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She smiled. "He does."

"And he's all right with it? He understands what that means? Were you clear? You really need to lay things out for him sometimes."

She frowned. "Jacob isn't as fragile or broken as you guys think he is. He needs his space sometimes, but that doesn't mean he doesn't understand things."

"Sometimes, yes, but not always. I need to know exactly how you explained it to him."

Phoebe rolled her eyes and walked to the door. She opened it. "Jacob! Dylan wants to talk to you. He doesn't believe me that you understand what you agreed to. Can you clarify and then give him the green light to call Eliana and get the paperwork going?"

Jacob's face lit up, and he whispered to Annie. "You stay here. I'll be right back."

"I'll go to the kitchen." Phoebe met Jacob in the hallway, and then giggled when he locked his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss.

"I'm not gonna lie," he whispered to her as he wrapped her up. "I was a little worried you were going to change your mind in the light of day."

She pulled back to look at him. "Did you want me to change my mind?"

He met her gaze. "Absolutely fucking no."

His response made everything inside her relax. "All right then. Convince your brother that you have the brain capacity to comprehend what you agreed to, and then come eat breakfast."

He laughed as he took the phone. "My family sees me in a certain way, and that will never change. He won't see what you see, or see how I am with you."

Phoebe was pleased by his statement, happy that she saw Jacob for all that he was. "Well, then just tell him to take orders from you and call it a day."

"Will do," he grinned as he took the phone. "Hey, Dylan." He paused. "Yeah, you could say that." He laughed, happiness in his voice. "I didn't either, but I decided to just go with it." The door shut behind him, cutting off the conversation.

Phoebe wanted to stay and listen, but Annie held up her hands. "The blueberries made my fingers purple!"

"I see that." Phoebe laughed as she headed for the kitchen. She heard Jacob's deep laugh from the bedroom, which made her smile even more. She wanted so much to stand here, in this experience, and not run away. She wanted to be brave enough to see if she could fall in love with him, and to see if he was the man worth her forever.

He was the man worth Annie's forever, so that was a good start.

CHAPTER TWENTY

"Are Bella and Lucas coming today?" Annie clutched Jacob's hand as the three of them, plus Cupcake, headed down the path toward the barn.

Jacob glanced over at Annie. "No, not today. I told them we didn't need their help today." He'd actually called them and told them not to come. After last night, he wanted to take the day and give the relationship with Phoebe a chance. Just them. No one else. To see how it went. Lucas had been resistant, but Bella had cheered him on.

It meant that Jacob couldn’t take them on a ride away from the house, because he wanted extra eyes when he was away from the house, but he'd decided it was worth it.

He needed to try this, and he needed it now, before either he or Phoebe could freak out and put on the brakes.

"I like them! I want them to come!" Annie glared at him then pulled her hand free and ran ahead toward the barn, Cupcake barking and dancing around her.

Phoebe moved closer to him and slid her hand in his now free one. "Are you sure we're safe enough not to have them?"

"Yeah. We'll stay around the house. I have all the security systems turned on. If anyone breaches the perimeter, I'll know." Her hand felt so good in his. It felt right to be connected to her that way, casual, intimate, relaxed. "I never thought I'd be a hand holder. I don't like it when most people touch me."

Phoebe squeezed his hand. "Everyone needs to be touched."

"Everyone needs to feel safe, and being touched generally doesn't make me feel safe."

She glanced at him, understanding in her eyes, and he stiffened. "Your dad?" she asked.

He watched as Annie put her hand on the security panel, and it opened for her. He'd programmed both Annie and Phoebe into his system, like his siblings, so that if they ever needed to get into the barn in a hurry, they could.

The barn was fully secure, even more than his house. He'd built it that way because that had been his home at first. The windows were laced with steel wire, and they locked automatically when he triggered the panic button. The building was fireproof, bullet proof, and had enough generator power to last for six months.