The Duet(66)

I hadn’t spoken with or even looked at Jason since our bathroom romp. So when I stepped down the stairs, holding up the bottom of my dress so I wouldn’t trip, I was not at all prepared to see him standing at the very bottom in a tailored black tuxedo.

I inhaled a sharp breath and paused. For the first time since I’d met him, his chin and neck were completely clean and smooth. His hair was slicked back and my breath was coming in painful, short spurts. That strong chin was usually hidden behind stubble. Those eyes were usually hidden behind disheveled hair. Yet there he was, looking like the most beautiful man I’d ever seen, and he wasn’t even my date.

Jason held his hand out for me to take once I’d gathered my wits enough to step down to him.

“You guys have fun and don’t worry about curfew!” Cammie yelled.

I glared over my shoulder and she shrugged. “Last one, I swear.”

I blew her a kiss and a wink before Jason whisked us out to the limo.

“Your sister is a lot like you,” Jason said as he held the limo door open for me so I could slide in. The interior was dimly lit and there were a few sodas chilling in an ice bucket below the far window. Although there was plenty of space for the two of us, Jason slid in next to me so that his thigh pressed against mine. The driver closed the door for us, and soon we were pulling away from the ranch on the uneven gravel drive.

“Is she?” I asked. He wasn’t the first person to tell me that Cammie and I were alike, but I loved knowing why people thought that. Everyone had a different reason: our personality, our looks, our mannerisms.

“Yeah, I mean she looks like you a little bit. But she’s got a lightness about her. It’s surprising to find that in people who’ve dealt with loss like the two of you have.”

His words completely took me by surprise. Sure, Jason knew about me losing my parents, but the fact that he’d given it a second thought shook my emotions awake. The emotions I was trying to shove back down.

“She’s always been my anchor and I hope I’ve been that for her as well. She can make me laugh like no one else.” I could feel his dark gaze concentrated on me, so I continued. “Not at first, of course. We had to work to get our humor back after everything that happened. But I remember the first time we laughed. The first time we told ourselves it was okay to be happy again.”

He reached out for my hand and held it between his palms, but he didn’t offer any words. For a moment, I stared at the physical connection, completely shocked at his silent support. We sat like that until the limo pulled up outside of Logan’s house. It was a small redbrick home with a wrought-iron star positioned over the garage and a Ford truck parked in the driveway.

I’d barely knocked on the door before it opened, and there was Logan, beaming ear to ear. He was wearing a tuxedo that hung off his shoulders and gaped around his waist, but he looked so handsome with gelled hair and a nervous smile. In that moment I knew I was doing the right thing by going to prom with him, even if it wasn’t exactly my idea of a fun night.

“Your carriage awaits,” I joked.

He glanced at the limo over my shoulder and then nodded quickly. “My parents want to take a few photos if that’s okay,” he explained with a shrug as his confident smile started to wane. I knew that there would be a few photos taken of the event, but my goal in going to the prom with Logan wasn’t for a publicity stunt. I didn’t want the photos to end up in a magazine. Still, I found myself smiling and stepping into his house.

A few minutes later, after Logan’s little sister had asked me to literally sign every item in her room, we headed outside to slide into the limousine. Jason was on his phone when we slid back in, and to my dismay, he’d moved over to the side bench so that Logan and I could sit by one another. As much as I wanted to protest, Logan deserved to have my attention for the night. Well, I could at least sit by him. Actually pulling my attention away from Jason in a tuxedo just wasn’t feasible.

I forced my gaze out the window as the limousine pulled out of Logan’s neighborhood and crossed the main road in Big Timber, toward a rougher looking area of town. When we pulled off onto a dirt road, a sign hung loose from its chains overhead. It read: “Big Timber RV Park”. Jessie’s home was at the farthest end of the park, surrounded by trees, with a small garden in the front yard. She was already sitting outside on the wooden stairs in front of her door, waiting for us with a big smile on her face. Her dark hair was pulled up into a simple up-do with a gemstone-covered barrette securing it all in place. I recognized her dress from the shop in town, a light purple poofy thing, but she looked like a princess in it, and as Jason exited the limousine, she looked like she was looking up at her prince. There was no one to take pictures of Jessie and Jason, so before they turned to climb back into the limousine, I hopped out with my iPhone and posed them next to the garden with the trees in the background.