I rush out the front door of McCafferty’s, my high heels tapping out a quick rhythm as I race across the parking lot. My pulse sounds in my ears and my dress feels too tight when I try to gulp in air. Where are you, Jackson? I reach to text him but a search of my purse comes up empty. I must have left my phone in the store and it’s too late to go back.

I arrive at my car in record time and fumble to open the locks. Come on, dammit.

“Wait!”

I spin and catch sight of Jackson striding across the pavement, a look on his face so determined and possessive that I freeze.

“Jackson?” I expected to have a whole car ride to psych myself up, and now that he’s here in front of me I’m not entirely sure what to say. “What’s going on?”

He pauses next to me and sticks his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “I saw the party got moved.” His eyes capture mine and I suck in a breath. God, he looks good. He looks like Jackson and smells like home and he’s everything I want, standing in front of me, just out of reach. It feels electric and connected, him watching me while I watch him.

It’s almost unbearable to be this close to Jackson without touching him.

“Yeah.” I wind my hands together. “It’s a long story involving burst pipes and what I can imagine might have been quite a lot of raw sewage.”

“Sounds shitty.”

I give him a weak smile. “That’s what I said. But what are you doing here?”

“Looking for you. The last time you ran away from me I spent a year writing you letters. I finally got a second chance with you. Did you think I’d let you go that easy?”

Tears stick in my throat. “But I hurt you.”

He nods. “You did, Nat. But I’m stronger than I look. And some things are worth fighting for.”

“I know.”

He cocks his head to the side and motions toward the car. “Where were you going, anyway?”

I give a little laugh. “To find you.”

His eyebrows rise and he waits for me to continue. I would have thought that after all this practice taking risks, it would get easier. I guess it does, a little, over time. But in business, it’s clear where I stand, and when it comes to loving Jackson Wirth, anything goes.

“I’m really good at quitting things,” I tell him quietly. His green eyes burn into mine, searching. “College, my book, eight hundred knitting projects. But I didn’t throw in the towel with this business, even when my money got scammed. You helped me stick it out. And I’m not quitting tonight. On anything.”

I don’t notice the tear rolling down my cheek until Jackson swipes it away with his thumb. “Don’t cry,” he says softly. “You’re going to ruin your makeup.”

Of course I just cry harder.

“I can do this without you,” I say. “But I don’t want to.” I draw a shaky breath. “You asked me why I couldn’t trust you and I didn’t give you an answer.” My hands clench tighter, tension crackling up into my shoulders. “It was a bad experience we had years ago. I know it’s stupid to keep holding onto it, so I’m going to let it go. You’ve changed. We both have.”

Jackson’s eyes cloud in confusion. “What experience?” he asks warily.

Why is this so hard to say? Even now, after Jackson’s seen me naked, seen me at my most exposed, I can’t help but cringe. “It was that kiss. That stupid kiss. You didn’t want me.”

His face sharpens with comprehension and he sucks in a fast breath. “I did, Natalie. Do you remember I was seeing someone that year?” I shake my head. I release my hands to swipe at a wayward tear. I can’t be responsible for remembering who he was dating and when. “I was seeing Beth Sanders when you kissed me. God, I’d wanted you for so long, Natalie, but you never put anything out there until that kiss. And I couldn’t be the kind of guy that cheats on his girlfriend.” His voice cracks. “I couldn’t be that guy for you.”

My heart trips in my chest, my fingertips tingling. This better not be what a heart attack feels like. I need to hear what Jackson has to say. If he’s saying what I think he’s saying…God.

“Do you know what I did, Nat? The minute you kissed me I went to find Beth and break up with her. And then the next day when I came to find you, you were already gone.”

No. How can that be right? All those years wasted for nothing. All that silence and loneliness and missing him while my world fell apart again and again. But the moment he says it, I know it’s true.

My tears come harder now. “Oh my god, Jackson. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“A guy can get the wrong impression, you know. With how often you run away.” He gives a sad shake of his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” He draws me into his arms, settling my cheek against his chest. I can hear his heartbeat through the wash-softened material of his shirt and I snuggle closer. Why had I ever thought being apart from him would protect me? I need his touch like I need to breathe. “But it was probably a good thing.” What? I tilt my head to look at him in surprise and he gives me a reassuring smile. “I wouldn’t have been ready for you.” He strokes the back of my head in a soothing rhythm.

I lift my eyebrows. “And you are now?”

“Yeah.” He leans forward to brush a gentle kiss over my lips. “Yeah, I’m ready for you.” My relief is sweet and true. Jackson reaches out to swipe away another tear, and for the first time since we've been standing here, he cracks a grin. “Natalie, you are the most stubborn woman I know.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Even when something’s good for you, you don’t always let it just be.”

“I know,” I say. “And I’m sorry.” I can apologize for a hundred lifetimes and it might not be enough.

“Here’s the thing. If we’re going to be together, there’s no holding back. No holding it over my head that you can leave.” I nod and he continues. “And if we’re going to do this, I don’t want Delilah Overbrook. I want Natalie Bloom. All of you, as challenging as you can be.”

I smile up at him. “Well, that’s who you get. I asked Mrs. Keaton to spread the news so the whole damn town probably knows about this party by now. And it’s my party, not Delilah’s.”

“You told Mrs. Keaton about your lube business?” Jackson’s face is incredulous.

I nod in confirmation. “It’s the new me.” I smile. “Take it or leave it.”

“God, I love you,” he says. Jackson Wirth with his cocky smile and his knowing eyes. He loves me.

And I love him too. Tucked in his arms I realize that loving Jackson Wirth has never hurt. It’s the one thing that’s always felt good. Losing him and being rejected and feeling lonely and jealous—those things hurt. But loving him freely? It’s the one thing in the world that smooths all the cracks away.

Jackson grins at me one more time and slides his hands down my arms. He grabs my fingers gently and I let him lead me off the pavement, to a tiny patch of grass near the path to Accident Lake. “But just to show you I’m serious.”

Before I know what’s happening, Jackson drops onto his knees and bows his head and hands against the summer grass like a prayer. Then he draws his legs into his chest and up into the air. Six-foot-one-inch Jackson Wirth balances on his head, his muscles straining, the biggest smile on his face.

“Oh my god, you’re doing it,” I laugh. “I was kidding.”

Jackson tumbles forward in a somersault and lands on his back in the grass. “I wasn’t.” He pulls me down next to him and draws me into one last kiss. The grass soaks into my dress but I don’t even care. “So it was worth it? You believe me?”

“Yeah.” I smile. “I really, really do.” And for the first time with him I lay it all out there. “I love you too.”

Jackson’s smile might be the only thing I need. “That’s a relief. Otherwise I would have learned how to do all that for nothing.”

“It was worth it.” I climb to my feet and smile down at him. “How did you learn that anyway?”

“YouTube. And a lot of flopping around like a jackass.”

“Well you get an A plus for execution.” I give him a sneaky grin. “But where’s the tutu?”

“At home.” He catches my eye and winks. “Maybe you can wear it for me later.” And then a low growl. “And nothing else.”

I blush down to my toes. “We might be able to arrange that.” I reach for his hand and pull him to his feet. “But first I need your help.”

“What did you have in mind?”

I wrap my fingers around his and smile. “I’ve got a pretty important party to go to, and I happen to need a date.”