Page 69 of Every Time We Touch

“Thank you.” Something about her demeanor softens at the mention of her movie. She makes to leave, but thinks better of it. Mimi turns to me again. “Jen’s dealing with some stuff at work as well. She usually goes to Eric with business issues, but I guess that won’t happen now. What I’m trying to say is that she’s going through a lot.”

“I know.” With everything that’s happened, Jen hasn’t talked about work a lot. I mostly get the impression she doesn’t go to the office that much. “I’ve got her back all the way.”

“I’m glad I came,” Mimi says. “Something about you makes me believe you when you say that. Even after everything that’s gone down.”

Fair enough. But at least Mimi can see I’m not some evil witch manipulator who casually flits from father to daughter.

“Also,” she says, her tone a little milder again. “How are you holding up with all this drama going on?”

“The conversation I had with Eric wasn’t one of the finer moments of my life, but that’s nothing compared to what Jen’s going through.”

“Don’t forget to take care of yourself as well,” Mimi says, and I can so easily see where Jen gets her kind nature from. Both her parents are smart and loving.

“Thank you,” I say, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart.

“Good night, Clancy.” Mimi walks out of my office and I need a few minutes to process our conversation. It kind of feels like Jen’s mother has given us her blessing.

When I arrive at Jen’s, she’s on the phone. She holds up a finger, indicating she’ll be done in a minute. I take that minute to shamelessly ogle her.

She’s barefoot, wearing an oversized white shirt that slips off one shoulder. Her hair is messy, like she’s been dragging her hands through it all day, and there are traces of strain around her eyes. But then she glances at me while listening to whoever’s on the other end of the call, and her face softens in a way that makes my heart beat a little faster. I watch her lips as she speaks and all I can think about is kissing them. She catches me staring and bites back the beginning of a smile, as if she knows exactly what I’m thinking.

She hangs up and says, “That was my mom.” She glances at me with narrowed eyes. “You had a visitor today?”

“I sure did.” I bridge the distance between us because I really must kiss her now. I curl my arms around her neck and pull her close.

“Aren’t you wondering what she has to say about you?” Jen’s lips are so close to mine, I can feel them move when she speaks.

“Sure, but first things first.” I touch my lips to hers and I can, finally, properly breathe again. Because Mimi’s right. This is a lot of drama—and Jen can still opt out at any moment. But when I’m kissing her, when we come together after some time apart, I know that she won’t. Although, also as Mimi said, life can be funny—and neither one of us knows what tomorrow will bring. So I make sure that every time I kiss Jen, I do it with everything I have in me.

“Fuck,” Jen says, her lips still on mine. “Now you made me forget what my mother said.”

“Was it good?” I kiss my way from her lips to her neck.

“I don’t remember,” Jen croons.

I brush a kiss against her ear. “I need to shower before I fuck you,” I whisper. “Join me?”

Her body shakes as she giggles. “You’re barely in the door and I was just talking to my mom.”

“So?” I plant one final kiss on her cheek and put a little distance between us. I am, in fact, dying to find out what Mimi had to say about me.

“I think she likes you,” Jen says.

“She’s a St James,” I joke. “They tend to like me.”

“Oh god.” Jen groans, but there’s a grin on her face. “Don’t get too cocky.”

“I just need to win over Lauren, but it’s only a matter of time.” The bravado I put into my voice doesn’t match the insecurity inside me, but I can fake it until I make it—something I learned to do as a baby dancer.

“We’ll have to see about that.” Jen takes my hands in hers. “Did my mom ambush you at your office?”

“I wouldn’t call it an ambush. It was just a visit. And a rather friendly one at that.”

“I didn’t know she was going to do that. We’ve been playing phone tag all day. She told me she drove over to your studio on a whim after they wrapped for the day.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad she came.” I tighten my grip on Jen’s fingers. “She’s worried about you.”

“I’m having dinner with her and Nora tomorrow.” Jen squeezes back. “So we can have a proper conversation.”