Page 94 of Puck and Prejudice

My eyes prickle, and I hate that I’m reacting this way. It’s been only a few days since we started fooling around, and I’m acting as though we’ve been seeing each other for months. The tightness in my chest scares me. How is it possible that I came to care for Jackson so much in so little time?

I walk away before I get caught, wiping my eyes. Jane’s bedroom door is open. Before I go in, I take a deep breath and force a smile onto my face. “Jane, shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I’m fine.”

“We were making a list of names for the baby. I’m guessing it’s a girl,” Lydia pipes up.

Jane smiles. “If it’s a girl, then there’s only one name.”

“Lily!” I reply.

She nods. All the dolls she ever owned as a child were named Lily.

“Oh my God. There are so many Lilys in the world already. How about something more unique like Feyre?”

Jane frowns. “Isn’t that the name of the main character in one of your books?”

Lydia crosses her arms. “Yeah, so?”

“So?Youname your child that,” I butt in.

Jane yawns, and I take that as a sign that we should leave. I’m bone tired too, and fatigue is catching up with me. I also don’t want to be close to Jackson right now. I need to sort out my feelings first before I fall too deep into the rabbit hole.

“Let’s find Mom and Dad, Lydia. Jane needs to rest.”

“Oh, okay. Are you going home today?”

Jane lowers the bed, turning the mattress flat again. “Probably tomorrow.”

Lydia’s eyes bug out. “Oh shit. Will you be able to go to the parade on Sunday?”

“I don’t know.”

“Ah man. I hope you can. I was looking forward to that. I told all my friends I’d be there.”

I take Lydia’s hand. “Come on. You can talk about that later.”

I don’t see Chad or Jackson on the way to the waiting room, which is a blessing. But our parents are there, and by the look of Mom’s expression, she’s still bitching about Jane’s wedding.

“Hey, Jane is resting. We should probably get going,” I say.

“We need to wait for the lads to return. They went to get coffee,” Dad replies.

Great. And here I thought I could leave the hospital without seeing Jackson. Then I remember I came to the hospital with Jackson, and my car is still parked in the back of Triana. If my parents find that out, Mom will put two and two together.

I look at my watch and lie, “If I don’t leave now, I’ll be late for work at the clinic.”

“We’ll tell the lads you had to leave. Go on, darling.”

I give him a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll see you later. Bye, Mom.”

She barely acknowledges me, but I didn’t expect her to. She’s too embroiled in the drama in her own head. I palm my phone to call an Uber as I rush out of the hospital. The trip back to the restaurant won’t be cheap, but protecting myself from Mom’s meddling is worth it.

ChapterThirty-Seven

JACKSON

This week went by in a blur, and before I know it, it’s time for our celebratory parade. My teammates and I are about to board our respective open top buses, and despite the rain, we’re all exhilarated. The parade starts in North Beach and goes all down to South Pointe, where the stage is set.

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