Kissing Jenna (Big Sky 2)
“She is, but she’s indisposed at the moment. Can I help you?”
“I’m Brooke. I own Brooke’s Blooms, and I have a delivery for her.” She holds up a basket and smiles widely. “Would you please pass it on?”
“Happy to. Thanks, Brooke.”
She nods and waves as she leaves, and I carry the heavy basket back to the bedroom.
“Whoa. Who sent you that?”
“It’s not mine.” I set it on the bed in front of her. “Brooke brought it for you.”
“Oh, how nice.” She opens the card first, and her eyes fly to mine. “This is a hand-written card from your sister.”
I cock a brow in surprise. “What does it say?”
Jenna,
I’m so sorry for the way I acted when I was in Montana. I can see now how much you and Christian love each other, and I’m simply thrilled that he proposed. I look forward to getting to know you better, and I hope you can accept my apology.
Congratulations,
Nina
“Well, she still has a ways to go to redeem herself, but this is a start,” I say as Jenna starts to rip into the cellophane-wrapped basket. She pulls out girlie things like notebooks and pens, candy in plastic boxes, and a little, potted plant.
“This was very nice of her,” Jenna says and sets it all on the floor next to her. She retrieves her coffee and takes a sip. “I have to say, Nina was cruel that day.”
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s not something you need to apologize for, Christian. Nina’s an adult. But I guess she’s not a total bitch.”
“Oh, she can be,” I reply with a laugh. “But she loves me, and I think she was trying to protect me. Against what, I’m not sure.”
“I’m a sister.” She shrugs. “But I don’t think I would have done what she did.”
“I know you both have a long way to go before you’re friends, but I hope that happens eventually. Nina is important to me, and I love her.”
She smiles, in that sweet way she does. “We’ll work it out.”
“You’re a good person, Jenna.” I settle back into the bed next to her.
“Oh, guess what happened while you were gone?” Jenna asks as she takes another sip of her coffee.
“What’s that?”
She sticks out her lower lip in a pout. “Someone bought the property in front of mine on the mountain. I’m afraid I’m about to lose my view.”
I clear my throat. “So, I have a confession to make.”
She narrows her eyes. “No way.”
“I bought it,” I confirm. “Part of the charm of your property is the view. You can’t lose that.”
“You didn’t have to buy the property for me.”
“Yes.” I lean over and kiss her lips softly. “I did.”
“You’re awfully good to me, Mr. Wolfe.”
“It’s just because I love you, soon-to-be Mrs. Wolfe.”
Her cheeks flush as she snorts and sets her mug aside, then reaches for her phone again, typing furiously.
“Who are you chatting with?” I ask.
“It’s a group text with Willa, Grace, and Hannah. I had to tell them, Christian. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t keep it a secret.”
“It’s not a secret,” I reply and lean over to kiss the ball of her shoulder. “Tell everyone. In fact, let’s take a selfie with the ring and mug and post it on social media. Post it everywhere. Send me the photo, and I’ll do the same.”
She’s staring at me as if I’ve just asked her to jump off a cliff. “Don’t you have to go through people for announcements like that?”
“Fuck that. This is my news, and I say where and when it goes out to the world. This isn’t a secret.”
She grins and does a little shimmy in the bed, then goes to work smoothing her hair and rubbing her face.
“I don’t have any makeup or clothes on.”
“You look amazing. Fresh. You’re always gorgeous. And we’ll keep it rated G.”
She picks up the mug, positioning it so both it and her ring are pointed toward the camera.
“Now, kiss me,” I say and snap the photo when she complies. She turns her face to the camera, and I kiss her cheek and snap another. And then, just for the fun of it, we both smile at the camera, and I take one more. I send all three photos to her. “There, feel free to post any of those.”
She looks through them, her face bright with happiness. “They’re all cute. But I’ll use the one where we’re kissing.”
“Do it.”
She takes a deep breath and stares at me. “Are you sure?”
“Do you want me to do it first?”
She just nods a little, so I pull up my Instagram and post the kissing photo. I caption it #taken.
I turn the screen so she can see, and she bites her lip while tears fill her eyes.
“Your turn, fancy face. Unless you want to keep me a secret.”
“Hell, no.” She opens her own Instagram and posts the same thing I just did, then opens her personal Facebook page and uploads the photo of us smiling at the camera. She recites the caption as she types it. “He asked, and I said yes!”