He steps closer, his eyes crinkling. “Yeah, I do. But when Noah asked if we were together, that was our opening. I could’ve told him the truth—hell, I wanted to—but then you jumped in with thejust friendsline again and again. You don’t know how much that sucked.”
I look away, his words sinking in, heavy and undeniable. “I hate that I made you feel like that. I’m scared that if the kids don’t adjust or if things get too intense, Alex will find a way to take them back. I’m scared of the media, of how they might spin things. What if all of this blows up in our faces?”
Jake lifts my chin. “It won’t. Because I’m not going to let it. But I need to know that you’re with me on this.”
I search his eyes, finding nothing but steadfast certainty and something deeper, something I’m not ready for him to admit yet.
“I’m with you, Jake,” I say, leaning into his touch. “I just… I need to protect the kids.”
He nods, brushing his thumb gently across my cheek. “I know, Charlie girl. I want to protect them, too. But I’m not going to hide what we are, and I’m sure as hell not going to stand by while some guy acts like he has a shot with you.”
His words hang between us, heavy with meaning, and I take a shuddering breath. “I don’t wanna mess this up.”
“We won’t. We’ll figure it out together. But don’t push me away, especially not in front of the kids. They need to see that we’re solid, even if we’re still figuring it out.”
I nod slowly. “Okay.”
“Good.” He smiles, the tension easing as he leans down to kiss me, but I stop him with my fingers on his lips, nodding toward the clock.
“You should get to your meeting with Zoe.”
“Yeah, I should.” But he doesn’t move. Instead, he leans in again with more determination. This time I let him kiss me, his mouth slowly dragging over mine deliberately. When he pulls back, his eyes are blazing. “Don’t ever call me just your friend again, Charlie.”
Before I can respond with anything more than a snort, he’s out the door, leaving me standing there, mind racing from the intensity of his words. I take a deep breath, steadying myself as I prepare to face the rest of the day.
Sinking back into my chair, his voice echoes. Jake protects the people he loves without hesitation, like it’s instinct.
And now, he’s asking to do the same for me.
Chapter twenty-eight
I don’t want to keep you in the shadows
Charlotte - 12 years ago
The camp is quiet, the kind of stillness that only comes in the dead of night when everyone’s fast asleep. I lie in bed, staring at the dark ceiling of my cabin, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling that has settled over me. It’s probably just the usual camp noises, but something doesn’t feel right.
Then I hear it—a soft sniffle outside the cabin. I slip out of bed, careful not to wake the other girls, and crack the door open. Tyler stands there, clutching his stuffed dinosaur, tears streaking his cheeks.
“Tyler?” I whisper, crouching down to his level. “What’s wrong?”
“I had a bad dream,” he mumbles, voice shaky.
My heart squeezes. “It’s okay,” I say softly, brushing a tear from his cheek. “Do you want to sit on the porch for a bit?”
He nods, his grip on the dinosaur easing slightly.
The wooden porch creaks as we sit down on the steps, Tyler’s small feet dangling off the edge. I wrap an arm around him, and he leans into me, his shivers easing.
“It’s okay to be scared sometimes,” I tell him, keeping my voice low. “But you’re safe here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
We sit in comfortable silence, the night wrapping around us like a blanket. Tyler’s eyes start to droop, and I know it’s only a matter of time before he nods off. I stand, ready to carry him back to his cabin, when a shadow moves out of the corner of myeye.
It’s Jake, coming back from the bathrooms. His expression shifts from curiosity to something softer when he notices us.
“Hey,” he says quietly, walking over. “Everything okay?”
I nod, adjusting Tyler. "Bad dream. I was about to take him back.”