“Uh, what are you talking about? What’s happening?”
“I’m her match, John. I’m the only fuckin’ match for her. She’s not going to be going out with anyone else.”
I walk out of the terminal to the line of cabs. I get in the first one I come to and give them the address for Jenna’s apartment. John hears me and almost screams into the phone. “That’s Jenna’s address. I thought you were coming home. What’s going on, Riggs? This is my sister we’re talking about, and you have around five seconds to explain yourself before I come to California on my own.”
I sit back in the seat as the cabbie takes off down the road. We’re only around ten minutes from Jenna’s apartment, so I need to make this quick. “I came here to protect your sister, and well, I don’t know how to say it, but I fell in love with her.”
He gasps. “You love her? How is that even possible? You just met her. You don’t even know her.”
I clench my eyes shut tight. I’m not used to answering to anyone, but I have to take into account that this is Jenna’s brother. I can’t just tell him to fuck off. “I do know her. I know that she worries about you nonstop. I know she misses being part of a family. I know she has an annoying best friend that will straight-up stab somebody that messes with her. I know she made this little coffee shop into something amazing. She’s kind-hearted, would do anything for anyone, and more than anything, she needs someone that will stand with her. Let her be the woman she is and always have her back. That’s me, John. I’m that guy.”
He barely pauses, and I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “Okay.”
I’m all prepared to keep going, but I’m stumped when he says that. “Okay? Okay you’re not going to try and stop me?”
“Riggs, I know you’re supposed to be the smart one in the crew, but I’m not dumb. I know you, and I know my sister. Did I warn you to stay away from my sister? No, I didn’t. I made you promise to protect her and not to hurt her. That’s it. I knew you two were meant for each other.”
A warmth spreads through my chest. I thought this was going to be a battle. I thought he’d be mad.
I put my forehead on the seat in front of me. “I need to figure out how to tell Nash. I’ll have to train someone.”
“What the fuck you talking about now, Riggs?”
“Moving to LA.”
“Moving to LA! I swear you’re the smartest man I know, but sometimes you’re dumb. I didn’t put you two together for you to move to LA. You’re bringing her to Tennessee.”
“But she... her business... she loves it here.”
“I know my sister. Talk to her about it and then worry about Nash.”
I can’t ask her to uproot her whole life for me. I should be the one. I’d follow her anywhere, but he’s right: I need to talk to her about this. “Fuck, why didn’t I call you before I left her house?”
“I don’t know, but you better fix it.”
“Riggs, I’ve always thought of you as a brother. Now we can just make it official.” He pauses. “Wait, you do plan on making it official right?”
“Damn straight I do.”
“You fuckin’ better,” John grumbles.
“I gotta go. I’m almost at Jenna’s.”
“Good luck. And have my sister call me.”
I hang up the phone and start digging out my wallet. As soon as the cab pulls into the apartment complex, I throw bills over into the front seat. “Here you go, thanks.”
“Good luck, man,” he hollers back at me.
I race toward her door, stopping outside to catch my breath and to try and put together my thoughts. I know I want Jenna. Nothing else matters but her. I knock on the door, three swift knocks. Because I’m impatient, I knock again, this time more insistently.
As soon as I stop, I hear Jenna’s voice through the door. “What do you want, Dylan?”
I put my hands on the base of the door and am staring at the peephole even though I can’t see a damn thing. “I want to talk to you.”
I should probably take it down a notch, but I can’t. The frantic need to hold her in my arms is strong. I try the door handle, and it doesn’t budge.
I can barely hear her through the door, but she says, “What is it? Did you forget something? Go away and I’ll mail it to you.”
What the fuck? I brace my hands on the door frame, ready to kick it in. “Open the fuckin’ door before I break it down.”
Fuck. My heart is racing, my hands are sweating, and I start to feel dizzy. The need to hold her, to claim her as my own is all-consuming. I won’t fuckin’ leave until she’s off that matchmaker site and she tells me she’s mine. That’s it.