He’s folding up T-shirts with precision, placing each item strategically in his duffle. It baffles me.
“Why are you doing it like that?” God, I sound as grumpy as I feel.
He watches me from across the room with a raised brow. “Like what?”
He’s packing and acting all fine and normal, like he’s not even bothered at all by the fact we almost got busted, like he’s not at all sexually frustrated. Like he’s just fine and dandy while preparing to leave. A wave of nausea washes over me.
“Never mind,” I huff as I turn back to the disaster in front of me. The faster I can get this stuff packed, the better it will be. He can go about his merry way, chasing down this stupid passion of his, and I can move forward with my life, Jackson-less. I switch to his shorts drawer and begin my annihilation of it.
“You seem a little frustrated. You okay?” The tease in his voice is enough to fray the last of my composure. If I turn around, he’s probably got a stupid smirk on his face.
The nerve of this asshole. I shoot him a glare over my shoulder and chuck a pair of shorts at his head. “I’m fine. We just don’t have time for you to dillydally if you expect all of this to get done before you leave.” He better not be planning on just taking what he wants and leaving behind what he doesn’t.
“It’s fine. I’ll take what I need. And the rest, I’ll replace later if I need to.”
All the air is plucked from my lungs. Just poof. Gone.
Is that what he’s doing with me? How he sees thingswith me? God, I am such a fool. I should’ve known better than to let things get physical between us. I blink furiously to try to stop the stinging in my eyes.
“Here, let me have that one.” Once again, his voice comes from behind me, and then his arms are circling my waist, and he’s pulling me into him for one of his hugs.
What am I going to do when he’s gone? When he won’t be here to give me hugs to try to make things better? I’m such a lovesick fool over this man, and he has no idea.
To my horror, I sniffle into his chest.
“Don’t be sad, Mags.” His voice is soft, understanding, as his lips brush against my cheek. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll have FaceTime and still text.”
“It’s not the same,” I whimper.
His arms tighten around me, and his face finds the curve of my neck. Soft lips trace down the column of my throat, and I wish so hard that Alice would go away so we could have one more night together.
Instead, I focus on breathing and getting my tender heart to understand. I knew going in that this was temporary, that he was leaving, and still, I foolishly let myself jump off the proverbial ledge, knowing full well I was jumping into these feelings alone. Clutching his T-shirt for a second too long, I give him a squeeze and then push him away.
“We better get back to it,” I mumble.
It speaks volumes that he just lets me go.
Chapter Nineteen
Maggie
“Heads up. Savannah sighting,” Alice murmurs, passing me in the kitchen, where catering is setting up and getting organized.
The weeks have flashed by in a haze of prep work for the reunion. I guess I’m grateful I’ve had this to focus on, to give me something to do other than fixate on the fact Jackson leaves tomorrow.
It’s his last night here. I’ve tried my best to live in each moment we had together, but the fact remains, he drives out tomorrow, and I don’t know when I’ll see him again.
I blink away the moisture from my eyes and focus on what Alice just announced. “Where?”
“At the bar. Want me to distract her?”
I sigh and plate the last of my contribution to the evening’s festivities. “No, I’ll go. I have to face her at some point.” So far, I’ve managed to avoid seeing my sister for nearly a year. The last time I saw my family, I swore I’dnever allow them the satisfaction of making me feel invisible. It’s time to be true to myself.
I retreat to the office to find my purse and reapply my lip gloss. Removing my apron feels like taking off a layer of armor, but I do it anyway, smoothing a hand over the waist of my retro-style dress. My sister will be dressed to the nines. My choice is stylish but also shows my personality, and when I first tried it on, I felt like a million bucks. But now?
The door hinge squeaks as Alice joins me in the small office we commandeered for personal item storage. “Why’d you let me wear this dress, Alice? Savannah is probably out there in some designer dress, and I’m going to have to meet her looking like some old-school pinup.”
“Hey, Marilyn Monroe is still fabulous.” Instead of it being Alice, Jackson is smug and smooth as he slips a hand around my waist from behind and pulls me into his broad chest. God, it’s been too long since he’s touched me. He drops an open-mouthed kiss to the top of my shoulder, playfully running his teeth up to the juncture where it meets my neck. “And you taste fabulous too.”
