Hot SEAL, Cold Feet - Becca Jameson Page 0,53
so boneheaded next time. This is a relationship. Granted, it officially started for real about ten minutes ago, but we both know it was already a definable relationship a month ago. I already know you. I know you’re an amazing man who can handle a great deal of pressure and come out stronger. Let me be here for you as you put your mom to rest. Don’t shut me out.”
“Okay.” He smiled at her. “Thank you.”
She ran her hands up and down his back, loving the feel of him finally in her arms. Finally hers. “Is it true? Is the marriage invalid?”
His smile widened. “Yep. Totally invalid. I don’t have to do a thing.”
“That really makes me happy. I was dancing all around this living room when I heard the news. Dad thought I was going to go through the floor.”
“I’m so glad. Wish I could have seen that.”
“He kept me sane for the last twenty-some-odd hours.” She sobered. He needed to know she was worried. “Kept telling me to give you some time and space while I paced the room glancing at my phone every five seconds.”
Tuck fisted his hands in her hair. “I’m so sorry I put you through that. I had every intention of coming straight here last night when I left the studio. I was so excited I couldn’t stop shaking as I got into my car. I couldn’t decide if I should just show up and whisk you away or if I should text you first. When I checked my phone, my heart sank. It was filled with messages from the nursing home. I went straight there. I honestly didn’t have a moment to breathe until I dropped into bed in my hotel room early this morning to toss and turn. I made poor choices. I’ll blame it on exhaustion.”
She smiled at him, hoping he could see her heart. “You’re forgiven. So… you have a hotel room?” Her smile grew, and her cheeks flushed.
“I do. You want to see it?”
“I do.”
Chapter 28
Tuck followed Jodi into her bedroom for the first time. It was small, but it was filled with a lifetime of Jodi. He wandered around looking at all her pictures and memorabilia, learning things about her he didn’t know while she packed a bag. He picked up a trophy. “You were a swimmer.”
“Yep. In high school. I was district champion in breaststroke my senior year.”
He leaned closer to examine pictures she had all over a bulletin board. Photos from years of events ranging from her prom to her sporting events to her college graduation. Her dad was in many of them. Her mom was most of the ones that happened before she died. “You were close to your mom,” he noted, his throat clogging with emotion.
“Yeah.” She wrapped her arms around him from behind. “I still miss her every day. It never goes away. But it gets easier over time. I feel her with me sometimes, like she’s watching me.”
Tuck trembled as he clasped her hands against his chest. “Is she here now?”
“I like to think so.”
“I’m going to make her so proud,” Tuck whispered, hoping his own mom was watching too as he made Jodi the happiest woman alive. He would give it everything he had. He made a silent promise to both their mothers that he would cherish her always, in case they were listening to his thoughts.
Jodi finally released him. “Ready.”
He turned around and took her bag from her hand. “You pack light.”
She shrugged. “Don’t figure I need more than a toothbrush. I’m hoping this sleepover is the naked kind.”
He sobered. Was it wrong to want Jodi so badly it hurt so soon after his mom died?
She stepped closer and leaned into him. “Don’t panic. No pressure. We have our whole lives. I just want to be with you. If it feels too soon, let me hold you all night anyway. Okay?”
He nodded. She was so perfect.
He started to breathe more freely for the first time in months as he followed her from the room. A chill raced down his spine and he spun back around as if he might find someone behind him. No one was there, of course, but a sense of peace filled him, making him smile. He felt lighter.
Maybe Jodi was right. Maybe his mom was here with him. If so, she definitely approved and she wouldn’t want him to waste another moment not claiming the woman he loved in every way. He had already grieved his