rehearsal in fifteen minutes and opening night is in two days. Without the dictator here, the photos would have been fast.”
She leans back and looks up at me. “It’ll be fine. No matter what happens with the play, you being there is all that matters. Besides, this reminds me of our date night last weekend. Too bad you didn’t plan a bed then.”
Sometimes she says the exact perfect thing to make me smile and let it go. I’ve been worried sick over the play for the last week. The kids are getting better, but I’m terrified that it’s going to look like a joke. We sold out all three shows in under twenty minutes.
It lets you know what the hell they’re really coming for.
“And if I had?”
“We would’ve used it, of course.”
“I think we were quite inventive with the pit stop at my place.”
Brenna blushes a deep red and then buries her head in my chest.
I love how open she is. Every reaction is pure. I never have to worry about what she feels because it’s plain as day on her face. It’s refreshing, and I hope we never grow tired of this.
After another minute, she looks up at me. “Why are you so nervous, Jacob? You’re doing wonderful things with the kids. You’re putting so much effort into it, and it’s coming along great.”
I release a deep sigh. All of that is true, but there’s a world that Brenna doesn’t see, and it’s not a kind one. “I’m just worried that the press will get wind of the play and people will see I’m a laughing stock.”
“Of a children’s musical. Keep the perspective, babe. This was never going to earn you an Oscar nomination. Besides, don’t you think the press will be more excited to talk about how selfless you are? You’re a superhero who is living out his part. I’m sure that Catherine and your team is prepared for whatever press the play gets.”
She’s right, but I don’t care about that right now. The only perspective I’m seeing right now is how I feel about her. Her happiness is what matters.
“You look beautiful,” I say as I push the hair back behind her ear, no longer caring about the play. “You always do, and I don’t tell you enough.”
“You’re very charming.”
“Only for you.”
She grins. “Four months ago, if someone had told me that I’d be in the woods with you because we were going to announce our relationship, I’d have laughed.”
“And if anyone told me I’d be in a relationship with someone from Sugarloaf, I would have had them committed.”
“And, yet, here we are.”
I look into those blue eyes and get lost. “Here we are.”
She presses onto her toes to brush her lips to mine. When she goes back to the ground, I cup her face and say words I never thought I’d say. “I love you, Brenna.”
“Jacob . . .”
“I know it’s soon. I know we haven’t been together for long, but I love you, and I didn’t want to wait to say it any longer. I wanted to say it on our date, but I wasn’t sure you were ready to hear it.”
Tears well in her eyes, and she ducks her head into my chest. After a few seconds, she looks back up. “I love you too. I’m not just saying it because you did either. I can’t explain it, but—”
I break off whatever she was going to say by kissing her. We stand here, uncaring of anyone or anything else around us. I love her, and I don’t know how the hell we’re going to make this work, but there’s no other option than to do everything I can to figure it out. Even if it means staying in Sugarloaf.
Chapter Thirty-One
Brenna
“Are you going to find out what you’re having?” I ask Devney.
The older Arrowood kids are all watching a movie inside the house and the babies are asleep while the adults are relaxing outside around a bonfire.
My two kids are with their grandparents for the night since they haven’t had a lot of time with them the last few weeks. Rehearsals, school, and they’ve been busy with their friends has caused a bit of pulling back, which I’m not complaining about.
She looks to Sean and smiles. He rolls his eyes and then answers, “I don’t want to know.”
Declan rolls his eyes. “You? Mr. Impatient. You don’t want to know?”