Each word crumbled away a few more pieces of her heart, made her voice waver uncertainly when she said, “You sound convinced I love you already.”
He laughed. “You do. You just haven’t accepted it yet. It’s obvious in the way you respond to me, in the way we can spend twenty-four seven together without getting on each other’s nerves. Why else do you think you’ve been trying so hard to scare me off?”
She didn’t have an answer for that, hadn’t realized she’d been so transparent.
“Let me be a part of your life. You won’t be sorry.”
“My life has a few rough places right now.” She knew he’d see right through this stall tactic, knew he would overcome yet another obstacle she tossed into his path.
And it surprised her how much she needed him to.
“Whose doesn’t?” he said. “I haven’t met anyone out there living the perfect life.”
“We’re from two totally different worlds.”
“Are you sure? You’ve refused to look at mine.”
More honesty, only this honesty shamed her with the truth of how weak she’d been. She hadn’t looked at his life. She’d refused even to take a peek.
“I don’t know how to let you in,” she admitted honestly. “An important part of me closed off a long time ago. I don’t think I realized how much until tonight when I watched Lance drive off in that cruiser.”
“There’s nothing closed off inside you that you can’t open up to someone you trust,” he said fiercely, his voice reflecting such utter conviction that she squeezed her eyes shut as if she could somehow dim the blinding glare of his faith.
“You might have closed down and not let anyone inside so you wouldn’t be hurt again, but look at the people you love, Mallory, look at how you care for them and how much they love you in return. If you choose to let me in, you will. It’s that simple. Trust me.”
She did. That was the simplest truth she’d had to face all night. She did trust Jake, trusted him not to lie, not to push. She trusted him to ask only for what she had to give. He wasn’t expecting promises or guarantees. He only wanted her to accept him, wanted her to give them a shot at a future.
“I love you, Mallory.”
More simple words. Slipping his hands over her shoulders, he forced her to turn around until she faced him, saw the truth in his handsome face, a truth that made her yearn for a future she’d been afraid to believe in.
She needed to feel his hands on her, needed to find her courage in the ecstasy she knew only in his arms.
“Take me to bed, Jake. Make love to me.”
Without a word, he scooped her into his arms and gave her what she wanted.
BY THE TIME Mallory opened her eyes, the sun shone brightly through the floor-to-ceiling windows. She blinked to clear away sleep, to gather her thoughts as she remembered all that had transpired through the night and the courage she’d found in Jake’s arms while the sun had risen.
Before she had a chance to mull through the enormity of the changes the night had brought, she heard what must have awakened her—voices.
“Jake, wake up.” She shook his shoulder. “Were you expecting company this morning? There’s a party downstairs.”
He sat up, eyes heavy with sleep, tawny hair rumpled, a drowsy look that made her smile.
She tried again. “Do you have any friends who have access to your security system?”
“Just my folks.”
“I think they’ve come to visit.”
But then she heard a familiar female voice and the sound of laughter that made her glance in the direction of the stairs. That couldn’t be…Opal?
Jake apparently recognized the voice, too, because he whipped off the covers and shot out of bed in an impressive display of sun-kissed skin and shifting muscle.
He disappeared into the hallway only to reappear a second later. “Opal, your father and my parents.” At her look of surprise, he crossed the room, retrieved a robe from inside his bathroom and tossed it to her. “Here, put this on.” Then he rummaged through his dresser and pulled on sweats.
Her dad, Opal and…Jake’s parents?
They descended the stairs quietly and Mallory found her heart galloping as they crouched low on the risers, peering through the balustrade to see what was taking place….
“They’re in the dining room,” he whispered.
A burst of deep laughter confirmed that her dad was indeed one of the unexpected guests, but before she could comment on how her dad and Opal might have wound up in Jake’s dining room with his parents, the doorbell rang.
Heels rapped on the wooden floor, and Mallory made a wild leap to her feet, felt Jake shoot into motion right behind her, but she hadn’t gained the first step before a pleasant female voice called out, “The kids are awake.”
An impeccably dressed woman with tawny hair and flawless golden skin that labeled her as Jake’s mother appeared at the foot of the stairs.
“Good morning, Jake. We have guests. We didn’t think you’d mind.” She tipped up a cheek for a kiss. “And you’re Mallory.” She smiled warmly, a smile that Mallory recognized from seeing often on her son’s face. “I’m Rosalyn, dear. Jake’s mother. I’m so pleased to finally meet you. We’ve heard so much about you.”
Mallory wasn’t sure who the we was, but she forced what must have been an absurdly shell-shocked smile on her face. “From Jake?”
Rosalyn shot Jake an amused look disguised as displeasure. “Yes, and from your father and Opal and your friends.”
“Oh.” Mallory wasn’t sure how to respond with thoughts of killing her dad and his crew crowding her head. “Pleased to meet you.”
She settled for a civility, and fortunately the ringing bell interrupted their exchange. Jake pulled open the door to find Polish Paul, holding a large bag from a well-known bagel bakery.
He looked bleary-eyed from what Mallory guessed was lack of sleep, but he’d donned a short-sleeved button-down shirt, the tails of which hung out over his great belly, a shocking departure from his ritual T-shirts. Miraculously, a stogie was poking out of his front pocket and not dangling from his lips.
Before Mallory had a chance to absorb this amazing transformation, he asked, “Did I miss brunch?”
“No, you’re right on time, Paul,” Rosalyn said as if they were already acquainted. “Please come in.”
Polish Paul’s gaze shot up to Mallory, and she forced herself to meet his gaze, even though her heart had leapt into her throat and threatened to choke her.
He absently passed off the bag to Jake’s mother and marched straight up to Mallory, pulled her down the last steps and folded her in his beefy embrace.
“You did the right thing,” he said in a gruff voice. “Don’t question it for a second.”
“Is he okay?”
“He will be.” Polish Paul shook his grizzled head with a certainty Mallory hadn’t seen for far too long when it came to discussing Lance. “Lieutenant Dunkel said you’d talked to him, so he’s going to recommend the judge order Lance into a treatment program before I can bail him out. Lance feels so bad, Mallory…I think he’ll cooperate. This’ll all work out for the best, you’ll see.”
She hugged him hard, blinking back tears when he released her and extended his hand to Jake. “Thanks for all your help.”
Jake didn’t reply, only shook Polish Paul’s hand, which was exactly the right thing to do to segue through the difficult moment.
Rosalyn demonstrated further insight when she said, “Come on, Paul. Let’s get something to eat. And you kids, too. Jake, your father’s wowing everyone with his special Western omelets.” She rolled her gaze. “And Eddie has been whipping up hash browns that are just delicious. He let me nibble from the skillet.”
Then she linked arms with Polish Paul and led him away, leaving Mallory staring after her in stunned silence.
“How does she know Polish Paul?” When Jake didn’t reply, she added, “And what are special Western omelets?”
“My father’s specialty. He makes them on holidays.”
“Oh.”
A burst of laughter issued from the dining room. Her dad, probably laughing about the two of them getting caught on the stairs like kids trying to peek at Santa in the act. “If there’s a party, I’d better go get dressed.”
She was too emotionally overwhelmed to handle facing her dad, the crew and Jake’s parents dressed in his over-large robe.
“At least it’s not a towel.”
“You didn’t have a choice. I do. This is your house and those people are your guests.” She started back up the stairs, tossing him a grin over her shoulder. “Make my apologies. I’ll be down in five minutes.”
Mallory’s five minutes turned into ten by the time she appeared in the dining room freshly groomed and wearing her coveralls. Jake’s dining room backed up to the windows, and the view of the conservation reserve in daylight was spectacular.
Eddie and a man who could only be Jake’s dad, given his brawny size, worked companionably in the full-size kitchen that was separated from the dining area by a huge island bar currently housing an array of fresh fruits that Eddie was arranging on platters.
He caught sight of her first, raked his gaze over her clothing and flashed a gold-toothed grin. “Good morning, sunshine. Came straight from work I see. I heard you had an eventful night.”
“Definitely eventful.” Eddie didn’t know the half of it. She shifted her gaze to Jake’s dad who’d pulled a skillet off the burner and extended his hand.
“Hello, Mallory. I’m John.”
His eyes were a steely blue color, but Mallory felt as though she could have been staring into Jake’s eyes so solid and steady was his gaze. “A pleasure, sir.”
Everyone else sat around a long oak picnic table—her dad, Opal, Polish Paul and Rosalyn—all drinking coffee and enjoying what appeared to be an impressive brunch.
“Good morning,” she said.
Her dad stood. She acknowledged Opal and Jake’s mother with a smile before making her way to her dad.
She gave him a hug. “So you heard?”
He only nodded. His dark gaze said everything else, how sorry he was she’d had to deal with the situation, how he’d approved of the hard choice she’d made.
“Are you all right, honey?” Opal asked.
Mallory glanced down at Polish Paul, who encouraged her with a salute of his coffee mug. “I’m fine.”
Her dad motioned to an empty space beside Jake and said, “Join us. We’re all one big happy family. Surprised?”
Surprised didn’t quite cover it. Eddie appeared with a mug of coffee, which she gratefully accepted.
“Just out of idle curiosity,” she said, pointedly glancing around the table as she sat down. “Exactly how did all this big-happy-family stuff transpire?”
“Jake told us he’d met you,” Rosalyn said. “He asked if we’d introduce ourselves to your family and friends.”
“Oh, he did, did he?”
Jake nodded, looking completely unfazed as he reached for a platter stacked with bagels. “I did.”
“John and Rosalyn gave us a call so we decided to meet for drinks at my club,” her dad added. “Given the circumstances, it seemed appropriate. The least I could do was apologize for all the trouble we’d caused for Jake ten years ago.”
Mallory took a fortifying sip of coffee and stared over the rim of her mug. “When did you figure out who he was?”
“I didn’t. Opal did after she met him at your place.”
Mallory shot Jake a look that translated into “I told you so” before confronting Opal. “So you’re the culprit.”
She smiled brightly. “Of course, honey. You know I don’t ever forget a handsome man. Or the back of his head as it was.”
“I asked you to run interference with Daddy.”
She spread her hands in entreaty. “I tried to get him to ’fess up, but you know him. He had to do things his own way. So I’ve been coordinating social visits with Rosalyn. This has been the perfect opportunity to get to know Jake’s parents.”
“And we always enjoy getting to know Jake’s friends,” Rosalyn said with a pointed gaze and a thoughtful smile.
Mallory didn’t miss the subtext. Rosalyn didn’t have any problems with the past or their disparate backgrounds, and she wanted to make her position clear. Jake’s father backed her up with a nod, and Mallory could only meet their gazes and accept their approval with a smile of her own.
Jake nudged her knee beneath the table as if to say, “I told you so,” and then began to fight a losing battle against laughter as her dad began a convoluted tale of meetings that had started with drinks at the club and wound up at Polish Paul’s Tattoo Studio.
John shoved up his sleeve to display a newly acquired “Polish Paul,” a circlet of gold-brushed angel’s wings around his bicep with the name Rosalyn showcased in the center.
“I’ve always wanted one but your mother hasn’t been impressed with anything we’ve seen through the years.”
“Polish Paul does beautiful work,” Rosalyn said. “So I gave him a tattoo for an anniversary gift.”
She smiled so lovingly at her husband that Mallory suspected she glimpsed the reason Jake believed in soul mates.
“So this solves the mystery of where everyone has been lately,” Mallory said dryly. “But I have a question, Jake. Why did you feel the need to suggest our parents get together?”
He slathered cream cheese on a bagel with that same look of calm deliberation. “You were such a challenge to win over that I didn’t have time to work on your father and the crew. You wouldn’t even tell them who I was, and I knew I didn’t stand a chance with you without your family and friends’ support. I had no choice but to call in the big guns.”
“The big guns?” Mallory glanced at his parents—Rosalyn, seated on the bench clasping her husband’s hand on her shoulder, and John, who stood behind her still holding a skillet—and her confusion must have been obvious to everyone at the table.
Jake smiled. “Remember when you mentioned my lack of any long-term relationships?”
Mallory nodded.
“You weren’t the first person to mention it.”
“We want grandbabies while we’re still young enough to enjoy them,” Rosalyn said. “So when Jake said he’d finally met the right woman, we wanted to do everything we could to help.”
“Hear, hear.” Duke raised his coffee mug.
Mallory found herself the recipient of every gaze around the table. Setting her mug down, she turned to Jake. “So while I was training you in good faith as per our contract, you were siccing the posse on me. Does that sum it up?”
His gaze cut through her, made her feel absurdly fluttery inside. “I wasn’t willing to take chances with you. And you haven’t exactly been a pushover. I needed help. I asked for it.”
She sat back, feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of her, unable to drag her gaze away from the truth so evident in his handsome face.
When he leaned toward her, Mallory’s heart actually tripped over another beat. “Let me love you,” he whispered for her ears alone, such intimate, honest words that heat flooded her cheeks.
Whether this was a function of the promise in his voice or that everyone stared at them, Mallory couldn’t say, but when her dad laughed, the heat in her cheeks flared even hotter.
“Babe, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush.”
“Oh, this is too romantic.” Opal gave a sigh, and Mallory scowled, even though her blush undermined the effect.
Underneath the table, Jake slipped his hand over her knee, gave a reassuring squeeze and then questioned Eddie about Peachtree Financial’s security system. He wanted to know exactly when TSS had designed the safe and how the crew had farmed out the work.
The change of conversation had the desired effect, diverting everyone’s attention from Mallory and the potential for grandbabies, when she and Jake hadn’t even discussed what the rea
lity of an us would involve yet.
So Mallory sipped her coffee, listening to the conversations happening around the table, trying to catch her breath. But there was still one more thing that needed settling.
Leaning close to her father, she whispered, “You tripped the alarm that night on purpose.”
He met her gaze and the wealth of emotion in his eyes had her blinking back tears. “Do you understand why I did?”
She nodded.
He reached up to brush his thumb along her jaw, a tender gesture that made Mallory feel so loved that those tears threatened to fall.
“Good,” he said softly. “I just want you to be happy.” Then he held out his coffee mug to Opal, who’d just stood to take her plate into the kitchen, and said, “Would you mind, gorgeous?”
Opal went to get more coffee. Polish Paul asked Eddie to pass the butter and got a lecture about saturated fats and arteries. The moment passed, easily.
Mallory liked that about her dad. He didn’t angst about radically changing all their lives. He didn’t hold up his sacrifice for a standing ovation, either. He’d done what he’d thought was best for the people he loved, and he expected them to understand. It was uncomplicated, right.
Sort of like the way she felt about Jake.
“I have a new development you’ll be happy to hear about,” she told him. “I’ll be limiting my work for law enforcement in the future.”
Duke held a forkful of John Trinity’s special Western omelet poised above his plate. “Really? And what has brought about this remarkable change of heart? Nothing I’ve said, I’m sure.”
“Jake offered me a position with TSS. I’ve agreed to give up my consulting business to work for him.”
The fork descended slowly to the plate. “Really?”
“You look surprised.”
“I am.”
“He offered me stock options and health benefits and an obscene amount of money. I could hardly pass his offer up.”
Now it was Jake’s turn to stop with his fork poised in mid-air. “Oh, I did, did I?”
She nodded. “TSS needs my particular expertise. You should have seen this man on the job last night, Eddie. He fell right on the pressure mat and activated the panic alarm. It’s loud.”
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