Page 58 of Long Road Home

“Yeah, well.” I flicked out my free hand. “That’s because you’re you.”

“I’m not some God, Destiny.” He winked at me. That wink went straight to my chest. “Although I always liked that you think I am.”

“It’s still different,” I insisted. He was from the beloved and wealthy Marx family. Came home even wealthier and because of him, he created jobs for people who might otherwise leave for bigger towns and cities.

“I know what you think, and I know why you think that.” His eyes warmed along with his tone. His hands braced the edge of the counter and those veins went pop, pop, pop from the back of his hands until they disappeared beneath his short sleeves. Good gracious. “Eyes up here,” he murmured. He wiggled his fingers until I met his gaze.

I snickered. “So I like the way you look. That’s not a surprise.”

“I want you to think about something else. Something you sort of said earlier.”

“What is it?”

He took a sip of his wine. “What if all the people who were mean to you didn’t give a shit about your mom or your past.”

“That’s absurd—”

“Maybe. But hear me out.”

“Jordan—”

“Babe. Listen to me. You said it yourself tonight. All those girls who always looked at me like they wanted me or whatever. I never noticed it, but you did. What if they were mean to you because they were jealous of you, and used your mom and your past and shit you had absolutely no control over to make youthinkyou weren’t good enough for me. What if their bullshit was just that? Lies and ridiculous crap girls spread about people to make them feel better about themselves. I gotta tell you, I’ve seen you women in action plenty, overheard conversations at the restaurant that makes my ears bleed. Women can be vipers. And I imagine you master those skills when you’re teenagers.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I snapped. That couldn’t be. Who in the hell would be jealous of me?

“Is it? And don’t give me an answer until you take two minutes to consider it.”

I was nothing. Came from nothing. Raised on second-hand clothes and drugstore shampoo and groceries. Even when Tillie tried, it’s not like we ever had a lot. It wasn’t even until I started dating Jordan that anyone gave me a passing glance —

“Jenni Akers and Christa and their friends cornered me before you ever knew I existed, Jordan,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, but think back and you’re wrong. Because I knew who you were before then, and I’d already planned on asking you out, but you were so quiet and kept to yourself I was afraid you’d say no, so I went to Ryan at a party one night and told him. Tons of people were around then, Destiny. Any of those girls could have heard.”

That afternoon when he’d come and sat by me and complimented my right hook, I’d been so nervous. He’d been so kind. So determined. He’d assured me after when I was self-conscious that he’d seen me before that day.

I just never believed it. And he’d definitely never told me that about him and Ryan. But it would explain why Christa suddenly became so mean, what with her dreams of never being able to do more than scribble their initials in pink hearts on her notebook dismantled.

“You did?”

He rubbed his hands down his face and groaned. “I’m guessing here, Des. I’m giving you another way to look at things. I have no fucking clue why those girls chose that day to corner you and I don’t fucking care anymore. We were kids, and kids are mean little assholes and then, sometimes, we grow out of it.” He licked his lips and paused. “Except for Jenni. She’s still a bitch.”

I chuckled and sipped my wine. I took the time to consider everything he’d said. A different perspective.

Like Rebecca had given me. God. How screwed up was I?

“It pisses me off how smart you can be sometimes,” I muttered and sipped my wine, eyes drifting out the window. If that had been the case, then I’d twisted reality for years. Believed it and based a life off it. I pressed my hand to my forehead and sighed. “I’m such a disaster, Jordan. A complete mess. I honestly don’t know why you bother.”

“Because when you let your guard down and let people see you, you’re still the most stunning woman I’ve ever met. You only have to start believing it.”

I dropped my hand as pleasure whipped through my veins. He was always bold and confident. I wasn’t used to this new bluntness. “It’ll take a while.”

“I’m a patient guy. And I’m hoping that at the least, you’ll start to believe how I see you, and the rest will come. You just have totrustme this time. Can you do that?”

Could I trust him? God, I’d trust him with my life. It was a ridiculous question. None of the decisions I made were because I didn’t trust him. It was simple self-preservation.

“I can do that,” I finally said.

“Good.”

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