Freeing Destiny (Fate #2) Page 13

  “Just in time,” Caleb announced as the waitress approached with a tray of alcoholic beverages.

  Gabriella was handed her glass of wine and raised it in the air. “I’ll second that.”

  Once we’d all taken the first sips of our poison, the subject of Aubrey was dropped and the rest of the conversation flowed easily. Despite the minor snafu that was my intolerable sister, our evening went better than expected. Ryan and Nina yawned their way out of after dinner plans, but Gabriella and Caleb accepted my offer to join us back at my place for a tour of Stella’s new digs and a nightcap.

  Stella

  Caleb made himself at home with a beer in one hand and his feet up on the coffee table. Mom, however, examined the place like a gosh darn fire marshal. She’d always been protective, but this was over the top, even for her.

  “Mom, would you relax? Everything’s up to code. Not that you would have the first clue what to check for anyway.”

  “I’m not checking for that!” She shooed me away and kept snooping.

  “Well, then, what are you looking for?” Curiosity had me there. My mom was your typical mother in most aspects, but because she had us so young, she was still young. She related to us in ways my friend’s moms couldn’t. I loved that about her, but sometimes it was a hidden curse. “If you pick one more thing up from its rightful place I’m going to burn your fingers with a match, Mother. What are you looking for?” I spied over my shoulder to make sure Jack and Caleb weren’t witnesses to Mom’s odd behavior.

  “Would you shush, Nervous Nelly? I’m looking for a flaw. Anything to show that man in there is not as perfect as he comes off. He’s almost too good to be true, Stells. Don’t you think?”

  Oh, I’d thunk it, all right. But I’d spent enough time pinching myself and asking my inner gullibility the same damn question. Every time I came up with the same answer. “What you see is what you get, Mama. He’s the real deal. Good as gold and all mine.” My heart swelled as I sang the words.

  “You sure? I can dig for more info from Caleb if you want. Just say the word and I’ll go Inspector Gadget on the boy.”

  “Mom! You’ll do no such thing. Don’t you trust my judgment? And if you don’t—what about your own two eyes? Do you have one reason to doubt that I’m not in good hands or to think that I’m making a terrible mistake? Tell me honestly. I need to know now.”

  She took a beat to speak and in that one small pulse of time I feared she’d let me have it. But with a blink of her exotically lined eyes, I knew I was safe. “I am so, so happy for you, baby girl, but I want to hate him. I know that makes me sound crazy, but I was just about to get you back for good. You’ve been away at school for so long. I was excited to be living in the same zip code again. I’m thrilled beyond words that you’re starting this new journey with Jack, but I’m sad I won’t be a part of it. Does that make me a bitch?”

  “Of course it doesn’t make you a bitch! It makes you my mom. I would’ve been worried if you didn’t tell me you had some remorse over this, but I promise you, I know what I’m doing. For me to choose a guy over everything else, you know he’s got to be something special. We’re talking about me here.”

  She smiled and then glanced down at her feet. “Little Miss Cautious. Remember when we’d call you that? You had to make sure the coast was clear for the tiniest, insignificant things. It’s why you’ve guarded your heart for so long. It’s nothing short of astounding to see you finally giving it to someone.”

  Heart equals love, right? “Whoa, hold up. Let’s not talk about hearts yet. It’s been ten days. It’s not love. It’s—”

  “If you dare say lust I’ll slap that pretty smirk off your face. You’re falling hard and I’m telling you to just let go and enjoy the ride. You’re not staying back and shacking up with some guy I barely know just because you want to get your freak on, Stells.”

  Oh. My. God. She didn’t. My laughter was uncontrollable. Caleb even looked up from whatever it was that had his undivided attention on the TV. “Hey, Missy Elliot, are you serious?”

  At the sound of our cackling, Jack emerged from the kitchen with two wine glasses and a dreamy look in his eyes. “What did I miss? You too seem to be having a lot of fun.”

  “We are,” Mom admitted, accepting the drink. “You missed nothing. I was just . . . rapping.”

  “As in Jay-Z and Eminem, rapping?”

  “As in—get ur freak on, get ur freak on, get ur, get ur, get ur—”

  Jack butt bumped my mother in her crouched rapper’s position and broke out in his own Missy tune. “If it’s worth it, let me work it, put your thing down, flip it and reverse it—”

  “Stop! Stop it!” I laughed, holding my stomach and spilling wine on Jack’s hardwood floor. “You’re insane. Both of you. Just stop!”

  Laughter echoed around us. It both fed my soul and nourished my heart. This was happiness at its finest. It wasn’t cookie cutter, but it was exactly how I wanted it. Real.

  When our breathing returned to normal and the loud chuckles subsided to giggles, Jack leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Sunshine, I love when you laugh like that.”

  “Isn’t she something?” Mom’s goading interrupted what should have been a private moment.

  “Yes, she is. And I’m honored to call her my something.” He kissed the tip of my nose and then patted Mom on her shoulder.

  “Jack, if you don’t show me that something’s wrong with you, I’m gonna order a full background check. Caleb’s as close to perfect as they come and even he has his shit.”

  “Hey!” Caleb whined. “I thought you liked my shit.”

  “I love your shit. But I know shit about your friend’s shit and it’s starting to make me wary.”

  I had no words. I could only shake my head and hope that this ridiculous meeting of the minds wound up on a happy note.

  Jack took the lead, as always, and his words were wise, as always. “Gabriella, I have nothing to hide. I’m a good guy with a good heart who’s finally met the right girl. I won’t screw this up.”

  “You’d better not,” Mom finally conceded. After a nod in Caleb’s direction, she draped one arm around me and the other around Jack. “Take good care of my girl, Jack. That’s all I ask.”

  It was a simple phrase that held more weight than a ton of bricks. But if anyone was man enough for the job, it was my Jack.

  Jack

  Moving day. It was a bad idea to make this day a glorified event; everyone’s emotions were already high. And by high I meant excessively dramatic. The past few days had been a blur of last minute packing and lots of tears, and I ached for the moment when I had Stella all to myself. The final box was placed on the truck, the front door was locked for the last time, and the Edwards girls were huddled in a cluster of blubbering good-byes.

  From what Stella had told me about her mom, this was the first time Gabriella would be back in New York since they’d moved here almost ten years ago. After her first husband died in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, Gabriella ran away from the painful memories and never returned. Of course, leaving a daughter behind and a move this drastic would be hard, but Gabriella’s current hysterics didn’t have anything to do with me or Stella. They were about reliving memories she’d long cast away. While I’ve never been comfortable around crying women, I felt for the woman. I couldn’t imagine having to dig up a hurt I’d buried almost a decade ago. Not that I even had anything to compare it to. I’d never lost anyone so tragically. I couldn’t relate in the least.

  Powerless and sympathetic, I watched along as her daughters tried to console the poor weeping mess. Stella patted her mother’s hair in the ultimate role reversal. “Mom, you knew this day would come. You wanted this. You have Caleb now and Aunt Gina. Don’t forget how freaking excited she is to have her sister back on her turf. I know this sucks, but the past is the past and you’re ready to move forward. That’s what you told all of us, now follow through, Mom. You can do this.”

  Caleb was
at her side, hugging her close and wiping away the merciless tears. “Babe, I’ve got you. Don’t you know that by now? We’re in this together. It’s time to go.”

  The house was empty, the new owners scheduled to arrive in a few hours. Caleb, Gabriella, and Nina were driving their car across the country with a U-Haul hitched and filled with most of their belongings. Ryan had already flown back to New York to get settled in and so he could be there to collect the packages they shipped. Getting Gabriella into the car was like prying a child’s hands from its mother’s legs on the first day of kindergarten. The poor thing didn’t want to leave even though she seemed so enthusiastic about this fresh start just a few days ago. I didn’t envy her position.

  “I can’t believe I’ll never see this house again. I’m leaving behind so many—”

  “Don’t you dare!” Nina interrupted. “Memories? Sure, we made do and we got by in that house, but until Caleb came around you were just going through the motions, Mom. You never really made a life here. You were still holding on to your old one, and now you get to start over again, with Caleb. With us. So pull up those big girl panties and let’s get moving. We got this!”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “That’s because it is. There’s nothing holding you here.” Nina was quick to let the words explode, but realization flashed across her face when she caught my eye. “Sorry,” she mouthed, noticing that Stella was holding on to my hand in a death grip.

  My separation from her was inevitable. This carefree, romantic roomie thing was only temporary. In two and a half months, I’d be the one grasping Stella’s knees as she dragged me through the airport to say good-bye. But I wouldn’t think about that now. Time and time again over the course of these last two weeks, I’d encouraged Stella to live in the moment and that’s what I vowed to do.

  A wave of courage washed over me and even though it felt slightly out of turn, I spoke up. “Gabriella, I can’t imagine what you’re going through, or how hard this is, but from what my buddy here has told me—you’re doing the right thing. Your family and everything that’s most important to you is there.”

  Gabriella’s watery gaze darted to Stella, whose hand was still clutched in mine. She simply smiled and I instantly appreciated her silence. She could have started with more of the ‘I’m gonna miss you’ crap, but she didn’t. I could sense that she felt Stella deserved this happiness.

  Walking over to me and Stella, Gabriella kissed her daughter on the forehead and then surprised me by stroking my cheek and staring deeply into my eyes. “You’re right, Jack. It’s time to go. Just promise me you’ll take good care of her while she’s here.”

  “You have my word. And my word is like steel. Strong like bull!” I punched my chest and stood up tall, winking at her. Before anyone could say another word, Gabriella pulled me and Stella in a tight hug, rocking us from side to side. “You two have fun and I’ll see you soon.”

  She backed away and turned toward the car, clapping her hands twice. “Chop, chop! We’re Big Apple bound. I’m good now, I promise.”

  Nina rolled her eyes and Caleb shook his head. After another round of quick kisses, Nina and Gabriella piled into the car. Caleb checked that the U-Haul was secure one more time and then kicked the gravel up with his feet as he made his way to me.

  “So, this is it, bro. An end of an era.” Caleb kept his gaze down and his hands in his pockets. If I didn’t know any better I’d think the dude was choked up.

  “It certainly is.” Damn it. I was too! There was a fucking golf ball sized lump in my throat.

  “You know I’ll never be able to thank you enough for all you’ve done for me, Jack. You were the brother I never had. The only voice of reason after my grandmother passed. The person who—”

  “Cay, don’t. I know. I’m fucking awesome. There’s no two ways around it, but you don’t have to thank me for being a friend.”

  We stood in silence for a few seconds. Stella broke it by throwing herself into Caleb’s arms and squeezing him in an embrace. “I love you, Caleb. Good luck with those two for the next few days in that tight space . . . I hope you don’t kill them . . . or better yet, I hope they don’t kill you! Either way, give us a call to let us know your whereabouts, okay?”

  “Of course, Stells. Good-bye for now. See you soon.”

  “Yes, see you soon.” She stumbled out of the arms of her stepfather—more like newfound older brother/best friend—and turned to me. “I’ll give you two a few seconds alone. I want to check the backyard to make sure the shed’s clear.” She waved one last time to her sister and mother, blew them an imaginary kiss, and darted off to the yard.

  It was just me and Caleb. Time to say good-bye. I never imagined it would be so difficult, but there was an emptiness in my heart. Yeah, I know, I sounded like a pussy. But Caleb and I had some good times in our day. Sure, he was a fuck up and I had to bail his ass out of more trouble than he was worth, but still—I was gonna miss the shit outta him.

  “You’ll come out to visit, right?” he asked.

  “Without a doubt.”

  “You know what you’re doing with her?” he questioned.

  “Positively.”

  “You think you love her?” he probed.

  Did I love Stella? That was a good question. It should’ve taken me longer to figure out the answer, considering the short amount of time I’d known her. But like the other questions he just asked, the answer was on the tip of my tongue and fell from my mouth without a moment’s hesitation. “Hells fucking yeah.”

  Caleb clapped my back and drew me in for a manly hug. “I love you, bro, and I’m so happy for you. Enjoy your time together and then either figure out how the fuck you’ll do the long distance thing or join the rest of our three ring circus in New York.”

  We pulled apart and fist bumped, saying our final good-byes. “All in due time, Cay. I’ll figure it out.”

  The phrase stuck with me all day. All night, in fact.

  I’ll figure it out.

  That evening, when it was just me and Stella alone at my place, I lay beside her on the couch, gazing into the peaceful quietness. Her body fit into the bends and curves of mine so perfectly. I was in love with this woman. This woman who had unexpectedly popped into my life and made me feel things I never felt before. Shit! I was all about living in the moment, but I definitely had a lot to figure out. And while it might’ve seemed a sufficient amount of time to do so, I only had a few months to get my shit together.

  Stella

  “I can see you’ve made yourself at home.” Strong arms grasped me from behind and my heart lodged itself in my throat.

  “Jesus, Jack, you scared the crap out of me!”

  He laughed as he spun me around and adorned my nose with a sweet kiss. “And that’s why you shouldn’t have the music blasting as loud as you do—even if it is Young the Giant.”

  I leaned over to grab the remote for the iPod dock and lowered the volume.

  He had me there. I’d taken to a lot of Jackisms since moving in. It was hard not to. He was the kind of person that rubbed off on you. Everything about him had such an influential effect on me. It was strange, yet refreshing. “I didn’t hear you come in, but you still shouldn’t have snuck up on me. I could’ve had Mace in my pocket. What then?”

  “You always fold laundry rocking a weapon?”

  “Maybe . . .” I joked, tilting my head with a flirtatious pout.

  “I highly doubt it.” Jack’s eyes roamed my body. Hunger and amusement danced in his cobalt orbs. “You couldn’t conceal any type of weapon in those.”

  By those, he meant my yoga pants. What the hell was so sexy about my favorite, worn-in spandex pants? “These? They’re ancient. And why are you looking at me like I’m naked?”

  “Because I can see every drop dead gorgeous, sexy mother fucking curve of your body in that get up. I couldn’t wait to get home from work to see you. And now I’m even happier to see you.” His brows wiggled in devilish del
ight and his lips curled with pleasure.

  “You’re crazy, Jack. You know that, right?” I dismissed him with a shake of my head and went back to folding the rest of the laundry in neat little piles on the bed.

  “Put down the socks, woman. You can’t deny your man a proper welcome home.” He crept up behind me and peppered my neck with kisses. His tongue swathed my sensitive skin and caused tingles of satisfaction to prickle my body.

  “Welcome home, honey,” I moaned. I pressed my body into his; his stiff erection jabbed the base of my spine and I was suddenly needy for the same raw sensation, just a little lower.

  “Work sucked. This is exactly what I’ve needed all day,” he whispered in my ear as he nipped and sucked my lobe.

  My body was on fire. Ever since our first night alone together, we’d been growing closer. We talked each night until we couldn’t keep our eyes open. Our conversations were deep and our laughter was plentiful. I was having the time of my life and my heart was blooming with the nourishment Jack fed it. I’d settled my things in the spare room, but we were yet to sleep apart. But sleeping in each other’s arms was as far as it went. We kissed and cuddled and fooled around a little, but I was still a godforsaken virgin, and for what reason? I really didn’t know. Each time Jack touched me I prayed he would let go of whatever it was that held him back from making me his—completely.