Page 32 of Whiskey Promises
"It reminds me of your prom dress," Aunt Miranda says.
Nadia glances down, smoothing her hands over the fabric. "That's why I chose it," she admits. "It reminded me of who we used to be and how far we've come since that night." She chews on her bottom lip, eyeing us in worry. "Is it too much? Maybe I shouldn't be bringing the past into this."
"Honey." Mom rises from the sofa, pacing toward her. "You two have a lifetime of history. Some of it is beautiful, and some of it is devastating. But you two made it, and you're so much stronger for it. You're proof that love can survive time, distance, and heartbreak. The kids you were that nightdeserveto be remembered because those kids are survivors. If this dress helps you remember them, then it's the right one."
Nadia flings her arms around our mom, hugging her fiercely. "Thank you," she whispers, her voice thick with unshed tears. "For everything." Her eyes come to me, Innessa, and Aunt Miranda, who is dabbing her eyes. "All of you. We owe all of you so much for not giving up on us."
"As if we would ever," Aunt Miranda says. "Jason and I love you like you're our own daughter. We always knew you and Teo would find your way back to one another."
"And Teo is the son we never had," Mom agrees. "Now, he'll be our son in truth."
"I can't wait to marry him," Nadia whispers, a happy smile tipping her lips up at the corners. "I can't wait to meet our little girl."
Mom hugs her tight again, laughing. "I know you can't, sweet girl."
I watch the two of them, my heart aching in a way that doesn't make sense. I'm beyond thrilled for Nadia and Teo. They deserve their happiness. But…I don't know. All I can think about is Jareth. My feelings for him are so damn confusing.
I keep telling myself I don't want this. Idon'twant to be the one in love. It'll never be me in a wedding dress. But looking at Nadia, seeing how happy she is now…I'm not honestly sure if that's true anymore. Part of me is envious, I think. And I don't know what to do with that.
My life made complete sense before Jareth appeared in it. I was going to finish college and eventually open my own non-profit to rescue wild animals being held in captivity. That was my plan. Now, it's all confused. I still want those things. But Jareth keeps hovering on the edges of my planned future like a specter.
Like he said this morning, though, this place is his reality. It's his home. It's in his blood. And my reality is back in Tennessee. Even if I do want him, it'll never work. We're from two different worlds, looking for two different things. That shouldn't make me sad because he was never part of the plan. But it makes me sad anyway.
He just had to kiss me. He just had to touch me. He just had to keep showing up, wrecking my defenses. Now, he's in, and I can't get him out, and I'm seriously worried that I'm going to end up just like Nadia. Except there is no happy ending in my future. There are just two different worlds and two people who were never going to work in the first place.
I'm going to end up with a broken heart. I can see it coming. But I think I may already be too far gone to stop it. Because I want him so damn badly it's driving me crazy. I want him all overme again and again and again. It's a terrible idea. Iknowit's a terrible idea…but I want it anyway.
"Maybe you'll be trying on a wedding dress next," Miranda says, nudging me.
I blink over at her to see her eyeing me with a bright smile. "What?"
"I said, maybe you'll be trying on a wedding dress next. You and Connor?"
"Yeah, maybe," I lie, glancing down at my phone like I'm checking it. But I see my mom eyeing me, her expression full of empathy, like she's fully aware I've gotten myself into a situation I'm not entirely sure how to get out of. The web I've woven isn't tangled. It's in freaking knots right in the pit of my stomach.
Yet again, I've made a mess of things.
"Um, I need to go," I lie, bounding to my feet before Mom can say anything. I don't have the heart to lie to her again. But the truth? Well, I'm not sure I have the heart to tell her the truth, either. Not when I know how it ends for me.
Jareth and I are impossible.
And somehow, I want him just the same.
Iknow I'm playingwith fire when I slip out of my room in the middle of the night, too restless to pretend I'm sleeping. I pause outside of Jareth's door, contemplating pushing it open and stepping inside. But I'm not nearly that brave.
Instead, I scurry down the stairs and out the front door. He told me that if he caught me out here alone again, he'd do thesame thing he did this morning. I'm not sure if that's what I want him to do or if I'm trying to escape the thought of it.
But when I don't even make it halfway down the path between his house and the guesthouse, and I hear his footsteps behind me, I'm not surprised. A thrill of anticipation goes through me.
I am in so far over my head.
I keep walking, pretending I don't hear him. Right up until he grabs me around the waist, pulling me off the path next to a shed.
I gasp quietly, my heart racing.
"I warned you, princess," he groans, burying his face in my hair. He doesn't turn me to face him, though. He just wraps his arms around me from behind, cradling me against his chest like I'm something precious.
So I spin in his arms, crashing my lips against his, driven by desperation and the wild spinning of my mind. It's been in snarls all damn day because of him. Because I shouldn't want this nearly as much as I do, but I want it anyway.
