Kisses From Jack (The Kisses 1.5)

She frowned, her brow going dark as she pulled her hands away from his. “DS Oil and Gas? What are you talking about Jack?”

He smiled sadly. “I love that you don’t know that. Here,” he said pulling out his phone and pulling up a video. He placed it in her hands and watched her face as it played.

It was one he had grown up with, played at every social function or company party he ever went to. He remembered smiling with his father for the end frame of the two of them by an oil well. It had been a good day, that day. His father had scheduled in the entire day for filming, but it ended up only taking about an hour. His father had declared it a day for the two of them. They had gone and sat in a local hamburger shop and talked for hours.

“The video is a little old, but it’s the one everyone knows. DS stands for Daniel Saunders, my father,” Jack said, taking the phone from her hands. Her mouth hung open in a pale face. Jack gently reached over and pushed her chin up. While she could read his thoughts like a book, she was a mystery to him. A delightful, heartwarming mystery.

“I don’t know what to say. I had no idea that was you.” She looked like she might be ill. Jack certainly felt like he might.

“I think that's why I like you so much. You never saw me as a meal ticket or anything other than another human being. You didn’t see a billionaire playboy, you saw a normal person.” His voice cracked slightly. He wanted to wrap her up in her arms and apologize, but he wasn't sure how she would take it. “I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

“That’s why you didn’t hesitate to buy this,” she reasoned, her hand going to the silver dolphin at her throat. “And why you didn’t want any pictures at the wedding. If you’re a billionaire, then you’re famous too, right?”

He nodded. His heart was in his toes. She was going to hate him for this forever. He had betrayed her trust. “I never meant to lie to you Emma. I loved the way you looked at me. I loved your honesty and how genuinely wonderful you were without knowing who I was. I’m surrounded by fake people who only want my money every moment of every day, but you, you were different. I wanted to tell you, but I was terrified you would look at me like they do.”

“So you’re a billionaire who spent his last vacation with a dirt-poor girl in a free hotel room,” she said slowly. Emma moved away from him and sat down on the foot of the bed.

“This was more than I could ever ask for,” he said quietly. Jack knelt before her on the floor, his hands resting on her knees. She didn't shy at his touch, which he took as a good sign. His dark eyebrows bunched together, his face full of worry and regret.

“So what happens now?” Emma looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“Nothing has changed. We both knew we were going to go our separate ways. We both said we would never tell anyone about this. It’s our secret, something that no one can ever take away from us. I didn’t want you to pick up a magazine and find out who I was that way.” He wanted to tell her that he would find her once his business was secure, but he didn't want her to wait for him. He couldn't guarantee when he would have time to be a proper boyfriend, let alone a husband, and he didn't want to promise something he couldn't deliver. Especially not to her.

She nodded, biting her lip. Then she looked up at him and said the words that broke his heart. “I still don’t want you to go, money or no money. I think I would have preferred the 'secretary is your wife' scenario. At least that way I would have known I could never have you again.”

He kissed her gently, wishing things could be that simple. He wanted to be a part of her world more than anything, but knew she deserved better than to be a part of his.

“I want to do something for you. If there is ever anything I can do for you, I want you to let me know. A new car perhaps?” He held a finger against her lips as she started to shake her head in protest. He loved that even now, knowing who he was, she still only wanted him and not his money. “It will cost me almost nothing, but it will help you enormously. I want to see you happy Emma, and if I can help, I want to.”

“I'll think about it,” she promised. He couldn't read her as well as she read him, but the lie was obvious and he loved her all the more for it.

“Please do. It would make me very happy to see you succeed,” Jack said softly. He placed a card in her hand with a number scrawled in black ink on the back. He had rewritten it twice, afraid the first one had been illegible. She stuffed it into her back pocket and sniffled.

A loud knock shook the door. That would be his driver. He closed his eyes, trying to think of something he could say to make her smile. The driver knocked again, insistent that Jack leave his paradise. He turned, knowing that there were tears running down her face because he put them there.

She took his hand before he reached the door, entwining her fingers with his. Jack opened the door and nodded to the man outside, needing just one more moment with Emma.

Her green eyes swam with tears and one trickled down her cheek as he memorized her face one last time. He smeared the tear from her cheek, wishing he could take her tears away entirely. His thumb traced the perfect swell of her lower lip, feeling it tremble against him. This was the lip that she bit when she was thinking, the one he was going to miss more than anything.

He tipped his head and brought his mouth to hers. She tasted salty, like the ocean. He lingered in her kiss, wanting to stay with her forever. It wasn't fair to her. He kept telling himself that this was for the best, that she deserved someone wh

o wasn't going to sleep at the office every night. She deserved someone who could eat a meal with her without being interrupted by phone calls or secretaries. She deserved better than him.

“This was the best vacation I’ll ever have. Thank you Emma,” he said softly, his eyes full of a sadness he couldn't express but she seemed to recognize. He started to say something more, but stopped, swallowing his words. He wanted to tell her he loved her, that he wanted this week to be real and he never wanted to leave her side. But he couldn't. If he said the words mirrored in her eyes, the pain would overwhelm them both.

He touched her cheek one last time before drawing up to his full height. His back solidified and his face turned into a mask. This was the end. He stepped out into the sunshine, but didn't feel warm. His heart was standing behind him, tears running down her face. A tear traced down the hard planes of his own face, but he quickly wiped it away.

He didn't have time for tears anymore. He didn't have time for himself. He was walking away from everything he wanted most in the world, knowing that despite his grand intentions, he would probably never see her again.

He didn't look back as he got in the car and drove away, because if he looked back, he would never be able to leave.

Kisses From Jack: Chapter 10

Jack stared at the picture on his phone. Emma smiled out at him, completely happy next to the man she had just married. He barely recognized the man next to her he looked so content. The lines of worry that always seemed to make him look older than he was disappeared when he was with Emma.

He set the phone down on the reading table beside his leather chair. He wondered if they had reading tables on normal planes or if that was just something reserved for private jets. Emma would know and that made his heart ache again.

“What the hell, Jack!?” Rachel screamed, coming up the steps of the private jet. She was pure pin-striped fury. Dean was hot on her heals, eyes just as dark.