Chapter Eight

June fell into a pattern as Jackson and I spent as much time together as possible. I stopped by the gym most weekdays after work and afterwards we would either go out to dinner or make dinner at Jackson's apartment. It was getting harder and harder not to spend every waking moment with Jackson, but I forced myself to spend at least a few nights at my apartment, much to his displeasure.

I made a concerted effort to spend some time with Claire, making sure we had dinner together a few weeknights and spending Sunday afternoons at Max's, along with Nathan and Mia and, of course, Jackson. Luckily, Claire seemed to approve of our relationship so she never seemed to mind my frequent absences.

Jackson always wanted to have me around, so I spent most Friday and Saturday nights cheering him on during their play. Saturday afternoons were the best when we would explore the city. Our activities ranged from the typical tourist attractions, like the Statue of Liberty, to strolling through festivals and eating our way through the city.

I was completely happy during those days. Work was going well, and Janet often told me how much of an asset she thought I was as she gave me more and more responsibilities. Jackson fully supported my ambitions, accepting that I often had to work late with no complaints. On those days, I skipped the gym and went straight to Jackson's apartment, knowing he would be waiting for me with dinner. And we couldn't seem to get enough of each other in bed. I was sure the flame of our attraction would die down after a while, but we still made love with the same urgency of our first week.

It was after one of those intense lovemaking sessions, while Jackson cradled me from behind, spooning me, that he whispered those words to me.

"Emma, I love you."

My heart burst with emotion. I had been saying those words to him in my head, but I had been afraid to say them out loud. Jackson saying it first freed me, making my heart gape open. I was completely vulnerable yet completely happy.

I turned around in his arms, gazing at him as he looked back at me seriously.

"I love you too, Jackson. I never thought I could love someone as much as I love you."

Jackson's eyes glittered with emotion as he tightened his arms around me. "You and me, Emma. It's you and me against the world. There'll never be anyone else for me."

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He kissed me but it wasn't just a kiss of passion. It was a kiss of promise. A promise that we would be together forever.

July came with a lot of heat and humidity and we spent the Fourth of July in Jackson's apartment, straining to catch glimpses of the fireworks over the East River between buildings from his balcony. We had passed on Nathan and Mia's barbecue, and I worried out loud that we were isolating ourselves. But Jackson just shrugged, saying that we saw them almost every Sunday and that he wanted to spend the holiday alone with me.

I was a nervous wreck when he announced that his mother was coming into the city for a charity function one day at the end of July and he wanted me to meet her. Jackson reassured me repeatedly that his mother would love me, but it didn't make me any less nervous. Fortunately, Jackson's mother was gracious and sweet when we met for lunch, telling me that she was glad that Jackson had finally found someone. Jackson had just grinned widely, obviously happy that his mother and I were getting along so well.

I didn't tell my own mother about Jackson during her frequent phone calls. My mother had been disappointed and upset about my broken engagement to Sean, so I didn't think she could handle me having a new relationship so quickly. She didn't do well with change and I didn't want to ruin my happiness by having to justify it to her.

August was a busy month. I had a lot on my plate at Mass Comm and Jackson's play had completed its run so he was going on a lot of auditions although not much was panning out. We spent a bulk of the month furniture shopping and it thrilled me that I had so much input in decorating his apartment. Jackson surprised me with a diamond pendant set in platinum on a silver chain at the end of August, announcing that it was our three-month anniversary. I protested that it was too generous and I hadn't gotten him anything, not knowing that we were celebrating our three-month anniversary, but he had silenced me with a kiss and asserted that his present was seeing me wearing nothing except his necklace. I was happy to oblige.

It was the Friday before Labor Day and I was itching to leave the office. Jackson and I were going to the Hamptons where we had rented a house for the weekend, along with Claire, Nathan and Mia.

I heard the intercom buzz and picked up the receiver.

"Hi, Janet."

"Emma, can you come in here for a minute. I just want to go over some things before the long weekend."

"No problem."

I replaced the receiver and walked into Janet's office, notepad and pen in hand. We had developed an easy working relationship these past couple of months as Janet had gained confidence in my skills.

I settled into the chair across from her, my pen poised above my notebook.

"Do you have plans this weekend?" Janet asked. I wasn't surprised by her question. As our working relationship grew, Janet had shown more interest in me as a person and we often traded stories about what we had done over the weekend. Most of her life seemed to revolve around work, but she seemed happy with it.

"I'm going to the Hamptons with my boyfriend and a few friends. What about you?"

"I'm heading up to Connecticut to visit my parents. I'll be working most of the time there though. I want to make sure everything is perfect for our presentation on Tuesday with Canonfield."

We were pitching a new marketing campaign to Janet's biggest client, and even though we were their agency of record, they were opening the field for their latest campaign to other agencies and Mass Comm was looking at Janet closely to ensure that she kept Canonfield as a client.

"I hate to ask this of you last minute, especially during a long holiday weekend, but some pivotal changes just came in from creative and I need them to be integrated into the presentation. The changes are complex so it'll probably take some time. Can you work on it this weekend? You can take it with you to the Hamptons."

Although I didn't relish the idea of spending some of the weekend working, there was no way I was going to say no or show any reluctance. I knew how important this was to Janet. I also appreciated the fact that she wasn't asking me to come into the office to work on it.

"Of course," I replied easily. "I'd be happy to."

Janet spent the next hour going over the changes with me since they were significant revisions. Afterwards, she said I could leave for the day, asking that I email her the revised presentation, as well as saving it to a disk.




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