He pulled into Seaside and purposefully took the fork to the right to avoid driving by Jessica’s apartment. He wasn’t ready to talk. Not nearly ready to see her beautiful face. One look at her soulful eyes and he’d fall headfirst into her without having time to think. He’d never known how close two people could become, or how intense lovemaking could be, until he’d opened his heart to her. She hadn’t even tried to win him over, or at least not that he could tell. She didn’t play any of the games other women did. She’d never expected expensive restaurants or lavish dates. She hadn’t asked for a darn thing. She’d even tried to talk him out of spending the night for fear of it upsetting Vera, when any other woman would have used the opportunity to stick their claws in deeper. She was happy just to be with him, to take whatever he wanted to give. And he’d wanted to give her the world, which now, as he stepped from his car, seemed a little crazy after a week. Why did it feel like he’d known her his whole life? Was Mark right? Had she played him like a two-dollar fiddle and he’d been too taken with her to notice?
“Hey!” Bella yelled as she stalked off of Amy’s porch. “Hold it right there.”
He closed his eyes for a second, closed the car door, and then turned to face her, hoping he had the strength not to snap.
“What did you do to Jessica?”
If looks could kill, she’d have driven him six feet under.
“Bella, I—”
She held up her hand. “Don’t even try to explain, Jamie Reed. I always thought you were a good guy. I would protect you to the ends of the earth, but you brought her into our group and we all fell in love with her. Not just your sorry butt.”
Amy stepped off the deck in a pretty yellow sundress and walked across the road with sad eyes cast downward.
“Hi, Jamie.”
She sounded so distraught, he reached out to her. “Are you okay?”
Amy nodded. “Just bummed that Jessica left. I was sure you two were the real deal. Are you okay?”
“Left?” His eyes ran between Bella and Amy. “What do you mean left?”
“She got a call from her manager,” Amy explained. “She had to go back to Boston. She came to talk to you, but you weren’t home. I think she left a note and some of your clothes with Vera.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “Like you didn’t know about all this? Come on. Her eyes were so red from crying all night she looked like she had been Maced. She said the last thing you needed was to be distracted from your work, and we all know that had to come from you, because no woman would make that stuff up.”
“Mark.” He turned on his heels and ran inside.
Vera lifted worried eyes from the book she was reading and held up an envelope. She didn’t have to say a word. In an instant, he read her expression and knew she wanted to reach out and hug him, but he needed to be left alone to deal with whatever was going on with him and Jessica. Vera had the same look in her eyes she’d had his senior year of high school, when the girl he’d been dating had called the night before the senior prom and left a message telling him that she was going to the dance with someone else.
“Thanks.” He tore it open and walked to the back of the small cottage while he read the handwritten note.
Jamie,
Thank you for showing me what it was like to live and to love. Being with you was the best feeling I’ve ever experienced. Not just when we were intimate, but walking through the flea market, lying on the beach, just being near you. Vera’s a lovely woman, and she’s raised a wonderful man. I’ll miss you both so much that it hurts. I never knew I was capable of being so happy, but then again, I never had the chance to know you. I’ll cherish the memories of our time together forever, and I’ll never love another man as I love you. Yes, I fell in love with you, Jamie, and I’m not sorry for that. I do wish I could have told you to your face, but this is probably best. It’s amazing to me that two people can feel so close so fast, but I’ve lived a sheltered life, so maybe you’ve experienced this type of connection many times before and I’m alone in my wonder. In any case, I understand how much of a distraction I was, and I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble. Please don’t be too angry with Mark. He obviously cares very deeply for you. Take care of Vera. She’s everything I always wished I had with my own mother, and more. Warmest wishes for your success and happiness.
—Jess
He sank to one of the chairs on the deck. His throat swelled with emotion as he reread the note in fits and spurts a few more times. I fell in love with you, Jamie… Don’t be too angry with Mark…Take care of Vera. He breathed deeply. Warmest wishes…She’d climbed back into the prim and proper cocoon she was so afraid of, and it broke his heart.