Waiting for her to come back on the line, he imagined her removing her suit, her body arching as she pulled her top off over her head... His body hardened at the image.
“Okay. I’m back. Sorry, it’s been a long day and I need a chance to relax.”
Her voice was warm and melodious, if a little breathless. “Let’s see. I imagine you in yoga pants and a top, settling into a chair in front of the TV. You’ve probably got a health drink and a nutrition bar for your snack.”
“Nope. Sweatpants, stretched out on my bed. And there’s a bag of potato chips in the kitchen calling my name. I don’t know why I buy them. I’m doing my best to fight off temptation, but I might be ready to give in and let the pounds climb on board.”
“Hey. Me, too. My weakness is chocolate. Never met a chocolate bar I didn’t like.”
She laughed that laugh of hers that made him unreasonably happy.
“Speaking of chocolate, I make a really gooey chocolate dessert. It’s a recipe I got on the internet. It’s so delicious that Shannon and I eat it straight out of the baking dish until there’s nothing left.”
“Speaking of dessert, how would you like to make that gooey chocolate dish and bring it over here? Tomorrow night, maybe? I could make dinner while you get to know my cats.”
There was a short pause. Did she already have a date?
“I would love to make my dessert and come to your house for dinner tomorrow night,” she said, and he wanted to whoop with glee.
“Then it’s a date. Come over around six thirty.”
“I’ll be there. And, Jake... I’m so glad you called. I haven’t said this to you before, but I really appreciate that you’re...that you’ve been around recently. I don’t know what I would have done without you.” She gave a nervous laugh. “And to think how much I once disliked you.”
He was so happy to hear her say those words. “You had reason to feel that way. And I have a small confession of my own. I called because I wanted to hear your voice, to know how you’re doing,” he said, feeling the sincerity of his words deep in his heart.
Another pause filled the air. “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow night.”
“I am, too. Not to mention Lazarus and Jericho. Just remember—don’t wear anything that shows cat fur.”
“I’ll bring my own lint roller,” she said, her laughter filling his heart.
“I promise you the best Italian meal you’ve ever had,” he said, wishing that she was with him now.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE NEXT EVENING, Andrea arrived at Jake’s condo, eager to see him. They’d talked earlier in the day after she’d had a call from Officer Winters setting up an appointment about the incident with Stuart in the school parking lot. Jake had agreed to go to the meeting, and they’d both decided that for this evening they would not discuss anything going on in Shannon’s life.
When he opened the door, she couldn’t help but chuckle as she held out a bottle of red wine and the gooey dessert she’d promised. “An apron?”
He took her gift, kissing her quickly as he closed the door behind her. “Yeah, I’m housebroken. Actually, I started wearing an apron when my mother taught me to cook—kept the spills from staining my clothes so my friends didn’t find out I could cook.”
Two cats appeared and started snaking around Jake’s legs. “Are you going to introduce me?” she asked.
“Lazarus and Jericho, meet Andrea. Lazarus is the black-and-white one, Jericho is the orange cat,” he said, leading the way into the kitchen. One of the cats made an indignant sound as they left, their tails high, as they went down the hall toward what Andrea assumed was the bedroom area.
“This is lovely,” she said, her gaze moving around the room, past the gas fireplace to the large mural painting in bold slashes of orange, yellow and black hanging on the wall near windows that framed doors overlooking a patio.
“I change things around on a whim. This week I sent two artist sketches out for reframing to change the color of the matting.” His gaze swept the room before landing on her. “I guess you could say it’s a work in progress,” he said simply. “Would you like a glass of red wine? Cocktail?”
“Wine would be fine.”
She approached the raised counter dividing the kitchen from the living area, pulling out an art deco stool. He passed her a glass. “To a great evening,” he said.
She tapped her glass on his. “To good food.”
They sipped, their eyes meeting over the edge of the wineglasses. She’d been so excited about tonight, and now that it was actually happening, she was thrilled to be in his home. “What are we having?” she asked, never taking her eyes from his.
“My very own homemade pasta and a Sicilian sauce my mother often made.”
“Is there nothing for me to do?” She focused on the table, which was set with candles in tall glass containers, bright blue napkins and white dishes.
“Nothing at all.” He came around the counter and led her to the table, holding out a chair. “Sit and let me wait on you.” In the kitchen he filled two plates and took a salad bowl from the fridge.
He was so caring, so aware of her. And the way he wanted to please her... “No man has ever made a meal for me—ever.”
He kissed her, his mouth warm and demanding. “There are a lot of things I want to do for you. Dinner is only the beginning.”
“You’re flirting with me.”
“You’re right. I am. Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Feeling pampered and special, she relaxed and enjoyed the food. Each bite seemed better than the last. “This is so delicious. I have a confession to make.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“I can’t cook. Not really. Lasagna, maybe, but nothing as good as this.”
“Would you like to learn?” he asked, his hand moving to cover hers.
Images of standing in his kitchen while he taught her to make pasta, his kisses driving her crazy, created a pleasant fantasy world. “Yeah, I think I would.”
He stood and took their empty plates to the kitchen. “Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll put together a menu. You’ll come over here and we’ll spend hours...”
“Cooking?”
He laughed. “Some of the time.” He returned, took her hands in his then led her to the sofa with the view of the patio. “I have plans for you, for us,” he said as he kissed her slowly, his mouth covering hers. Easing her onto the sofa, he pulled her close, his fingers moving her hair off her face, his touch delighting her. All she wanted was for him to make love to her, to feel his hands on her body, to wake up beside him, knowing that she’d found someone she could really care for.
“Why don’t we postpone dessert?” he asked as he nibbled her ear, his lips playing along her throat.
Her body trembled with desire. She pulled his face to hers, her mouth seeking his. “You’re reading my mind,” she whispered into the tiny wedge of space between them.
He leaned in, his fingers snagging her chin, tilting her head back, her throat fully exposed to his gaze. His lips touched hers, as gentle as a breeze, light and promising.
She breathed deep, her hands moving over the open neckline of his shirt.
The pressure from his kiss changed as his tongue entered her mouth. She gave a short gasp, clinging to him, feeling his body against hers, responding to his kiss with a ferocity she didn’t know she possessed.
His groan of pleasure thrilled her. He eased her on top of him as he stretched out on the sofa, his erection pressing against her soft flesh, his body moving against hers.
She was overwhelmed by a rush of desire. She wanted him with every fiber of her being.
The kiss broke off, and his eyes met hers. His fingers slid beneath the hem of her top. She shivered in anticipation. “This ti
me you’re all mine,” he whispered against her throat, sending a rush of tremors down her body.
She couldn’t seem to hang on to her thoughts, so great was her need, her total dependence on his touch. Without thinking, she lifted her top, yanking it over her head and tossing it on the floor. “Now,” she pleaded.
Within seconds they were naked, hands reaching for each other. One minute their movements were sublime and controlled, the next minute they were tearing at each other to quench the fiery heat rising between them.
Andrea felt that if the world were to end now she would have missed nothing, would have wanted nothing more than what she had experienced here tonight. With him.
Much later, as her heart rate returned to normal, she felt a light thud. She shifted her gaze to the back of the sofa. A large black-and-white cat peered down at her.
“Ah, Lazarus. Get lost,” Jake said, the look of annoyance on his face making it impossible for her not to laugh.
“It would seem you have your very own sex police.”
He groaned, kissed her, then tucked her against him. He pressed his finger to her swollen lips. “Wait for it,” he whispered, pointing to where Lazarus sat. “There!” he said as Jericho jumped up, landed expertly beside Lazarus and proceeded to join in staring at them. “Jericho is always late to investigate any infringement of the cat rules in this house.”
She snuggled against him, her body languid as she let her gaze travel over Jake’s face.
“You like what you see?” he asked.
“A little more than like,” she said, smiling at him, wishing she could stay right where she was for the rest of the night and wake up in his arms. Pulling his wrist toward her, she checked his watch. “Whoops. I’d better get home. Shannon has an early day tomorrow, and I have a meeting I cannot miss.”
“Want me to drive you?”
“Mr. Polegato, is there such a thing as driving while sexually impaired?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Then I’m safe to drive.” She kissed him, climbed over his naked body and picked up her clothes. “The bathroom would be...”
“First door on the left.”
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING, Andrea couldn’t get her evening with Jake out of her mind. The meal had been fantastic, but it was what happened after that was so exciting and so frightening it kept her awake the rest of the night. If she hadn’t had an early morning meeting with the police today she might have considered staying all night with Jake.
Yet, as much as Andrea had wanted to stay with Jake last night—to make love and wake up in his arms—she was equally overwhelmed by her feelings. She was so close to falling for him completely.
It frightened her how vulnerable she was with him, so in need of his caring and attention, so infatuated with how good he made her feel. She’d been here before, letting her feelings rule her life. That had led her to make a commitment to a man who had never had her best interests in mind. He’d been so smooth, so easy to be with that she’d succumbed to his charms without counting the personal cost to her.
She couldn’t do it again. She couldn’t go into a relationship feeling pressured to behave a certain way. Of course, she was a different person now. But she also had Shannon to consider. Being in a relationship would work only if Jake was willing to take it slow, to give Andrea time to adjust.
She shook off her thoughts of the future for what was pressing today. Officer Winters had arranged an interview for nine o’clock today at the house. She was very happy and relieved that Jake had agreed to join them.
She’d tidied a little, waiting for Shannon to get up. When she entered the kitchen, she looked as if she hadn’t slept. “Are you okay?” Andrea asked.
“I got an English essay back and I didn’t do well,” Shannon said listlessly.
“Can I help?”
“No. I just need to talk to the teacher about it. See what I can do differently for next essay.”
While she hated to see Shannon do poorly, Andrea was pleased that Shannon was taking an interest in school again. And it was reassuring she’d opened up about her essay—so different from the past weeks when Andrea had learned things about her daughter from the counselor.
They were just finishing breakfast when Kyle arrived. “I’m ready,” he said, a determined smile on his face.
“You’d better be,” Shannon said, flopping next to him on the sofa.
Jake was the next to arrive. When she answered the door, his smile surrounded her, his gorgeous body only inches away. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, wishing they were alone.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” he said, reaching for her hand, holding it in his warm fingers. “How are you doing?”
“I—I don’t know.”
At a loss for words, she leaned close to him, looking into his gorgeous dark eyes. They stood that way as the moments stretched on. Ever so gently he tilted her chin and kissed her, a slow kiss that reached into her soul. She wrapped her arms around him as his mouth moved over hers.
“Hey, you two,” Shannon said, coming toward the front door. “Enough of this. I knew I shouldn’t have let you go out with Jake the other night. But that’s all in the past. For now we have business to do,” she said, a huge grin on her face, a wry tone in her voice.
Laughing, they stepped apart. “Your daughter has spoken,” Jake said, his tone light.
“Just when I thought I’d raised her to respect her elders,” Andrea said.
“I do respect you, Mom. But making out in the hall is so ’60s,” Shannon said. “Come on, we need to get organized for the interview. Jake, can you give Kyle and me some advice on how to do this?”
“Just tell him the truth,” Jake said as he followed her to the family room. He listened, supportive and thoughtful, as Kyle and Shannon talked about their worries.
A few minutes later, Officer Winters arrived. “So, if I understand correctly, you are reporting that Stuart Jameson threatened both of you,” he said, watching Kyle and Shannon.
“Yes, he did.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
Kyle and Shannon told him about Stuart approaching the car. “He said that he’d been called into the principal’s office over what we’d told Mrs. Chapman, our guidance counselor. He was really angry. We’re both sorry we hit him, and it was wrong, but he threatened us.”
“In what way?”
Kyle and Shannon told him about Stuart knocking Shannon down on the sidewalk several weeks earlier.
“And you didn’t report that incident?”
“Because we didn’t want to involve anyone else. We really believed we could reason with him.”
“Any other incidents?” the officer asked.
Kyle sighed. “We met him two weeks ago on Lower Water Street and asked him to stop bullying Shannon.”
“Then Stuart showed up in the school parking lot making threats, correct?”
“Yes. He threatened both of them,” Andrea interjected, anxious to have the officer understand why Kyle and Shannon had done what they’d done.
Kyle scrubbed his hand over his face. “He called Shannon names and threatened her.”
“And what did you do?”
“I wanted to slap him. And if Mom hadn’t shown up I would have,” Shannon said. “It was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
“He’s lodged a complaint that both of you came after him and assaulted him, and that your mother is a witness to the assault. Is that true?” He turned to Andrea.
“No! I witnessed threatening behavior from Stuart and because of all that’s been going on, the incident when Shannon was knocked to the sidewalk, I decided to call the police.”
“Stuart says he didn’t threaten anyone.”
“That’s not true,” Kyle and Shannon
said in unison.
“Officer, this has been going on for a while. The school is involved, trying to resolve these issues,” Andrea offered by way of explanation.
Turning to Jake, the officer asked, “What is your involvement, Mr. Polegato?”
“I was called in to replace the school psychologist. I sat in on the first meeting concerning Shannon’s issues, which we now know relate to Stuart’s bullying.”
The officer nodded. “I’ll open a file on the assault. But with accusations coming from both sides, the situation is complicated.”
“We’re working with the school to find a solution,” Andrea said, glancing quickly at Jake, relieved to see his eyes on her.
The room fell silent as the officer wrote down the information before he rose and tucked his notebook away.
“What do we do now?” Jake asked.
“Were there any other witnesses?”
“Not as far as I know,” Andrea said.
“If I were you, Shannon and Kyle, I’d hire a lawyer. Stuart has the right to file a complaint, as do you. If he decides to pursue it, you should be prepared. As to what the school does will depend on their policies, and how they plan to proceed.”
“Oh...” Andrea said, her head reeling from the implications.
After the officer left, Kyle and Shannon remained on the sofa together looking despondent.
Jake began to pace. “So, I think your best next action is to hire a lawyer. Then wait to see what Stuart does next.”
“And if we end up in court?” Kyle asked. “What then? My mom and dad can’t afford a big legal bill.”
Jake sat next to Andrea.
“We have the bullying incidents that Kyle and Shannon reported to the school, and the fact that the school is addressing the issues. Mrs. Chapman told Shannon she was going to meet with the principal,” Andrea said, wishing she could lean closer to him, have him put his arms around her. “I wonder if other witnesses would help. It could end up being Kyle’s and Shannon’s word against Stuart’s and Eric’s.”
“I’ve already talked to Chloe, and she doesn’t want to be involved,” Shannon said.
Unexpected Attraction Page 18