by Blake, Jill
He was a player. Always had been. She’d known that from the start. And yet she’d fallen for him, hard. His charm, his wit, his strength. The little things he did that had lulled her into thinking that he really cared: offering massages when she was tense, making sure her appliances were in good repair, kneeling on the ground in his tuxedo so he could clean her feet.
And so she’d ignored all the warning signs. Made the classic mistake of thinking that she could change her man.
What a joke.
Turned out he hadn’t changed at all. And apparently, he wasn’t even her man.
But if he and Jeannine were back together, then what was he doing here? If he’d tracked Angie down just to tell her they were through, she might have to seriously reconsider her belief in non-violent conflict resolution.
She clenched her jaw. “It’s fine, Quinn. You mentioned something about appetizers…?”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Thanks.” She offered him a tight smile. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
He nodded and gave Zach a hard look before turning away. Within seconds, he was swallowed up in the crowd.
Zach stepped closer. “Can we talk?”
“I’m listening.”
“Someplace quiet…”
She glanced around, set her drink down on the nearest empty table, and headed toward the hallway she’d contemplated disappearing into earlier. Stopping halfway between the men’s and ladies’ restrooms, she folded her arms across her chest and looked at Zach.
He sighed. “What’s going on, Angel? One minute we can’t keep our hands off each other, and the next you pull a disappearing act.”
Angie blinked. Did he really not know? How could he be so oblivious? The man had gotten together with his ex-girlfriend, for cripes’ sake. Not even a day after Angie had stripped down to practically nothing and offered herself to him. And he’d turned her down. This isn’t just about sex, he’d said. Well, what the hell was it about, then?
“I saw you,” she said.
His brow furrowed. “What?”
“With Jeannine. Your old girlfriend.” Did he plan to continue playing dumb?
Apparently, if his confused expression was anything to go by. Suddenly impatient, wanting to get this over with and move on, Angie dropped her hands to her sides. “The Westwood Diner. On Monday. Ring any bells?”
Zach frowned. “Yeah, we were there. So what? We’re working on an amended Environmental Impact Report to submit to the City Council. Jeannine’s company did the original study, so we hired them to do an expedited revision. We met on Monday to review the draft.”
“Over lunch?”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s called a working lunch. I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept.”
Right. Except she’d never used working as a euphemism for foreplay. She dug her fingernails into her palms. “You were kissing.”
“What?” He scowled. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I know what I saw.”
“Really? And what was that? A peck on the cheek, like you might get from your great-aunt Mary—”
“I don’t have a great-aunt Mary. And if I did, she sure as hell wouldn’t look like your girlfriend Jeannine.”
“Ex-girlfriend,” he corrected. “We broke up over two years ago. And before you ask—no, I haven’t slept with her since.”
He sounded so adamant about it. Could she really have mistaken the situation so completely? She chewed her lip.
“So,” he said. “Now that we’ve straightened that out, my turn: should I be jealous of you and Quinn?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“Unlike some people, I don’t make a habit of jumping from bed to bed.”
“Neither do I. At least, not anymore,” he amended.
“Since when? This morning? Last night? Monday afternoon?”
“Since the day I came to your office three months ago, and you looked at me as if you wanted to get naked and jump my bones right then and there.”
She stared at him. Oh. Had she been that transparent?
He took a deep breath and reached for her hand. “I can’t change my past, Angel. But I can promise you that if you give me a chance, you won’t regret it.”
She swallowed. “You can’t know that.”
“Yes, I can,” he said, bringing his free hand up to cup her face. “I love you, Angel. I want to be with you. Only you.”
Her eyes began to prickle. “You say that now…”
“Now and always.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Forever and ever, till death do us part.”
As offers went, this one was pretty unequivocal.
“What do you say?” he whispered.
For a moment, she wasn’t even sure she was capable of speech. Then she licked her lips. “Can I have that in writing?”
He smiled. “I’ll have my people contact your people.”
And then he leaned in, claiming her mouth in an all-consuming kiss that lit a fire deep inside, like a match set to dry kindling on a hot windy day. She speared her fingers through his hair and pressed up against him, heedless of the line of people snaking past them toward the restroom, or the drunken catcalls urging them to get a room.
When they finally broke apart, breathing hard, it took several minutes for reality to filter back in.
“Come on,” Zach said.
She allowed him to lead her down the hall, back into the main dining area. “Where are we going?”
“Home.”
She picked up her pace to keep up with him. “My place or yours?”
“Yours, for now. It’s closer.” His fingers tightened around her hand as they threaded their way through the crowd toward the exit. “Did you drive?”
“No. I came with Quinn.” She scanned the room. “I should probably let him know I’m leaving.”
“Text him from the car.” He held the door for her. Outside, the evening chill made her shiver. He shed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. “We need to get a place together. I have a friend who’s a real estate agent. I can shoot him an email tomorrow. How do you feel about Santa Monica, above Wilshire?”
“Can we slow down a little?”
He checked his stride. “Sorry.”
“Thanks,” she smiled. “But I actually meant the plan-making. You can’t go from playing the field to moving in together in two seconds flat.”
“I’m done playing the field, Angel. And we’ve known each other for thirteen years.”
She followed him onto the escalator to the garage level. “Okay. But for twelve and three quarters of those years, we’ve been on opposite sides of almost every argument. We couldn’t even be in the same room together without arguing.”
He arched a brow. “Apparently we still can’t.”
“See, that’s what I mean. We’ve got a long way to go before we’re ready to take such a big step.”
“Not really,” he said. “Think of our relationship as a house. We’ve been doing construction for thirteen years. The foundation’s solid, the wiring and plumbing are all in, the walls and roof are pretty much done. But no matter how carefully you design and build the house, there will always be little things that go wrong and kinks that need to be worked out—things you only discover when you’re already living there. It’s called an adjustment period, and everyone goes through it, no matter how long they put off the move-in date.”
He unlocked his car and waited until she was settled in before shutting the door and circling around to the driver’s side.
“So, how about it?” he prompted, when she remained silent.
“We’ve still got a lot to work out,” she said.
“Like what?”
She fumbled for an example. “Like who’s going to take out the trash.”
“I will.” He eased into the flow of traffic on Santa Monica Boulevard.
“What about the cooking?”
“
We can take lessons together.”
She bit her lip. “Kids…?”
“Half a dozen.”
“Half a…what?”
“I’m leaving you room to negotiate.”
His laughter warmed her heart.
And that’s when she knew. This was love.
The kind that came around once in a lifetime. The kind that her parents and siblings had. The kind she’d dreamed of someday having herself.
And she’d almost thrown it away.
“Zach.” She smiled and tested out the words. “I love you.”
He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, keeping his eyes on the road. “Love you too.”
As for the rest? That was all negotiable. Garbage, cooking—and yes, even kids.
~ THE END ~
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
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LOOKING FOR MORE BY JILL BLAKE?
The Santa Monica Trilogy:
Without a Net (Book 1) ~ Eva & Max
Coming Home (Book 2) ~ Grace & Logan
Balancing Act (Book 3) ~ Angie & Zach
The Doctors of Rittenhouse Square Trilogy:
Pursued by the Playboy (Book 1) ~ Kate & Marc
Taking a Chance (Book 2) ~ Samantha & Alex
This Time for Keeps (Book 3) ~ Isabelle & Luca
Turn the page to read more about these titles…
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Without a Net
(The Santa Monica Trilogy, Book 1)
By Jill Blake
Eva Landry has always played it safe…and where has it gotten her? Betrayed by her husband, left alone to raise her young son, and struggling to keep head above water, the last thing she needs is another philandering male.
Max Palmer has always pursued adventure…until he’s sidelined by an accident. While recovering from his injuries, he discovers that the biggest adventure of his life may be closer than he ever imagined—in the form of Eva, his baby sister’s best friend.
The problem? Convincing Eva to risk it all…without a net.
Click HERE to read an excerpt from Without a Net
(Click on book cover to “Look inside”)
Coming Home
(The Santa Monica Trilogy, Book 2)
By Jill Blake
Grace goes to New York to search for her father—and ends up getting drawn into a frenetic life among Manhattan's über-rich. But when her new marriage collapses in a firestorm of scandal, she flees back to California to recover.
After his college girlfriend dumps him without explanation, Logan spends eight years building his career and sampling some of L.A.’s finest talent. Now that Grace is back in town, he can’t stop thinking about her and wondering, What if…?
Sometimes first love deserves a second chance.
Click HERE to read an excerpt from COMING HOME
(Click on book cover to “Look inside”)
About the Author
Jill Blake loves chocolate, leisurely walks where she doesn’t break a sweat, and books with a guaranteed happy ending. A native of Philadelphia, Jill now lives in southern California with her husband and three children. By day, she works as a physician in a busy medical practice. By night, she pens steamy romances.
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Balancing Act (The Santa Monica Trilogy, Book 3)
First Edition, April 2015
Copyright © 2015 by Jill Blake
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and other entities appearing in this work are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, dead or alive, or other real-life entities, past or present, is purely coincidental.