In all honesty, it was a train wreck. But it was hilarious! Lila and JJ danced beautifully while their fathers and unclesattemptedto do so. Jenna cringed when she saw Cage try to do the popular floss dance move when he forgot the next steps. Pumpkin put his arms over his head and spun around and around, claiming that this was the only move he could do that didn’t further injure his balls. Ghost kept doing a knee jump that made him look like he was imitating a mid-air frog. Bulldog kept trying to go up on his toes as ballerinas could while Bear got the marvelous idea to use Lucky as a balance beam as he tried to lift one foot in the air.
Ollie leaned back and whispered to his parents, “Believe me, this is an improvement.”
Jenna laughed.
The next song,Jingle Bells, the six men got into two rows of three while Scotty rode behind them on his ‘sleigh’. They led him around the room, skipping and hopping like reindeer while JJand Lila danced at the front. Being five and eight, the two were adorable in their routine.
Scotty got tired after the second song and had to sit down during the third and fourth songs,Up on the RooftopandWhite Christmas. But he got up to join them during the fifth and final song, Mariah Carey’sI Don’t Want a Lot For Christmas.
The six talentless men and three wonderful children got a standing ovation.
CHAPTER 10
STEEL
Feather-light kisses followed his gentle caress down the sensuous curve of her spine. Jenna shivered, despite the heat in the room. The double doors to their hotel balcony were open, allowing in the warm breeze and the rush of the ocean waves below. They arrived on Tuesday and had yet to leave the room.
It was now Sunday.
Yet there was not an ounce of desire to leave this room, this bed, or this woman. Jenna was naked, and Steel? Fucking hell, Steel couldn’t remember the last time they were free of responsibility, free of children, friends, and family, free of, well,everything.
The Bahamas was just an excuse. He could have taken her to Timbuktu, and it wouldn’t have mattered.
God, he loved this woman. Jenna was more than his world, she washim. There was no Steel without her. People talked of moving on after the death of a loved one. But Steel knew the truth. The moment those words had come out of her doctor’s mouth, he’d known.
Jenna would not be leaving this world without him. There was no part of him that wouldsurvivewithout her. Call it selfish,call it true love, he didn’t give a fuck. The moment Jenna stopped breathing, so would he.
Forty years wasn’t enough. The moment he’d looked into her eyes on that sidewalk, his entire world had changed. Every priority, every purpose, had changed. He was put on this earth to loveher.
SEPTEMBER 1984
Jack was opening his mouth to tell Lilly his plan when someone shouted, “Wait!” from behind them.
He glanced over his shoulder, so certain that whoever was speaking wasn’t calling out to them—and did a double take.
Running towards them in a cute, long dress was the most beautiful girl Jack had ever seen. She had flaming orange hair, piercing hazel eyes, and a dusting of freckles over her nose and cheeks. As she skidded to a halt in front of them, Jack noted that she was only a few inches shorter than he was. Maybe five-seven. The yellow dress revealed just a teasing amount of cleavage. Her arms were covered by a white sweater, which Jack desperately wanted to take off of her to see if those freckles could be located there too.
Though fifteen, he’d never had a girlfriend before. It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed the girls in his class or around him. He’d had crushes before, and the occasional eye contact with one made his heart—and other things—jump to attention, but never enough to actually follow through or commit to anything.
But this girl…
Just…wow.
She was a flame in the darkness, as mesmerizing as the beauty of a flickering fire. And thatsmile.It stole his breath.
Her hair was in an intricate braid that looped around the top of her head like a crown. It seemed fitting in a way.Queen of Hearts. Then he corrected it to,Queen ofmyheart. Maybe even clichéd, but damn if Jack cared.
The girl smiled at Jack before turning her attention to Lilly. “I really hope I’m not overstepping, but I have a rule to do one kind thing a day.” She held out a brown paper shopping bag to Lilly.
Lilly looked up at Jack, unsure of what to do. It was rare that townspeople talked to them or engaged them in any way. Small towns talked, and it was widely known that John Duncan did not believe Lilly was his daughter. No one wanted anything to do with the illegitimate child, not even John Duncan.
Cautiously, Jack nodded down to Lilly. He didn’t know what was in the bag, but instincts—or maybe his lizard brain—was telling him that he could trust this teenage girl.
Lilly let go of Jack’s hand to grab the handles of the bag with both of hers. It was heavy enough that she had to place it on the sidewalk. The girl watched in expectation as Lilly reached into the bag. With a gasp, Lilly pulled out the lion stuffed animal from the bookshop window for Jack to see.
His eyebrows raised in surprise.
Lilly tipped the bag enough for him to see inside. Sure enough, there was the box set ofNarniabooks. Ribbon and all.
