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“I did. You don’t judge me for being petty and holding a grudge?”
“No way. That guy had it coming. He didn’t have to spill the tea way back then, and he had some nerve applying for a job he didn’t deserve. Sounds like he was an all-around tool.”
I tapped her nose, pleased at her read on the situation. It had been ages since I’d had a conversation with anyone Sage’s age, but I found her exceptionally easy to talk to.
“You’re absolutely right, honey.”
Sometime during our conversation, she’d rid herself of the last vestiges of sadness. Her eyes, which were so like her father’s it would have been eerie had they not been so gorgeous, were clear, and her mouth was tipped up at the corners. I matched her expression, returning her smile.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said.
I cupped her smooth cheek and let her see the emotion stirring in my gaze. “You know, I was just thinking the same thing.”
Chapter Thirty-seven
Jake
Clara walked out on the deck with a glass of wine and an ice-cold beer she handed to me as she dipped down to give me a kiss. When she went to pull away, I caught her by the nape and covered her mouth with mine, drinking in her flavor. The sweetest of sweets, my girl was.
When I finally let her go, it was only so she could curl up on the padded bench beside me. She hadn’t been prepared to sleep over and was wearing one of my T-shirts and a pair of shorts she’d left here. Neither of us had questioned whether she and Nellie were staying over tonight. It was a given.
She’d taken care of my baby like she was her own. I’d peeked in on them as they lay together, talking quietly, only picking up on half the words they exchanged. But I could see Clara soothing Sage, giving her the love and care she’d needed today. My heart had done a wild dance, thumping and thrashing for this beautiful woman and my little girl who was growing up faster than I was ready for.
“How are you?” she asked. “Shell-shocked?”
“Nah.” I trailed my knuckles along her thigh, easing into the comfort of having her beside me. “I would’ve been lost if you hadn’t been here. You made my job a hell of a lot easier.”
She sighed, taking a sip of her wine. “I’m pretty honored she trusts me enough to call me.”
“That’s because you’ve always treated her like she matters to you.”
There was no hesitation when she replied, “She does.”
“Yeah, I know.” Closing my eyes, I rubbed my nose against her cheek. “I’m in love with you, Clara.”
She leaned into my touch, making a soft, high hum. “I had a feeling you were.”
“Yeah?” I dug my fingers into the back of her hair, my forehead to hers. I could’ve been patient, waited for her to say it when she was ready, but that wasn’t me. I laid my heart out for her, and I needed it back from her. I knew she was there with me, but I had to have the words. “What about you? Think you might love me?”
“Oh yes. I most assuredly love you, Jake. Very much, in fact.”
There we go. Knowing and hearing it were distinctly different things. I grabbed her very Clara-like declaration and tucked it in the space in my heart I’d made solely for her. When I took it back out to remember this moment, I’d think about her flowery-fresh scent, the solid weight of her in my arms, her warm breath exhaling across my lips. In my memories, I’d find her arms around my neck and her forehead pressed to mine, and relish in the feeling of never having felt so close to another person besides my child.
I clutched her to me, my fingers digging into her waist. “You didn’t bother telling me.”
She giggled, and the happy sound landed right in my chest.
“I don’t remember you saying a word either.”
I chuffed. “It’s really something the two of us ended up together.”
“Why? Because we’re so locked down, we can’t even name our own feelings, much less identify someone else’s?”
I swatted her ass. “You’re using present tense, mama. You and I are changed people.”
She raised a brow. “Oh, are we?”
“Obviously. I knew you loved me, and you knew I loved you before either of us got brave enough to name it. But we did, didn’t we?”
