Sweet Surrender (39 page)

Jessie’s eyes narrowed in question. “How do you know so much about this place? Didn’t you arrive the same time as me?” She paused, her brain sorting through all the details of the last two days. “You had personal items stored in my bedroom. That oil in the nightstand and, well… some of the other things.”

Three sets of eyes aimed at Marc.

“You haven’t told her yet? What are you waiting for, next Christmas?” Jared’s wide smile told how much he enjoyed his friend being on the spot.

“I’ve been occupied with other things and haven’t had the chance.”

“Told me what?”

There was a long pause as they stared at him, Jessie being the only one wearing a frown. She quirked a brow at him. “
Bello,
do we need to go back to our room and have a discussion about honesty?”

Jared guffawed and Stacy giggled because she had done a perfect imitation of Marc.

He smiled, moving toward her, not stopping until her back was to the wall and she was being thoroughly kissed. When he let her up for air, Jared and Stacy had moved on. “The reason I know so much about the house is because it’s ours, Jessie.”

“Ours?” Her wide eyes revealed her surprise. “You own a beach house and didn’t tell me?”

“Not quite, it’s ours as in mine and yours, but also Jared’s and Stacy’s. We thought it would be a nice wedding gift for you girls. We bought it a few months back and the deed is in all four of our names. I kept it from you because it was supposed to be a surprise and later for obvious reasons.”

She stared up at him in amazement for another second before her face started to crumble. Struggling to control it, she blinked rapidly, not wanting to become a watering pot, yet again. “I spoiled your wonderful surprise.”

“Not spoiled, baby, merely delayed for a bit, in hopes we would work all of this out.”

“It goes without saying that this is the more than nice. It’s a freakin’ beach house and the most wonderful, thoughtful, and extravagant gift I’ve ever received.” Her head came back and she frowned up at him, “So, the oil in the nightstand and the hairbrush—”

“Are mine. The room you’re staying in is the one I picked out for us.”

“You put me up in the bedroom you planned for us to share. This is either incredibly romantic or you were darn sure of yourself.”

“I did have good advice from the groom on how to mend things.”

“What was that?”

“To spank your stubborn ass until you came to your senses.”

“I believe I came to my senses,
then
you spanked my stubborn ass.”

“Good thing; with Jared’s way, you’d have gotten two, one to make you see reason and one for punishment.”

“Ah… Well, speaking on behalf of my still tender behind, I’m sure glad I came to my senses before you had to do that.”

“Yeah, but it was a close thing, baby.”

Even though he’d forgiven her, and told her so more than once, a sharp pang of guilt made her sniffle.

“
Mio tesoro,
don’t cry, please.”

“I warned you I’m a wreck and that this would happen.”

“So you did.” He kissed her temple and held her until her crying subsided. “I want you to be happy, baby. Let’s count our blessings. Everything worked out, we’re back together, more in love than ever before, and have this wonderful getaway home to enjoy whenever we want, and we can do it with or without our best friends and families tagging along.”

She gave him a watery smile. “I want you to be happy too,
bello mio
. And the house is perfect, thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. Now, dry your tears and let’s hit the beach. We have one day of warmth and sunshine before we have to head back to midwinter chills, snow, and ice and I’d like to spend it making love, walking hand in hand in the waves or slathering sunscreen onto your gorgeous body. Love that bikini, by the way.”

“I do too, but I didn’t pack one. I found this in a drawer; funny how it happened to be my size.”

He shrugged, a hint of a smile on his lips.

She suppressed hers although she knew her eyes gave her amusement away; she felt it bubbling up inside. Still she called him on his certainty. “You knew if you got me to the beach, for a romantic wedding, staying in this beautiful house, I’d cave under your charm. You
were
darn sure of yourself.”

“I’d prefer to think of it as eternal optimism.”

“Hmm… do you give lessons?”

“I’m trying,
cara
.”

She grinned up at him, pulling his head down until their lips were barely touching. “I love you,
bello mio,
and if I ever act this foolish again, promise me you’ll toss me over your shoulder, carry me off to a quiet spot, and paddle my behind until I see reason. This spot should do nicely, in fact.”

He chuckled, hugging her tight. “By all means,
bella mia,
that will be my duty as your husband, and my pleasure.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

The car door opened. Jessie looked out at her mother’s old trailer, which she’d called home for almost half her life and for the past several weeks. They’d come there directly from the airport, since this was their only free day in many to come in which they had time to pack up her things and move her back home with Marc.

A shadow fell over her as Marc leaned in, his broad shoulders blocking the afternoon sun behind him. “Are you okay, Jessie?”

“Yes, just stalling.”

He reached out, offering his hand. “This will all work out,
cara,
because we are doing this together.”

Her eyes searched his face, but the light behind him cast his face in shade and made it to impossible to see his expression or what was going on behind his golden brown eyes. She didn’t need to see him, however, to be aware of his strength and resolve. His unflagging determination bolstered her own and without further hesitation, she took his hand.

At the door, she knocked before twisting the knob. Her mother was expecting her and she was living there at this point, so she went on in. Marc followed a close step behind, his hand riding low on her hip.

“Is that you, baby girl?” Footsteps sounded from the short hallway and Lily soon appeared in the living room doorway. She paused, her eyes switching from Jessie to Marc in surprise. Her eyes shot back to her daughter, searching her face. “You have a pink nose and look more rested. The extra day at the beach did you good.”

“It did.” She peeked over her shoulder at Marc, who squeezed her in reassurance. She decided to do it quick regardless of the sting, like pulling off a Band-Aid. “It did us both good, actually. I stayed to be with Marc. We patched things up and I’m moving back in with him.”

“I see.” She spoke without inflection as she moved to the couch and sat in her usual corner. “You were star-crossed lovers and worlds apart only a few days ago. What changed?”

Jessie moved forward and sat on the cushion next to her mother. “We never stopped loving each other so nothing changed really, except that we talked.”

“So,” her eyes shot to Marc’s, her tone skeptical, “the other woman is nothing too?”

“There is no other woman, Lily. Jessie misunderstood what she saw. Since the moment I set eyes on her that day in the diner, there has been no one but Jessie for me.”

“A very romantic sentiment, Dr. Trent, you’ll forgive me if I’m skeptical. Your reputation precedes you and from what Jessie has told me, you went back to your philandering ways before the sheets cooled on her side of the bed.”

“That was a misunderstanding, mom. I believe him.”

“We don’t know each other well, Lily, so I understand being protective of her and suspicious of me, but I love your daughter and despite what you’ve heard, I have always been faithful to her, even during our separation. With regard to my reputation, as I explained to Jessie, I dated a lot because I was searching for someone special, my ‘one’ if you will. It took me years to find her. Jessie is that ‘one.’ I’m sure of it, and I am,” he paused, looking down into her upturned face, and corrected himself, “
we are
determined to make this work.”

Jessie got up and went to his side, curling her arms around him. “I’m sure of it too, handsome,” she whispered for his ears only. When she turned back to her mother, she did so from the circle of his arms. “I was mistaken about him and Dr. Barlow. There were others in the meeting who upheld his story. She was coming onto him. When she heard I was out of the picture, she was all over him and about as subtle as a gun evidently. She was groping him under the table at a meeting where Jared and Ben were present. They both told me.”

“His partners told you?” Her question was laced with skepticism.

“Please don’t be like this. Be happy for me.”

“How can I be happy after seeing you so miserable for the past month? Not a day went by that I didn’t hear you crying in your room. You wouldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. That’s not what I want for you, baby girl.”

“I left him, mom. You know that. How can you blame him?”

“I’m not, but I’m concerned. What if—”

“No! Stop right there. I can’t live my life based on what ifs. I’ve done that long enough, and you have too. I know your life has been difficult, but you stopped living it when dad left. For fifteen long years, you’ve been afraid to move on, to admit it’s over, and afraid to try to love again. Instead, you’ve clung to a past you had with a weak man who wasn’t able to give either of us what we needed, and selfishly bailed when things got tough. I firmly believe Marc isn’t like that. He’s a wonderful man and I plan to marry him. I won’t lie and say I don’t have fears, that even though we love each other now, that something could go wrong in the future. We are making a commitment to each other and plan to work tirelessly so that won’t happen.”

“What about your job and this safety net you’ve been working so hard for?”

“I still plan to work.” Her eyes shifted to Marc; this issue had not been settled, not by a long shot.

“We might as well discuss that while were laying it all out. First, I want to apologize. I overstepped my bounds by telling Gwen that you were leaving St. Joe’s. I had no right to do that, no matter how untenable I found the situation. Forgive me?”

She twisted to face him, her head tilting back to look at him straight on. “I already forgave you, Marc. Your method was high-handed, but you were doing it out of love and concern for me; I understand that. So did Gwen when I talked to her.”

“It won’t happen again.”

Her hand slid up his forearm to his bicep, giving it an affectionate squeeze as her lips curved in a half-teasing grin. “So I don’t need to tell her to ignore my hot-headed Italian fiancé the next time he comes into her office on a rant?”

“No. There won’t be a next time. I’ll let you handle your job, although I can’t promise not to rant at you if the situation at work doesn’t change.” His hand, already at her neck, rose to her cheek, his thumb softly stroking along her jaw as he spoke intently. “I want you to work, Jessie, if that’s what you want. Just consider that the hospital isn’t the only place that needs nurse administrators. They work you entirely too much to the point of taking advantage. That’s not fair to you or me. If you won’t come to work at the clinic, would you agree to look for something that is less physically and emotionally demanding?”

“I have to agree with him there, Jessie,” Lily put in. “They work you harder than I work at the diner and that’s saying something.”

“So is working harder than a surgeon with a private practice, rehab clinic, and sports medicine program,” Marc pointed out.

“All right, don’t gang up on me just yet. I’ve actually been thinking about leaving the hospital. I’m not happy with all the backbiting that goes on and I really don’t want to see that bi—” She stopped herself before she called Christina that again. Although it was true, she didn’t like stooping to her level of crassness. “I meant to say that horrible Barlow woman.”

“What’s the problem with working at his clinic?” her mother asked.

Jessie shot her a hard look. She knew why, they’d discussed it. Lily just returned her gaze with an arched brow, forcing Jessie’s hand. Yep, she was being ganged up on and her mother was leading the charge.

“I’d like to know that too,” Marc chimed in.

“Maybe we could talk about this later.”

“Is it the money and the benefits?” Lily prompted, not willing to let it go.

“Well, yes. You know I owe the hospital for putting me through school, literally. I have thousands in tuition reimbursement to pay back, and I’m vested in the retirement plan there. I’d lose quite a bit if I left now.”

“Jessie,” Marc cut in, squeezing her shoulders. “Don’t worry about that. Besides, we offer all of those benefits and then some. But that’s not what’s really bugging you, is it? You said you were thinking about leaving anyway, so those excuses don’t fly.”

“I’m with you, doc. She’s not telling us everything.”

“You know why, mom.”

“Then tell me,” Marc pressed.

“The two of you together are a dangerous combination.”

“We are,
bella,
because we both love you, know your hang-ups, and both had to endure the past month of agony right along with you. We agreed, no holding back, so spill.”

“Fine. I’m considering going back to the OR, especially if there is a supervisor’s position or to same-day surgery, although those spots are in demand and hard to come by.”

“What’s the difference between working with me at the clinic or in the OR?”

“I don’t want to work for you—”

He was floored. “Okay,” he slowly drawled as he tried to collect himself. “I’m sure Jared or Ben would love to work with you. But we always worked great together, Jess. Do you mind telling me why?”

“Working with you was never an issue, handsome.”

Completely baffled, Marc scratched his head, his eyes seeking her mother’s in a desperate plea for help. “I don’t understand. Do you follow her logic?”

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s not working
with
you that she objects to, it’s working
for
you that’s got her in a tizzy. Isn’t that right, Jessie?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “She doesn’t want to be financially dependent on you for everything—her personal life, her home, her career. If something went wrong…”