by Romy Sommer
He sidestepped the blow she aimed at his arm and laughed as she tripped over her feet. He righted her, the action bringing her flush against him. The effect of his hard, lean body knocked the breath from her lungs.
When his gaze dropped to her lips, Ellie held her breath.
An eternity later, he stepped away. “Come on, let’s catch up to the rest.”
Calling herself ten kinds of fool for getting caught up in what she had no business getting caught up in, she quickened her steps after him.
The rest of the day passed in a friendly, laughter-filled atmosphere. The couple-to-be were clearly besotted with each other, and many times Ellie had to curb the sharp pang of jealousy.
On occasion, she caught Ben's cool, speculative gaze but shrugged it off. It felt too good to reconnect with Jake again to let her mood be dampened.
The barbeque was winding down when Ben cornered her at the buffet table.
“So, when are you leaving?”
“Eager to see the back of me, Ben?”
“Eager to see to it that my brother’s head doesn’t get messed with again the way it was when you left the first time.”
“A lot can happen in twelve years. I'm not the same person I was back then.”
“Neither is Jake. He’s not the eager sidekick who's content to get into mischief with you at the drop of a hat.”
She glanced over to where Jake stood in conversation with one of the groom-to-be's sisters. He’d filled out so much more and in all the right places. Heat coursed through her and settled in her belly as her gaze lit on his formidable frame. Aside from the impressive body, he’d also developed a much more authoritative personality. Where he’d been attractive before, now he was downright hot!
“Yes, I can see that.”
“I really hope you can. Because if you hurt him again, you’ll have me to deal with this time.”
He sauntered off, leaving acid churning in her stomach that quickly eroded her appetite. Abandoning her plate, she reached for the bottle of red and poured herself a glass instead. She’d taken her first sip when Jake sauntered up, pint in hand.
He peered down at her. “Are you okay? I saw Ben talking to you.”
“I don’t need rescuing, Jake. I can fight my own battles.”
He glanced over at his brother, then back at her. “Dammit, Ellie. What the hell did he say to you?”
She took another gulp of her wine. “That I shouldn’t mess with your head or he’ll kick my ass…or something to that effect, anyway.”
“I’ll talk to him—”
“No, you won’t. See, this was what I was trying to avoid.”
“Barbecues on a warm summer evening with people who care about you?” His snarky tone didn’t quite hide the hurt behind his words.
“No. Getting caught up in…in issues.”
“What issues?”
Unbidden tears clogged her throat. This had all been a mistake. Being around Jake, around his friends and family reminded her acutely of what she’d never had.
She slammed her empty glass down. “Never mind. I’m heading back to the house now. Please thank your friends for me.” She turned and darted towards the pub garden gates.
“Ellie, wait!”
The need to escape became paramount. She plunged through a group of men gathered around the exit and rushed into the street. She didn’t stop running until she reached the pond opposite the Town Hall.
It was only as she slowed to catch her breath that she remembered she didn’t have keys to Jake's house. The thought of returning to the barbeque made her insides churn faster. Skirting the pond, she approached the sole bench, and sat.
Looking down, she found and traced the ingrained X on the inside arm of the bench.
This had been their rendezvous spot, when they were sure the whole village was asleep. They’d smoked their first, and last – thank God – cigarette on this bench. They’d also shared their first kiss here.
Everywhere she looked, memories abounded. But unlike the suffocation she’d felt when she first arrived, she recalled the much happier times she’d spent here with Jake.
What the hell was she doing letting this place grow on her again? There was no way she and Jake would ever work. She’d never succeeded at forming a functional relationship…
Jake, with his perfect barn conversion, his perfect group of friends and his perfect job rescuing cottages from fires, deserved better than that.
Pain gripped her insides as her forefinger traced the wood one last time.
Firming her lips, she rose and walked the rest of the way to Jake’s house.
He stood on the front step, his hands in his pockets, gaze fixed on her as she walked up the path.
“I don’t like it when you run from me, Ellie.”
She thrust both hands through her hair, unable to stem the ever-rising flood of pain. “I lied to you, Jake.”
He tensed. “When?”
“When I said I didn’t leave because of you. I lied.”
His indrawn hiss made her reach out to him. “No, don’t get me wrong. My grandfather was the main reason I left. But he wasn’t the sole reason. I could see a pattern emerging…people…you were beginning to form expectations. After that first time we made love, you were already picking out the white picket fence.”
“I’m an old-fashioned guy. I want a wife and kids and a dog or two thrown in. I won’t apologise for that.”
“Don’t you see? I never wanted you to have to apologise for it. But it wasn’t what I wanted, not then. I couldn’t find a way to tell you that without hurting you. But I never thought you’d blame yourself for me leaving. I’m sorry for that, Jake. Truly sorry.”
He shrugged. “I’m made of tougher material than you give me credit for. I may not like it, but now I understand what made you run, I know to adjust my expectations accordingly.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
He pulled his keys from his pocket and opened the door. “Come in, Ellie.”
She followed him into the house and turned as he shut the door. “You’re leaving in four days. I know there’s nothing I can do or say to stop you. But we don’t have to spend the whole time fighting.” He reached out and caught her around the waist.
The impact and heat of being in contact with him stalled her breath. “Jake, what are—?”
He pressed a finger against her lips. “We’ve tried the friendship route. We nearly succeeded in going a whole day without fighting. Frankly, I think it’s the words that get in the way.” He took his finger away and replaced it with a light kiss. “Maybe it’s time to try another tactic.” His fingers dug into her waist and pulled her closer still. “If you agree, kiss me.”
She was rising onto tiptoe before he’d finished speaking. Her lips met his in a heated melding that blew her clean away. After that, they let their bodies do the talking.
Jake released her mouth long enough to fling her fireman-style over her shoulder and carry her up to his room. In silence, they undressed one another, their sighs and groans speaking to a need that spanned many years.
Before long, she was sprawled on his king sized bed, Jake’s lithe, solid body poised over hers.
His gaze swept down over her body in frank, heated appraisal. “You’re even more beautiful than I remember,” he rasped, and followed the compliment with a lingering caress over her breasts, wringing a soft cry from her when he grazed her sensitive nipples.
“And you’ve filled out in all the right places.” Her fingers drifted over his pecs, down over solid six-pack to tease the skin just below his navel.
His breath caught and he leaned down and pressed a hard kiss on her mouth. Immediately, she became lost in sensation. They parted long enough for him to reach for a condom. His heartfelt groan as he entered her echoed her own. They found their own special rhythm, their breath catching and mingling as they embarked on an inevitable path.
Jake caught her to him as she shattered in his arms. A heartbeat late
r, he groaned his own release, the sound of her name on his lips causing her heart to contract sharply.
Ellie pushed the distressing feeling away. This was a time for pleasure, not the time to count the minutes until she would have to walk away from Jake one more time.
She felt his kiss against her forehead and relaxed into his body.
“What happened after you left with your mother?” he asked.
“We tried to connect, we really did. But she was set in her ways and I was set in mine. I stayed with her for about a year and a half, then I moved out. I got a job at the newspaper shortly after that, and worked my way up the ladder.”
“Do you keep in touch with her at all?”
“Yes, we meet every month or so for lunch. We have a…relationship of sorts.” She sighed and he gathered her close.
He kissed her again. “That’s good. You better sleep now. I can’t promise I won’t wake you up as soon as I’ve recovered to have my way with you again.”
She laughed, even as sleep blanketed her. As her eyes drifted shut, Ellie couldn’t help but think…this was the most peaceful she’d felt in a long time.
Chapter Six
Jake scooped up the two cups of steaming coffee and headed back to his bedroom three mornings later. He was grateful he wasn’t on call for another twenty-four hours.
But even if he’d been he’d have switched with one of the other guys.
Ellie was leaving tomorrow. His steps faltered on the landing and he stopped to suck in a deep breath.
No, he wasn’t going to dwell on that. He’d promised to keep things light and breezy, and that was what he would do even if it killed him.
He entered his bedroom to find her propped in bed, her iPad in hand. The sheet covering her breasts slipped a notch and he nearly dropped the coffee. When she looked up and smiled, he knew he was in serious trouble.
He summoned an answering smile and handed over one mug. Then he reached into the top drawer of his tall boy and flung the DVD onto the bed.
She picked it up, her stunning hazel eyes widening. “You have a DVD of The Notebook?”
“You did a Christmas segment last year, naming your top ten favourite films. That was the top of the list.”
“And so you bought it?”
“I wanted to see what the fuss was about.”
“And?” she looked up at him.
He shrugged. “Frankly, I still don’t know what the fuss is about. It’s sappy, to say the least but…” Her raised hand stopped him.
“If you ever want to leave this room with your bits intact, I suggest you stop speaking right now.”
He grinned, popped the DVD into the machine, shucked off his joggers and got back into bed. “I was going say but… I’m willing to watch it again with you in the hope that I might gain new perspective.”
A look crossed her face that dared to give him hope even though he knew he was foolish to feel that way. He reached for the remote and pressed play.
Half an hour later, she gave up trying to explain what was happening on screen. Instead, he coaxed Ellie on top of him. Before long, her gasps of bliss filled the room, her head thrown back as she rode them both to ecstasy. When they both caught their breaths, he muted the TV and watched her fingers play over his chest.
“I never told you where I was when you came back to Coombethwaite.”
She raised her gaze to his. “Where were you?”
“I was in London, attending a job interview at the LFB.”
Ellie raised herself onto one elbow, astonishment in her eyes. “You’re leaving the village?”
“Not for good. The Fire Brigade approached me last year to head up an exchange-training programme. I met up with them to see how to work things out.” He played with a strand of her silky hair, then took another breath. “I looked you up when I was up there. I told myself I wouldn’t, but I did.”
“How did you know where I lived?”
“I didn’t. I looked up the address of the newspaper where you work and I went to your office. When they told me you weren’t there, I didn’t believe them. I thought maybe you were deliberately avoiding me. I got annoyed and decided to camp out at the coffee shop across the street.”
Her shocked laugh tingled down his spine. “You did what? For how long?”
“Let's just say it took several cups of double shot, non-sweet, half-fat machiattos or something equally disgusting to make me realise the receptionist was telling the truth after all. I went back to my hotel and topped off my misery with stupidly expensive mini-bar vodka and woke up with a hangover strong enough to knock Mrs C off her perch for a week.”
She laughed and the sound filled up the dark, abandoned shadows of his soul. He wanted to keep cracking stupid jokes so he could keep listening to the sweet sound.
“You could’ve just picked up the phone and called, Jake. I’m listed in the phone book,” she berated as she melted back into his arms.
As he lost himself in the kiss, Jake was glad he didn’t have to confess that the sound of her voice wouldn’t have been enough. That the need to see her, to be in her presence had been one he hadn't been able to deny himself.
A need he had a feeling would shatter his heart if he let himself dwell on the fact that in a little more than a day she would be gone again.
#
Ellie shut and locked the door to Cochran Cottage. She tucked the box of letters firmly under her arm to stop the light drizzle from damaging it.
Jake was at the fire station this morning. She’d taken the opportunity to finish her packing, so she could avoid further heartache.
She sucked in a breath as she recalled the look on his face as he’d left this morning. Ellie had no doubt that same look was reflected on her own face.
She was in love with Jake Spencer, had always been truth be told. But as her grandfather and her mother had widely demonstrated, love on its own was never enough. Relationships required more, and she didn’t know whether she had more to give.
Tears prickled her eyes but she forced them back. She’d walked away once. She could do it again. She refused to look around the village as she made her way back to Jake’s house.
Packing done, she sank onto the bed. She had a few hours to spare before the taxi arrived to take her to the train station. She wasn’t even sure whether Jake would return or not.
She took out the letters she’d found when she’d gone through her grandfather’s things. The first letter—a love letter full of longing and heartbreak for the woman he couldn’t have—gave her the first glimpse into the hitherto hard man she’d thought her grandfather had been.
Tugging off her shoes, she made herself comfortable on the bed and unfolded the rest of the letters. Her quiet sobs as she read the final letters turned into hiccups as she hugged her pillow close and wept for what her grandfather had lost.
#
Ellie jerked awake, crying out in horror as she noted the long shadows. A quick glance at her watch had her launching off the bed. Grabbing her suitcase, she flew down the stairs.
The taillights of the taxi were disappearing as she pulled open the front door.
She rushed onto the road after it. “Hang on! Wait!”
At first she thought he hadn’t seen her. Then the car rolled to a stop.
“Oh, thank you!”
She jumped in the taxi, carefully avoiding the driver’s gaze. She was sure she looked a sight with her tear-streaked face and flat bed hair.
“Keswick Station, was it?”
“Yes, please.” She swiped a hand over her face and was busy smoothing down her hair when she heard the driver’s sharp exclamation.
She looked up. Jake’s fire truck stood crossways over the bridge.
He stood in front of the truck, his hands folded across his chest.
The driver stuck his head out. “Is there a problem, mate?”
“Yes. There is.” He didn’t elaborate, just stood there, his gaze locked on hers through the windshield.
The driver cleared this throat. “Err, miss, do you know what’s going on here?”
Ellie licked her lips, her heart beating like a jackhammer. “I…I think so but I have to get out to find out.”
“Listen, I’m not sticking around for this. I’ve already wasted half an hour waiting outside your house, I’m not—”
“It’s okay. Here,” she fished out several notes, passed them to him and got out. He slammed her door, muttering under his breath as he reversed his taxi.
Ellie barely heard what he said because Jake finally moved, his long, sure strides eating up the space between them until he towered over her.
“You said it was easier not to care when you’re young. Does that mean you care now?”
The tears she’d been holding back clogged her throat. “Jake, packing my things today was the hardest thing I’ve done in a long time.”
“Then don’t go. God, I love you so much, Ellie. I’ve loved you for a long, long time. I don’t think I’ll survive if you leave me again. And if leaving again is as hard as you say, doesn’t that tell you that you feel something for me too?”
“I can’t…I can’t stay here, Jake. Grandpa spent his whole life being disappointed in me. I think it’s better for me to leave before I disappoint you too.”
“You could never disappoint me. And don’t judge your grandfather too harshly. Despite what you think, he was proud of you. He bragged to his cronies about what a success you’d made of your life.”
“He did?”
“Yes.” He eased the suitcase from her numb fingers and set it down. “Stay here. Let everyone see the success you’ve become. Then instead of being Cochran’s wayward granddaughter, you can be Ellie Cochran, film critic extraordinaire. And…God willing…Jake Spencer’s wife.”
Her breath caught. “Jake…?”
He closed the distance between them and sank smoothly onto one knee. “Yes, Ellie. I am most definitely asking you to marry me.”
“Oh my God!”
“Is that a yes? We can make this work, I promise. I’ll take the training job in London and we can split our time between both places.”
“It’s an abso-fricken-lutely!” She sank down to join him on the ground, her heart alight with warmth. Placing her hands on his stubbled cheeks she kissed him soundly. “I love you too, Jake Spencer.”