all the time,” Frances said. “And even if you didn’t do it all the time, I’m allowed. Call it a mental health day.”
I really didn’t want to cause any problems, and I felt like I could cut the tension in the air with a knife.
“Right,” Frances said when no one answered. “Why don’t you come with me, then, Jenny?”
“I…” I looked between the three of them, and Jacob shrugged.
“Suit yourself,” he said and headed back upstairs. Johnathan didn’t say anything, but he did go into the living room. I sighed and decided that it was best to just follow through with the plan rather than continue to push the growing trauma.
“Are you sure this is fine?” I said to Frances as soon as we got into the car.
“Of course it’s fine,” he said. “They aren’t the boss of me.”
“No, I know,” I said. “But I don’t want it to be...anything that brings the three of you tension or anything…”
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “You’re a really good person, Jenny.”
“Thank you,” I said. “But I’m not the one who rescued a total stranger out of the goodness of my heart.”
“Out of the goodness of our hearts?” he turned to me. “That's a funny way to put it.”
“Well, what do you call it?” I asked. “You guys are not getting anything out of it.”
“Well, we're not in a civil war,” he said as we drove. I cocked my head in agreement.
“I suppose that’s right,” I said. “But I feel like I am going to cause a civil war in your house.”
“Jenny, please don’t worry,” he said. “Let’s just enjoy the day.”
“At least let me...buy you a coffee or something,” I said, and he shook his head.
“No, too dangerous,” he said. “Besides, there is no coffee where we are going.”
“Where are we going?” I asked. “Are we going to have some remote part of the country?”
“Not quite,” he said. “But we are going to have a picnic.”
“I love picnics!” I said, and he grinned.
“Good,” he said. “Because I think this one is going to be awesome.”
I felt butterflies in my stomach, and I smiled. The top on the car was down, and the wind was streaming through my hair. I did not think that I had ever been so happy or so relaxed in months.
“Are you OK?” Frances asked me as we took a corner a little bit fast.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m more than OK.”
“Good,” he said and grinned at me. I couldn’t wait to see this picnic spot. And, as I looked at Frances’s handsome face, I couldn’t wait to see what happened during this picnic as well.
Chapter Fourteen
Frances
I knew that my brothers were pissed about the fact that I suddenly took off for the day without telling them. The truth was, it wasn’t that they were pissed about being left alone in the office for the day. They were pissed about the fact that Jenny and I were going to spend some time alone together.
There was no question that we had reached the point where it was a competition. We were actively fighting with her and trying to capture her attention, and I wasn’t sure what she noticed or what she didn’t.
I feared that she would be of those girls who preferred monogamous relationships. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with that, but I really didn’t want her to be with Jacob and no one else.
Who was I kidding? I wanted her to be with me. That was what mattered. I wanted to own every inch of her, and I wanted to make her feel more amazing than she had ever felt in her entire life.
When we pulled up to the secluded picnic spot that I had found, she gasped.
“Oh my God, this is amazing,” she said. “How did you find this place?”
“I used to drive by it all the time when we had a supplier up here,” I said. “And I noticed that no one was ever using it. So I thought you might enjoy it. Still peaceful and private but...outside.”
“Thank you,” she said. “This looks great. But if we are having a picnic...what about food?”
“Ah, food,” I said and pulled a picnic basket out. I had observed what she had eaten over the last few days, and then I had put together a picnic basket of all her favorite things.
“Wow,” she said as she took a peek inside. “This is awesome. This is going to be the best time ever.”