Page 64 of Make it Real
Yeah, his nickname for me put the cherry on top. He said it in that soft, rolling drawl of his that sent shivers tingling through me every time. Pretty sure he knew it. Only explanation for why he said it so much.
“Jed.” Did I grin like a fool? Yes. Did I care? Not a bit.
“What do you have there?” Gran asked.
In all my ogling his gorgeous smile and general too-muchness, I hadn’t even noticed he held a big box in his arms.
“It’s for Callie.”
She waved him inside, and he crossed the room to bring the box to the dining table.
“For me?” I trailed behind, wondering what on earth he might have brought me. Fingers crossed it wasn’t a hand-crank meat grinder.
Gran joined us at the table, looking from us to the box, that sneaky grin on her face.
“Not so much for you, I guess,” he said. “For your students.”
He opened the top, and I peered past him. Tears instantly slid their way through my ducts, ready for me to bawl my eyes out. I clapped a hand to my mouth as if I could keep all my emotions inside, even though they were sure to break free. Somewhere in my brain, I registered Gran say, “Aren’t you a sweetheart?”
He’d crammed the box full of cartons of crayons, colored pencils, paint sets, and markers. Glue sticks, children’s scissors, erasers, and even a few bundles of construction paper were tucked inside, too. He’d given me enough school supplies to cover anything students didn’t have for the whole year.
“I can’t believe you did this,” I squeaked out between the fingers covering my mouth.
“I thought about buying you flowers with my game night winnings.” His eyes shone down at me. “Figured this would be better.”
I threw my arms around his middle. Instead of a stream of tears, laughter bubbled out against his chest, like his generosity had made me giddy. No way what he took home that night covered even half of those supplies. “It’s perfect.”
You’re perfect.
His hands traced over my back to my shoulders, holding me to him. “I heard the way to a teacher’s heart is through her supply closet.”
I laughed even harder. “I’m going to have to stitch that.”
“Yes, immortalize me in thread.”
I held onto him another minute, my laughter dying out until calm took over. Contentment. Nowhere else could be better than Jed’s arms. Warm and cozy like the way he said my nickname, I could have stayed there forever.
However…Gran’s shuffling presence nearby prevented me from testing that theory. I released him, slipping away when I wanted nothing more than to lock my arms back around him.
“You really are the sweetest man.” She sounded like he’d done a whole lot more than buy a couple hundred dollars of supplies, but I couldn’t blame her. Nobody had ever done anything like this for me or my class before.
He hitched a shoulder. This seemed to be one of the times his humility won out over his cheeky ego.
“I have my moments.” He turned to me. “You look gorgeous, by the way. I got sidetracked, or I would have said it before.”
“Thank you. The dress isn’t too much?”
“It’s the exact right amount of much. I love it. Are you all set?”
I grabbed the two containers of cookies I’d prepped. “I’m all set.”
He nodded at them. “What’d you choose?”
“Chocolate chip caramel. They seem to be a pretty big hit with most of your family. One bin’s for them, and I made another batch for you.”
His slow grin felt like a caress over my skin, all luxurious and tingly.
“You’re spoiling me, Callie Lou.”
