“Seriously?”
“Just kidding.” He kissed her lips. “I don’t want to upset you, it was really a stupid joke. Sorry.”
“Okay, you’re forgiven,” she teased.
“Go take a bath, Jamie is out like a light. She wouldn’t wake up even if a bomb dropped next to her. I’m going to go get us some takeout and pick up a few things at the store. The agency will send Jamie’s tutor and a helper tomorrow. So we’ll return to a house filled with groceries.”
“Okay.”
He ran out of the lounge and she went up the stairs.
Jamie’s room looked like a children’s room, but without her toys.
She went inside and tucked her in, then kissed her on the head.
She went into the room that was next to Jamie’s. It was the only one with the light on.
A king-size bed welcomed her. The goose feather comforter lay puffed up on the bed, with eight different sized pillows.
She found her suitcase and Jake’s black one.
Three weeks.
Three amazing weeks.
She’d never lived with Jake, apart from that time they’d stayed at the beach house before his residency started. But it didn’t count, because Leo and Bernie had stayed with them.
She was excited and yet super terrified, but at least she would see what his mannerisms were like.
She opened a door and found an empty walk-in closet.
She took a deep breath when she walked through the closet and saw the bathroom of her dreams.
A claw-footed, oval tub with shiny nozzles stood on one side of the room.
Jamie was going to love it, that was if her life hadn’t been filled with this type of luxury already.
She opened the taps and went back to her luggage to get her bubble bath and other essentials.
She poured in the bubble bath when she reached the bath tub again and start to undress as she waited for the water to fill the bath.
She looked at herself in the huge mirror.
Her boobs was sensitive and slightly bigger, and her belly sported a slight bulge. Twins popped into her head again and she closed her eyes.
Maybe it was only one.
She could hope.
She tied her hair into a messy bun on top of her head and inspected her skin in the mirror.
She really didn’t like being pregnant but felt bad the minute she thought it.
Amelia would give anything to be where she was right now.
She closed the taps and climbed into the water, sinking down into the warmth.
It was the first time she’d been in a bathtub since she’d arrived in Zurich. She’d missed it.
She cleared her mind and pretended that she didn’t hear the buzzing of her phone.
But she looked at it, thinking it might be Jake.
If only it was Jake’s name that flashed on the screen.
She was still far from ready to speak to Charles Scallanger.
* * *
JAKE
Jake ordered two pizzas from the Italian restaurant around the corner—one with ham and pineapple for Jamie.
He let out a happy sigh. His life was perfect now, compared to how it had been a few months ago.
It could’ve gone so wrong if that emergency hadn’t made him miss his flight. It had changed his entire life, preventing him from making the biggest mistake in his life. Now he was over the moon. He had his daughter, he had the love of his life, and Holly was pregnant again.
Thinking that, he pulled out his phone and called his father.
“Jake, everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes, sorry what time is it.”
“It’s around one in the afternoon. How is Jamie?”
“She is sleeping, dead tired.”
“How is Holly?”
“The reason I’m phoning. She fainted today.”
His father kept quiet. “Have you given her the shake and the vitamins?”
“Not yet, it was in my luggage. I’ll give it to her tonight. You’re sure it’s safe?”
“I wouldn’t give it to her if I wasn’t.”
“I know, I’m just worried about her.”
“I know you are, but we are all here, Jake.”
“I know, and I’m grateful for that.”
“Where are you now?”
“Quickly ran out to buy something to eat.”
“What did Holly think about the house?”
Jake laughed. “Too much.”
Gus chuckled. “Send that beautiful granddaughter of mine many hugs and kisses. Tell her that I miss her terribly.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll tell her. Speak to you later.”
“I know you are worried, son. But you can call me any time of the day or night.”
“I know, Dad. I’m just worried about what’s going to happen if I go back to the states.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“Okay.”
They said goodbye just as his order was placed in front of him. He thanked the women, paid and headed back to the car.
His stomach grumbled when the scent of the pizza hit his nose.
He was starving.
When he got back to the house, it was eerily quiet, and he set the pizza on the kitchen and went upstairs, where he found Holly in the bath with her eyes closed.
Her phone was on the basin and he saw that she had five missed calls.
He swiped the screen and saw Charles’s name.
He looked over at Holly. She was ignoring her father and it was the last thing he wanted.
Charles had been there when Jake wasn’t, but it didn’t end the way he wanted it to.
He’d tried to make peace with Charles, to tell him his side, even though it wouldn’t have change the outcome of the bad situation.
It was exactly what Charles had said, and he wanted to tell Jake to leave Holly and Jamie alone, but then she interfered and it went all downhill from there.
The end result was a battle between them and a huge settlement that Jake felt was reasonable to pay.
He would never forgive himself for ever believing his mother’s lies. He should’ve just followed his heart and walked out of that plane when his gut told him it was the wrong choice.
He had been so close to her that day.
He put her phone down and quickly undressed, then got into the tub.
Holly’s eyes flew open.
“Sorry,” he said and she smiled as she lay back again.
He sat in front of her in between her legs and she pulled him closer to her.
She was so soft and tiny but having her arms around him felt as if she was the biggest giant in this world.
He felt loved. He felt so many things, but most of all, he felt home.
She wrapped her legs around him and he rubbed her one foot.
“Oh, that is so amazing.”
“Are your feet sore?”
“You have no idea. I’m never climbing out of this bath.” Her voice was dreamy.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.”
“Please don’t bite my head off. I’m just a bit worried.”
“About what?” She sounded serious.
“Why are you ignoring your father?”
She sighed. “I just don’t have the strength to hear what he has to say.”
“Maybe he’s phoning to apologize, sweetheart.”
“No, it’s not. I can promise you that.”
“Then what is it?”
She chuckled. “He must have found out about the bun in the oven and wants to give me his well-educated opinion about it.” Her tone was scathing. “Like I said, I really don’t want to hear what he has to say.”
“You have to make peace with him.”
“You have to practice what you preach.” She kissed him on his temple.
“That’s different.”
“Jake, she fucked up, all of us do from time to time.” Holly’s voice sounded tired.
“No, ther
e is fucking up, and then there is the shit my mother did.”
“Is your father still mad at her?”
“We don’t talk about it.”
“You have to forgive her eventually.”
“I will when she proves to me that she is really sorry. Holly, I don’t want to talk about my mother.”
“And I don’t want to talk about my father, so case closed.”
“You should’ve become a lawyer.”
“Why, are my closing statements that good?”
“They are the best,” he joked and grabbed her hand and kissed it.
He started talking about his project.
Holly listened and it was something he loved about her.
She always listened.
The past few weeks hadn’t been easy without her.
The therapy session with his mother, finding out about the pregnancy, and Kate, who still wouldn’t leave him alone. Kate phoned him almost every night, wanting to fight about what he’d done.
She was a constant nag and pain but he endured it, hoping that she would get past whatever stage she was on, get it out of her system and become a human with a beating heart again.
He would do anything to stay in Michael’s life, but he wasn’t going to follow crazy fucking orders that no normal human being would even follow.
She was making it difficult, because she wanted to punish Jake.
She wasn’t punishing him, she was punishing Michael instead. He knew the boy wanted to see him.
He and Holly washed each other, and while he really wanted to take it further, his stomach demanded to be fed. He got out of the tub and dried off, then pulled on a pair of pajama pants and headed to the kitchen.
After two slices, Holly came down wearing a sleeping short and a tank top.
She opened the pizza box and took a slice.
They ate without using plates and drank juice.
After dinner he went to get the formula his father reinvented and packaged.
He made her a shake and he handed it to her.
“Is it really why he took it off the market?”
Jake huffed. “That’s one of the reasons why I struggle to give my mother some rope.”
“It’s not yours to forgive, Jake.”
“I know but it was a string of lies that made my father pull it. It worked, didn’t it.”
She nodded. “My doctor really tried to get more of it, but it was already pulled and they didn’t give him a reason why, so I thought that there was a flaw.” She picked some of the toppings off the pizza before taking another bite.
He knew that, Jane told him that they tried to get the formula and it was in her charts too.
“Well, there wasn’t a flaw. It was just another lie.”
“You are such a cry baby.”
“No, I’m not. Romy died because of those lies, Holly. I never got to hold either one of them because of her lies. I missed important birthdays, Christmases, Halloweens, because of her lies. Don’t ask me to forgive her, please.”
“I won’t. I’m sorry,” she said, looking down at the slice in her hand.
“The situation with your father is different, though.”
“My father is an asshole.”
“Yeah, but he was the asshole that was there. The way he acted, I would have thought that he was super asshole if he didn’t act that way.”
“Bullshit,” Holly said.
“No, it’s the truth. It means he cares about you in his own messed up way, Holly. It might be the only way he knows how. Phone him, and speak to him.”
He walked out of the kitchen. He hated that she was so forgiving and he knew that if it was up to Holly, his mother would’ve already met Jamie-Bernice.
She was a devious snake and he doubted he would ever forgive his mother.
He truly meant and believe every word he said to her.
She was the reason that Romy had died.
Amelia knew it, his father knew it, Robin and Armand knew it. Why couldn’t Mara grasp it?
Seven
HOLLY
Her heart really ached for Jake whenever his mother’s name came up.
But she only brought Mara up because she worried about Jake walking around with that in his heart.
She truly believed that not able to forgive tainted one’s soul, and she didn’t want that for him.
She never said what Mara did was right, but that wasn’t what forgiveness was truly about.
You had to forgive someone, not for them but for yourself.
If only she could get that through to him.
But she heard what he said about her father.
She knew he’d only fight with her, that it would end up with them calling each other names, and she really didn’t have the strength for it.
But she dialed his number and waited for him to pick up.
“Hey,” he answered.
“Hi Dad. I see you’re looking for me.”
“Yes. Is it true?” he asked.
“Is what true?” She played dumb, wanting to delay the inevitable.
“That you are pregnant again.”
“Dad, I’m an adult and I’m not going—”
“Then act like an adult, Holly. That guy almost cost you your life. Romy is dead. Do you even remember her?”
“Don’t you dare say that! How many times must we tell you he didn’t know?”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. I’m not a child, Holly.”
“And neither am I. Believe me, forgiving you and all the shit you did, was twenty thousand times harder than forgiving a mistake he wasn’t part of.” She disconnected the call and breathed hard through her nose.
She wasn’t going to listen to his accusations.
She’d had it with him and his stubbornness.
She wasn’t going to hate her father because he was so ignorant. It was always black and white with him. There was never a gray area.
She wasn’t like that. And she refuse to become like that.
She switch off the lights and went upstairs to the bedroom.
She popped into Jamie’s room first and said a small prayer before she went to her bedroom.
Jake was already lying on top of the bed with his laptop on his lap, typing away.
She settled next to him, watching him work.
“I can feel your eyes on me, woman.”
She chuckled. “Are we going to become one of those couples who bring their work to bed? We might as well get a T.V. in the room.
He looked at her and smiled. “Just going over a few notes.”
“I’m sure you are.” She flipped the screen closed and he pulled his hands away just in time before the laptop shut.
“Get it off the bed before I chuck it off.” She pushed herself on her knees and cupped his face for a kiss.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said and put the laptop on the ground as his lips met hers.
The kiss deepened.
“I guess you are not that tired then.”
“No, you can thank my father for this extra spike in energy.”
“See, I told you he’s not that bad.”
She laughed. “He is an asshole, sweetheart.”
“If you say so. I beg to differ.”
She climbed on his lap and he pulled her closer to him as she went to sit.
She felt how his cock hardened as she rocked against him.
It felt amazing being so close to Jake. He was everything she wanted, and not just her, but every woman who laid eyes on him.
That she knew for certain.
She was still searching for his flaws, but she came up with nothing.
Perhaps it was his struggle to forgive Mara, or perhaps it was his temper—she knew he had one, but it always seemed to disappear when he was around her.
Still, nobody could be this perfect.
Was he going to break her heart again?
It was driving her insane, because men like him, those who had the entire package, weren’t real.
But here he was, the same guy she’d fallen for years ago, just more amazing.
He grabbed her legs and fell with her on the bed. She laughed softly, trying hard not to wake up Jamie as he lay on top of her.
They continued kissing, riling each other up, then his hand slipped into her shorts and cupped her pussy.
She groaned as his finger entered her and his touch ignited her entire being.
She felt the stress of the day, the stress of her pregnancy and the stress of her father’s conversation, melt away when he kissed her neck.
She bucked against him, then dragged his pants off with her feet, while he quickly pulled hers off with his hands.
She gasped when he entered her in one swift stroke, then bit down on her lip when he moved achingly slow inside her.
“You need to be quiet, otherwise Jamie is going to wake up.”
She giggled, wondering how the hell she could keep quiet. It was impossible.
The sex didn’t just stay in the room.
They moved into the bathroom after closing both the bedroom door and the walk in closet door.
Jake pressed her back against the wall and fucked her again before they moved onto the toilet seat where she sat on top of him, riding him like her life depended on it.
She struggled to keep her moans soft, but they sounded loud to her ears, even with Jake’s hand covering her mouth. He moved her onto the floor, where he took her from behind, his one hand tangled in her hair and the other gripping her hip as he guided her onto his cock, slamming into her over and over again.
She couldn’t put words to the sensations he enticed.
“Oh fuck, I’m close.” She panted. “I’m close, I’m close, oh yes,” she screamed and Jake chuckled from behind her.
He moved faster as she tried to suppress the cries that left her mouth.
With a groan, he came, and she felt him stiffen, then he let go of her and collapsed on the floor next to her.
She fell on top of him, sated and spent.
“One of us have to go see if Jamie isn’t in our bed.”
She chuckled. “I’m going to take a shower, so you go and have a look.” She kissed him on the top of his nose and got up.
“Fine, I’ll go and look. Good thing you can’t fall pregnant again,” he said as he walked naked out of the closet.
Just as she was really forgetting about her condition, Jake had to go and bring that up again.
Endless Love: The 4Ever series #3 Page 7