Until the End (Sea Breeze #9)(69)

His words brought tears to my eyes, and a laugh bubbled out of me. Was I losing it with this pregnancy thing?

Jason held me and we stood there while I composed myself.

“I love this closet,” he said. “Smells like you. When you aren’t here and I’m missing you, I come stand in here. The other morning when you were sleeping, I came in here before I left and just took a deep breath.”

I tilted my head back and looked up at Jason. “Really?” I asked, amazed.

He grinned. “Yeah. I’m as insane about you as you are about me. You just keep forgetting that. I feel like I’m failing you somehow. I don’t want you to doubt how obsessed I am with you.”

“Next time remind me that you smell my closet when you miss me. I think that’ll help,” I suggested.

“I’ll do that.”

***

Over the next month I managed to get my emotions in order. I was still jumping Jason regularly, but he didn’t seem to mind how much I wanted sex. Jason said that news of our little escapade in the restroom during Finn’s party had gotten around, and now he was the envied one among his friends. He seemed to think it was funny, and I was glad my moment of jealousy hadn’t caused issues.

Today was Friday, which was my favorite day of the week. It meant I would have Jason for two whole days. Even when he studied he was here, so I wasn’t missing him. I worked on some new maternity outfits for myself while he read.

I was getting cleaned up after finishing my daily courses online. I wanted my business degree. I had finally decided I wanted to design my own clothing, not work for someone else. Maybe I would make a kids’ boutique line. I wasn’t sure yet. But I knew that to run a business, I needed a degree.

The door opened and Jason walked in, carrying two large paper bags and wearing a smile on his face. “I’m home.”

Laughing, I hurried over to him and kissed his face. “I see that.”

He kissed me back, then pulled away. “Don’t start that now. I’ll have you na**d and up against a wall before we know it. And before we play, we have work to do,” he said, then held up the bags he was carrying.

“Work?” I asked, confused.

“Yep. Work. The fun kind,” he assured me, and walked over to the coffee table and put the bags down.

I followed him as he began to pull out . . . pamphlets?

“What is that?”

Jason held up a handful and handed them to me. “They are destinations. Wedding destinations. We need to decide so I can use my brother’s fame and power to get the date and location you want.”

I reached for the pamphlets he was handing me, but my mind was not processing this fast enough.

“I’ve been busy with school,” Jason continued. “You’ve been busy with school and f**king my brains out. And while I’ve enjoyed that part very much, I need a date set. I’m ready to make you Jess Stone. I am done being patient and giving you time. You’re deciding this weekend.”

“Anywhere,” I said honestly. I would not cry because he had two bags full of locations for weddings. I would not cry because this was so incredibly sweet.

He glanced back at me as he pulled out his own handful to go through. “I want to marry you. I’ll marry you anywhere you want. Hell, Jess, I’ll go to Vegas and let Elvis do it. But you deserve the dream wedding. The one you’ve thought about since you were a little girl, and by God, I’m giving that to you. Having a brother the world worships is handy for some things. This is one of them. Now, come sit with me and let’s figure this out.”

He sat down and held his arm out for me to join him.

I sniffled and smiled. “Okay.”

I sat close to him and put my pile in his lap. “Let’s look at each one together until I see one I like.”

“Nope. You gotta love it. I won’t stop until this is everything you ever wanted.”

I laid my head on his chest. “You’re everything I ever wanted.”

He kissed my head. “Good. So do you want Elvis to do this, then?”

Laughing, I shook my head.

“Didn’t think so. Let’s start with the East Coast locations. We can move west from there.” Jason

***

The sun had decided to shine today. It was early spring in south Alabama, and the breeze could be chilly if the sun wasn’t out. But today it had shown up. The colorful peonies (yes, I know what those are now) decorated the ends of the rows of white chairs and were woven into the wooden arbor I stood under right beside my brother.

“When we used to play out here in the summers, you ever imagine this?” I asked, grinning, already knowing the answer.

“Hell no,” he said with a chuckle.

I nodded to the glass balls with candles lit in them hanging from the trees. “I hope we don’t set the place on fire.”

Jax grinned. “I think we’re safe.”

Glancing around, I saw several pairs of eyes watching us with big, cheesy grins. Trisha Taylor, Amanda Drake, and Willow Hardy all held bouquets of peonies and wore dresses similar in style but not identical. And each one was a different color, matching one of the peonies all over this place.

“Y’all are supposed to be quiet at this point,” Marcus said from the other side of Jax, a smirk on his face.

Daisy May Taylor and Larissa Hardy came walking down the aisle, tossing petals to the ground as they smiled at the friends and family watching them.