My mother turned back. “Mercedes!”
“I didn’t…” I started but couldn’t finish. I was cracking up too much.
Loren laughed too, but my father sat as solemn as could be with his arms folded across his chest.
“I cannot believe you did that,” he said.
“Wait.” My mother looked at the counter, then back at my father. “You little shit.” She slapped him on the back of the head.
“Ow, that hurt.”
“You know what, Mom? I don’t think a little alcohol is going to kill him.”
She set the garlic bread pan on the counter and turned to me. “I don’t like it.”
When she turned back, he was a quarter of the way through a piece of French bread. He looked up at me with a huge grin, and we all broke out laughing, even Mom. She went back to cooking while we sat and talked about everything and nothing in particular.
The moment drew on into the evening, even after we finished our food. We sat around the table, sipping on my mom’s secret stash of beer. For once, I wasn’t mourning my father or waiting to see if he was going to die. Jake changed that. He brought life back into the house.
Chapter 37
Jake
I stood in front of the mirror, wearing a white dress shirt with my hair parted to the side. I buttoned my cuffs, then picked up my bow tie. I’d always hated the things. I would’ve worn a clip-on if I could, but for some reason, there was a stigma against them. I took out my phone and set it on the counter.
I had a video ready with an overdressed butler type explaining how to tie a bow tie. He walked me through each step individually. It should’ve been easy, but for some reason, the things were designed to be torture devices. By the time I was done tying the thing, my shirt was drenched in sweat, and I had to change.
I checked the time on my phone. It was 4:30, which meant that I had an hour and a half. I was starting to get anxious. My new guard, Rico was manning the gates. I called him. “Has anyone shown up?”
“Sir, I will alert you the minute somebody gets to the gate.”
“Thank you.” I walked back in, feeling like a complete idiot. I had to calm down. If I didn’t, my heart would explode. I sat down at the bottom of the stairs and took a breath.
When I closed my eyes, I saw Mercedes. Tendrils of her blonde hair flew out behind her, kissing the wind while we sped down the coastal highway in a red convertible. She laughed and smiled, so I turned away from the road for just a moment to taste her lips.
She’d been surprising me recently with different flavored lip gloss. There was cherry, strawberry, and watermelon. Those were boring, but I still couldn’t get enough. The flavor I loved the most was chocolate. The way the taste rubbed off on my tongue made my whole body tingle. I could practically feel it.
I was losing my mind, smelling perfume that wasn’t there, licking my lips and salivating. She was all I ever thought about. There wasn’t a single moment when I wasn’t trying to do something nice for her, or trying to prove myself to her in some way.
I worked hard. I always did, but now I worked for her. I got up in the morning because I knew I’d see her. Everything I did, I did for her, and I wasn’t sure that would ever really change. There were no fights, no drama, just that one moment of doubt, and we were back together.
My phone rang in my pocket. “Hello?” I answered.
It was Andrew. “Hey, Haylie’s freaking out because I’m leaving. You don’t mind if I take her, do you?”
“No, definitely bring her. I should’ve mentioned that before.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m positive.”
“Alright, I’ll load her up.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Hurry.”
“I will.” He hung up.
I sighed, closed my eyes, and went back to my breathing. There was no way the breathing exercises would calm me down, but I needed something to focus on right now, something other than Mercedes.