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When she had control of her emotions again, she returned to the sitting room.
No one was talking. Jake was standing in the far corner, looking at family photos arranged on the wall. Her father was making a drink at the antique serving cart her mom had found at an estate sale, and her mom was still sitting in the same chair she’d been in when Laurel had left the room.
She stood when she saw her and walked over to wrap Laurel in a big hug.
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.”
“Mom…” She was caught off guard. She honestly didn’t know what to say. Her parents weren’t huggers, even though she’d always wished they were. When her mom didn’t let go, she timidly returned the embrace.
Jake turned around and met Laurel’s gaze. His eyes held nothing but affection. He dipped his head—a barely perceptible nod—and her heart squeezed. She couldn’t have looked away if she’d tried.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Are you okay?” Jake asked once they were back in his Jeep. They’d stayed with her parents a while longer after Laurel had returned. Jake had tried to go into the other room to give them some privacy, but Laurel had held onto his hand like a lifeline, and there was no way in hell he’d been willing to abandon her.
Her parents had both apologized to Laurel and promised to visit her class soon. Jake wasn’t delusional enough to think things would magically change overnight, but it seemed like they were finally listening, and that was a step in the right direction.
“Yeah,” Laurel answered. “I actually think I am.”
Her words helped relieve the tightness in his chest. He reached over and squeezed her hand.
She squeezed back. “Thank you.”
“Princess, you don’t have to thank me. You know I’ll always have your back.”
“I do now,” she whispered.
“Good.” He lifted her hand and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. “So, where to?”
To his surprise, she leaned over the center console and kissed him.
“Take me home.”
“I can’t do that. You know your apartment isn’t?—”
She kissed him again, and he forgot what he’d been about to say.
“Yourhome,” she clarified when their lips parted.
His heart stopped. He knew what she was saying—at least, he hoped he did—but hearing it and believing it were two entirely different things.
With a certainty he hadn’t seen in her eyes before, she instructed, “Drive, bad boy.”
That snapped him out of it. He sure as hell didn’t need to be told twice. Shifting the Jeep into reverse, he backed out of the driveway.
They’d made it to the stop sign at the edge of the subdivision before realization kicked him in the nuts.
Grand was at his house.
“Fuck!”
Laurel jumped in her seat. “What?”
“Sorry,” he said, fighting to temper the building frustration from the worst fucking luck of the century. “Give me a minute,” he told her, retrieving his phone from where he’d stuck it in the cup holder behind the gear shift.
Laurel looked unsure, but waited, like he’d asked.
After turning off the Bluetooth, he called his sister.
