“No, please, Jess. Listen to me.” His words tumbled urgently from his lips.
Jessica tried hard to concentrate through her anticipation.
“Jess, I don’t care that you lied to me. I don’t care who you work for or what you do. I just want to be with you. I don’t care if you’ve slept with a hundred guys, or…Jessie. I love you, and I’m sorry. Please give me another chance.”
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
“You…you think I lied to you?” Her entire body shook and shivered on the hard pavement. She covered her eyes with her hand. “Jamie?”
“I don’t care. That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Jess. I love you. I made a mistake. I…I…”
She heard his tethered emotions and knew he was holding back how much he wanted to see her. He sounded just as he had the night on the beach, when he’d wanted to make love to her, and the same way he sounded after they kissed that very first time in the quad, when the bonfire had burned down to embers and the fire between them had come to life.
“I need to see you. Please,” he pleaded. “Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”
You think I lied to you? She couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud again. She didn’t want him to hang up. Couldn’t fathom another night apart. “I’m…” Her voice hitched.
“Baby, I’m so sorry. I’ll spend my life making this up to you. Please, tell me where you are, Jessie. I can’t go another day, another hour without seeing you.”
“I’m at the Hall. Next to.” Her breath hitched. “The Hall.”
“Hall?” He sounded confused.
“Symphony Hall, where we play.” She didn’t recognize her own voice, could barely hear it.
“Where? Where are you next to it?” His voice grew louder, and she could tell he was walking—or running.
She grabbed hold of the railing and pulled herself up to her feet, clinging to the metal bar for dear life and looking out at the main road. Thankfully, Charlie was gone. He hadn’t seen her fall to pieces.
“Boston Symphony Hall. Are you in Boston?”
Silence.
Oh no. No!
“Jamie? Jamie?” Her lower lip trembled, followed by fresh tears as her voice escalated. “Jamie, oh no, Jamie, please be there. Oh, please, please, please.”
“Jessie.”
She spun around and her arm fell to her side. The phone landed on the pavement with a high-pitched crash. Goose bumps chased her rapid heartbeat as she drank him in. In that instant, she knew she must be dreaming. He was too close, and closing the gap between them fast. She was powerless to move a muscle. His strong arms circled her, his big hands pressed against her back, and his heart—his generous, loving, tender heart—beat at the same frantic pace as hers.
“Jessie. Forgive me, please.”
“Okay,” was all she could manage. She was too confused to think straight. He smelled so good, so familiar. Her throat swelled with emotion, threatening to silence her. She had to figure out what was going on. “What…What did I lie about?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care.” He took her face in his hands, and she saw a flash of the mood ring, still on his finger.
“You kept it.” She breathed heavily. “You…You’re wearing it.”
He smiled—oh, how she’d missed that smile—and she felt it all the way to her toes.
“You’re here.” She grabbed the lapels of his tuxedo and held on tight, with no plans of ever letting go. “And you’re beautiful.”
“No, Jessie. You’re beautiful.”
“Kiss me, Jamie. Please, don’t make me wait another seco—”
He sealed his lips over hers. His mouth was warm as their tongues met and found their familiar rhythm, as if they’d never been apart. His low moan told her he’d missed her as much as she’d missed him, and when he deepened the kiss, to a hungrier, rougher kiss, she pulled herself tighter against his hard body. His hands moved over her hips, up her back, one hand tangled in her hair, the other gripping her lower. She was his. So very his.
“I’ve missed you,” he said against her lips and tugged her hair back a little, opening her mouth so he could take his fill.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he slid his lips to her jaw and nipped, then dragged his tongue slowly over the tender spot, drawing a moan from deep inside her. His forehead touched her, and he looked deeply into her eyes. She nearly crashed to the ground again at the well of emotion that lay there. For her. For them.
“Come home with me, and I promise we’ll talk, but I need you with me, Jessie. I don’t want to let you go again.”