A Better Reason to Fall in Love (24 page)

As his mouth began to dominate hers—to beg for recompense—Jagger thought he’d never been so close to the edge of losing his self-control. She was soft and warm, and her kisses tasted like some beguiling nectar a person only read about in fantasy novels. She absolutely bewitched him—stripped him of any coherent thinking. He thought of the day he’d seen her at Armando’s restaurant—the day he’d sat right there at the table and written the outline for his song “Bewitch Me, Baby” on a napkin from the Acapulco. He wondered if she knew how interested he was in her—how attractive she was to him—how his thoughts had begun to be about almost nothing else. He wondered if he had a chance—really had a chance to own her.

For a moment, he kind of wished he hadn’t made such an effort to fulfill her Kevin Bacon number thing. Maybe she only liked him for his Bacon number. However, a moment later, as he felt her arms wrap around him—felt her melt against him as the intensity of their kiss increased—well, he didn’t care if she only liked him for his stupid Bacon number. He’d take it!

He’d think she was easy for sure! As Tabby’s mind fought to hang onto some sense of reality, she knew Jagger Brodie must think she was not only crazy but easy. Still, she couldn’t stop kissing him! He was dominating every sense she owned, and her heart was beating at an insane, unhealthy pace.

How could he be real? How could he have been so thoughtful? His planning had been so individually geared toward her, there was no doubt about it. How would she ever settle down? How would she ever go home, go back to work, and come down off such an emotionally elative high? She never would—she never wanted to!

Suddenly, he broke the seal of their lips, took her face between his hands, and asked, “Are you kissing me because you like me…or because I provided you with the coveted Bacon number?”

“Because I like you,” Tabby confessed in a whisper. “I liked you long before I knew you were so tight with K.B.”

His eyes narrowed as he smiled. “Maybe you only like me because I have a cute butt,” he teased.

“Maybe you only like me because I remind you of Ginger on
Gilligan’s Island
,” she countered.

“Maybe I made the whole Ginger thing up to get on your good side,” he said, running one thumb over her lips. “Maybe I was always a Mary Ann man…until I met you.”

“Were you?” she asked, gazing into his eyes.

He smiled. “I don’t remember,” he mumbled against her mouth.

In that next moment, Tabby didn’t care if Jagger Brodie thought she’d fallen into kissing him too easily. His driven, moist, warm, demanding kiss was owning her, and she reveled in the wonder of it—for more than half an hour—until Kevin Bacon had beaten the bad guy and won the girl and the movie credits were rolling at the old Highway 550 drive-in.

❦

“I just thought of something,” Tabby said as the old pickup rumbled back toward town.

“What’s that?” Jagger asked, lacing his fingers with hers where their hands rested on his thigh. Tabby looked to him, smiling as she studied the way his left elbow rested on the door of the open cab window as he drove.

As the old yellow Chevy headed back toward town, Tabby explained to Jagger about Naomi’s vow to eat a frog if she could ever link Jagger Brodie to Kevin Bacon. Jagger chuckled, the stars winked with brilliance in recognizing romance, and the cream-colored moon seemed to glow with the same hope of one day owning love that was growing in Tabitha Flanders’s heart.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Go on, Naomi. Just do it,” Emmy urged. “People eat them all the time. Just think of it as a little bitty chicken leg.”

Tabby exchanged smiles with Jagger, her heart leaping in her chest the way it did every time he looked at her. He was so handsome—so talented, witty, strong, and kind—not to mention a marvelous kisser!

“Man! I cannot believe how much I missed because of that stupid training thing in Chicago,” Chloe grumbled. “I swear, I missed all the fun.”

“Not all the fun,” Armando chuckled, putting an arm around Jocelyn’s waist. “You do get to see Naomi eat a frog. Well, eat part of a frog, at least.”

Chloe laughed. “True. This will be fabulous!”

Chloe nudged Tabby with one elbow, and Tabby smiled at her sister. She was glad Chloe was home. She’d missed her so much. Chloe had always been her closest confidant and best friend. It was wonderful to have her back.

“My Maw Maw fries up the best frog legs in the South, Naomi,” Jagger said with an encouraging nod. “And I’m not just saying it. Right, Maw Maw?”

Genevieve Chiasson nodded. As the elderly woman’s attention fell to Tabby, Tabby smiled, and Genevieve smiled in return—winked. Tabby had met Jagger’s grandmother the week following the dreamy night she’d spent at the drive-in with him. Jagger had performed at Sweet Genevieve’s several nights that week and had asked Tabby to accompany him to the restaurant. It was on one of those nights that she’d met Genevieve Chiasson—that she’d first stood in awe of the elderly woman’s southern charm and classic beauty. It was just as if she’d stepped out of a picture from the past. Jagger’s grandma was kind and soft-spoken and exuded serenity like a fragrant summer breeze.

When Jagger had explained to his grandmother that Tabby’s friend had promised to eat a frog upon losing a challenge, Genevieve laughed and offered to fry up a batch of frog legs. Jagger knew his grandma could pull off not only getting hold of some frog legs via her restaurateurs’ connections but also frying them up so tasty anyone could eat them.

Naturally, Tabby was elated. Jagger began to silently think he’d do anything to make Tabby Flanders smile. He’d even considered the offer the agent had made—the incredibly lucrative recording contract. In the past, he’d had numerous other agents approach him with other outrageous offers, and he’d turned every one of them down—because he didn’t want it. Jagger didn’t want fame and ridiculous wealth. Even if he hadn’t seen what it did to his uncle Leon, even if he didn’t know the sacrifices made on the altar of fame and fortune, he still wouldn’t have wanted it.

Yet a quiet little nagging doubt—a fear that Tabby might be disappointed in him if he didn’t want to share his music and talent with the world—had begun to sort of pinch the back of his brain. What if she thought he was weak for not signing with an agent? What if she thought his desire to just have a regular job and continue to enjoy his music simply because he enjoyed it was stupid?

He glanced at her and couldn’t help but smile when he saw the bright delight in her eyes at watching her friend get her comeuppance. He felt soothed—because Tabby Flanders wasn’t like other women. Tabby valued the past, nostalgia, the simple things that made life a voyage to be relished. She wouldn’t want him to be gone touring all the time. What simple pleasures were in that?

“Go on, darlin’,” Genevieve prodded Naomi. “They’re some kinda delicious! I promise.”

“Yeah, hurry up,” Jagger said. “I have to be back to playing in five minutes.”

“Just give me a minute,” Naomi said. She shook her head and looked up to Anthony.

“Oh, don’t worry, Naomi. He’ll still want to kiss you…even if you have eaten a frog,” Emmy teased. She looked to Professor Lowery. “Isn’t that right, Anthony?”

“Of course,” Professor Lowery chuckled. “Here,” he said, picking up a set of frog legs. “I’ll go first.”

“Me too,” Jagger said, picking up another set.

“I’ve had them before, so it doesn’t bother me,” Armando added, carefully choosing a set from the large platter of frog legs and sauces.

“Wait!” Tabby exclaimed, reaching out and taking hold of Naomi’s hand to stay her from biting into the frog limbs. “You don’t really have to eat them, Naomi. Really.”

“No,” Naomi said. “It’s okay. It’s okay. It’ll just be one of those things you can say you’ve done that not so many people have.”

Yet Tabby felt bad. It was obvious Jagger, Armando, and Anthony were actually enjoying the strange delicacy. Armando had already picked up another set. Still, she didn’t want to make Naomi miserable; she’d just wanted to tease her.

Tabby held her breath as she watched Naomi carefully bite into the batter-encrusted frog leg. After a moment, Naomi raised her eyebrows and took another bite.

“Hmm,” Naomi mumbled. “It’s actually very tasty.”

Genevieve laughed, affectionately patting Naomi on the back. “Good girl,” she said. “Now see, fried frog legs ain’t all that bad after all, are they?”

“Not the way you cook them, Mrs. Chiasson…thank goodness,” Naomi said.

“Well now, we can’t let Naomi be the only brave one in here,” Emmy said as she studied the platter on the table. Tabby watched as Emmy selected a set of legs. Holding them very daintily, she bit into them.

Tabby smiled at him, accepting the stiff, fried set of frog legs he offered. Closing her eyes, she bit into them. They were good. They tasted a little like the catfish served at Sweet Genevieve’s.

“Well, one thing’s for sure,” Chloe began. “I never in my life thought my sister would fall for a frog-leg-eating blues singer.”

“I’m late!” Jagger mumbled as he dropped the remains of his frog legs onto the bone plate nearby. “I’ll meet you guys at Armando’s place in an hour.” He leaned forward, placing a quick kiss on Tabby’s lips. “You ride over with them, baby,” he said. “I’ll meet you there as soon as I’m finished here.”

Turning back to the platter of frog legs, she laughed. Everyone was digging into the remaining frog legs as though they were the last thing they were ever going to be able to eat.

“Oh!” Genevieve exclaimed. “So y’all are findin’ out they’re not so bad after all.”

Tabby laughed as everyone confirmed Genevieve’s frog legs were indeed delicious. She watched as her friends talked, laughed, and ate frog legs. It was a wonderful moment, a memorable moment, the kind she knew she would draw on in years ahead in lovingly remembering the past.

Tabby glanced over her shoulder as she heard the music start. She heard an electric guitar lick and knew she would forever recognize Jagger’s cool blues style. As she heard him start to sing, she sighed. Life was good! In that moment, she felt pretty near perfectly content. She was dating the man of her dreams—was in love with the man of her dreams, actually—and she was surrounded by good friends. She was happy. Certainly, she’d be happier in an hour, when Jagger’s band had finished their set and he could meet them at the Acapulco for some late-night cliff diving.

Days before, Armando and Jagger had been reminiscing about how much fun they’d had working summers at Armando’s uncle’s restaurant. Tabby and Jocelyn had listened with amused interest as the two men related stories of their diving days. Of course, Armando still dived, but it was fun to imagine them as two college students earning their tuition money by diving off a false cliff in a restaurant. Armando had suggested that Jagger come over to the Acapulco and brush up on his diving—just in case the sales and marketing analyst thing didn’t work out. Jagger had agreed but only after a lot of teasing and coaxing by Tabby. Thus, the evening had been planned. Everyone was already meeting at Sweet Genevieve’s in order for Naomi to make good on her ridiculous promise to eat a frog if Tabby ever managed to link Jagger Brodie to Kevin Bacon—so why not have everyone just head over to the Acapulco afterward? Anthony was invited to dive too. Armando told him there was a smaller cliff—only 15 feet from the surface of the water instead of 30 feet like the one Armando and Jagger would be diving from—that he could start on if he liked. Surprisingly, Anthony had agreed. Tabby smiled to herself, thinking that seeing Jagger Brodie in a bathing suit would be worth it if nothing else.