Page 68 of Before We Were Us
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Jensen’s grin should scare me, but to be honest I’m excited. I’ve met his sisters, though Jenna’s introduction was a little odd being that it was in a restroom and during a time when I’d thought of her brother as a cheater. But the way she stood up for him, but in a kind way, said a lot. She obviously loves Jensen.
I’ve heard so much about his mother, her kindness, and the way she refuses to let them falter on their weekly dinners. I love her need to hold them together. It’s sweet really.
“Yes,” I assure him with a smile.
With his hand linked with mine, he drags his thumb along my palm and we walk toward the front door. It is comforting.
Pausing as we reach the front door, Jensen curls our joined hands around my back, pulling me in close, his lips hovering above mine. “Just so you know, if they freak you out, and you feel like running for the hills, I’m not letting you get far.” He smiles as he presses a kiss to my lips.
Lifting my free hand up, I cup his jaw. “I’m not going anywhere.” He pulls back. “I’m exactly where I want to be.”
The words Taylor spoke linger in my mind, as I stare up at him. She was right, I am in love with him. I think I was long before I should have been. I’ve let go of the fear, I’ve given into the want and owned the need.
I want this.
I want him and all the crazy that comes with it.
“I’m gonna hold you to that, babe.” He kisses me again just as the door opens and there in the doorway stands not one sister but both. Each smiling happily and just over their shoulder the woman I assume is his mother, a smile from ear to ear.
“Jensen.” She waves her hand as she moves forward. “Let go of her.” She pats at his arm. “Please, you’ve kept me waiting long enough to meet this beautiful girl.”
Hooking her arm with mine, she drags me off and I glance back to see his sisters descend on him.
“We’ll let them have at him,” Jensen’s mother says as she leads me to the kitchen. “You and I are gonna get to know one another.”
I should be nervous, but I’m not. She reminds me of my own mother, her kind smile, and sweet eyes. Nothing about her made me uneasy.
“I can already tell I’m gonna love you,” she gushes. “I knew two-seconds in when I met Chrissy that she was all wrong for my boy. But you sweetheart, you are a gem.” She leads me to the chair opposite her and then rounds the small island as she gets back to chopping tomatoes.
“Would you like help?” I ask as I start to stand and she instantly tells me to sit. “You are a guest, you sit. Let’s chat, tell me all about yourself. How did you and my Jensen meet?”
And just like that I’m lost in conversation with her. Time passes and we laugh and she is quickly telling me all about the boy before the man. Sharing stories of Jensen and his siblings and I am in awe of the woman that brought the man I love into this world.
“What’s so funny?” Jensen steps up behind me and places his hands on my hips, leaning in to kiss the space beneath my ear. The gesture seems so natural to him. I notice how his mother observes him, like she knows some kind of secret no one else knows. “You’re not spilling any secrets are you, ma?”
“Never.” She waves him off as she turns to pull something out of the oven.
Jensen takes this as the chance to kiss me, whispering near my ear. “She is in love with you already,” he assures me before backing up and leaving us once again.
forty-three
. . .
Jensen
“She’s perfect for you, Jensen.” I pull my attention away from Brynn who sits in the living room with my siblings. All four of them talk and laugh, while they hassle Myles for his lack of gaming skills.
"I know,” I tell my mother, unable to wipe the smile from my face. I volunteered to dry the dishes, knowing my mother wanted to get me alone for this very reason.
“And she makes you happy,” she adds, bumping her shoulder against mine.
“She does.” Happier than I’ve been in a long time.
“It's written all over your face, you're at ease.” The way my mother is watching me, doing nothing to hide her joy. “I never once witnessed you this way when you were with Chrissy.”
I nod looking back at Brynn. She throws her head back laughing at something Jenna says. The truth is, Chrissy never tried to get along with my family. She immediately treated them like they were the enemy, threatening to take me away from her. “There was never a time with Chrissy that I could slow down and just enjoy what we had, you know that. It was always something, some way someone offended her. She was boiling for a fight even before she opened her eyes in the morning.”
“You’re a good man Jensen, and I know with Chrissy you thought you were doing the right thing.” I thought she was pregnant. “But I must say seeing you with Brynn, I see the man I raised. She brings out the best in you.”