Page 79 of Inexplicable

I was hoping we’d find one because it would definitely delight Jenna, and seeing her smile had become one of my fucking goals in life.

Probably my most important goal.

“We’re off the main trail,” I told Jenna as she tossed the rock gently back to the ground. “We should probably start heading back to the beach before it gets dark.”

She turned around and sent me one of her radiant smiles that made me want to rub my hand over my chest.

Fuck! She was beautiful, and I didn’t think there would ever be a time when that thousand-watt smile didn’t get to me.

“Can we rest for a few minutes?” she asked as she sat on a fallen log and pulled her water from the side of her daypack.

I sat beside her and did the same.

She could rest as long as she wanted.

She was silent as she took several sips of her water.

“I’m going to get a scar revision for the big scar on my face,” she informed me as she started to put the top on her water. “I saw a doctor in Los Angeles about it before I got kidnapped. I think I’m going to do it. It won’t make the scar go away completely, but they can make it a lot less noticeable.”

Okay, that had come out of nowhere, but it was obviously something that was on her mind.

“Why do I have a feeling that making that decision has been eating at you for a while?” I asked.

She sighed. “It has. It’s something I really wanted to do when I was younger, but I didn’t have the money. My insurance won’t cover it because it’s cosmetic, but I have plenty of money to do it now. I’ve gone back and forth about doing it. One day, I tell myself that it doesn’t matter. I’ve had the scar forever and I’ve learned to live with it. But I honestly think I’d feel better about myself if it wasn’t so damn visible. They’re going to do the one on my neck, too, but that one is uncomplicated.”

I reached out and took her hand.

“Are you looking for my input?” I asked. “Or do you just want to talk about your decision?”

“I think I want both,” she said in a soft voice that was a little uncertain. “It’s going to require plastic surgery because it’s a contour defect, and I’ll need a skin graft and some advanced techniques. It’s complicated. Maybe that’s why I’ve been hesitant to get it done.”

I hated that note of hesitation in her voice, but I reminded myself how far she’d come in dropping her defensive walls with me.

Jenna was letting me in, and every time that happened, it felt like a miracle to me.

“I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, scars or no scars,” I said honestly. “That said, I think you should do what makes you happy, Stargazer. If making that scar less noticeable in the mirror every day means something to you, then it should definitely happen. I’ll come to California to be there for you and take care of you after the revision.”

I wanted to offer to pay for the surgery, but I knew she wouldn’t accept that because she had her own money.

“You’d do that for me?” she asked in a small voice that I hated.

She should demand to get anything and everything she wanted, not be surprised when someone who cared about her would abso-fucking-lutely support her without question.

And then I remembered that she’d never had much support in her life.

That shit was going to change, but it might take a while for her to get used to it.

“In a heartbeat, if that’s what you want,” I said gruffly. “Do you really think I’d let you go through that alone? Not happening, sweetheart.”

Tears filled her eyes, and that nearly gutted me.

“I want it,” she said tearfully. “The horrible scar on my face bothers me the worst. The others are faded, and nobody sees most of them. They don’t really bother me unless I have to get naked with someone, but they can do some laser on a few that are more prominent. I know nothing will ever erase my history or my scars, but I’d like to move on with as few physical reminders of my growing up years as possible.”

“The only person you’ll get naked with in the future is me,” I grumbled. “And I think your body is perfect.”

A tear dropped to her cheek as she rolled her eyes. “I think there’s something wrong with your eyesight.”

I brushed the tear away with the back of my fingers. “I see just fine, sweetheart. In my eyes, you’re perfect.”