Read A Better Reason to Fall in Love Online
Authors: Marcia Lynn McClure
Tags: #Romance, #General, #Contemporary, #Fiction
A Better Reason to Fall in Love (29 page)
He saw the tears in her eyes, the color returning to her face. However, he still had to offer the option to her—still had to let her know he’d do anything to make her happy—anything she wanted him to.
“But I’ll do it…if you want me to,” he ventured. His heart was hammering with anxiety. “I really will…for you. If you think I should—”
“Why would I ever want you to do it?” she interrupted. “Why would I want to see you thrown into that life? Why in the world would you think I would ever want something like that…especially if you didn’t? Even if you did want it…I wouldn’t want it for you.” She cast her gaze to the plate of beignets. “And besides…I’m too selfish. I wouldn’t want to share you.”
Jagger smiled, reached across the table, and took her face in his hands. He kissed her hard on the mouth—hard and deep and with all the joy and passion in his heart. He knew for certain now—she loved him. He felt her tears mingling with their kiss, and he knew she loved him. Furthermore, as he closed his eyes and kissed her again, he could see his future—their future—and it was perfect!
“I love you,” Jagger mumbled against her mouth.
Tabby felt more tears spill from her eyes as he kissed her again.
“I love you,” she breathed when he broke the seal of their lips, brushing the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.
“I’m serious. I love you,” he said, gazing into her eyes.
“No…I’m serious. I love
you
,” she told him, smiling.
He chuckled, released her face, and picked up one of the puffy deep-fried pastries on the plate.
“Be careful when you’re eating these,” he said.
“Why?” she asked.
Raising the pastry to his mouth, he puffed a breath over it, sending the light, airy confectioners’ sugar sprinkled on it snowing onto her face.
“And if you breathe in at the wrong moment…you’ll inhale it,” he said.
Tabby giggled, reached up, and brushed the powdered sugar from his nose.
He smiled, nodded toward the plate of pastries, and said, “Hurry up and help me eat these. It’s only midnight. I still want to take you down to the river, lay you out on the grass, and do stuff to you Regina would tell on me for doing.”
“Like what?” she asked, taking a bite of the sweet beignet in her hand.
“Let’s just say…if you think this sugar is sweet,” he began, “just wait until you taste the kisses I’m gonna give you later.”
Tabby smiled, guessing a little more than Leon Chiasson’s musical talent had made its way into Jagger’s genetic makeup as well—for the older blues singer’s flirtatious manner at Chiasson’s had seemed a little familiar.
❦
“So,” Jagger began, “you wouldn’t want to share me, huh?”
He had to let her go to bed. It was almost four a.m., and he was certain she was tired—no matter what her kiss told him.
“No,” she whispered, walking backwards as he walked forward, holding her in his arms. “I think the deserted island thing would be my preference.”
Jagger smiled, pressed a tender kiss to her lips, and said, “You mean like Gilligan and Ginger?”
Tabby giggled and reached up, running her fingers through his hair. “Exactly,” she said.
Jagger couldn’t resist her, and he kissed her again.
His mouth affected her like nothing ever had before! She was intoxicated—literally helpless his arms. She wondered how it was even possible that she still wanted to kiss him. After all, they’d spent hours walking around the city, kissing under street lights, by the river, on the ferry. The truth was her lips were chapped and the flesh around her mouth ridiculously chaffed from his whisker stubble—and still she wanted to kiss him.
At that moment, his manner of kissing her was purely seductive—slow—measured—powerfully alluring. She wondered how she’d ever return to everyday life! Of course, she wondered that every time she was with Jagger. But this was different. This was nearly a fantasy setting, and she would sorely miss it.
Suddenly, he broke from her, pushed her back on the bed of Regina and Mike’s Evangeline room, and said, “Get to bed, sugar petals. You need some sleep.”
“Why?” she asked, unwilling to give him up—even for the overwhelming fatigue in her limbs, the spongy sensation in her brain.
“Because tomorrow I’m going to show you the time of your life,” he said.
“But you already did,” she said.
He smiled. “Don’t be flirting with me, baby! I’m trying to stay out of trouble with my Maw Maw.”
He leaned forward, placing a fist on the bed on either side of her to support himself as he kissed her one last time.
“Go to sleep and get my mind out of the gutter,” he said. He smiled, stood straight, and added, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she whispered.
“Good night, sugar petals.” He turned and started toward the door. Slipping into a thick New Orleans accent then, he added, “And don’t you be wakin’ me up in the middle-a da night fo no sugar, baby. I need my rest if I’m gonna play yo keys all day tomorra.”
Tabby giggled as he closed the door behind him.
She collapsed back onto the bed and sighed. The room was fragrant and quiet—the fan on the ceiling spun round and round, slowly—and the taste of Jagger Brodie’s kiss lingered on her lips like confection.
Closing her eyes, Tabby could hear a saxophone somewhere in the distance. Its smooth, jazzy tone floated over the night like a sweet love potion, lulling her to sleep, as through her mind Jagger’s voice echoed,
I love you
.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Work had been miserable! All week long it had been miserable. Tabby wasn’t exactly certain why. At first she thought it was simply having return to real life after having been rapt in such a dream with Jagger in New Orleans over the weekend. Then she realized how little sleep she’d gotten and thought it might be sleep-deprivation at its worst. Still, it was more than that. She didn’t feel like working, and it seemed nothing could settle her down. All week long she’d felt that way, and she was glad Friday had arrived—that in one more hour she could go home and freshen up a bit before heading to Sweet Genevieve’s for Jagger’s set.
At that moment, however, it seemed like an hour might as well have been an eon. She couldn’t make herself do anything! She couldn’t concentrate. All she could do was stare at Jagger’s office door—wait for him to come out and smile at her on his way to whatever meeting he would be off to next. She’d seen him coming out of the HR office earlier and wondered what reason he could have for going in there again. She knew he couldn’t stand Mark Clark. Therefore, it couldn’t have been a casual social visit. She’d seen him head off to accounting and then to the ad department. Tabby didn’t know why she felt so tense and unsettled—just that she did.
“Are you okay?” Emmy asked, handing Tabby a new package of sticky notes.
“Yeah,” Tabby sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me this week. I just can’t seem to get into anything.”
“Anything but Jagger, you mean,” Emmy whispered.
“Exactly,” Tabby said, smiling.
“I know kind of what you mean,” Emmy said. “Ever since Naomi the crazy woman eloped to Vegas, gave her two weeks’ notice, didn’t even finish it out, and moved to Boston…I can’t do anything but count the days until Luke will be here.”
“I hear that,” Tabby said.
Emmy looked up to the clock and sighed. “Well, at least there’s only one more hour of prison.” She smiled. “I’m excited for the set tonight. Jagger’s gonna play his new song, right?”
“Yeah,” Tabby said. She smiled, feeling warm and calmer all of a sudden. “I’m in love with him, you know.”
“Really?” Emmy giggled. “I never would’ve guessed.” Emmy sighed. “Still, I’m not sure how many friends you’ll have left here now that you’ve taken old Iron Buns off the market.”
Tabby laughed. “Iron Buns,” she repeated. “How funny!”
“It seems like only yesterday we were sitting around here making up new names for Jagger Brodie’s cute butt,” Emmy whispered. “And now, like, seriously only weeks later, Naomi’s married to some Boston professor, Jocelyn’s not far behind with Mr. Cliff-Diving Abs Man, Luke will be home in a few weeks…and you’re jetting off to New Orleans every weekend to make out with none other than the Derrière-inator himself. It’s freaky!”
“It is weird, huh?” Tabby said as Emmy’s words began to sink into her consciousness. “Still, stranger things have happened, I suppose.”
“I suppose,” Emmy said. “Well, I’ll see you tonight. Okay?”
“Yeah,” Tabby said.
Emmy returned to her desk, and Tabby smiled as Jagger’s office door opened. He glanced around a moment and then winked at her and nodded toward the break room.
Tabby smiled as all her boredom, frustration, and impatience disappeared. Grabbing some change out of her purse, she headed for the break room. A moment after she’d stepped into it, she gasped as she heard the door close behind her—felt someone take hold of her arm and spin her around.
“I’m hungry,” Jagger growled, gripping her upper arms tightly. “I need a snack.”
Tabby giggled and let her arms slide around his neck as his mouth consumed hers in a powerful, passionate, entirely wanton kiss. It wasn’t a long-lasting kiss—for being caught making out in the break room would’ve surely found them both out on their fannies—but it was supremely satisfying!
“I’m heading to Maw Maw’s place early,” Jagger said as he released her and opened the break room door. “Will you be there?”
Tabby smiled, for she loved the way he always asked her if she would be there—as if he were somehow afraid she wouldn’t show up.
“Where else would I be?” she said.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll see you when you get there.”
“Okay.”
He leaned forward, quickly kissing her forehead and whispering, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Tabby breathed.
He was gone then, and Tabby shook her head, blushing as she saw Emmy slowly saunter into the break room.
“Well, well, well,” Emmy said. “And what have we here? You weren’t making out with the Derrière-inator in the break room, were you?”
“Maybe,” Tabby giggled, going to the vending machine.
“Admit it. I’m a psychic. I told you you’d end up making out with him in here, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you did,” Tabby admitted. She shook her head, still astonished that she was Jagger Brodie’s girlfriend. “I guess anything really is possible, Emmy.” She smiled. “And I do mean anything.”
❦
“It’s beautiful, Joss!” Tabby exclaimed as she studied the diamond on Jocelyn’s finger. “Seriously, Armando, it’s
so
her. It’s so perfectly Jocelyn!”
“Thank you, Tabitha,” Armando said. “I searched many times for just the right one.”
“Well, it’s certainly the right one,” Tabby said. “Congratulations,” she added, hugging Jocelyn and then Armando.
“Thanks, Tabby,” Jocelyn squealed.
“So your mom and dad are here tonight?” Emmy asked Tabby.
“Yeah,” Tabby said. “Chloe’s dating Jagger’s cousin Rhett, of course.”
“Of course,” Jocelyn and Emmy interjected in unison.
“So Mom and Dad thought they should at least check him out,” Tabby continued. “Though I assured them Jagger gives him the okay.”
Tabby turned and looked to where her parents and Chloe were sitting at a table in the back.
“And there he is,” Emmy said as they all watched Rhett approach the table where Tabby’s family was sitting. “Yep…he’s refreshing Chloe’s drink, so to speak.”
Tabby giggled and elbowed Emmy’s ribs.
“Ooo! Your beefcake lover is back,” Emmy whispered, pointing to the stage.
Tabby smiled as she watched Jagger slip the strap of his electric guitar over his shoulder.
“We’re back,” Jagger mumbled into the mike. The crowd applauded.
“Wow! It’s packed tonight, huh?” Tabby whispered to Emmy.
“Totally!” Emmy agreed.
“Thanks for letting us take a break,” Jagger said. “I needed to get my nerve up to play this new song for you guys.”
Everyone clapped and cheered, shouting encouragements. Jagger smiled at Tabby, winked, and waited for the bass to tune up a bit.
“But before I try out the new tune on you…” Tabby smiled as Jagger ground the familiar five-note blues riff.
The crowd fairly roared with anticipation, and Jagger said, “I’m hoping you won’t mind if I sing the blues!”
Everyone applauded and whistled. The patrons of Sweet Genevieve’s had grown to favor Jagger’s clever blues lyrics. The band rocked a minute and then stopped cold. Everyone was quiet, waiting to see what Jagger would sing. To Tabby, however, nothing would ever top the night he’d sang about her—sang the bone-sexy redhead blues.
Still, she smiled and bit her lip with delight as he looked at her and began, “
I’ve been doin’ some kissin’…with little you-know-who
.” The crowd ooed and awed as Jagger pointed to Tabby. She blushed, entirely delighted. “That’s right,” he spoke. Then the five notes again. “
Been doin’ some thinkin’…a little shoppin’ too…’cause that sexy little redhead
,” he growled during the crescendo, “
she just owns me through and through. I got it bad, Tabby Flanders…got it bad for you
.”