Page 134 of A Heart Worth Finding
Brent moved so he stood over them. “He really is,” Brent said. “Berk did good.”
“You both did,” he said, brushing a hand over Brooks’ healthy head of downy-soft, deep-brown hair. “He didn’t get this from my blonde sister.”
Brent chuckled. “No, I suppose not.”
“How’s it been?” Jessica asked.
“Really good,” Brent said, then when Brooks let out another squawk, said, “C’mon, I think he’s hungry.”
Jessica trailed after her brother-in-law all the way to the kitchen, keeping Brooks tucked tight to her body like a football.
“He’s the best thing to ever happen to us,” Brent said, finishing his thought from upstairs. “I can’t believe we lived so long without him.”
“I mean, you sure didn’t waste any time after the wedding,” she said, throwing him a wink.
Brent burst out laughing. “To be fair, we never planned on getting pregnant that fast. She went off birth control before the wedding because every doctor and friend of ours said it takes some time for that hormone to work its way out of her system. Of course, for us, it took no time at all, so I think that myth has been debunked.”
Jessica simply nodded and returned her attention to her nephew.
It was mind-blowing, to her, how quickly things had changed for all of them. Berkley met Brent in 2020, and here they were, less than four years later, happily married, with a beautiful home and a beautiful son. Jessica had also met Jack in 2020, and now she was preparing to enter into a long-distance relationship with him.
She wanted what Brent and Berkley had, and she wanted it with Jack.
Moving across the world was a scary thing, but moving across the world when the love of her life was staying here? That was the kind of thing that kept Jessica awake at night.
“How did you know?” she blurted.
The dark slashes of Brent’s eyebrows drew together over his blue eyes. “Know what?”
“That Berkley was it for you.”
Brent’s expression softened. “You remember when we broke up right before she graduated law school?”
“Vividly,” Jessica said with a laugh. Her sister had been a trainwreck those two weeks they’d spent apart.
“A few days before that, Mitch took pity on me and forced me to go to lunch with him. I was just as much of a mess as I’m sure your sister was, and Mitch had enough. He basically told me to pull my head out of my ass or I was going to lose her. And it got me thinking about our relationship as a whole, and how I ignored her every time she asked me to stop doing something. I just…I thought that’s what she needed from me. But it wasn’t. What she needed was for me to simply be there for her, and support her in whatever it was she wanted to do. If that girl came to me and told me she wanted to go sky diving, or base jumping, or fucking anything…I’d be the first one in line behind her.”
“That’s sweet and all,” Jessica said, “and I’m eternally grateful you found each other, but that doesn’t really answer my question.”
Brent finished the bottle he was preparing for Brooks and walked over to the island, passing it over the surface to her, then leaning heavily on his elbows.
“The moment I knew Berkley was it for me was the moment I realized her happiness was more important to me than mine.”
Jessica gritted her teeth, fighting to hold the tears that threatened to spill at bay. Ultimately, she was unsuccessful, and her brother-in-law gave her a sad smile when one slipped free and rolled down her cheek.
As hard as it was going to be, Brent’s words made Jessica realize how right she was in her decision to make sure Jack chased his dreams. Because isn’t that exactly what she’d been thinking when she told him not to make decisions on his future with her in mind? Yes, she wanted him in her life forever, butnot at the expense of them giving up the things they’d worked so hard for in the process.
“I take it you know what I’m talking about,” Brent said quietly.
“I do.” She really, really did.
Jessica was finishing her first cup of coffee when her sister came downstairs, followed shortly by their parents and Logan.
Jessica could barely look at any of them, knowing that, in a few short hours, she’d be walking through security at the airport, not knowing when she’d see them next.
His own mug of coffee in hand, her dad walked up behind her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She didn’t miss the way he sniffed as he backed away.
“You all packed, sweetheart?” her mom asked.
