Page 91 of Blue Hawaiian
Relief coursed through her, loosening the tightness in her chest. She wanted to leap out of her chair and hug him, but she kept her cool. “Works for me. Where should we meet?”
“Same place it started. The Blackwood Lodge on Big Bear Lake. I’ll reserve it.”
The thought of meeting up at Big Bear made her heart pound in anticipation. From the gleam in his eyes, she suspected he felt the same way. It was the perfect place for their reunion. She pulled out her phone and added the date. “Big Bear it is.”
“But we need some rules.” He gestured with his phone. “No communication before that. No social media. No sexy texts. Otherwise, I’ll backslide too easily.”
“You will?”
He shook his head in good-natured resignation. “Yes, damn it. You’re too hard to resist.”
She liked knowing she could still tempt him. But his rule made sense. If they wanted to put some distance between them, they shouldn’t be sending flirty text messages. “Then how should we set up our meeting?”
“I’ll plan on being at the lodge all day. If I’ve changed my mind before that, I’ll send you a text. Same with you. Whatever you choose, I’ll accept it.”
He didn’t sound impassioned, but this wasn’t the time for bold, heartfelt declarations. It was time for them to be responsible and see if their passion had staying power. For once in her life, Jess liked the idea of taking control of her future rather than jumping into it headfirst.
When she nodded in agreement, he held up his cocktail. “Here’s to October.”
She tapped her glass against his. “To October.”
Three months would be a hell of a wait.
But it was better than giving up completely.
Chapter 36
Three Months Later
Jess sat with Gabi on the patio of the Lazy Dog Restaurant, enjoying the comfortable October weather. She would have appreciated the setting more if she weren’t so painfully aware of the minutes ticking by. For the last few weeks, she’d been counting the days until her reunion with Connor, intending to drive up to Big Bear Lake on the designated morning. If she arrived by noon, she figured they’d have all day—and hopefully all night—to be together.
But if experience had taught her anything, it was that her life rarely went according to plan.
A week before Jess was scheduled to meet up with Connor, Gabi decided to fly in from Napa for a few days to surprise their mom for her birthday. Though they’d had fun together, Jess was relieved her sister was heading home on Saturday afternoon. But when Gabi’s flight was delayed, Jess suspected the universe was laughing at her.
They left for the airport two hours early, allowing them time to indulge in a glass of wine and share a flatbread platter with hummus. But a few minutes after they started eating, Gabi received a second text from Southwest Airlines with another delay. Though she accepted the change with uncharacteristic calmness, Jess’s nerves were strung so tight she could barely relax.
Gabi took a sip of pinot grigio and let out a satisfied sigh. “I needed this. Mama was starting to smother me. Ijustgot married three months ago. That doesn’t mean I plan to pop out a kid anytime soon.”
Their mom had been relentless, inviting her sisters over to help interrogate Gabi. After all the questions Jess had endured during her first week back home, she was happy to relinquish the spotlight to her sister.
“I don’t know how you can handle living with her again,” Gabi said.
“Most of the time, she’s not that intense. Other than her new health kick. How can anyone stand kale smoothies?” Jess shuddered. “But she was great about finding me a job at her boss’s company.”
Zach Horton had not only hired her on a temporary basis, but he’d also offered to make the position permanent. Though she appreciated the offer, she turned it down, because she’d recently landed a job that would put her writing skills to use. Since her new job didn’t start until November, she was staying on at Zach’s office for another few weeks.
“The only time we clashed was when Mama insisted I show her boss’s nephew around Riverside.” Jess dipped a piece of flatbread into the sun-dried tomato hummus and took a bite. “Mmm. You have to try this one.”
“Zach’s nephew? You mean Ryan? I thought you liked him.”
“He’s all right. But Mama could have eased up a little. A week after I moved home, she started talking about him. Telling me how lonely he was, how he didn’t know anyone in Riverside, how he needed a friend.” She made a face. “We went out twice, but…”
Gabi set down her wineglass. “But what?”
“But nothing. He’s a nice guy, but he didn’t do it for me.”
“Nice? That’s the best you’ve got?”
