“I’m only joking. Have fun…but um, you should probably keep in mind that you already have the world’s greatest boyfriend.” Bailey winked.
Caroline rolled her eyes at her longtime friend. “I hate you.”
“My work here is done,” Bailey sassed.
Caroline smiled and turned to grab her purse from her desk. Before heading out, she sent Tracey a text message that said, “HE FOUND ME!!!! Heading to lunch with him now! Call you later.”
It took less than ten seconds for her phone to ring. “Yes?” Caroline said as she walked out of the office toward the wharf. Tracey’s voice was on the other end of the line.
“What the hell are you doing?” Tracey asked accusingly.
Caroline laughed. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t believe you’re seeing this guy again! Does Clay know?”
“Of course he doesn’t know. It’s not a big deal, it’s just lunch.” Caroline tried to downplay the situation.
“If it’s no big deal, then why aren’t you telling Clay?” Obviously Tracey didn’t believe for one second this guy was no big deal. Caroline winced.
“You know I can’t tell him,” Caroline explained, as guilt slowly crept in.
“Because you know it’s wrong? You feel guilty? What?” Tracey asked.
For a moment Caroline actually considered calling Jackson to cancel. Then she remembered the promise she’d made during Johnny’s funeral. “I do feel guilty,” Caroline admitted, “but I want to see him. I don’t know why, but I do.”
Tracey let out a deep sigh. “For the record, I think this is a bad idea.”
“Noted,” Caroline said sharply. She didn’t want to hear this from Tracey. Caroline didn’t need help feeling that what she was doing was wrong; she already knew it was. But even her guilt couldn’t outweigh her want.
“Don’t get mad, Care…I’m just saying.” Caroline could tell that Tracey didn’t want to fight; she was simply trying to be a good friend.
“I know. Just don’t worry. I’ll call you later.”
With every step Caroline took, her nerves rattled more. What would it be like to see him again? Had she imagined their special connection on the plane? Was he feeling the same way she was?
Lost in thought, she kept walking until her eyes suddenly found his. Seeing him literally stopped her legs from moving. She had imagined his bright blue eyes a million times since she’d left his side that day. But seeing them light up at the sight of her reinforced everything she had been feeling. He looked incredibly sexy waiting for her in his jeans and black T-shirt and she had to stop from running full force into his arms.
She gathered her composure and walked slowly toward him. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. All she could think about was how good it felt to be in his arms. Every inch of her body wanted to be touching a part of his. She squeezed him harder and nuzzled into him without any concern for who might be watching.
His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist and his lips brushed the side of her neck before he stopped himself from taking it further.
Caroline didn’t want to stop holding him, but the hug had gone long past a simple greeting. She pulled away slowly and looked into his eyes. “Hi,” was all she said while she laughed.
He brushed his hand along her cheek like he had done on the plane. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. When she finally opened her eyes, he stared at her.
“I can’t get enough of you.” The words spilled out of his mouth and sent her heart racing. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” His voice was tinged with guilt.
“It’s okay. Don’t be sorry.” She tried to comfort him. It made her feel less alone to know he felt the same way she did.
“I don’t normally do this, you know?” he confessed, and looked toward the ground.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I mean, I don’t normally go after girls who have boyfriends.” His eyes rose to meet hers.
“Well that’s good, ’cause I don’t normally go after guys other than my boyfriend.”
Jackson smiled and pressed on. “No, really. I don’t like girls who aren’t available. I’m not that guy. I just need you to know that.”
“I never thought that about you. And just so you know, I’ve never been so attracted to another guy since I’ve been with my boyfriend.”
“I believe you,” he said sincerely. “I just don’t know what to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” he shrugged as he shook his head.
“Tell me,” she pleaded.
“It’s better if I don’t. Trust me.”
“Ooookay,” she concurred through squinted eyes.
“God, I love your eyes. They’re stunning.”
She blushed and quickly closed them. “Oh yeah? What color are they?”
“Seriously?” he laughed. “They’re the prettiest green I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh,” she stumbled and let out a breathy sigh. “Thanks.” She desperately needed to change the subject. “Should we eat?”
“I guess we can’t just stand here all day, huh? Food sounds good.” He led her into the restaurant and toward the hostess, where he asked for a private table as far away from anyone else as possible. The hostess smiled, looked at Caroline, and scurried off to find something suitable.