Jessie Belle: The Women of Merryton - Book One by Jennifer Peel Page A

after we finished eating.
    “It’s
not much.”
    “It
was perfect.” Well, almost. The wrap was okay—at least he had added some
hummus. “So what did you want to talk about?”
    He
looked so handsome as he sat there with the sun shining behind him and the
water pooling at the bank. “A few things.”
    “You’re
going to need to be more specific.”
    He
removed the picnic basket from between us and scooted closer. For a moment I
thought maybe he did come out here to make-out. That both excited me and made
me nervous, but it was a futile thought. He did take my hands, though. We
probably looked like we were making some type of vow to each other as we sat
face to face. He started playing with my ring. He never used to do that. I
looked down at the one-carat, brilliant-cut stone set in a simple band.
Underneath it sat a diamond-laid anniversary band. He had surprised me with it
on our tenth anniversary. Maybe Blake wasn’t a lot of things, but he had
excellent taste in jewelry—well, at least diamond rings. And at times he could
be quite thoughtful.
    The
diamond solitaire he had purchased before he came to Colorado. It had been a
serious risk on his part to buy a ring for a woman he had broken up with. I
remember with perfect clarity that December day he came barging into the café
looking for me. He looked like a man on a mission. I was behind the counter
rearranging the display case and I remember seeing him through it. I was so
stunned it took me a moment to stand up, but as soon as I did he rushed to the
counter. “Jessica, can I please talk to you?” he begged.
    I
was of a mind to tell him no, but my mother answered for me. “This is perfect
timing; she was just leaving for the day,” she lied. My mom pushed me out from
behind and right into Blake’s arms. In a very non-Blake move he took me right
up in his arms for all to see and kissed me until I kissed him back. Other than
at our wedding, it was the only time he had ever kissed me in public. He
proposed to me that night, but I told him I had to think about it. I couldn’t
understand why he had broken up with me in the first place, and although I knew
I loved him, I was afraid to commit to him like that.
    But
he was determined, and he sought the aid of my mother. Those two had gotten
along from the beginning. I asked her why she helped him, and she said it was
because there was a visible change in both of our countenances when he walked
into Jessie Belle’s that first time, and she saw forever in both of our eyes. I
asked her what forever looked like and she said someday I would know for
myself. I thought I got a glimpse of it when my parents looked at each other,
but I had yet to see it in Blake’s eyes or my own. My mother still reminded me
from time to time that it was there, and I only needed to look harder.
    With
that memory I looked across and into my husband’s eyes. They didn’t look as
troubled, but they were worried.
    “Something
you said last night bothered me,” he started off with.
    “I’m
sorry?”
    “It’s
not anything you have to apologize for,” he said, almost irritated. “It’s
probably something I should apologize for.”
    “I’m
confused.”
    “Why
would you think I don’t find you beautiful?”
    “That’s
what’s bothering you?”
    “You
didn’t answer the question.”
    I
honestly thought that was a no-brainer. “Blake, I can’t even remember the last
time you told me I was beautiful. And to be honest, I can understand why you
don’t.”
    “Why
I don’t what?”
    “Why
you don’t find me beautiful,” I said as I wiped a small tear from my cheek. I
had promised myself no crying today. I guess that went out the window.
    “Jess,
I don’t know anyone more beautiful than you.”
    I
rolled my eyes.
    He
reached up and gently held my face in his hands. “Please look at me. I meant
what I said. Maybe I don’t say it enough, but I’ve always thought that.”
    “Well,
maybe your mouth and your brain should get