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When I got to the door of the conference room, my exit was met with cheers. I could hear them all the way down the hall and out the building, celebrating another confirmed bachelor meeting his match. I wanted to celebrate, too, but first, I had to make sure I had something worth celebrating.
Jasmine
When the doorbell rang, I assumed it was the lunch I'd ordered to spoil myself and try to motivate myself out of the funk I'd been in since Saturday.
"Coming!" I called, digging in my purse for a tip. Coming up with only a crumpled five dollar bill, I swung the door open and pressed it into the hand of the man standing there.
Then I noticed there was no food in his other hand, and when I looked up I was staring at a very confused Bain dead in the face. Our hands were still pressed together with a crumpled five dollar bill between them.
I pulled back like I'd been scalded. "Sorry, I… thought you were my lunch."
"I'd love to be your lunch."
I went to slam the door in his face, but he put his arm out and stopped it before it closed.
"Bain. I kept the agreement. I quit the right way. I called the office and quit officially."
"I know you did. And I know I promised I'd respect that if you did it the right way, but—"
"But what?" I pushed on the door again but now he was blocking it with his body.
"But I love you." He stepped past the threshold and filled my space. I could only stand there with my jaw on the floor, blinking as I tried to process his words. They didn't make sense.
I laughed. "Bain. I've already slept with you. Three times. Actually, way more than that. You don't need to try to sweet talk your way into my pants."
"I'm not sweet talking you. I'm not trying to get into your pants. I don't care about sex."
I laughed again, and he shook his head.
"I'm all flustered. Just listen. Okay, of course I care about sex, and I love getting in your pants, but that's not why I'm here."
"Why are you here?"
"Because I love you. Jasmine, I'm serious. Every time we spend any amount of time together, yes, we eventually end up in bed together, but I'd be here even if I knew we could never have sex again. Because I need to say this and you need to hear it. I love you, Jasmine. I loved you in college and I loved you when we reconnected that night in the bar, and hell, I probably loved you when you were coming to the club with Henry. And I love you even more today. The past month or so, helping you, getting to know you, getting to know your kids…it's been everything. I tried so hard to hide my feelings because I thought it was the right thing to do. But…I was wrong. I should have told you. And you should have told me."
"I don't know what you mean." Her cheeks flushed with color and she wouldn't look at me. It was clear she knew exactly what I meant.
"Don't lie to Daddy." I stepped up to her until our bodies were close enough to touch, but not touching. "What happened that night after the club?"
"Bain. I told you. It's not important."
"I think it is. I think it's very important. And if you won't tell me why, then I'll tell you." I paused and took a deep breath, praying Nyla was telling the truth, praying my words came out right. "You freaked because you love me, too. You love me and you weren't ready for that. You love me and you thought you weren't supposed to because ours was technically a business arrangement. You love me, but you think we are too different. You love me and think I couldn't possibly love you back. You love me, but you still love Henry, so you're confused, because how can you love us both?" I looked up and saw that she was holding her breath, hanging on my every word. "How am I doing?"
I almost missed her nod; it was so slight.
"You freaked because you had these feelings, and when you faced them all you saw were obstacles. But I have the same feelings, and all I see are possibilities. I love you because you've always seen past my money, and cared about who I actually was. I'm so used to people seeing me for my name or my family connections or my money or my family's money, but when I am with you, I see myself differently, because you see me for who I actually am, and I see myself through your eyes."
"Bain, that might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me, but…you can't love me. You deserve better. I have a lot of baggage. I have three kids, and yes, I do still love Henry. You deserve more than a single mom with three kids who is still in love with her dead husband. Not to mention, we come from different worlds"
"There is no one better. And I don't care about those things. I'll live in your world and you can live in mine, and then it will just be our world. I love your kids, Jasmine, because they are part of you, and I see you in them every time Marky gets stubborn, and every time Trevor fights when he should just listen, and every time Marlee does something kind. I'm not threatened by your love for Henry. He was a good guy. I'm sad he's gone. But he's not coming back, and I don't think he'd want you to spend your life mourning him when love is right in front of you." I stopped speaking and realized I hadn't been breathing. All my words had come out rushed and on top of each other. "I'm right in front of you, telling you I love you. And all you have to do is say it back. There might be obstacles, now, or down the road, but we can face them together as they come. Today all you have to do is accept my love. Will you?"
"I…I mean…I believe you. How could I not after that beautiful speech? But…accept your love? What does that even mean?"
"It means…it means you say you love me back!"
I sucked in air. It seemed so simple, yet it felt so hard. Bain was making it sound so easy. "I love you back!" I finally shouted, tossing all my worries and what-ifs to the wind.
A second after the words left my mouth I was flying through the air as Bain grabbed me around my waist and lifted me into the air, spinning in circles.
"I love you!" he yelled when he finally set me on my feet.
"I love you too," I whispered, knowing it was true. I took his hand and linked it through mine. "So, what next?"
"Whatever we want, baby girl. Whatever we want. We can go slow, we can go fast. It doesn't matter to me. I just know I want to be by your side, as your Daddy, forever and ever."
Behind him, slow applause broke out, and I looked over his shoulder to see my delivery driver standing behind us, holding my lunch in one hand and clapping with the other.
Ignoring him, I placed both my hands on Bain’s face. "Yes, Daddy. I want that, too," I whispered, right before I covered his lips with mine.
The End
