Rising from the Ashes (15 page)

I smiled and leaned in to give him a quick kiss. “Look at you, just assuming you’re gettin’ some two nights in a row.”

He gave me another peck before saying, “Whether we have sex or not doesn’t matter. I’m not sleeping without you next to me. I spent seven years worth of nights like that, and I refuse to do it anymore.”

I looked at him for several seconds, just soaking in everything about him, before sitting my stuff back down. I wrapped my arms around his waist, buried my face in his chest, and inhaled deeply. “I love you so much,” I said into the soft cotton of his T-shirt.

Jeremy grabbed my face in both hands and tilted it up toward his. “I love you too, sugar. Only ever you.”

“Only ever you,” I repeated in a whisper.

Finally tearing myself away from him, I turned and gave everyone a wave before heading off to work. I wouldn’t have been able to wipe the smile off my face if I’d tried.

“Good morning,” I said in a singsong voice as I walked into Ben’s office.

I pushed some stuff around on his desk to make space for the coffee I’d brought him. It was an attempt at a peace offering after the stunt Jeremy had pulled at Briar Deli the day before.

“Oh God, you’re a lifesaver,” he said dramatically. He picked up the cup and took a generous gulp.

“Long night?” I asked as I planted myself in a chair across from his desk.

“You have no idea.”

I was a little concerned by the tone of his voice. He seemed fine when I last saw him.

“Is everything okay?”

Ben ran his hand over his jaw, and I noticed that he had apparently skipped shaving this morning. The scruff looked nice on him.

“Yeah,” he said on a sigh. “Just some family stuff. But I don’t want to drag you down with it. It’s a little hard to understand.”

A clip from my childhood played on fast-forward in my head. “You might be surprised,” I replied with a sarcastic laugh.

“Your family can’t possibly be as dysfunctional as mine.”

I waved a finger in the air at him. “I wouldn’t place money on that bet if I were you. But this isn’t the time or the place to get into the drama of our families.”

He lifted his cup and saluted me. “Agreed. So, since we’re changing the topic of conversation, I’m guessing it’s safe to say that everything worked out with you and Jeremy last night? You’re rather pleasant this morning.”

That ridiculously corny smile spread across my face again at Ben’s statement. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He said with a laugh, “Your poker face is horrible.”

“Well, there’s a reason I’m a paralegal and not a lawyer.”

I shot him a cheeky grin, and he just rolled his eyes.

“I’m just hoping now that you two seem to have patched things up, he’ll quit looking at me like he wants to beat the shit outta me. I have to admit, that’s getting a little old.”

Humor was evident on his face, but I still cringed slightly at the mention of Jeremy’s behavior toward Ben.

“Yeah. I’m really sorry about that. I’m gonna have a talk with him.”

Ben gave me a good-natured smile. “Nah, you don’t have to do that. I understand where he’s coming from.”

“Ha! Well, how about you fill me in? Because, apparently I don’t, and alpha isn’t a language I’m fluent in.”

Ben leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. The look on his face said he was about to school me on all things male. “Well, you see, young grasshopper—”

I immediately interrupted him. “Oh, gag! Spare me the
Karate Kid
bullshit.”

“Okay, fine. In a nutshell, Jeremy has/currently is/or wants to sleep with you. Any man who thinks that way about a woman will automatically get possessive when he feels like another guy is encroaching on what he assumes is his.”

“But you aren’t encroaching on anything. We’re just friends.”

“Doesn’t matter. That’s just how we function. If a member of the opposite sex is talking to our woman, it’s in our DNA to view that man as a threat. I’m pretty sure there are medical journals and scientific studies out there that back up my theory.”

I remained silent for several seconds, thinking about what he’d said. I could only come up with one response. “Penises make y’all stupid.”

“That’s why we’re the weaker sex,” he replied with a grin.

I threw my head back and laughed. “At least you’re willing to admit it.”

“Well, if he’s the reason for your good mood today, I’m happy for you.”

I stood, smiling brightly at Ben, as I started toward the door. “He is, and thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Savannah. I’m just glad to see you happy.”

And I really was. For the first time in years, I was one hundred percent genuinely happy.

“Get a move on, sugar. We’re already late,” Jeremy hollered from the living room.

I was running around my bedroom in nothing but my bra and a pair of jeans, freaking out. I would have been perfectly content to spend all evening in bed with Jeremy. But was I ever that lucky? Of course not.

“Not that I don’t love what you already have on, but you show up to my folks’ house like that, and Pops is liable to go into cardiac arrest.”

I turned to see Jeremy casually leaning against the doorway of my bedroom, like he didn’t have a care in the world, and threw him an evil look. Dinner with Jeremy’s family—I’d done it a million times when we dated in the past, but that had been years ago. After we’d broken up, I’d only seen members of his family here and there around town. They were always pleasant, but I knew they hated how things had ended between us.

“I don’t have anything to wear.” I pouted. “I can’t go.”

Rolling his eyes, Jeremy pushed off the doorframe and made his way over to my closet. “I find that hard to believe, considering it looks like the entire Cloverleaf mall is in your closet.”

He wasn’t kidding. I had a serious retail-therapy issue, but that didn’t mean I had anything appropriate to wear to a family dinner at my boyfriend’s parents’ house.

“What about this right here?”

He held up a top that said
Classy Girls Say Fuck
that I’d gotten as a gift from Brett on my last birthday.

“Yes, because nothing says, ‘I’m a suitable girlfriend for your son,’ like a shirt with the word
fuck
in eight inch hot-pink letters.” I threw myself down on my bed with an exaggerated sigh.

I felt the bed dip with Jeremy’s weight, and then his fingers began to lightly trail across my stomach.

“It’s not like this is the first time you’re meeting my folks, Savvy. Hell, you were practically part of the family when we were dating.”

“Yeah, but that was a lifetime ago, honey. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hated me for dumping you and breaking your heart.”

I could feel Jeremy’s body shaking in silent laughter. “They don’t hate you, baby. They hated that we broke up because they loved you like a daughter, but they never hated you. Besides, none of that matters anymore. We’re together now, and it’s gonna stay that way.” With that, he hopped off the bed and pulled me up after him. “Now, put on a damn shirt before I rip off what little you’re wearing and make us even later.”

Ten minutes later, we were in Jeremy’s pickup, heading toward his parents’ house. I was pretty happy with my decision of an ivory silk camisole that flowed slightly and a coral-colored jacket with cuffed sleeves. Paired with jeans and tan heels, it was the perfect combination of dressy and casual.

“So, who all is coming to dinner?” I asked, wondering exactly how many of Jeremy’s siblings were going to be in attendance.

I prayed it wasn’t all of them. The Matthews were amazing people, but Jeremy had three brothers and a sister. How his parents managed with five kids was beyond me, but having four boys? No, thank you. They were loud and boisterous by themselves. Getting them all together in one room had a tendency to become overwhelming.

“Well, Olivia’s school hasn’t let out for winter break yet, so she’s still in Louisiana, and Daniel had to go out of town for some conference, so they won’t be there.”

Olivia was Jeremy’s little sister. At nineteen, she was the youngest. Add the fact that she was the only girl stuck with four overbearing older brothers, and it didn’t take a genius to guess how difficult life had been for her growing up. To say they were protective was an understatement. Poor Olivia had to go to college in Louisiana just to get a date.

Daniel was thirty-five and the oldest of all the kids. He’d gone on to medical school, and was currently working at a hospital in Houston’s Medical Center.

That meant Chris and Michael were coming. Three out of five wouldn’t seem that bad, but between just those two, Jeremy had five nieces and nephews.
Five!
That didn’t even count the other four kids that Daniel had.

It wasn’t hard to see why Jeremy was all about a big family. At that thought, I was hit with a twinge of sadness.

Jeremy must have sensed the change in my mood and interpreted it to be nerves because he reached for my hand and shot me a reassuring smile. “It’ll be okay, baby. You’ll see. Everyone’s excited to see you again.”

I knew the smile I gave him didn’t quite meet my eyes, but I just couldn’t muster up anything more genuine at that point.

A few minutes later, we pulled up in the driveway of Jeremy’s childhood home. The red brick house was just as I remembered it. With a porch that extended the length of it and the same white shutters, I was instantly hit with memories from my past. I’d spent so much time at this house, soaking in all the love that was missing in my own home. I almost forgot how much Jeremy’s family meant to me growing up, especially his mom. Everything I’d never received from my own mother, Mrs. Matthews had given me in spades.

God, I missed her.

Before my nerves had a chance to take over, the front door was thrown open, and she came flying out, straight toward Jeremy’s truck. For a woman who had given birth to five kids, she was such a tiny little thing. She was all of five feet tall with a sleek bob that was the same reddish-brown color as Jeremy’s. The only sign of her age was the smattering of gray hair lightly spread throughout it.

I didn’t even have time to blink before the passenger door was flung open, and I was wrapped up in her familiar arms. “Savvy, honey, I’ve missed you so much!”

I let out a laugh and returned her hug, squeezing her back just as tight. The scent of lavender wafted up, and any anxiety I’d felt earlier was washed away by the familiarity. My arms constricted, hugging her even tighter, before I finally let her go and stepped out of the truck.

“I missed you too, Mrs. Matthews.”

“
Pffft
, what’s this Mrs. Matthews business? You’re family, sweetheart. It’s Kathy.”

My breath hitched, and I had to fight to hold back the tears. To still consider me as part of her family after so long was even more proof of what a phenomenal woman she truly was.

I’m not gonna cry. I’m not gonna cry.

She grabbed hold of my forearms and stepped back to look me up and down. “Look at you—just as beautiful as ever. You look absolutely stunning.”

She smiled up at me, her brown eyes glimmering, and I was reminded where Jeremy got his eyes from.

“You look beautiful too, Kathy. Thank you for inviting me.”

She linked her arm through mine and started leading me to the house. “Of course you’re invited. I’m just so thrilled you and Jer got your heads outta your asses long enough to see what was good for y’all.”

“Jeez, Mom, how about we at least get in the house before you start in on us?”

I turned and gave Jeremy a wink from over my shoulder.

Just as we crossed the threshold, I heard a booming voice coming from the kitchen.

“Is that my sunflower?”

I squealed in excitement and started jumping up and down as Jeremy’s dad rounded the corner.

“Burt!” I hollered, launching myself at the giant teddy bear of a man.

“Sunflower!” he replied as he scooped me up and started spinning me around.

Jeremy’s hair and eyes might have come from his mom, but he’d gotten everything else from his dad. Burt Matthews was definitely a handsome man. Standing well over six feet, he was all broad shoulders and muscular arms. His midsection might have gained a little paunch over the years, but it didn’t detract from the fact that he’d most definitely been a lady-killer back in the day. Jeremy was built just like him—well, with the exception of his dad’s extra weight around the middle.