by Miranda Lee
Of course, he wasn’t about to propose, as the hero did in Rebecca. Aside from the fact that Jake was anti-marriage, men these days didn’t have to marry to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh. Neither did women, Abby conceded, a highly erotic shiver running down her spine as she looked at Jake’s beautiful male body. She could hardly wait to have it all to herself again. There was so much more she had to learn. So many more things she had yet to try.
‘Keep looking at me like that, sweetheart,’ Jake said drily, ‘and we won’t even get out of this house today.’
CHAPTER TWENTY
WHEN ABBY BLUSHED, Jake stood up abruptly before he gave in to temptation and made his last words come true. As exciting as sex with Abby was, he didn’t want to confine their relationship to a strictly sexual one. He wanted her company out of the bedroom as well. He wanted to show her all the places she’d never been before. Wanted to share with her all the wonders the world had to offer.
This last thought jolted him a bit. He’d never travelled overseas with a female companion before. Nothing beyond a few days in some fancy South Seas resort, that was. But he wanted to with Abby. And he was done with that silly show of his. It actually annoyed him that he couldn’t go anywhere these days without being recognised. He pretended he didn’t mind to Abby but the truth was it irritated him to death.
So the decision was made. He would sell the show ASAP and do something more exciting and fulfilling with his life. But first things first.
‘I’ll go fix us both some breakfast while you get showered and dressed,’ he said. ‘Then we’re heading north. Port Macquarie, maybe. That’s a decent drive. Have you ever been there before?’
She shook her head. ‘I’ve never been out of Sydney. No, that’s not true. I went on a school excursion to Canberra once when I was twelve.’
‘And what did you think of our capital?’
‘Can’t remember it much. I was only there for two days and I froze to death the whole time.’
‘It’s much nicer at this time of year. Would you like to go there instead?’
‘I don’t really mind where we go,’ she said. ‘You decide.’
‘Canberra it is, then.’
‘You’ll have to take me home first,’ Abby told him hurriedly. ‘I’ll need to change and get some more clothes. I only have the dress with me that I wore last night. And I’ll have to get some overnight things.’
‘Fair enough. We won’t get waylaid by your next-door neighbour, will we?’
‘Harriet doesn’t get up till lunchtime on a Saturday.’
‘We should be long gone by then. Now, hop to it, Abby. Patience is not one of my virtues.’
‘What are your virtues?’ she asked, her eyes sparkling with uncharacteristic mischief.
Jake shrugged. ‘Not sure. Honesty, I suppose. And integrity. Now, no more chit-chat. Up!’ he ordered as he strode purposefully from the room.
Abby sat there a few seconds longer, thinking that there was more to Jake’s virtues than honesty and integrity. He was also generous and caring. She liked that he’d loved his uncle as much as he had. Liked the way he’d fulfilled his uncle’s dying wishes, even though he’d obviously found her a nuisance at first.
Not so much a nuisance now, she thought, a rather naughty smile pulling at her lips.
‘I can’t hear the shower running!’ Jake called up the stairs, his voice echoing in the quiet house.
‘Just going now,’ Abby called back, putting the mug down and throwing back the doona.
Abby never sang in the shower. But she did that day, feeling even happier than when she’d got her porcelain veneers. Nothing could compare with the delicious lightness of spirit which was surging through her veins at that moment. She could not recall ever feeling so exhilarated. Or so excited. It did cross her mind for a split second that she might be falling in love with Jake, but she immediately dismissed the idea as fanciful. She liked him very much. And lusted after him a lot. But that was the sum total of her feelings at this stage.
She did concede later, as she ate the fantastic breakfast Jake had cooked, that her feelings for him might deepen if he kept on spoiling her this way.
But she would not worry about that today. Today was to be devoted to having the kind of carefree fun she’d never had before. She might even get to drive a Ferrari. How incredible was that?
‘You’re quite a good cook,’ Abby complimented him.
‘I can do the basics like steak and salad, and bacon and eggs. But I could never cook anything like you did last night. That meal was marvellous, Abby.’
‘It wasn’t all that special,’ she said, trying to be modest.
‘I thought it was. And so did Sophie.’
‘I liked your sister, Jake. You’re very close, aren’t you?’
‘Yes. Much closer than my other siblings. Sophie are I are the loners in the family. The rest are all married with children.’
‘Goodness. That must make for a big group at Christmas. Do they all live here in Sydney?’
‘Yep. And you’re right about Christmas. I’ve already hired a boat for a cruise on the harbour this year. No one’s house can accommodate everyone, except when some of them go to the in-laws. Which apparently isn’t happening this year. What about you, Abby? How many in your family?’
‘Just me and Megan. And little Timmy, of course.’
‘What about your parents?’ Jake asked, curious about Abby’s family now.
‘They’re dead. Dad got killed in a fight when I was seventeen. Mum died of an accidental overdose a few months later.’
Jake was taken aback by Abby’s matter-of-fact relaying of what must have affected her badly at the time. ‘That’s very sad, Abby.’
‘I suppose so. But truly, they were terrible parents. Always down at the pub. There was never enough money for me and Megan. All they loved was alcohol.’
Jake tried not to look too shocked at Abby’s truly ghastly background. Poor thing. She’d had it really tough. No wonder she’d got married young. Probably wanted some man to look after her and love her. Which obviously this Wayne had before he’d died too.
Abby didn’t like Jake’s silence. No doubt he thought she came from a low-life family. He was probably regretting asking a girl like her to be his girlfriend. ‘It’s not a pretty story, is it?’ she said, a bit defiantly.
‘I admire the way you survived it with the lovely nature that you have,’ he said gently.
Abby blinked rapidly as moisture suddenly pooled in her eyes.
‘You’re not going to cry, are you?’ Jake asked, alarm in his voice.
Abby almost laughed. Clearly, he didn’t like his girlfriends to cry. Which was perverse since she was sure every one of them cried buckets when he broke up with them. Which he always did. Eventually.
It was a sobering thought, and one which she vowed never to forget.
‘No,’ she said with creditable calm. ‘I’m not going to cry. Now, why don’t I clear up here whilst you go and get ready? Oh, and Jake…’
‘Yes?’
‘Um…don’t forget to pack some condoms.’
Was he startled by her very practical request? Or annoyed?
Abby imagined that he didn’t want to use condoms. Neither did she, if she were honest. But she refused to lose her head totally over Jake.
‘How many should I pack?’ he asked, his tone as provocative as his glittering blue eyes.
‘How many do you have in the house?’ she countered, constantly surprised at her boldness. Surprised but not displeased. Abby suspected she was going to like her new bolder self.
‘Not sure,’ Jake replied thoughtfully. ‘There’s one unopened box in the bathroom upstairs, as well as a few loose ones in the top drawers of both bedside tables. There’s a couple more in the glovebox of my car and two more in my wallet. So a rough estimate would b
e about two dozen. How many do you think we might need?’
Abby kept a straight face with difficulty. The man was a wicked devil all right.
‘Don’t ask me,’ she said, brilliantly po-faced. ‘I only have last night to go by and that might have been a one-off for you. I would imagine a man can get it up quite a bit with a woman during their first night together. But after that, things might very well go downhill. It’s not as though you’re a teenager, Jake, or even in your twenties. Which reminds me, how old are you? Late thirties? Early forties?’
Jake glowered at her for a long moment before shaking his head then smiling a drily amused smile.
‘You’re teasing me, aren’t you?’
‘No more than you teased me.’
‘Fair enough. And, since you asked, I’m thirty-four. Which makes me still in my prime. So watch yourself tonight. You might find yourself begging me to stop before I’m finished.’
Abby feigned a disappointed face. ‘You mean I have to wait till tonight?’
Jake wagged a finger at her. ‘I should call your bluff. But I won’t. Now, let’s get going.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
‘YOU’RE RIGHT,’ ABBY said, closing her eyes as she leant back, her hair flying free. ‘Riding in this car with the top down is amazing. I would do this every day if I could.’
‘Sorry. Weekend treat only. Next time we will head north to Port Macquarie.’
Abby opened her eyes as her head turned towards Jake. ‘I wouldn’t mind where I go,’ she said. ‘As long as it’s in this gorgeous car.’
And as long as I’m with you.
‘Great. Now, do you want to stop somewhere for lunch or just go straight to Canberra?’
‘No,’ Abby said straight away. ‘I don’t want to stop. Not unless you do. I’m not hungry at all. We can have something to eat when we get to Canberra.’
‘A girl after my own heart,’ he said with a warm smile thrown her way.
Abby’s own heart twisted with his remark, because there was no point in her being after his heart. All Jake wanted from a woman was her body in bed, and her company when out of bed. He obviously liked having a steady girlfriend. Much more convenient for his lifestyle. What he didn’t want was for his girlfriends to want more from him than he was prepared to give. Clearly, whenever a girlfriend started looking for more they were out of the door.
Abby realised she would only have herself to blame if she started wanting more. Forewarned was forearmed.
To give Jake credit, he’d been honest with her about his intentions. Or lack of them. She recalled he’d listed honesty as one of his virtues. Integrity as well. Which meant he wouldn’t have lied to her about not being a risk to her health when he didn’t use a condom.
Thinking of condoms brought Abby’s mind back to the incredible climaxes she’d had with Jake last night. She hadn’t known till then that such pleasure existed. Whenever Megan raved on about how much she enjoyed sex—how much she actually needed it at times—Abby had thought her some kind of nymphomaniac. Now, she appreciated where her sister was coming from. Abby felt sure that by tonight she would very definitely be needing sex with Jake. Already she could feel herself responding to just the thought of being with him, desire invading her body from her curling toes right up to her spinning head. Waiting till tonight was almost beyond bearing. But she would wait. No way was she going to humiliate herself by throwing herself at him any earlier.
Abby turned her head just enough so that she could at least have the pleasure of looking at him.
He was wearing stonewashed grey jeans and a white polo top, along with sunglasses and a black baseball cap which did, thankfully, make him more difficult to identify as Jake Sanderson, famed television host and one of Sydney’s most recognisable personalities.
Abby didn’t want to share him with his adoring public today. Or any other day, for that matter. She couldn’t think of anything worse than having strangers come up to them all the time, asking Jake for his autograph. She certainly didn’t like the thought of people looking at her and wondering what on earth Jake was doing with such a nobody.
Not that she wasn’t attractive, especially now that she was dressing better and wearing make-up. Jake, however, was the type of man who dated movie stars and supermodels, or at the very least glamorous newsreaders who were instantly recognisable. They were also women who didn’t wear clothes from bargain basement stores. When she’d put on the same outfit this morning that she’d worn when Jake had taken her car shopping last week, Abby had been happy enough with the way she looked. She’d thought—possibly mistakenly—that her tight white pants and spotty top looked quite classy and not cheap. But maybe she’d been deluding herself.
Abby jerked her head round to stare out of the passenger window, not liking that she was suddenly losing confidence in herself. I do look good, she told herself firmly. Stop with the worrying.
But the worries continued. Not with her appearance but with what Megan would say when she rang her sister on Sunday night and confessed all. As much as she would like to keep Jake as her secret lover, she could see he wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
No doubt Megan would say ‘I told you so’ in the most irritatingly smug way. She wouldn’t be shocked. Well, not about the sex part. She would, however, be shocked that Jake wanted her to be his girlfriend. Abby could just imagine Megan’s reaction to that. It would be pure cynicism.
Abby wasn’t looking forward to that conversation one little bit. She wanted to enjoy her time with Jake. The last thing she needed was her cynical sister telling her it was only a temporary role. For heaven’s sake, she already knew that. She might not be a genius, but she wasn’t stupid. Okay, so it was inevitable that one day she would get her marching orders. Abby resolved that she would face that moment when it came. Meanwhile, she aimed to live for the moment. Wasn’t that what those lifestyle gurus were always advocating? Not to worry about the past or the future but to seize the moment. Well, at the moment she was in this gorgeous car with a gorgeous man and she wasn’t going to let anybody or anything spoil things for her.
Famous last words, Abby thought, and heaved a huge sigh.
‘Would you like me to put on some music?’ Jake offered, perhaps thinking that her sigh meant she was bored.
‘No, thanks,’ she replied with a quick smile his way. ‘I just want to relax and enjoy the scenery.’ Plus try very hard to just live in the moment.
‘Actually, the scenery’s not that good. That’s the trouble with motorways. They bypass the interesting bits.’
‘I don’t really care about the scenery. I’m just enjoying the ride. And the company,’ she added smilingly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ME TOO, JAKE THOUGHT, confirming his earlier idea about taking Abby overseas with him. Not that he would mention it to her just yet. It was too soon. Not for him. For her.
‘Would you mind if I asked you something?’ he said.
‘That depends, I guess, on what it is.’
‘Nothing too personal. While I was waiting for you at your place this morning, I saw a big pile of books on your coffee table in the living room. I couldn’t help noticing that they included some of my uncle’s favourite novels, which reminded me that you asked me if he’d left you books in his will. Am I right in presuming he gave you those books?’
‘Actually, no, he didn’t. But he did give me a list of books which he said any self-respecting female should read. I bought them myself from a secondhand book shop.’
‘I see. And have you read them all yet?’
‘I’m on the last one now. Rebecca.’
‘And which ones are your favourites?’
‘Goodness, that’s a hard question. I liked them all. But I guess not equally. I’d already read three of them at school. Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. Oh, and I’ve seen about three movie
versions of Great Expectations, so I knew what was going to happen, which half spoils a story, doesn’t it? Though I can see now how brilliantly written they all were. Difficult to pick out just one. Hmm… I adored Shōgun. What a fantastic story with a fantastic hero! The Fountainhead was riveting stuff too, though the main characters were a bit OTT, in my opinion.’
‘I couldn’t agree more,’ Jake said. ‘What did you think of To Kill a Mockingbird?’
‘Oh, that was a wonderful story. It made me cry buckets. So did Anna Karenina. That poor sad lady.’
‘So you don’t have an all-time favourite?’
‘Not really. Though it might be Rebecca, as long as it finishes well.’
‘What part are you up to?’
‘She’s about to come down the stairs dressed in that same outfit Rebecca wore, and I just know Max is not going to be very happy.’
Jake had to smile. ‘You can say that again. Actually, you’ve quite a bit more to go. And a few more surprises to come.’
‘Don’t you dare tell me anything!’
‘Obviously you haven’t seen the movie version.’
‘No. I didn’t know there was one.’
‘Yes, it was made in nineteen forty, only two years after the book was published. Alfred Hitchcock directed it. Laurence Olivier played Max and Joan Fontaine was the unnamed heroine. I’ll get a copy for you after you’ve finished the book.’
Her face carried a touching mixture of disbelief and excitement. ‘Would you really?’
‘Of course.’
‘But where would you get a copy from?’