“I love them. Thank you so much. That was so thoughtful. You aren’t trying to get out of dinner, are you?” She chuckled.
Hell, I wished I could. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
“Nope. I wanted to give you your gift before we were at dinner. I’m not big on doing things with an audience.” I reached in my pocket and handed her the little box from Saxe Jewelry Store.
Her jaw dropped. “There’s more?”
I chuckled. This girl. She’d be happy with me just coming to dinner. Giving her a bracelet made of twine. I didn’t come from money, obviously, but I’d covered rent for Ma this month and I’d pulled in an extra fight this past week to pay for the bracelet. I was happy to spend it on her. And I had a fight tomorrow, so I’d have more money coming in soon.
She opened the box and tears sprung from her eyes as she took in each of the charms hanging from the delicate gold bracelet. There was a book charm because I knew she loved to read, a little laptop charm because her passion was writing, a willow tree charm because she loved this godforsaken town, and my jackass friends convinced me to add the little gold jet charm as a reminder that it was from me.
“Jett,” she croaked. “This is… it’s gorgeous. I love it so much. Thank you.”
A tear ran down her cheek and my fucking chest squeezed. I wasn’t a sappy asshole, but something about this girl had a way of bringing me to my knees with no warning.
“Happy Birthday, Ace.”
I helped her clasp the bracelet around her slender wrist, and it sat next to the tattered rope bracelet that I’d made her for Christmas, and she’d never taken off. I’m sure her mother was having a field day with that monstrosity.
“I…” She paused, and looked up at me with so much adoration it nearly took my breath away. Dark eyes watery and full of emotion. “I love you, Jett Stone. I really love you.”
My tongue dipped out to wet my bottom lip. Hell, I hadn’t expected that. Not because I didn’t feel it. I did. But love was a dangerous emotion. One that could cripple you if you allowed yourself to feel it too much. Too intensely. But I couldn’t stop myself from saying it, because I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit I felt the same way. And I was a lot of things, but a liar wasn’t one of them.
“I love you, Ace. Happy Birthday.”
I went home to change because I knew her mother would have me under a magnifying glass, so I may as well not give her more ammunition to work with than necessary.
When I held my hand up to knock at the Edingtons’ door, it whipped open before I even made contact.
“Hey there, handsome. Are you ready for the shitshow?” Clementine asked before laughing at herself.
Damn, she definitely was the rebel of the family.
I fucking loved it. Every family needed one.
“I’m ready.” I smirked.
“Jett, happy you could join us for Ladybug’s special day.” Mayor Edington was a genuine guy who adored his family. It was impossible to miss.
“Thanks for having me.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked up to see Adelaide’s mom staring at me.
“Come. Sit,” Savannah Edington said, leading us into the dining room before shouting up the stairs for Adelaide to come to dinner. I didn’t miss the edge in her voice and alarm bells were going off. She was up to something and her husband seemed completely unaware, but Clementine locked eyes with me as if she were thinking the same thing.
“Hey,” my girl said, coming over and wrapping her arms around my middle. “Thanks for coming. Here, you can sit next to me.”
We dropped down to sit. Her father sat at the head of the table and her mother and sister sat across from us.
“Forgive us, Jett. My daughter requested her favorite, chicken tacos, not the most elegant meal. But it’s her day.” Her mother shrugged, and I gazed around at the platters of rice, beans, chicken, chips, tortillas, cheese, guacamole, and salsa. The woman didn’t do anything half-ass, that’s for sure.
“No problem. I love tacos.”
“So, I hear you’re signing your letter of intent with Texas University this week?” her father asked.
“Yep. It feels good to know where I’m going,” I said, and Adelaide beamed up at me.
“Ah… I understand that. I thought Addy knew where she was going as well, but she mentioned now that she doesn’t know if she wants to go there. After all our years of planning.” Her mother’s tone was hard, and her cold stare landed on me.
My hand found Adelaide’s thigh beneath the table. She placed her hand on top of mine to let me know she was okay.
Classical music played lightly through the surround sound in the dining room, and the elegant setting didn’t match the casual dinner on the table nor the tension that stirred in the air.
“You’re bringing this up now?”
“Well, it seems Jett has something to do with this newfound interest in spreading your wings. You’re going back on everything we planned, Addy.” Her mother turned her attention to Adelaide, and I shifted in my chair with discomfort. If looks could kill, I’d be diving in front of my girl to take this bullet for her.
“It was never my plan. It was just something you said for as long as I can remember, and I never said anything different. But there’s nothing wrong with changing the plan, Mama. I’m young. You should be encouraging me to chase my dreams.” Adelaide dropped her fork on her plate and the loud clank startled everyone.
“Chase your dreams? Don’t be so dramatic. Let me ask you, Jett. Is this your doing? Are you a dream chaser?” Her tone was laced with sarcasm.
“Oh my god,” Adelaide shouted, and tossed her napkin on the table. “Of course, you think it’s his fault. I’ve been trying to talk to you, Mama, but you don’t listen. I don’t want to go to the state school. I’ve told you that, but you end the conversation and walk away.”
“You never had a problem with it before you broke up with Alec,” her mother hissed.
“Mother, do you hear yourself? This isn’t about Alec. Nor is it about Jett. This is about me. I’m really happy because I’m finally finding my way. Why can’t you embrace that?” A tear ran down Adelaide’s cheek, and I squeezed her thigh, wanting to pull her onto my lap, but afraid that would put her mother over the edge. I scooched my chair closer, our legs touching, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder to comfort her. I couldn’t help myself.
“Listen. It’s Ladybug’s birthday dinner. We have a guest. This is something that can wait until later, yes?” Her father spoke, and apprehensively looked up at his wife.