Longing For You (Never Too Late Book 1) Page 10

  “Do you guys like baseball?” he asked her and she looked at him.

  “What?”

  “Baseball,” he repeated.

  “We do,” she shrugged.

  “I have to umpire tomorrow morning, it’s a city league thing.”

  “We’ll be there,” she told him, her face soft.

  “Only if you think Chrissy might like that… “

  “You kidding? Men in baseball uniforms? She will love it,” she shared and he laughed, kissing her tenderly.

  “What about her Mom?” he asked playfully, not really sure how he felt about her checking out other guys, but her soft laughter calming him.

  “Umpire’s still wear those pants?” she asked. He looked at her, taking in the way her eyes were full of mischief.

  “Yep. And protective gear.”

  “Oh, be still my heart,” she put a hand on her chest and fluttered her eyelashes at him. He laughed.

  “Okay. See you tomorrow then?” He caressed her smiling face, watching a soft look enter her eyes.

  “With bells on.”

  “Kids were okay with everything.” He couldn’t help himself, he wasn’t ready to go back to his place alone.

  “They were.” She sighed and he nodded, pulling her in for one last deep kiss.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jess

  The sun was bright overhead as Jess took a sip of her lemonade and stared at her daughter talking to a tall, handsome guy from one of the teams. Even though her overprotective motherly instinct wanted to hover and find out every single thing about the guy, she was glad her quiet daughter was smiling and talking to a boy. Doing things a girl her age should be doing.

  Jess felt him come up behind her, his stubbled cheek against her face when he kissed her.

  “Who’s that?” his voice rumbled against her ear and she smiled.

  “I guess they went to high school together,” she shared and looked at him.

  Tan skin, messy hair, scruffy face, and his eyes smiling at her. Her hand moved up to feel the prickliness and she grinned.

  “This is new.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Back when…you didn’t have this…I like it.” She smiled at him, enjoying the way his eyes glittered.

  “You like it, I’ll keep it,” he simply replied, and she kissed him, feeling his sexy smirk against her mouth.

  Someone cleared their throat and she quickly pulled away, not used to being caught in a clinch like a randy teenager.

  A beautiful brunette stood in front of them. She was about Jess’ height and age. Her skin was overly tanned, and there was a very pissed off look on her face. She had on a tiny white skirt and tank top that defied the laws of physics, her overly generous breasts threatening to topple out.

  “Scott.”

  “Shit,” he muttered, keeping a hold on her waist.

  “Yeah, shit. Isn’t she a little older than you normally date?” The bitchy brunette asked, looking at Jess with disgust.

  “Don’t do this,” he warned and Jess’ blood chilled.

  “Don’t do this? Are you fucking kidding me?” Her voice was rising. Jess tried to step back, but Scott didn’t let her.

  “Leah…” Leah? His ex-wife?

  “You’re the one sucking her face off in public.” Her face twisted in an ugly way.

  “Mom, everything okay?” Chrissy came up behind them and Jess’ heart thundered with embarrassment.

  “Chrissy?” Leah’s face went from pissed off to confused.

  “Hey, Mrs. Malone.” Leah looked at Chrissy standing next to her and then back to Scott, her cheeks growing redder by the second.

  “Jesus Christ!” the woman shrieked, and Jess wanted to get the heck away, but she wouldn’t do it unless Scott was with her.

  “Leah, keep your voice down,” Scott hissed.

  “Can’t you keep your dick in your pants?” she yelled, throwing her arms in the air.

  “Jess, this is my classy ex-wife, Leah. Leah, this is Jess.”

  “Jess?” She’d never heard anyone say her name that way before, with so much disgust, and hoped she never would again.

  “Scott, I should go,” she tried to break free of his hold, feeling everyone’s eyes on them.

  “No.”

  “I should, you two need to talk and this is….”

  Scott

  “Oh, my God,” Leah whispered, making Jess and Scott turn to her. “It’s you.”

  Leah’s light eyes heated, and Scott immediately moved to stand between his crazy ex-wife and the love of his life.

  Love of his life?

  His heart stuttered for a millisecond.

  That was exactly what Jess was.

  Always had been.

  He needed to protect Jess and he knew he had to do it now because Leah was her own kind of crazy.

  “Chrissy, take your mom home, will you?” he said over his shoulder and watched Jess’ daughter nod and pull her mom away. Jess’ wide eyes stayed on him until he lost view of them, ignoring Leah’s incoherent ranting and yelling.

  “Calm down!” he hissed. “Jesus, Lee, what is wrong with you?” he asked her loudly.

  “That was her, wasn’t it? That was the bitch who ruined us?” she asked.

  “Don’t do this,” he told her, grinding his teeth.

  “It is, isn’t it? She’s nothing! God, she isn’t…”

  “I guess you want to do this, let’s do this.” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, praying for patience to deal with his ex. “I loved you. I loved you and you will always have a place in my heart because you gave me my girls.” The moment the words were out, she stood still, her brown eyes still angry.

  “You never loved…” she started her rant, like always when the subject came up, but this time he wasn’t going to stand for it.

  “I did. You just didn’t want to believe it or believe in me. You went out and did your thing until I couldn’t overlook it anymore and eat the shit you were dishing out to me. I couldn’t live with your kind of crazy anymore. We have been done for a very long time and you need to let shit go because I have.”

  “I have let it go! You think I’ve been holding my breath over you?” she shrieked, but he was done.

  He was done trying to reason with her and trying to calm her down. He turned away to walk to his car when he saw her waiting for him, the sun behind her, her hair shinning in the light like she was an angel.

  He could still hear Leah yelling behind him, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was the woman in front of him.

  Reaching for her, he pulled her into his arms, and she placed a hand on his chest. Her eyes searched his worriedly. She was worried about him. Something about that made his heart lighter.

  “You didn’t leave,” he stated. She looked over her shoulder, but his eyes stayed on the beautiful sight in front of him.

  “You think I would leave you to deal with that alone?” she asked, raising her eyebrow. “You okay?” Yeah, she was worried about him.

  “Yeah.” His voice was gruff with emotion, “You?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “That you are, baby,” he winked, trying to lighten the mood, loving the soft tinge of pink on her cheeks. She shook her head.

  “Take me home, Scott,” she ordered. He leaned in and kissed her forehead before throwing his arm around her. They walked towards his truck.

  “Where’s Chrissy?” he asked.

  “She left to get ready for her date,” she smiled and he nodded.

  “Let’s go home then,” he told her, kissing her sweetly before shutting the door and rounding the truck to his side.

  Because that’s where they were going.

  Home.

  Anywhere they could be together would be home. He was going to make it so they never had to spend another night apart. Home would be a place that matched both their mailing addresses.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jess

  She stood in his newl
y redone kitchen and stared off towards the yard, where he sat drinking a bottle of water.

  They’d arrived at his place and grilled burgers for lunch. Neither of them wanted to ruin the mood by talking about his ex-wife and the scene she’d made at the baseball field today. She knew it hadn’t been easy on him.

  She brought out two beers and crossed his neatly kept yard. He looked up at her as she sat directly on his lap, curling into him. She watched as he took the bottles from her and put them on the table next to him.

  “We survived our exes,” she said, breaking the silence, feeling the rumble of his laughter before hearing it.

  “That we did.” He chuckled, kissing her temple.

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I have you on my lap.”

  “And?”

  “And I have a hard on,” he stated with an evil grin and a saucy wink.

  “What?” she asked, sitting up so she could look into his dark, lust filled eyes staring back at her. “What does that mean?”

  “I’m fifty-eight, Jess.” She frowned at him and he kept sharing. “I have you on my lap and I have a hard on. How can I not be okay?” he asked her, and she couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped.

  “I’m serious.” He rolled his hips up and she felt his hardness beneath her, making her squirm.

  “So am I,” he told her as he leaned in to kiss her neck. Pulling away, he caressed her face. “I’m fine because I have you here. Bumping into Leah is never fun. I wish I could tell you her outburst today was a first, but it wasn’t. It won’t be the last, either.”

  “We never talked about what happened with Kevin.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Leah and Kevin, they’re the past, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And we’re together? Right now?”

  “Yes,” she kissed him chastely, wondering what was playing behind his eyes. She could sense he was holding something back. “What is it?”

  “I want this between us to be permanent,” he declared with worry on his face.

  “So do I,” she shared, because she did.

  “Marry me,” those two words floated around them and her body went still.

  “What?”

  “Marry me. Let’s get in the car, drive to Vegas, and get married. Make it official. Live here or I can move in with you or we can buy a new place…” he told her, making her heart flutter way too quickly.

  “Scott, we just found each other again…” she started to tell him, but he shook his head.

  “So?”

  “Don’t you think this is rushing it? Eloping is kind of insane.”

  “Who cares? We’re old enough to know the consequences. Our kids get along. We will figure out the rest later.” His stubbornness was showing.

  Scott

  “I…I have to think about it,” she stuttered, standing up. He wasn’t fast enough to grab a hold of her. He looked up at her, his heart beating too hard. Was she saying no? He’d rushed into it, he knew it, but he just couldn’t help himself.

  “Think about what?” he asked, frowning. She was supposed to say yes. In his mind she said yes. Not able to sit, he stood, mere inches from her, but they felt like miles.

  “Honey, we just started to see each other…marriage is a huge…”

  “I don’t want to lose you!” he blurted out too loudly, making her look at him with wide eyes. She took a step toward him but he took one back. “I messed up and lost you. I lost you and…” his voice cracked and he looked down.

  He studied the grass below his feet until he saw her sandaled feet come into his vision and he closed his eyes.

  He rushed this and probably messed everything up.

  He felt her hands on either side of his face and let her bring his face up. He opened his eyes, meeting her stare head-on and braced for the worst. He’d lived without her for so long, and it killed him to know what his life would be like without her again. Life was so damn good now he didn’t want to lose it, but he’d pushed her and now…

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she interrupted his thoughts, calming his erratic heart with four words. “I’m not going anywhere, Scott,” she repeated. He swallowed hard, his jaw set stubbornly. “But we just started this and it’s only been two weeks. I’m all up for crazy, but this would be too soon and way too fast for me.”

  “I know.” He sighed, leaning in, their foreheads touching. “What if people around us pushes you away? Makes you see the light? I’m not…”

  “Don’t do that,” she pulled away from him. “You know I’m not that kind of person. I didn’t let anyone persuade me to give up on you all those years ago. What makes you think I’ll let that happen now? I’m more than grown up and so much wiser.” He knew in his gut she had a point.

  “I’m scared,” he admitted and she smiled.

  “I am too.” She grabbed his hand, making him look at their intertwined hands. “But I’m less scared with you by my side. I want to be here…with you. I want to elope, I love the idea,” her eyes were bright. “I think it’s very romantic and very us. It would be perfect.” Leaning in, she kissed him chastely. “Just not today.”

  “I’m going to ask you every day then,” he promised and she smiled, rolling her eyes.

  “And one day, I’ll say yes,” she promised him back and that gave him more hope than he could have ever thought possible.

  “I’ll have a bag packed ready for the day.”

  “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t,” her smile turned playful, but his smile died down.

  He pulled her into his body tightly for a hug before he let her go. Their hands still clasped, he brought them higher, turning her palm up. He wrote on her hand as he spoke, their eyes connected.

  “I love you,” he whispered and watched a tear escape. “I was going to write it into your hand, just like the first time, but fuck it. I love you, Jess. I don’t want another day to go by without you hearing the words from me. I never stopped loving you.”

  “I love you too, Scott…I never stopped, either.”

  He crushed his lips to hers, lifting her up and taking them inside quickly so he could show her again just how much he loved her.

  And after he was done, she showed him exactly how much she loved him.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Jess

  “I still think you’re crazy,” Shelly told her, her eyes meeting her head-on from across the work table in the back of Jess’ flower shop.

  “I know,” she smiled at her.

  Three months had passed since the run-in with Leah and Scott’s out-of-no-where proposal, and true to his word, he’d asked her every day.

  “I love him,” she told Shelly and laughed at the way her best friend rolled her eyes. She finished working on a bridal bouquet of bright yellow daises mixed in with white roses.

  “I guess,” Shelly muttered dramatically, and Jess focused on her best friend. A friend who never liked to wear anything but paint-splattered jeans and tees, but lately had been dressing up and wearing bright red lipstick, the one she usually saved for special occasions. The one she always said made her feel sexy.

  “What’s up with you?” Jess asked and Shelly froze, going completely still. Jess took in the sight of her lifelong friend once again in her pretty dress, high heels, and matching accessories. Her usually wavy hair was perfectly smooth and coifed. Something her artsy friend never did. Something she noticed Shelly doing a lot lately.

  For three months now.

  “I have no idea what you’re…”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Shell-Bear,” her friend looked at her, blushing, and she couldn’t help giggling.

  “You’ve met someone!” Jess exclaimed.

  “I…”

  “Who is it?” she blurted, the curiosity too much for her to handle.

  “I…It’s not like that…it’s…” her usually very confident friend stammered.

  “Hello, ladies,” Scott’s deep voice made them turn to him. Jess didn’t think she�
��d ever get used to the vision of him at her doorway.

  He was so handsome, even after so many years, but she could still see the boy she fell in love with all those years ago too. But now it was the man he became that really took her breath away.

  “Surprise, surprise…It’s you,” Shelly sarcastically commented and Scott laughed. Jess watched her friend scowl as Scott crossed to hug her.

  “One day you’re going to like me,” he told her and Jess bit away a smile.

  “We’ll see,” Shelly rolled her eyes and then got serious. “Keep her smiling like she’s been lately and maybe in say fifteen years, I just might give you my stamp of approval.”

  He walked to Jess and she let him wrap her up in his arms. “Count on it.”

  “I better go,” Shelly announced, picking up her bag, looking at herself in the mirror, touching her hair. Jess wondered if she was leaving to avoid talking about whatever her friend was hiding or because Scott was here.

  “We’re not done talking,” she told her, and Shelly turned around with a smile and a wink.

  “We are for now.”

  Jess laughed and shook her head.

  Once alone, she looked up at Scott. She had no idea how her life had settled so beautifully. What she did know was it was only going to get better and she was looking forward to it.

  How many people could say they were looking forward to getting old? She didn’t know and didn’t care. All she knew was getting old didn’t scare her as much as it once had, because she knew he’d be by her side.

  She stepped away, gently placing the now finished bouquet on her work table, then walking toward the fridge that kept her flower arrangements cool.

  “Jess.”

  “Yeah?” She asked over her shoulder, swallowing hard, taking a deep breath, and waited for him to ask her.

  “Will you marry me?” he asked again for what was probably the hundredth time. She smiled as her hand touched the box that held a daisy boutonniere.

  “Yeah,” she said without looking at him, but she felt the room go still, an underlying current running through the air. She looked up at him, the boutonniere in hand. He looked surprised.