Page 80 of Forecasting the Forward

“FaceTime, please. If we’re going to argue, I need to see your face,” Jacob says quietly. The phone beeps in my ear as he requests a video call, and I find myself growling as I accept it. His expression is murderous as he stares at me. “Fuck, Spitfire. He hit you again?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“The fuck it doesn’t!”

“He’s in jail now, so it really doesn’t matter. I pressed charges and got a restraining order. Also for him entering your apartment without my consent.”

“Our.”

“Huh?”

“Our apartment, darlin’. Quit saying it’s only mine,” Jacob says clearly.

“But it is only yours.”

“No, it’s not. The moment you said you’d marry me, my apartment became ours. The kiss we shared after we were declared husband and wife made it really ours. And when I finally got to bury myself between your thighs and make love to you? It’s our fucking apartment, Becca. Moving on. Why was your brother there?”

“Don’t you already know? I just assumed you had a hidden camera somewhere,” I say snottily, but my heart beats erratically in my chest after Jacob says it’s our apartment.

He sighs again, exhaustion evident on his handsome face as he rubs his eyes. “I already told you I only have the one in the pigs room. There aren’t any others. All I know is he was there, and then you went to the police station. I looked up flights, trying to find something so I could get home to you, but there was nothing. I fucking hate that you dealt with this all by yourself, but I’m freaking out here, baby. Please just tell me what happened.”

For a moment, I’m taken aback. I hadn’t considered how this must feel from Jacob’s perspective. He’s so far away, and he knows my volatile brother has shown up here. That had to have scared the hell out of him. “I’m sorry, Jacob. I can’t imagine how that must have made you feel.”

His eyes close as he takes a deep inhale. When he opens his eyes again, the pain I see breaks my heart. “I’ve never been so scared, Becca. I couldn’t do anything, and I was supposed to be on the ice. Coach pulled me again.”

“Again?”

He nods. “I was a mess last night. I knew why you were avoiding me, and it had me completely off my game.”

“You knew why I was avoiding you?” I parrot, wondering if he really does know.

He chuckles bitterly. “I told you I’m in love with you, and you had sheer panic written across your face. I figured I’d act like nothing happened, but I didn’t get a chance because you avoided me.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He shrugs. “Nothing to be sorry for. If you don’t feel the same, it’s not your fault. In any case, explain what happened with your brother.”

“Wait. No — that’s not what I meant. You’ve been full speed from the moment we met, and I’ve been trying to catch up. I’ve only recently gotten my head wrapped around us being married,and then you drop the L-word. I didn’t know how to process that.”

He glances between my eyes, searching for something he doesn’t seem to get when he sighs roughly. “Where does this leave us?”

“What do you mean?” I ask, nerves making me grip the cushion under my legs tightly.

“We got married to keep you safe from your brother. It sounds like you don’t need that anymore. What do you want, Becca?”

I take a moment before responding, trying to think of how to explain my thoughts. “I want to be happy. To feel needed. To have a family that actually wants me, instead of the crappy people who were forced to deal with me all my life. I want a partner who supports me and builds me up. And I want to be with someone who is proud of me, but also someone who isn’t embarrassed by me.”

“Has someone ever made it blatantly obvious that they were embarrassed by you?” Jacob asks quietly.

I shrug, looking down at Thunder, who snores softly in my lap. “Other than family? No. But I’m sure a boyfriend or two would have preferred I dialed down the nerd in some situations.”

“But your family did get embarrassed by you?”

“Yeah,” I whisper. “I asked a lot of questions growing up. I always wanted to know the dynamics of things. How everything worked. Interpersonal communication was never a strength of mine, and it took forever for me to learn how to interact in social situations. My brother and father commented often how I’d unwittingly embarrassed them.”

“You could never embarrass me, Becca,” Jacob whispers, his voice somehow quiet, yet deep and clear at the same time. “Never. I’m in awe of you. You’re absolutely brilliant, and I lovewhen you talk weather to me. I hate that your family failed you, and that they never appreciated you for the exquisite person you are.”

His words steal the breath from my lungs, and when I finally manage an inhale, a fresh wave of tears escapes simultaneously.

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