I flush with heat as I open the passenger door and start to step out backward, my eyes never leaving his.
Jenson glances out the window past my head. “By the way,” he says in a low tone. “I need to tell you something. I don’t want you to hear it from someone else.”
Those words.
I freeze, my leg halfway to the ground. The last time Jenson said those words to me, they were followed by “shocked” and “unexpectedly pregnant.”
“Olive.” He says my name so quietly I almost don’t hear it. “It’s okay.” His eyes fix on mine.
“Oh. What is it?”
“I’m moving back home. To Liberty Falls.”
I lose my grip on the handle, and my leg, which is still hanging out the open door of the truck, buckles underneath me. I go tumbling to the ground, and suddenly I’m staring up at the sky.
Jenson’s around to my side in a flash.
But so are the cameraman, Cindy, Kyle, and Connor.
“Oh, it’s the stress from your divorce!” Cindy cries out. “Jenson, pick up your cousin!”
Jenson’s hands are on my waist, helping me to a standing position while the cameraman shamelessly photographs the scene.
“Let me drive you home,” Jenson says as I brush myself off.
“I swear, I’m fine.” I fake a smile for the camera and Cindy, and then say to Jenson in a whisper, “I’ll talk to you later.”
“You’ll be okay, Livia.” Kyle puts his chubby hand on my arm. “Maybe you need a hug from Daddy. He gives good boo-boo hugs.”
Jenson’s hand tightens on my back, and I make sure to keep my expression smooth in front of the cameraman who’s still capturing every moment.
I lean down and kiss Kyle’s cheek. “I’m sure he does. But I’m really okay, sweetie. I’m just going to go home and get some rest.”
I step toward my car and unlock it. Jenson holds the door open for me until I’m in the driver’s seat, and then he leans in close as I start the engine. “I’ll call you.”
I shake the entire drive home.
Jenson. And me. Both single. After so many long-ass years.
* * *
I pull into my driveway and step out of the car.
Everything about Jenson Beau—what I know and what I was told—rushes through my mind.
When Cindy got pregnant with Jenson, she was alone and young. In our rural hometown, being unmarried and pregnant wasn’t exactly accepted. She was criticized, and she was shamed.
Cindy and Dee used to date, and even though they’d since broken up, my dad and Dee were best friends, and Dad knew Cindy like a sister. My father’s always been a saver, and as a rising politician in town, he wanted to make Cindy feel included again in Liberty Falls, a part of something “bigger than herself.” So he unofficially made her part of the Graham family.
The Grahams go back six generations in Liberty Falls, and being made a part of our large extended family meant instant approval in town. So when Jenson was born, he was thought of as one of us, and my father’s hopes were realized. Jenson was able to grow up like every kid should be allowed to—with love and acceptance.
When Jenson was two and half, Mom found out she was pregnant with me. From the moment I was born, Jenson was a part of my life. Three years older than me, and a million years wiser, he became my everything. My best friend, my comrade, my hero. He was at every family birthday party and every holiday.
Meanwhile, Cindy and Dee were dating again, and by the time Jenson turned five, they married. Dee was an orphan and had been an unofficial member of the Graham family since he and Dad became friends as teenagers. With that marriage, any line between the Grahams and Cindy and Jenson disappeared.
I learned Jenson’s backstory when I was young, but my parents were careful to explain that while he may not be blood, he was just like a cousin to Daphne, Sheldon, and me. He had been born into our family as an unofficial Graham, and Dad never wanted him to feel like an outsider. Eventually, a lot of people in Liberty Falls seemed to forget that Jenson isn’t actually related to us.
When I got to be a teenager, Dad sat us down.
“You two may not be biologically related,” he said, “But you’re family all the same. That means, Jenson, you need to watch out for Olivia like a big brother would—take care of her. And Olivia, remember how much Liberty Falls needs to see that Jenson is part of our family. He’s no different than Sheldon.”
His point was clear—don’t cross the romantic line. To do so would be a betrayal to everything my father and his mother had worked so hard to forge—a safe life and new family for a single mother and most importantly, for her little boy.
So Jenson couldn’t be a romantic option. That didn’t stop me from falling in love with him.
I let myself into my house, remembering Jenson’s rough, strong hands on my face earlier. I still want him. He still wants me. I wonder if we could possibly make it work…
I shut off the thought as I shake my head at myself. I vowed to never pin my hopes on Jenson and me. Not again. Not after the way he broke my heart the last time. He didn’t break it on purpose, but I’m still picking up the pieces. And I can’t take a second heartbreak like that in one lifetime.
