Susan Mallery - Sweet Trouble

Jesse didn’t want to think about that. “Fine. He’s sorry. He’s trying. But for how long? It’s been a couple of months. So what? He’ll get bored eventually and go away.”

“Is that what you’re waiting for?” Claire asked. “Is that what you think is going to happen?”

“I don’t know.” Jesse just knew she didn’t trust him. “He wanted me to fall in love with him so he could rip out my heart. Now he claims he loves me. How am I supposed to ever trust him?”

“You take a leap of faith,” Claire said. “You give him a chance. Jesse, you love him. Even after all this. You’re trying to punish him, but the person you’re hurting most is yourself.”

“I’m very comfortable with that,” Jesse muttered. “I won’t risk it. I need to be sure about him.”

“Which is the real problem,” Nicole said. “Because the person you really don’t trust in all this isn’t Matt. It’s you.”

Jesse opened her mouth, then closed it. “That’s just crap.”

“No, it’s not. You’re terrified that if you give your heart to him again and he tramples all over it, you won’t survive. You don’t think you’re strong enough to handle the rejection, so you take the safe way out. You don’t bother trying. But by doing that, you may be cheating yourself out of the best thing that ever happened to you. You love him, Jess. It’s been five years and you never stopped loving him. He’s Gabe’s father-he’s not going away. So your choices are simple. You accept that every relationship comes with risks or you turn your back on him. You walk away and spend the rest of your life regretting all the things you weren’t brave enough to go for.”

Nicole stared at her. “You’re not a quitter and you’re not a coward. Giving up isn’t like you. You take risks and to hell with the consequences.”

“Look where that got me,” Jesse said.

“Yeah, look.” Nicole shook her head. “You raised a great kid totally on your own. You came up with a business plan, a killer brownie, you got your AA degree. You thrived. I’m so proud of the person you’ve become. Look what my baby sister did all by herself.”

Jesse’s eyes burned with unexpected tears. “Don’t you dare get all mushy on me,” she whispered.

“Why not? You earned it. I love you, Jess, but you’re going to hate yourself forever if you don’t give Matt another chance.”

Jesse wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly she and Nicole were hugging.

“I love you,” she whispered fiercely.

“Not as much as I love you,” Nicole told her.

“Group hug,” Claire said, throwing herself at both of them. “I just love having sisters.”

“Me, too,” Jesse said, feeling their affection wash over her.

They held on to each other for a few more seconds, then disentangled, each wiping away tears.

Jesse looked at both of them. “If you’re wrong, this is going to all be your fault,” she said. “I’ll never let you guys forget that.”

Claire and Nicole glanced at each other, then back at her.

“A risk I’m willing to take,” Nicole said.

Easy for her to say, Jesse thought. She had a whole lot less to lose. But by not trying, Jesse knew she did, as well. Nicole had been right about a lot of things. Especially Jesse having loved Matt for the past five years.

What he’d done was horrible and mean. But what did loving someone mean if not understanding that mistakes could be made and regret might be genuine? She didn’t know if Matt deserved another chance, but she knew she did. A chance to be with the only man she’d ever loved.

WHEN THE STEADY pounding of the rock band at the launch party started sounding as if the beat was hammering inside his head, Matt knew it was time to escape back to his office. He collected his leather briefcase and walked toward the exit.

Diane stopped him before he was halfway there. You are not leaving,” she said loudly enough to be heard over the music. “You said I had to stay to the end.”

“I take it back.”

She grinned. “Feeling a little old for this sort of thing?”

“I guess. I don’t know when that happened.”

Her expression turned knowing. He had a feeling she was thinking that becoming a father had changed everything for him. She was right.

“You can head back to the office now,” he told her. “I have to swing by the house, then I’ll be in.” He wanted to make copies of Gabe’s first day of school for Jesse and his mom. Maybe he could drop the disks off later, which was nothing more than an excuse to see Jesse again. Not that he had any reason to hope. She wasn’t acting any differently than she had a month ago. But he wasn’t giving up. Somehow he would win her over.

He left the party and made his way to the parking lot. His car was off to the side, a familiar red Subaru next to it. Jesse stood between their vehicles, watching him approach. There was something different about her expression, about the way she was hugging her arms to her chest. Something that made him walk more quickly.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he approached. “Is it Gabe?”

“It’s not Gabe,” she said, her eyes bright with an emotion he couldn’t read. “Everything is fine. I wanted to talk to you.”

He set down his briefcase. “About what?”

She moved closer, then put her hands on his chest. “I still remember the first time I saw you. I thought you had a lot of potential.”

He’d been a total geek without a clue. “Not my favorite memory.” The girl he’d wanted to ask out had blown him off, then Jesse had shown up. “Until you came along.”

She was staring at him as if trying to figure out something. As if…as if she still cared. As if he had a chance.

Relief and hope ripped through him, making him want to pull her close, kiss her, take her home and make love to her until she was too weak to resist. But he held back, knowing she had to take the first step. He’d been saying the words over and over. Now it was her turn. If they were going to make this work, she would have to commit.

Except standing there was torture. Waiting for her to see that they belonged together made his chest ache.

“I’d never been in love before,” she told him, her blue eyes gazing into his. “I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t think it would be so powerful or last so long. Moving away didn’t change anything. I still loved you. And I love you now.”

He sensed she wasn’t done, that there was more to say. So he stood there, trying to be patient, knowing the prize was worth the effort.

“I know you were angry and hurt and that you wanted revenge,” she told him. “I understand that you got caught up in your plan and didn’t think it through. I believe you’re genuinely sorry and that you love me and Gabe. I can keep punishing you or I can take a leap of faith. You’ve said you want us to be together. I want that, too.”

He didn’t know if she had more and he didn’t care. He grabbed her and hauled her close, then kissed her until they both couldn’t breathe.

“I love you,” he murmured against her mouth. “I’ll love you forever.”

“Good. Because the women in my family live a long time.”

He chuckled, then kissed her again. “I can’t wait.” He straightened. “Marry me, Jess. Marry me and have more babies with me. I want to spend the rest of my life convincing you that you made the right choice.”

“I already know that.” She smiled at him. “And yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Soon?”

“Let’s take it one step at a time.”

“I LIKE THE BLACK,” Claire said as she stepped in front of the full-length mirror.

“Me, too.” Nicole stood next to her twin and brushed her hands against the sleek, sophisticated black dress.