So did Tessa. So. Did. Tessa.
Chapter Twenty-six
‡
Jake looked down at his “date” and pasted a plastic smile on his face. Inwardly, he was doing anything but smiling. The last thing he wanted was to be here with this card-carrying member of the B.B.B club, but fair was fair. Her ticket had been pulled in the “Win a Date with the Fire Chief” raffle his guys had put on without his knowledge. It wasn’t her fault that his thoughts—along with his heart and his soul—belonged only to Tessa. Nope, she had paid her money and won her prize, and he was going to do his best to be a decent companion this evening.
Still, he found himself glancing around every two seconds to see if Tessa had arrived. He just couldn’t stop himself. He knew that she was going to be here this evening. She was working, taking photos on assignment from Say Cheese. Just the thought that he was going to get a glimpse of her beautiful face was enough to lift his spirits and make his heart expand—not to mention other parts of his anatomy. He just wished that she were here with him. Damn.
“Who do you keep looking around for?” his date pouted. “You’re supposed to be paying attention to me!”
Jake winced inwardly. She was right. The truth was that she had won this. He was her date and he should be paying attention to her. It was just that grating, wheedling tone she used was annoying the shit out of him.
He turned to her and smiled, doing his best to look sincere. Stop grinding your teeth, Maguire, he warned himself. Just be nice.
“Sorry. You’re absolutely right,” he conceded and saw the ghost of a slyly triumphant smirk grace her lips. That annoyed him, but he fought to maintain his pleasant demeanor. “I promise, for the rest of the night, I will be completely and totally focused on—”
He trailed off mid-sentence, not even grasping the irony, because at that moment, he caught his first glimpse of Tessa. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened.
She looked like an angel.
The smooth black satin of her dress skimmed her trim curves like a glove. She moved effortlessly through the crowd, her smile lighting up the room as she snapped photos and chatted with everyone she came across. Her hair was pulled up, showcasing the gorgeous, sexy slope of her neck. The sight of her exposed skin made Jake’s mouth water, and he was having a hard time drawing in a full breath.
Breathtaking. That was the only word for it. Tessa was breathtaking.
“Only focused on what?”
Jake barely registered the words, and he definitely was not aware that they had been aimed at him until he felt a sharp poke in his ribs.
He looked down, unable to hide his annoyance now that physical pain was part of this torture ritual, AKA “date.”
“What?” he snapped.
B.B.B. stuck her bottom lip out, playing up a fake tremble for full effect.
“You’re only going to be focused on what?” she whined.
Great. Now the pouting was back. Is this chick for real? He sighed to himself as he clenched his teeth.
It didn’t matter. Jake knew he had to pull his head out of his ass and fast. It wasn’t Rib Poker’s fault that he was here with her instead of Tessa. Jake just needed to man up and follow through with his commitment.
“Only focused on you,” he admitted, doing his best not to show how tightly gritted his teeth were as he said the words.
She smiled and winked in a way she must have thought was seductive. “Good boy,” she purred. “And if you’re really good, maybe you’ll get a treat later.”
What the hell? Did she have him confused with Lucky? Is this the sort of thing guys went for?
Well, yeah. He guessed it was. Sadly, this inane-banter-as-foreplay routine was exactly the sort of thing he used to go for in his “asshole-slash-man-whore” days, as Eric had so bluntly put it.
To Jake’s surprise, Eric appeared next to him at that very moment, as if thinking about him had actually summoned him to Jake’s side.
“How’s it going, bro?” Eric asked with a sly smirk.
“Great,” Jake replied flatly.
“It absolutely is. It’s going so great,” the blond said, possessively slipping her arm through Jake’s.
Eric looked at her for a moment then put his hand out. “I’m Eric,” he said, “Jake’s brother.”
When the blond raised her heavily mascaraed eyes to meet Jake’s, waiting for him to make the introductions, he realized he didn’t have a clue what her name was. Shit! He knew she was part of the B.B.Bs. But out of the group, he only knew Courtney’s name, and this wasn’t Courtney. It was also something with an ‘eeeee’ sound at the end. Trixie? Cookie? Zoey? Crap! Something like that. Everything sounded close, but nothing sounded right.
Jake saw the exact instant that Eric realized what was going on, but he never had any illusions that Eric was going to rescue him. He couldn’t really blame his big brother. Jake would not have rescued Eric if the situation were reversed.
“Jake, why don’t you introduce me to your date?” Eric asked, an undercurrent of amusement coloring his tone.
“Yeah, Jakey,” the blond pouted. “Why don’t you introduce me to your brother?”
“Really, Jakey,” Eric continued, faux sincerity filling his voice. “It’s just poor form. So rude.”
“Yeah, it’s so rude!” the blond continued to pout.
Damn it all the hell. Jake was honestly trying to do his best to get through this night and be a half-decent date. He was going to kill Eric the next time they were alone, and he did his best to convey that sentiment with his facial expression.
Far from looking intimidated, however, Eric appeared highly amused.
Just then, Lily walked up, wearing a red gown that left nothing to the imagination. Jake could see Eric’s reaction to her written all over his face. In fact, right then, Eric’s face probably looked quite a bit like how Jake’s had just moments earlier when he’d laid eyes on Tessa.
Well, good, Jake reasoned. Maybe he’ll be distracted enough by Lily that he’ll stop being a dick.
No such luck.
Eric looked back to the blond, his face open and full of warmth. Jake knew it was false, but the blond would certainly fall for.
“This is my fiancée, Lily,” he introduced. “And, Lily, this is Jake’s date…”
Eric looked pointedly at Jake, who opened his mouth to form some sort of reply, but Lily ruined Eric’s gag, turning to Jake with genuine surprise and blurting out, “Oh, I thought you were here with Tessa?” before covering her mouth with her hand.
“Who’s Tessa?” the blond spat, her eyes wild with fury.
It’s none of your damn business.
“A friend,” he replied firmly. He looked back at Lily, who was mouthing, “Sorry,” a worried expression on her face. Jake nodded. He knew that his soon-to-be sister-in-law hadn’t meant to cause any trouble and he didn’t want her thinking she had.
He felt his arm being tugged on and he turned to see that the pouty lip was back in full affect—it must have been her go-to move. “Tonight, I’m supposed to be your friend,” she whined.
Jake’s head was pounding from all of the conflicting emotions. He felt like telling her straight up, “Seriously, I don’t even know your damn name! Stop whining!” But of course, that was not an option. He simply bit back his frustration and smiled.
He needed to take control of this evening before it spiraled any further out of control. Thinking that he might have figured out a way to stop the flow of endless conversation coming at him from all sides, he summoned every last drop of charm he could. “You are. Do you want to dance?”
*
Tessa was having a hard time maintaining the sunny and friendly façade she had been determined to keep up throughout the course of the evening. When she left the house, she had been pumped up and feeling strong, having listened to her Girl Power playlist the entire time she was getting ready. From ‘Don’t Need You To Tell Me I’m Pretty’ by Samantha Mumba to ‘Independent Women’ by Destiny’
s Child, she had rocked out to female empowerment anthems for an entire hour while crafting her hairstyle and makeup. And yes, she did recognize the irony. Still, she needed the boost.
Her playlist had ended on ‘Extraordinary’ by Liz Phair, and by the time she’d walked out the door, she really had been feeling like an “average, everyday, sane/psycho Super Goddess.” She had been ready to go to this event, and Jake’s presence was not going to throw her in the least. He would be there with a date who had won the honor through a raffle, and Tessa could handle it. She was going to be working and Jake was raising money for a good cause.
Much to Tessa’s disappointment, however, that strong glass-half-full momentum she’d built up lasted for about .46576 seconds after she laid eyes on Jake in his tux. She was disappointed with herself, obviously, for falling prey to her hormones. But she was equally disappointed in her playlist for giving her false hope that she might be able to withstand them when she so clearly could not.
Still, Tessa had a job to do. And she couldn’t let it suffer because of how much seeing Jake affected her. So, she put on a bright smile and began to mingle and do her job. If there was one thing that she had learned during the endless parade of weddings, birthdays, graduations, bar mitzvahs, and quinceañeras she had photographed these past years in San Diego, it was that people came out looking much more natural and organic in photographs if you chatted with them first, got them relaxed and smiling and happy.
She was here to take photos tonight—that was her job. But moreover, she was here to take great photos tonight. That was her work ethic. She didn’t care if she was photographing a prom for a high school or a war zone for Time—she did her best work every time she got behind the lens. No exceptions.
So, yes, it was tearing her apart inside that Jake was across the room with a gorgeous—a little flashy but she had to admit, gorgeous—blond on his arm instead of her. Oh well. That didn’t matter. What did matter was that she was going to put on a happy front and do her job.
“Hey, girlie girl.” Tessa heard Amanda’s familiar perky voice beside her. “How are you doing?”
Tessa turned and looked into Amanda’s eyes, reveling in the warmth and concern she saw there. It was good to see a friendly face and be able to drop the plastic, professional façade for just a moment.
Tessa shook her head. “Well, I have to admit, it’s a bit exhausting pretending to be happy and bubbly,” she laughed.
Amanda enfolded her in a quick hug and then said, “Well, why don’t you take a little break from capturing the festivities for posterity and sit and have a glass of watered down wine from the open bar with me?”
Tessa nodded gratefully. “Honestly, the promise of weak booze has never been so welcomed.”
It took a while to make it through the crowded room. Especially with people stopping her every two feet either to tell her how great it was to see her again—which was nice to hear—or to comment on the fact that they thought she would be Jake’s date tonight—which was not so nice to hear.
When they did finally sit down together at one of the tables that had been placed around the perimeter of the dance floor, Tessa held up her glass of wine and said wryly, “I think I’m going to be needing more than one of these tonight.”
Amanda reached over and rubbed her shoulder in support, and Tessa appreciated it. However, that relief was short-lived, because at that instant she looked up and saw something that, even though she had been expecting to see something like it all evening, sent her into an emotional tailspin.
Jake and his beautiful blond date were out on the dance floor and she was clinging to him for all she was worth.
Tessa’s insides clenched. She knew it wasn’t real. She knew that Jake was only there because this was a professional function and the girl had won a raffle. It wasn’t real. And yet…
Tessa couldn’t help it. The emotional reaction she had to seeing Jake with his arms around another woman—to seeing Jake with another woman pressed tightly against his body—was horrible. It made Tessa feel as if she wanted to die—or more accurately, like she wanted the other woman to die.
When she looked at the picture they made out on the dance floor, it made her wonder, Is that the kind of girl Jake is going to end up with? Was that really what Tessa wanted for him? Would that girl, who was rubbing up against him like a cat in heat, be a good wife, a good mother? Would she love Jake like Tessa did? Would she be willing to sacrifice her own personal happiness for him?
“Hey, Levi!” Amanda’s voice pulled her out of her inner turmoil. “How are you tonight?”
“Great,” Levi answered with a smile. “Just wondering if I can interest either one of you lovely ladies in a dance?”
“Love to, boss,” Tessa immediately replied, surprising even herself as she shot to her feet. Both Amanda and Levi looked shocked at the speed and enthusiasm with which she had answered, but Tessa didn’t care. All she knew was that, right now, she needed to get her mind off of the incredibly sexy man and well-endowed blond she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from. Dancing seemed like a better solution than wallowing in a glass of wine.
Levi led her out to the dance floor and placed his hand loosely on her waist, standing about a foot and a half back from her and taking her hand in his free one. Clearly he knew that this was a purely platonic dance. Unlike big-boobed blondie.
She and Levi moved across the dance floor with an easy grace, and he even dipped her. Although Tessa had originally only agreed to dance with Levi as a distraction, it was actually turning out to be pretty fun. In fact, she would go as far as to say it was the highlight of her evening. Levi was a great dancer.
Just as she as really beginning to let go and enjoy herself, Levi spun her around and Jake came into view again. What she saw made her cringe just a little.
Jake was staring at her with laser-focused intensity, and he did not look happy. Nope. Not one little bit. In fact, if anything, that man looked jealous.
Tessa didn’t want Jake to be upset. She’d only been dancing with someone else to get her mind off of him. Shoot. She couldn’t just walk away from Levi mid-dance. It would be incredibly rude for one thing, not to mention ridiculous.
As the song played on and she and Levi glided around the dance floor, she could sense Jake’s eyes on her every single moment. She had always been attuned to his presence and his attention, ever since they had met as teenagers. If he entered a room, even if her back was turned, she could sense him. The small hairs on her arms and the nape of her back would stand up as if shocked by static electricity. Now, thirteen years later, that bond had not been severed. In fact, it had not even been weakened. She felt Jake’s eyes on her like a physical touch.
When the music slowly faded out and the couples on the dance floor, including herself and Levi, began to wander away back to their tables, Tessa smiled up at him and said sincerely, “Thank you for the dance. I really needed it.”
“No problem,” he said as they arrived at the table that now held not only Amanda, but Nikki, Amy, and Karina as well. “Ladies.” He nodded before walking away.
“Dang, Levi can really move,” Karina observed as she sipped a glass of white wine.
“I know, right?!” Amanda agreed.
Amy sat down, joining them and holding the firefighter calendar Tessa had shot last week. “Wow, these pictures are… Wow.”
Nikki looked over her shoulder as Amy flipped the page and immediately recoiled from what she saw. “Oh my god! I’m scarred for life. A sister should never see that expression on her brother’s face.”
“I agree,” Amy said, looking a tad horrified herself.
Tessa hadn’t seen the final product but she knew the proofs she’d sent to the printers and Jake’s photo had been, well…hot. For his shirtless pose, she’d chosen one where he’d been straddling the chair, looking down into the camera.
She felt a blush rising on her cheeks as she remembered how hot the entire session was—and more to the point—how hot the
after session was too.
Amanda and Karina scooted around so they could see what all the fuss was about. As soon as their eyes landed on the photo, Amanda’s jaw dropped as her cheeks turned bright red while Karina’s mouth turned up in a mischievous smile and she fanned herself, saying, “Holy hot tamale.”
Tessa didn’t think it could be that bad. He wasn’t any more naked than any of the other guys in the calendar. “Can I see it?” Tessa asked, and Amy nodded, handing it over to her.
Oh my.
She must have gotten desensitized by seeing frame after frame of Jake in all of his sexy glory because looking at him now, not in the context of editing, her entire body was engulfed in tingles. It wasn’t just his muscular body, which was amazing. It was the look in his eye. That was how he looked at her when he was buried deep inside of her.
“Okay, you know it’s a hot pic when it even makes the photographer blush,” Karina teased.
Tessa shook her head, smiling. As her friends took back the calendar and flipped through the other pages, Tessa’s eyes automatically roamed the dance floor. Jake was still out there with the blond draped all over him.
He’d texted her earlier and told her he was coming over after he dropped off B.B.B. She’d been a little confused about the B.B.B. part, but the one thing she knew for sure was that he might be here with someone else, but he’d be with her later tonight. In bed. She could hardly wait.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
‡
Jake walked up the front walkway to his house. Tessa opened the front door before he reached the welcome mat.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Hi,” he repeated as he stepped into the house, a bundle of pent-up nerves. He felt stretched tight and on the verge of snapping.
He and Tessa had not said one word to each other during the entire event, so he had no idea what she was feeling—but he knew that he was about to explode with a complicated mix of emotions that he could not even begin to unravel. He’d dropped off his date and drove straight here.
Let It Snow (The Hope Falls Series) Page 21