Page 58 of A Heart Worth Finding
She gave him a look that said,get real, and aloud added, “We are not Nathan and Haley.”
“The fact that you got that reference is so hot,” Jack said, clasping his hand around her wrist. “Just take the bracelet and stop complaining.” He tucked a finger under the charm and held it up. “See, I got one with a J so you always remember me.”
Jessica raised a brow. “You do realize my first initial is also J, right?”
“Don’t care,” Jack said, grinning.
And truthfully, he didn’t. Because as long as Jessica wore that bracelet, even if the J also represented her, she’d never be able to look at it without thinking of him.
After leaving the jewelry stand, they met back up with the rest of their group. They were planning to head back to the resort, as it was now early afternoon and the boys wanted some final quality time on the beach before the sun went down.
And that’s when it hit Jack like a Mack truck: this was their last full day here.
Their flight home took off early tomorrow afternoon, which meant they’d be spending the morning packing and heading to the airport in enough time to get through security.
Which meant that, this time tomorrow, Jessica would just be…gone from his life.
Now was absolutely not the time to think about that. There weren’t enough hours left in this day for him to spend a single second of them doom spiraling.
Right as they stepped onto the sidewalk of the main street to hail a cab, Lisa gasped, staring up at a shop on the corner.
Jack turned and found they stood outside a quaint little self-care shop, all six women staring longingly at it.
“You guys can go back,” Kristi told the boys. “Us girls will stay here.”
Jack laced his fingers through Jessica’s. “I’m staying with you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she said. “I’ll see you back at the resort. Go with your boys.”
The boys in question stood curbside by a waiting van, staring expectantly at Jack.
Jack simply shook his head. “Nope,” he said. “Where you go, I go.”
Jessica looked like she wanted to argue further, but she seemed to quickly realize that it would be useless. He wanted to be near her, touching her, for as long as possible. He wasn’t going to spend a second away from her that he didn’t have to.
Jack turned to his buddies and said, “Go ahead. I’ll catch you guys later.”
Chad whispered something to Zach and Tyler, who sniggered in return before they loaded into the van and took off.
Jack thought it sounded suspiciously like “whipped.”
“I’m about to whip something,” he grumbled to Jessica. “And they’re not gonna like it.”
Jessica giggled and towed him into the shop after the girls.
The shelves and floor were constructed from a light bamboo that gave the place an airy feel, really leaning into the whole self-care vibe they were selling. There were lotions, body washes, shampoos, conditioners, all manner of masks for hair and skin, candles, soaps, essential oil blends, incense, and really anything else anyone could want in such a shop.
While Jessica and Bethani’s moms crowded around the massive candle display, Bethani beelined for the essential oils, and Jack and Tyler’s moms moved toward the bath bombs in baskets along the back wall, Jessica opted to peruse the lotions.
Jack watched as she took her time testing the samples, searching for the perfect scent. She’d groan each time she tried a new one, and Jack knew they were going to be here a while, if only because she’d take forever to make up her mind.
He decided to expedite the process by sniffing the samples she hadn’t yet gotten to and discarding the ones that didn’t seem like her style.
For example, she’d mentioned to him in passing that she didn’t like lavender, so anything blended with that particular scent was immediately a nonstarter.
After testing a few, he was beginning to think he’d gone nose blind.
Until he picked up one labeled “summer citrus.”
