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Chapter Fifty-One

JACKSON

C had and Jane are married. I can’t believe my best friend tied the knot, and by next year, he’ll be a dad. Well actually, I can believe it. I’ve always known Chad would start a family young. But this moment is surreal, nonetheless. I also never thought I’d meet someone who would make feel so alive, but thanks to Chad’s whirlwind romance with Jane, I’ve found Izzie. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is my forever.

I look for her in the crowded room. It’s almost time for our dance, but I haven’t seen her since the wedding coordinator told us that we should wait near the stage. As a matter of fact, none of the bridesmaids are around.

“Where are our partners?” I ask Grayson.

“I think they went to change.”

“Oh, I didn’t know they were going to do that.”

He shrugs. “Me neither. I overheard something about flamenco dresses, so I’m assuming that’s what they’re changing into.”

“I wonder why Izzie didn’t tell me,” I muse.

Frederico taps my shoulder. “Maybe she wanted to surprise you. Flamenco dresses are hot!”

I shake my head, but before I can reply, I see the girls coming our way. They’re walking single file close to the wall with Izzie leading the way. My breath catches when she comes into full view, wearing a deep red dress that hugs all her curves perfectly until the skirt flares out mid-thigh in a sea of ruffles. Frederico was right. Flamenco dresses are sinfully hot.

Izzie has orange hibiscus flowers in her hair now, which brightens her face even more. My heart is beating so fast, I’m afraid it’ll burst from my chest.

“Wow,” I say when she stops in front of me.

Her bright red lips break into a wide smile. “Do you like it?”

I give her an elevator glance, making sure I don’t miss any detail. “You look stunning. How tight is this?” I touch her hip. “Can you dance?”

“Oh yeah. It doesn’t hinder mobility at all. It even has a pocket!” She lifts one of the top ruffles, revealing a secret pocket underneath.

“Ingenious.”

Frederico laughs. “Girls and their pockets.”

Izzie steps into my space, placing her hand on my chest. “Are you nervous?”

“No,” I lie.

My stomach is tied into knots. I don’t want to mess up this dance. If I were dancing with anyone else, I wouldn’t be so worried. But it’s Izzie, and I want to impress the hell out of her.

Her eyes twinkle. I’m not sure she believes me. “Okay, good.”

Chad asked the Lions’ TV broadcasters to be the wedding’s MCs. Benson Walker and Phil Norris have been with the Lions organization for nearly two decades and they’re not only beloved by everyone on the team, but they are also the funniest guys I know. They were the perfect choice for this.

With mics in hand, both take center stage on the dance floor and begin their banter repertoire.

“Hey, Phil. I hear the wedding party has a special dance number for us tonight,” Benson says.

“Wait a second. Jackson is dancing?” Phil makes an astonished face. “I’d pay good money to see that.”

“No need to pay, buddy. It’s free!”

Phil takes his phone out. “I’d better get ready then. Internet, this will be all over you.”

Jerkfaces. The crowd laughs, but I maintain my serious expression, even though I’m amused. I have to keep those two on their toes. It’s all part of our relationship.

“What’s that about?” Izzie whispers.

“Don’t you know, gorgeous? I’m notorious for my excellent dance moves.” I smirk.

“Uh?”

Frederico moves closer. “Just google Jackson Darcy Stayin’ Alive.”

Her jaw drops as she glances at me. “No way.”

My lips curl upwards. “No comment.”

I lost a bet and had to dance to the famous Bee Gees song. Many people recorded it, but I’m sure Wickham was the one who posted it online, hoping to humiliate me. I didn’t fucking care. My short stint in theater made me immune to embarrassing moments.

“Shoot. The wedding coordinator is giving us the stink eye, Phil,” Benson says. “We need to wrap things up.”

“Okay, okay. Without further ado, give it up for the bridesmaids and groomsmen!”

“May the odds be ever in your favor,” Benson adds, and the reference to a certain fight-to-the-death story makes me grimace.

“Here goes nothing,” I mutter.

My heart is hammering in my chest as we all take our places. Izzie and I are front and center, and hell, I’m really nervous now. It’s fucking stupid. I play in front of thousands of people for my job. I just survived game seven in the Stanley Cup finals, but here I am, with my heart stuck in my throat.

Maybe guessing I’m a wreck, Izzie winks and smiles. It works like a charm. I forget anyone else is in the room and have eyes only for her. When the music starts, I focus on her face. I’ve memorized the steps; I just have to let muscle memory take over.

As we progress through all the Sevillanas, my nerves dissolve into nothing. By the time we finish the dance, only exhilaration remains. Clapping and loud whistles makes me aware of my surroundings once more, but Izzie is all I care about. I step into her space, cradling her face between my hands, and kiss her like there’s no tomorrow. This isn’t a kid’s friendly type of kissing, and soon the catcalling starts and someone in the crowd tells us to get a room. I’m sure it was one of the Kaminski twins.

Izzie is the one who steps back. Her face is beet red, but at least her lipstick didn’t smear. I didn’t even think about her makeup. Oh well. No harm done.

Chad taps my shoulder. “Try to keep it in your pants at the party, okay?”

“Can’t make any promises,” I reply.

“Yes, yes, you can!” Izzie blurts out. “I can feel your aunt’s glare from across the room.”

Ah yes. Aunt Catherine. She didn’t have the best impression of Izzie the first time they met, but neither did I, and look where I am now.

“Don’t worry about her. If you could win me over, getting her to warm up to you will be a walk in the park.”

Chad makes a face—he knows I’m downplaying how terrifying Aunt Catherine can be—and I warn him with my eyes to keep his mouth shut. I don’t need Izzie worrying about my aunt right now.

“Yeah. She’s very pleasant once you get to know her,” he says, lying through his teeth.

Izzie doesn’t pick up on his sarcastic comment. She hasn’t known Chad long enough to notice those little details about him. It’ll come.

Jane joins us. “You two danced beautifully. I had tears in my eyes.”

“It’s probably the hormones.” Izzie smirks.

“It wasn’t! Stop being a pest.”

“Hormones or not, thank you,” I chime in. “I had a great partner.”

Izzie gives me a proud look. “That you did.”

“You’d better stop giving me sass, or I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

“The powder room at the end of the hallway is probably empty,” Jane pipes up.

“Don’t give them ideas!” Chad throws an arm around his wife.

Izzie narrows her eyes. “I know what you’re doing.”

Jane widens her eyes innocently. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

I look at Chad. “Are you following this?”

“Nope.”

Izzie laces her arm with mine. “I’ll tell you in a sec. Let’s get something to drink.”

“Okay.” I let her steer me to the nearest open bar and don’t ask for a clarification until we have drinks in hand and no one is close enough to eavesdrop. “So, what was that all about?”

“Jane wants to bust us.”

I don’t answer for a few beats, trying to reconcile the almost angelical disposition of Izzie’s older sister with the diabolical picture Izzie is painting.

“Why? Payback for when we walked in on them?”

“Yep.”

I laugh. “Man, I thought Jane was the nice one.”

“She’s nice, but we all have a wicked streak.”

“Courtesy of your mother?” I arch a brow. I’ve seen enough of Mrs. Bennet to make that assumption.

But Izzie shakes her head. “No. We got it from our dad.”

I widen my eyes. “Really?”

“Oh yeah. Dad is quite the fiend. You’ll see.”

Her eyes sparkle with admiration, eliciting odd feelings in me.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

Damn. Was I wearing my turmoil on my face?

“Nothing.”

“Jacks… you can tell me anything.”

“It’s just… well. I’m a little jealous of your relationship with your dad.”

She tilts her head, her eyes going soft with understanding. “Because you’ve never met yours?”

“Yeah.” I take a large sip of my drink to avoid her knowing gaze.

She takes a step forward, wrapping her arms around my waist. “I can share mine. He’d love to spend more time with you. You have so much in common.”

My heart seems as though it will overflow with emotions. I touch her face. “How was I lucky enough to get you?”

“I bet you didn’t feel lucky when I doused you in beer.” She chuckles.

“No, but I’m glad that wasn’t our only encounter.”

She rewards me with the most beautiful smile. “Me too.”

“Move in with me,” I say suddenly.

Her pretty eyes widen. “What?”

“I love you, my sweet Izzie. I don’t want to spend a minute apart from you.”

“Jacks… I love you too, but we just started dating.”

“So? I was miserable when we weren’t together. I could barely function.”

“I was miserable too,” she confesses, giving me hope her answer won’t be no. Am I acting impulsively? Yes. Is that ironic, considering I gave Chad so much grief for doing the same? One hundred percent.

I run my fingers over her collarbone. “I want to fall asleep with you next to me every night. I want your face to be the first thing I see in the morning.”

She wrinkles her nose. “We’ll see about that when I look like a dragon.”

“That’s impossible. You’ll never look like a dragon to me. Please say you’ll think about it?”

She grins. “Okay. I’ll think about it.”

The worry holding my heart hostage recedes. I can work with maybe. Besides, I have an ally. Once Mrs. Bennet is no longer distracted with Jane’s wedding, she’ll turn her focus on Izzie. I predict Izzie will move in with me by next month.

“Good.” I take her hand in mine. “Now let’s go check out that powder room.”