Page 89 of A Song for You

“Yes, well, we would love to chat, but Catherine isn’t feeling well, so I’m going to make my rounds and say goodbye. Then we’re heading out,” Jay says as he tugs me away from his father by the hip.

“What about the speech?”

Jay looks back, regarding his father. “Now that you’re here, you can handle it. They’d much rather hear from the CEO anyway. It is such a surprise seeing you,” Jay says, the bite in his words evident. He doesn’t talk about his father, so I don’t know what their relationship is like, but right now, it’s obvious that he doesn’t want the man to know who I really am.

I offer a wave and a warm smile. “It was nice meeting you.”

Jay practically drags me from the ballroom, only allowing me to stop and check with the event staff to make sure everything is handled before we’re dashing to the elevators.

As soon as we step in, Jay breathes a sigh of relief.

“Are you okay?” I ask, pressing my hand to his shoulder as I study him.

He slides the mask off his face and then removes mine as well, sliding it up into my hair. “Ah, fuck, you’re beautiful. I just needed to see your eyes.”

His are wild, the tension creating deep lines on his face.

“What’s wrong? Talk to me.” I press my hands to his face, trying to smooth the lines around his eyes with my thumbs.

“I need you,” he murmurs, pressing me against the wall of the elevator, his lips taking mine in a rough kiss.

I push back gently. “And you’ll have me, but not like this. Not when it’s not about us…talk to me.”

His face falls, and he presses his forehead to mine, letting out a sigh. “Fuck, Cat. I’m sorry.” He blows out a breath. “Tonight is supposed to be special. He just…” Jay pushes away from me and slams his palm against the stainless-steel wall of the elevator car, making me jump. “I don’t want him around you. I don’t want him to know you.”

“You didn’t want me to meet your father?” I ask, hating the insecurity that thunders through my veins.

The elevator door opens, and he grabs my hand and pulls me down the quiet hallway. “I’m doing this all wrong,” he mutters, coming to a halt outside our room and eyeing me. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and tries again. “He’s not a good person, Cat. And he hates your family.”

“It’s business,” I reply flippantly, hating that the night has turned into this.

Jay shakes his head, his jaw tight. “It will never be just business.”

“And us?” I ask, my nerves taking over.

With his palms pressed to my cheeks, he dips his head and catches my gaze, his sky-blue eyes more genuine than I’ve ever seen them. “Us…we’re…separate from that. Or at least I’m trying to keep it that way. God, Cat, you have no idea what you do to me. How I feel about you. I’m insane right now, and nothing’s coming out right.”

I place a hand over one of his. “Just tell me what you feel, then. Talk to me. It doesn’t have to be pretty or perfect; it just needs to be true.”

He licks his lips and presses them together as he studies me. And then, in the hallway of a hotel in Boston, Jay sweeps me off my feet.

“I’m in love with you. Irrevocably. Completely. Head over fucking heels in love with you. I want to shout it to anyone who will listen. But I also want to hide us away from the world because I’m afraid, Cat. I’m so goddamn scared that the minute our families find out, I’ll lose you. And I just…” He stops and sweeps a thumb across my cheek. “I can’t lose you. That’s the truth. I’m in love with you, and I’m scared.”

Swallowing thickly, I allow Jay’s words to seep into my skin, to race through my veins, to shock my heart. Each and every one of us should hear I love you millions of times throughout our lives, the syllables the most vital in the English language. And while friends and maybe even my brothers have uttered that phrase to me over the years, no one has spoken them to me so earnestly since my mother took her last breath.

“I’ve never heard something so beautiful, Jay,” I whisper with a smile, leaning into his touch. “I love you. Irrevocably. Completely…I’m head over fucking heels in love with you.”

The tension in his face finally relaxes, replaced with the most brilliant smile. “You stole my line.”

“You stole my heart,” I reply easily, my smile soft, my face warm.

His breath whooshes out quickly. “You really love me?”

I lean into him. “So needy,” I tease. “But yes, I really love you. And I intend to show you how much tonight. Now, can you please take me into that room and take my virginity?”

Jay laughs against my lips. “I think that can be arranged.”

Forty-Six