He had not paid attention to her eyes when he’d kissed her. He’d been too absorbed in the feelings that exploded every time his mouth melded with hers. Too caught up in the feel of her tantalizing woman’s body pressed against his, too captivated by the sweet taste of her. Too enthralled with the sound of her soft reactions to his kisses. Next time he’d look into her eyes and see what happened.
Next time?
“It’s none of your business,” he said.
“Maybe not, but it sure had an impact on your life. But not everyone is like your mother or Selena. You surely aren’t expecting to live your life alone. Don’t you sometimes wish there was a special someone to share momentous events with? I sure do. I had lots of friends in New York, but whenever I got a promotion, or a new project, I called home to share with those who genuinely love me. Who loves you, Jake?”
He drew in a sharp breath. She was cutting too close to the bone, now. “I don’t need anyone to love me, Kerry. That emotion is a myth, an illusion that people use to cover lust. It makes it sound so much better to sleep with someone if you’re in love. But the fact is there’s no such thing as a lasting love. You only have to look at my mother to see that. Even if she stopped caring for my father, what about her two sons?”
“I don’t know. Do you have the full story behind that breakup? You were a little boy. And my aunt said your father changed after that. She knew them both, liked them both. Maybe she did try to see you and your dad wouldn’t let her. Or maybe not. Whatever, it happened a long time ago. And why give her that much power if you don’t like her? The power to keep you from finding someone who cares about you, who wants what’s best for you—however you define that. Someone who would share her life with you. Let go of the past, Jake. Reach for the future.”
“Shouldn’t we learn from our experiences?”
“I think love is a strong bond between people. I love my parents and they love me. They adore each other. My dad would walk through fire for my mom, and I want to find that kind of love for myself. I don’t want to be alone all my life. I want a special person to share it with.” She jumped up. “But that’s not you.”
Reaching for his plate, she leaned over a bit and glared at him.
“You’re going to regret it when you are old and gray and can’t work and there’s no one around to remember the old days with you. Do you want to take some cake home with you?”
Jake almost laughed at her abrupt change. Almost, but not quite. He wanted to be angry at her tirade, but there was a glimmer of truth in her words.
“If you can spare a piece,” he replied evenly.
“I certainly can. If it’s around I’ll eat it and I don’t need the extra calories.”
He watched her sweep into the kitchen. For a moment he wanted to follow her, but reconsidered. He’d stated his position. She’d stated hers. Stalemate. Neither believed the other’s stance appropriate. He just hoped she didn’t end up in a marriage that made her miserable. Or walk away from her children in ten years.
The thought of Kerry getting married nagged at him. Frowning, he tried to put the thought out of his mind. But he could envision her walking down the aisle at the Baptist church and escorted by her father wearing some extravagant, beautiful white wedding gown. Pledging herself to some faceless man.
Clenching his fists, Jake wondered if the man would be good to her. No matter what, Kerry had been part of his childhood, and he didn’t want any harm to come to her.
Rising, he started toward the house when she came out, carefully carrying a covered plate.
“Here it is. Don’t eat it all at once.” Her smile was friendly. Her eyes clear. There was no subterfuge with this woman.
“It’s a wonderful cake. I’ll enjoy every bite,” he said taking the plate.
“Sorry Sally and Greg didn’t make it. Maybe another time.” She backed up a step.
With a hint of mischief, Jake stepped forward. Kerry moved back another pace. Reaching out with his free hand, he caught the nape of her neck and gently pulled her closer.
“I have to get the dishes done,” she said breathlessly.
“They can wait. Is this good-night?”
She fidgeted beneath his gaze. Was she nervous? Of him? Not likely after blasting him a few minutes ago.
When she looked up, her eyes were uncertain. Remembering what he wanted to know, he kissed her. Her lips parted and she responded perfectly. Pulling back a bit, Jake stared into her warm eyes, burning with inner fire.
He wanted her. Stunned at the revelation, he couldn’t think. The schoolgirl from his younger years had metamorphosed into a beautiful, compelling woman. One he wanted to know in every way possible. When had this happened? What had Kerry done to change? Or had he been the one to change?
Her hair skimmed across the back of his fingers. He could feel the warmth of her body as she stood so close, yet not quite touching. He wanted more. More than mere kisses. He wanted all of her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Make home a calm and serene place so a man can rest when he is there. Strive to fill his life with little things that show you care.
—Megan Madacy’s journal, Summer 1923
“GOOD NIGHT, JAKE,” Kerry said, slipping from beneath his hand. She was scarcely breathing. She had to get away before she made a total fool of herself over this man.
“Kerry, wait.”
“I’ve got to go. ’Bye.” She ran the short distance to the kitchen door and flew inside, letting the screen slam behind her. Taking a deep breath she wondered what she was doing. Arguing for the institution of marriage with a man who was dead set against it was an exercise in futility. And caring for such a man would be a dumb move. Really dumb. Hadn’t she learned anything in life? Tilting at windmills got her nowhere. She’d done her utmost to stem the tide when the takeover came. It had accomplished nothing except wear her out.
As would caring for Jake.
Almost afraid Jake would follow her into the kitchen, she went to the sink and began to do the dishes. It didn’t take long. Once done, she peered out into the darkened yard. He was gone. Thank goodness.
“A narrow escape. If he kept kissing me, I’d forget every lonely day since he so scathingly turned on me and fall back in love with the man,” she whispered into the night. Horrified with the trend of her thoughts, she shook her head. No way was she going to fall in love with a man who wanted nothing to do with her.
Time she started looking for a new job. And a new place to live that was not right next door to Jake. Get herself so busy with other things she didn’t have a minute to think about what might have been.
The phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Thanks again for dinner,” the familiar, sexy voice said. Kerry shivered, and sank onto the chair. Maybe if she recorded his voice, she could play it over and over until she got so sick of hearing it, she would be immune to its attraction.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I don’t get to cook often and I like to.”
“You can cook for me anytime.”
She smiled, thinking of Megan’s advice. Would that breach the walls around his heart?
“I think Mrs. Mulfrethy would object. She’d think I was usurping her place.”
“If you repeat what I’m about to say, I’ll deny it all the way to the Supreme Court, but your cooking is much better than hers.”
The warmth of his compliment washed through her. “Thanks, Jake. I’m glad you enjoyed it, but that’s just based on one meal. You’d be better off staying with Mrs. Mulfrethy.”
“Have dinner with me tomorrow night?”
She gripped the receiver. Two nights in a row? She almost said yes, then remembered Megan’s words of wisdom. “Sorry, I’m busy.”
“Doing what?” he asked quickly.
“You know, Jake, you need to watch that habit of cross-examining everyone you come in contact with. As you said when I mentioned Selena, it’s none of your business.”
“Monday night?”
Kerry suspected by the sound of his voice he wasn’t used to being turned down. Perversity reared its head.
“Nope, sorry.” She almost laughed, waiting anxiously to see if he’d counter.
“Tuesday?”
Biting her lower lip to keep from laughing, she remained silent wondering just how far he’d push? Did he really want to see her again, or was it a case of pushing until he got what he wanted?
“Wednesday then. In fact, I’ll take you around to some of the apartment complexes in Charlotte Wednesday afternoon. I already know I won’t be in court. We can get dinner afterward.”
“Why would you want to help me apartment hunt?” she asked, surprised by the offer.
“Who better to advise you on the lease parameters than an attorney?”
Warily, Kerry agreed. “Wednesday, then. About one?”
“Shall I pick you up?”
“No, I’ll come into town. No sense you driving out here and then back.”
“Get home early Tuesday so you’re not tired.”
“What are you, my new father?”
“No, Kerry, but if you’re busy every night until Wednesday, I suspect you’ll be exhausted.”
“I’ll just sleep in late every morning,” she said, almost laughing again. She had nothing planned for any evening, but she wouldn’t tell Jake that. Let him think she was in high demand. Did it raise her worth in his eyes? She frowned. She wished to be wanted for herself, not because he thought she was some prize to be won.
Taking the journal upstairs after Jake hung up, Kerry planned to read until she fell asleep. The dinner had turned out unexpectedly well. In a way, she wished Sally and Greg had been able to attend. She would have learned more about her neighbor if he and Greg had exchanged reminiscences. Then her thoughts veered toward Wednesday.
She couldn’t imagine Jake arranging to take time from work to help her do anything eleven years ago. Couldn’t imagine him kissing her, either. She’d tried that once, with disastrous results. But there was nothing wrong with his kisses now. They were simply wonderful.
“Forget it, he’s not for you,” she admonished herself firmly.
But as she stared at the list of ingredients her great-grandmother had written down in her youthful exuberance, Kerry shivered, wondering if they alone were responsible for the change in the way Jake acted.
“You should have published them, if they really work,” Kerry murmured, slowly turning the pages already read.
Did they work with everyone? She needed to meet a man she felt she could connect with and try them again to prove their worth. Maybe the move to Charlotte was the best thing. She’d have a new circle of friends and find the opportunity to meet nice eligible men.
Not that Jake wasn’t nice. She almost cringed. Somehow the term sounded almost insipid when referring to him. Dangerous, intriguing, sexy—all more powerful terms to describe the man.
And eligible would never apply. Not unless he made a major change.
Kerry purposefully avoided Jake during the first part of the week. She made sure she was inside before he arrived home each evening—not sitting on the front porch until long after dark, when he couldn’t see her.
Tuesday evening, she went to Sally’s. Her cousin was feeling much better, and they cooked on a small grill on Sally’s balcony. Sitting at the tiny table to eat, Kerry mentioned Jake planned to take her apartment hunting. Sally frowned.
“Why?”
“Said he’d look over the leases for me,” Kerry said, trying for a nonchalant attitude. Sipping her iced tea, she gazed over the grass of the apartment complex in which Sally lived, avoiding her cousin’s gaze lest she guess Kerry truly didn’t feel that nonchalance.
“He seems a lot more attentive than he used to. In fact, it’s almost a complete turnaround, don’t you think?” Sally considered her cousin for a moment. “Watch yourself, I wouldn’t trust him for a minute.”
“He’s my next-door neighbor, nothing more,” Kerry said, hoping her cousin couldn’t detect the lie in her voice. Jake was growing more important to her every time they met. She had thought herself immune to his charm, to the attraction that she’d used to feel for him. She’d been convinced his scathing denouncement years ago had cured her of any feelings.
She’d been wrong. Each minute they spent together only brought a bit more uncertainty. And flared the attraction that had never really died.
If she didn’t want to lose her heart to the man, she’d better start looking elsewhere for companionship!
“Just be careful. You know he has no interest in a long-term commitment.”
“I know. If I get an apartment, I’ll be away from temptation.”
“Aha, so you feel there is temptation with Jake?”
“Have you ever looked at the man? He’s a walking testament to masculine perfection.” She closed her eyes briefly, seeing his tall, lean body, his wide shoulders, remembering the defined muscles when he mowed his lawn. She sighed softly.
Sally laughed. “Kerry, you have it bad. I personally think Greg is a walking testament to masculine perfection, and I’m crazy about the man. I thought you got over your crush on Jake years ago.”
“I did. I know better than to fall for Jake. Let’s change the subject. I have something else I wanted to ask you. Did Megan marry Frederick?”
“What?”
“The journal tells me how she’s enticing the man by doing all these different tactics—like being unavailable, cooking his favorite meals. I’ve only read some of the journal and so far it’s taken place over several months. Did she and Frederick marry?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? I thought you said you’d skimmed through the journal.”
“I skimmed through it here and there, read the first few pages and the last few pages. It covered several years altogether. I didn’t think I needed to read it closely. And Mom really wanted to read it.”
“What was Megan’s last name?”
Sally sighed, “I don’t know that either. She died when we were young. I always called her Great-grandma Megan.”
“Me, too. You’d think someone would have mentioned her last name. Or our great-grandfather’s name.”
“She was our mothers’ grandmother. Her daughter was their mother. I don’t know if I ever heard her last name. And he died before we were born. I guess there just wasn’t any need to mention him by the time we came along. We can ask Mom.”
“By the time they get back I’ll be through the journal.”
“Well, read ahead and find out.”
Kerry shook her head. “I don’t think I want to do that. But I sure hope she married her Frederick. She seems so in love with him. And she’s doing her best to follow all the advice her mother and aunts are giving her. Some of it seems to work. How could we know so little about our family?”
“Ask your mother. I expect with her interest in anthropology, she also knows everything there is to know about the family.”
“Maybe, I haven’t been all that interested before. But after reading Megan’s diary, I feel as if I know her. And for all the decades that separate us, she’s a young woman on the threshold of the rest of her life—which is how I look at myself.”
“A bit older than she was,” Sally murmured.
“Yes, but just as interested in her recipe as any of her friends might be.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m doing the same thing, and—” Kerry stopped as an idea hit her.
She looked at Sally with consideration. It would be perfect.
“Sally, if I give you some pointers, would you try them and then tell me the results?”
“What is this, some kind of experiment?”
“Sort of.”
Kerry explained her idea—for Sally to try Great-grandma Megan’s advice on Greg to see if she noticed any change in the man and their relationship. Wringing a reluctant agreement from her cousin, Kerry soon left for home. She’d have to write
down all the different ingredients and give them to Sally. Once her cousin tried them with Greg, Kerry would have a better feeling about if they really worked.
Were they sound ideas, or was it just serendipity that it seemed to be working with Jake. Not that he had done or said anything to lead her to believe he was looking for a long-term relationship. But the times they’d been together were well worth the small effort she had made.
She liked wearing flowing dresses, delighted in their picnic, enjoyed cooking. Was it all that simple? Do what you like without artificial posturing and see what happens?
When the receptionist announced Kerry’s arrival on Wednesday afternoon, Jake felt a sense of relief—he’d been worried she wouldn’t show. He hadn’t seen her since their dinner on Saturday night. And been surprised to find over the last few days that he missed her.
“Hello, Jake.” Kerry breezed into his office with a bright smile on her face. He felt the impact like a kick. She looked beautiful, and so happy it almost hurt to look at her.
The dress she wore emphasized her slender curves. The pale peach color was perfect with the deepening tan on her shoulders and arms. He wished he could spend time with her when she was in the sun. He’d like to see her long legs gleaming with oil, observe how her swimsuit covered that slender body, yet revealed the soft curves and valley of the woman.
“No kidnapping today?” He’d better think of other things before he embarrassed them both, he thought as he rose and crossed his office to greet her. It seemed natural to kiss her. His hands covered her arms, and he drew her closer. It was briefer than he wanted, but permitted him to set the tone of the afternoon.
She blinked and shook her head, tilting it to one side as she smiled at him. “Not today. Be on your guard, you never know when the kidnapper might strike again.”
Feeling ten feet tall at the rising color in her cheeks, a clear reaction to his kiss, Jake reached for his suit jacket and shrugged it on, all the time watching her. Was it his imagination or did his office suddenly seem brighter? He glanced over his shoulder at the window. The sun had been shining all day. It made no sense that it was brighter now.
The Husband Campaign Page 12