Page 78 of A Better Place

“I plan to keep her safe, cherish her, remind her how beautiful she is every single day, protect her.”

Oh holy shit.

“That’ll do, boy. That’ll do,” Jack says, repeating what I overheard James say to him when they were talking in his room. Which had made me fall even deeper for him.

“Mom!” Jack shouts unnecessarily, since I’m standing ten feet behind him. “Your date is here!”

I playfully shove him to the side. “Yes, I see that. Thank you, dork.”

He grins cheekily at me.

“Hi,” I say when I turn toward James, who has the biggest smile on his face I think I’ve ever seen on him. A dark gray sweater peeks out from under his black leather jacket, a pair of perfectly faded jeans hug his thighs as if they were made for him, and black boots cover his feet. He looks perfect. Every inch of his body seems to fill out his clothes. Well. I feel parts of my own body come alive that haven’t been… let’s just say… active in a long time. A really. Really. Long time.

“Hey, beautiful,” he says, bringing my eyes, which were not staring into his, but much lower, back up to his. He winks at me, those crystal blue eyes shining brightly. It’s clear he knows exactly where my thoughts are headed. And by the heat in his gaze, I dare say his are currently going the same place.

“Wanna come in?” I ask him, stepping to the side. He nods as he puts one booted foot in front of the other.

He takes two steps, leans in close, slides his hand around my waist, and brushes his lips lightly against my cheek. “You look incredible,” he whispers before kissing me at the spot right in front of my ear.

The combination of his warm breath on my skin, the feel of his lips against me, and his mountain-fresh scent has every nerve-ending firing. My body shivers from head to toe and heats up all at once.

I shudder and close my eyes while biting my lower lip. He pulls back, still close, and kisses me on the tip of my nose before sliding his hand down to mine then squeezing lightly. My eyes slowly open. His gaze feels like a caress, washing over me and giving me a sense of calm that I’m quickly learning is just the calm of James Cole.

He smiles brightly then reveals a box wrapped in shiny black paper with a red ribbon around it. I look up at him questioningly, but he just smiles brighter. I reach for the box, but he puts his hand up to stop me.

“Ah, ah, ah. Greedy. Who said it’s for you?” he asks.

I put my hands on my hips and narrow my eyes at him.

“Jack!”

My eyes widen and suddenly fill with tears. Did he get my son a gift? On our first date?

“Don’t worry. I got you something too.”

I flush in embarrassment over assuming the gift was for me, while the butterflies take flight in my stomach once again. If you can judge a man’s character by his actions, James Cole might be the best man on this planet.

“Yeah?” Jack asks, coming into the living room from the kitchen carrying a bottle of Gatorade and, oddly enough, a spatula.

“I got something for you,” James tells him, extending the gift in his direction.

Jack’s eyes flit over to me, his eyebrows bunched in confusion.

I shrug my shoulders, letting him know I had nothing to do with it as he slowly reaches out a hand toward the box, setting down the Gatorade and spatula on the table at the same time. It’s been a long time since he’s received a gift from anyone other than me. Yes, he and Lily gave us presents for Christmas, but that was for a purpose. This feels different. Bigger somehow. I know James doesn’t realize this, but part of me wonders if he knows. He’s so in-tune with our world, not even seemingly having to try, that it wouldn’t surprise me if he did.

“For real?”

“Yup.”

“What is it?”

“That’s the cool thing about gifts. They come in this handy little wrapping that keeps them a surprise until the receiver tears in,” James says.

“But it was already Christmas, and you got me those awesome Beats earbuds.”

“No. Lily and I got you the earbuds. This one is just from me.”

“Sorry, I don’t understand. You got me something? Again?” he asks.

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