“I do know that. Mexico wasn’t, right? This won’t be either. Plus, you promised.”
He was right; shehadpromised. In the hallway at the hospital. In that hotel room in Minnesota, moments before they’d lost themselves in each other.
Promise me you won’t say goodbye.
Now he was reminding her—and begging. And the truth was, she didn’twantto say goodbye. The time zones and miles between them would be difficult to navigate, and more than anything, she wanted to share in his belief that everything would be okay.
Even if that logical part of her brain whispered that this wasn’t the end of some vacation romance, where they’d go back to their real lives and move on. Thiswasreal life, and Jessica was moving clear across the world.
All she knew was right now, she would give Jack whatever he wanted…except stay.
That was the one thing she couldn’t do, no matter how much she loved him.
And she knew it was the one thing he’d never ask for.
Through her tears, Jessica nodded, and let him press kisses to her forehead, cheeks, eyelids, the tip of her nose, before he finally settled his mouth over hers.
When he pulled away, Jessica was surprised to find his own eyes and cheeks glistening with tears. “This is the first time I’ve cried since I woke up in Mexico to find you gone,” he said quietly. “Promise me this won’t be like that.”
“I promise,” she said, reaching for the chain around her neck and withdrawing the ring dangling at the end from beneath her shirt. The metal was warm to her touch, and Jack wrapped his fist around hers. “We have a deal, remember?”
“Yesterday, today, tomorrow, always, and forever.”
“Exactly,” she said, giving him a watery smile. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, sunshine. Call me when you get to the airport in the morning.”
“I will,” she promised.
Reluctantly, she withdrew from Jack’s embrace, and wrapped her arms tight around herself as he walked away to join Aiden, Kenzie, Luke, and Asher. The five of them were staying at Kenzie’s parents’ house tonight, and Jack didn’t look back as he climbed into Aiden’s Jeep and sped away.
Jessica’s alarm went off at an ungodly hour the next morning, but the fact that the sun hadn’t yet risen wasn’t the only thing keeping her safely cocooned under the covers of her sister’s guest bed.
She was moving to Russia today.
A cold finger of fear snaked down her spine.
It wasn’t so much the move that was freaking her out as was the thought of leaving the only place she’d ever known in favor of something that could not be more different.
Down the hall, even through her favorite rain sounds playlist coming from her phone, Jessica heard Brooks squawk.
Wide awake now—thanks to the weight of anxiety that had settled on her chest—she rose and padded across the carpet to the door.
Once in the hall, instead of turning toward the kitchen for some coffee before she got ready and finished packing, she moved to the nursery.
Brooks had quieted some, but still squealed excitedly when Jessica’s face appeared over his crib. She understood he was too young yet to have memorized her face, but she took it as a good sign that he didn’t scream and cry every time she held him.
“Oh, yes,” she said as she lifted him out of his crib. “You love your auntie Jessica, don’t you?”
“He does,” a deep voice said from behind her, and she turned to find Brent silhouetted in the doorway.
“God, you scared the shit out of me!” she hissed. “You can’t sneak up on women in the dark like that, especially not ones that are holding your fresh baby.”
Brent chuckled. “Sorry,” he said. “Your sister is still passed out, but I heard him on the monitor so I got up to check on him.”
Jessica sat in the nearby rocking chair—which was really an overstuffed armchair that rocked—and rubbed a thumb over Brooks’ smooth cheek.
“He’s perfect, you know,” she said.
