Without answering me, she leaned over and took her shoes off. I looked out at the sand and waves ahead of us.
The sand was soft under my bare feet. Since there weren’t any other people on the beach, we left our shoes by the entrance. I wasn’t sure if we were breaking any rules by being out there so late, but I didn’t question it. I wanted Jess to confide in me.
We had walked a little while before I said, “So, you were saying?”
“I didn’t say anything yet.”
I chuckled.
She sighed. “My mom was an alcoholic until I was seventeen.”
“Oh.”
“The woman you met today is nine years sober. I took care of her for most of my life. Then she took a terrible spill down a set of stairs, and it somehow knocked some sense into her. After she took care of herself and became sober, then she decided she wanted to be a mom. She probably feels sorry for the way she treated me all those years but too little too late in my opinion.”
“Did she hurt you at all?” I asked.
“Not physically, but I took a pretty big beating mentally. Developing thick skin was my only defense.”
“I’m sorry, Jess.”
“Don’t be. It helped get me through high school. Even though you think Aussies are kind, most kids that age are assholes.”
Jess dealt with shit from home and at school. I wished I could have been there for her, even though I was close to a decade older than her.
“Anyway,” she said, taking my hand. Hers was cool in mine. “I’m a firm believer that life turns out well for those who wait.”
She turned to face me, and I took her other hand, holding them between us.
I wanted to take away all that heartache and pain, at least for a little while. I leaned close, kissing her as the sun dipped low in the sky and the waves crashed against our feet.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jess
I woke up wrapped in Noah’s arms. I scooted closer to him, snuggling against his bare chest. He stirred but didn’t open his eyes, giving me a moment to watch him sleep.
Even after one day, I started to feel like a different person. The old me, minus all the crap Mom had given me. Reconnecting with the place of my youth was invigorating, though I was happy to have moved on to my life with Noah and Gina. It was as if good karma had finally found me and created the perfect life for us.
Noah inhaled sharply, and his eyes fluttered open. I propped myself on my arm to check the clock on his side of the bed. I groaned. “It’s already six-thirty. Gina’s going to get up soon.”
“She’s still jet lagged, I’m sure,” he said, stretching his arms over his head.
“And if she isn’t, she’s going to see that you aren’t in the bedroom with her,” I said.
Last night, Noah stayed with me in my old bedroom after checking to make sure she was asleep. The house was small enough that we would be able to hear her in the other room if she needed us, but we thought of plenty of excuses for him to be out of the room if she asked. So far we were in the clear.
“Give me five more minutes,” he said, slipping an arm around my waist. He hefted me on top of him and held me against his rock-hard body, kissing me until my head spun.
I loved waking up next to this man. “Two minutes,” I said against his lips.
“I can do a lot in two minutes,” he said.
I gently bit down on his lip and tugged at it. “Why don’t you show me?”
He tightened his arms around me and showed me that he was ready.
We found out just how much we could do in that short amount of time.