Till There Was You

by Iris Morland

  “Brian’s not a bad name. At least you aren’t Mortimer. That’s a terrible name,” she joked.

  His lips twisted, and she could’ve bitten her tongue. “That’s my middle name.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” When he started laughing, she blushed. “Wait, are you joking?”

  “How about you go out with me and find out?”

  She didn’t know what to say to that. Say yes, say yes! her mind screamed. Yet she found herself hesitating. Brian seemed perfectly nice, but he wasn’t—

  No, she refused to go there. This had nothing to do with him.

  “How about you tell me your order first?” she replied.

  “You choose for me. I trust you.”

  “All right.”

  Jubilee pushed her hair away from her neck, just like Heath had told her. Brian licked his lips, which made her feel slightly ill. She grabbed the tongs to choose something—anything—from the food case. In her haste, she knocked a plate of croissants off the shelf onto the bottom of the case, where they covered everything with flakes of pastry.

  “Dammit,” she muttered. She grabbed one of the pumpkin spice muffins, but not before she hit her head on the edge of the case. Her eyes blurred with tears. “Dammit!”

  Brian laughed. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” She practically tossed the muffin onto a plate and handed it to him. “That’ll be five fifty.”

  Brian decided to order a cortado before he went to sit down to eat his muffin. Jubilee tried not to dissolve into a puddle of humiliation as she made his drink. Smooth, Jubilee. Smooth.

  When she gave him his drink a few minutes later, he gestured at her to sit down. “There’s no one here, so your boss won’t get mad.”

  “I can’t, although I’d like to.” She batted her eyelashes, determined that this encounter wouldn’t end up another failure. “Does your offer still stand?”

  “Of course. I’m new in town, so you should show me around.”

  She pulled out her notepad and scribbled her number down onto it. “Text me. And I’ll try not to bash my head on anything, either.”

  “Excellent.”

  As she handed him the note, she made a point to brush her fingers against his. Brian’s eyes lit up. Jubilee did a mental happy dance.

  Heath was right. Men are simple.

  Jubilee returned to the register as more customers came in. Megan bustled in and out with more baked goods, her cheeks flushed but her expression happy. There were few things—and even people—that Megan loved as much as she loved her bakery. Her husband Caleb sometimes joked that he was secondary to The Rise and Shine, at which Megan would joke that as long as he behaved, she’d love him more than baking cinnamon rolls.

  Brian gave Jubilee a wave when he left, which prompted Megan to ask her about the gesture when they took a break for lunch.

  “His name is Brian. He just moved here,” Jubilee explained. “He asked me out.”

  “He did? He looked kind of old.”

  “I think his hair is just thinning early.”

  “Hmm.” Megan took a large bite of her sandwich. “Well, he’s no Ash Younger, but he’ll be good practice. Maybe you can help him with his fashion choices. That shirt was unfortunate.”

  “Oh, hush!” Jubilee laughed. “This is all part of the plan. Date lots of men for the experience.”

  Megan grinned. “Sure, but some experiences aren’t too exciting at the end of the day.”

  They chatted after they finished eating. Megan talked about the ultrasound she’d have soon, and how she wanted to find out the gender but Caleb didn’t.

  “He wants it to be a surprise.” Megan rolled her eyes. “But do you know how hard it is to find baby clothes that aren’t pink or blue? Besides, I want to be prepared as much as possible. Oh, that reminds me. I’ll need to hire someone to help in the next few months, especially when I’m on maternity leave. I want you to be the person in charge, of course.”

  Jubilee’s eyes widened. “Really? Are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure. You know this place as well as I do. I might still come in to bake, although Caleb might tie me down if I do.” She smiled. “Your brother is a pain in the ass, you know.”

  Jubilee knew she couldn’t keep her going to college a secret now, not if Megan expected her to stay to manage the bakery. “I’ve been meaning to tell you. I got into Avila. I’d start after the New Year.”

  Megan’s eyes widened. “What? Seriously? Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Because I’m not sure if I’m going or not.”

  “Why the hell not? Do you not want to?”

  “No, I do, it’s just…” Jubilee sighed. “I’ve never lived anywhere but here, you know? I think I’m afraid it’ll be a disaster.”

  “Now, that’s ridiculous. You’ll do great.”

  “What about the bakery? I don’t want to leave you high and dry.”

  Megan patted her on the arm. “Jubi, I’m so glad you’re doing this. I’ve loved having you work here, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve always hoped you’d get out of here. You need to stretch your wings. Seattle will be perfect. Sure, it’ll be a lot at the beginning, but you’re strong. You’ve beaten cancer twice. If anyone could succeed, you will.”

  Jubilee was close to tears. She sniffled. “Thank you. Oh, and you’re the only person I’ve told. So don’t tell anyone yet?”

  “Cross my heart, hope to die.” The front doorbell jingled as a customer came in, and then within another moment, they rang the bell at the front. “We better get out there before there’s a riot. People need their coffee, dammit.”

  Jubilee laughed, feeling like a huge load had been lifted off her shoulders for once.

  * * *

  When’s our next lesson? Jubilee texted that afternoon.

  Heath had gotten the text while at work, and he’d ignored it until he’d gone home. He then ignored it some more as he made dinner. When he received a second text that simply said, Stop ignoring me, he couldn’t help but smile.

  Not ignoring you, he replied. How about tomorrow night?

  That works. I have a date this Saturday, so I need some practice.

  Heath’s initial amusement faded, and he was in a black mood the rest of the evening. Restless, he decided to take a jog around his neighborhood in the hopes that he could burn off whatever this was. Even though it was already dark and cold, the chill felt invigorating.

  At least for the first few laps. By the time he returned home, his nose was red and half-frozen, his eyes watering from the blustery weather. Autumn would soon be at an end, and the infamous rainy season in the Pacific Northwest would begin. Days of gray, rain, drizzle, and cold until May.

  And soon he’d have to testify against Johnny. Rich hadn’t contacted Heath since that first call, but that didn’t mean Rich wasn’t watching—and waiting. Heath knew his type: they used any weakness you had to get you to bend to their will.

  His head pounding and exhaustion swamping his limbs, he went up to bed, only to wake up even more tired in the morning.

  The school day passed painfully slow: two of his students got into a fight at recess that resulted in both of them getting suspended for the rest of the week, while he caught more than one student cheating on the spelling test that day. He also had to deal with Jessie’s mom, Lana, stopping by to apologize for Jessie asking him to date her. I don’t generally ask my kids to pick up men for me, she’d joked, although Heath had detected a note of flirtation in her voice. He’d had to shut that down quickly, and Lana had reacted coldly. The encounter hadn’t improved his mood one bit. By the time the bell rang, Heath almost bolted from his classroom before his students had even packed up.

  When he heard a knock on his front door, it took Heath a second to remember that Jubilee was coming over. His heart did that annoying flip-flop in his chest as he let her inside. Lately, she’d been letting her hair go wavy, and he fought the urge to run his fingers through the silken locks.


  “Hi,” Jubilee said, her cheeks rosy. “Long time no see.”

  “Can I get you anything? Let me take your coat.”

  “Thank you. And no, I’m fine.” Jubilee fidgeted, and it melted Heath’s frustrated mood to see her. She was like a candle in the darkness, always bright and shining and beautiful. Every time he was around her, he felt like the world could be good and right and lovely. That wasn’t something he could say about any other person, except maybe his sister Rose.

  “I used your tips a few days ago,” Jubilee said in a rush as they sat down in the living room. At his raised eyebrow, she added, “For flirting and catching a man’s interest.”

  “Ah.”

  “It worked. I have a date Saturday.”

  “So you said.”

  She tilted her head to the side, looking like a curious bird. “Is something the matter?”

  Of course not. It’s not like I want to take whoever this guy is and pummel him for even thinking about going out with you, he thought darkly.

  “No, it’s just been a long day.”

  “Okay, well, I wanted to work on something specific. For my date.”

  His lips twisted. “I figured as much.”

  Her cheeks turned as red as cherries, and Heath was torn between being charmed and being twisted into knots. It didn’t help that Jubilee had put on some kind of perfume that wafted toward him every time she moved. It smelled like jasmine, and it only stoked his desire for her further.

  “I need kissing lessons. I don’t know how to kiss.”

  He stared at her, trying very hard to keep a straight face. “You were perfectly good at kissing when we did it,” he growled. He didn’t care that he shouldn’t bring up that night only a few weeks ago.

  God, that kiss. That kiss had wrecked him. Jubilee hadn’t been experienced, yes, but she’d been eager. Nothing like enthusiasm to make up for any defects in technique.

  “Um, thank you.” She swallowed. “But we didn’t go very far, right? I don’t know how to really kiss.”

  Heath wondered if being boiled in hot oil would be less painful than this conversation. Maybe he should throw himself off the nearest cliff to end this. It sounded preferable to kissing Jubilee so she could kiss another man that weekend.

  You had your chance, he reminded himself. She’s not for you. If you weren’t such an idiot, you’d tell her to go home right now.

  If he were wiser, stronger, better…except he was none of those things when it came to Jubilee Thornton. With her, he was weak. Desperate. Consumed.

  And God Almighty, he wanted to kiss her right now more than he wanted anything else in his life.

  “Well, then, I guess we better get started.” He turned so he faced her. “You’ll need to come closer than that.”

  “Oh! Of course.” She scooted closer, their knees bumping. She licked her lips, which didn’t help his self-control at all. “Where should I put my hands?”

  “How about on my shoulders?”

  She settled her hands on his shoulders, her eyes wide. Her perfume enveloped his senses, and he couldn’t help but drink in the pale creaminess of her skin. The smattering of freckles on her nose, or how her lips were full and pink.

  “Now, you’ll tilt your head to the left. Are you ready?”

  She nodded, her fingers digging into his shoulders. “Yes.”

  Heath touched her jaw and pressed his lips to hers. It was a light caress, barely a brush of his lips against hers. She inhaled, and when her eyelids fluttered closed, he smiled.

  He didn’t deepen the kiss right then. He simply enjoyed the feeling of her lips under his, the way her breathing increased. His cock hardened with every brush of his lips, and it took all of his self-control not to thrust his tongue inside her mouth and have her writhing under him in ten seconds flat.

  Steady, steady. He licked at the seam of her lips. When she didn’t open her mouth, he traced her cheek.

  “Open for me,” he murmured.

  Jubilee shivered. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she complained.

  “I’ll show you. Just let me lead for now, and then you can kiss me back when you want to. Okay?”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  She closed her eyes, parting her lips, and Heath’s heart thrummed. It was hard to believe she couldn’t hear how hard his heart was pounding as he touched his tongue to hers. He tilted her head back as he deepened the kiss. He sucked her tongue and tasted her, loving the way her nails dug into his shoulders.

  He just let himself feel: the taste of her, her scent. The silkiness of her lips. When she tentatively touched her tongue to his, he almost exploded. With a groan, he kissed her harder, that self-control snapping in an instant.

  Heath tangled his fingers in her hair, and then Jubilee was under him on the couch as he kissed her like he’d wanted to kiss her for ages. That kiss on Halloween had been a cruel tease—he’d needed more. He’d needed everything.

  He pressed his hips against her, wanting her to feel how much he wanted her. She shuddered, arching against him. The flames inside him grew and grew, especially as he pushed up her shirt to touch the skin above her jeans.

  But then something in his brain told him that he was going too far, that this was way more than kissing. That she wasn’t his and never would be, and he was only making it harder for both himself and her.

  With great reluctance, he ended the kiss, but he didn’t move off her for a long moment. Her eyes opened, and her pupils almost covered the green of her irises.

  “Is it over?” she whispered.

  He laughed, but it was a bitter sound. He sat up and tried—unsuccessfully—to cover his aching erection.

  “I think that’s enough. You should go.”

  Jubilee sat up, and Heath’s gut twisted at the hurt in her eyes. “Okay.” She pushed her hair off her forehead. “I need to get up early for work anyway.”

  It took everything in Heath not to yank her back into his arms and kiss her senseless. Her shirt was still rucked up slightly, and when she bent down to pick up her purse, he got a flash of cleavage that sent a lightning bolt of lust through him.

  After they said goodbye, Heath bolted his front door and leaned his forehead against the cool wood.

  He was fairly certain he was going to lose this battle against staying away from Jubilee.

  6

  An hour into her date with Brian, Jubilee rather wished she’d stayed home. Watching some trashy reality show on TV would’ve been more exciting than listening to Brian talk about which Star Trek series was the best one.

  “Enterprise is best, but Discovery is my second favorite.” Brian took a swig of his pale ale, his third one for the night. “Have you ever watched Star Trek?”

  Jubilee forced a smile. “No, I haven’t.”

  “Oh, then I need to tell you where to start. People think you should start with the first episode filmed, but I totally disagree with that.” Brian whipped out his phone and began to text her something. “I sent you the best-watching order, including all of the movies. Except the most recent movie, which was trash.”

  Jubilee drank her wine and considered if it would really be rude to go to the bathroom and never come back. Brian was perfectly nice, but he was boring. He’d barely asked her anything about herself. She had a feeling if she asked him, he wouldn’t even be able to remember her name.

  He’d taken her to a little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant that was mostly famous for serving booze without checking IDs. Jubilee’s plate of spaghetti had come out cold and the pasta underdone. She’d eaten all of three bites before she’d given up and decided she’d eat something at home.

  “You’re not eating?” Brian smiled. “I’m totally fine with women eating in front of me. I know you all think you’re not supposed to eat on dates.”

  Jubilee rolled her eyes inwardly. “I’m just not hungry,” she lied.

  “If you say so.” He took a bite of his own pasta, which he ate with a loud smacking sound that made
Jubilee wince. “My ex-girlfriend would always order a salad with no dressing, and then she’d complain about how fat she was. I guess it’s a chick thing.”

  Jubilee blew out a breath. She’d been the one to instigate this whole situation, so she might as well try to salvage at least part of the night. She refused to believe she couldn’t find any decent guy to date—any decent guy who wasn’t Heath DiMarco.

  Her mind drifted to that kiss a few nights ago as Brian droned on about his ex-girlfriend’s predilection for leaving clumps of hair in the shower all the time. That kiss had rocked her to her very soul. The Halloween kiss had been just a mere taste, she’d realized after she’d driven home, still shaking from how it had felt to have Heath press her down into the couch cushions.

  He’d been hard—for her. She’d never known what it was like to have a man desire you, and it was a heady feeling. It was a feeling she wanted to experience again and again, even if her logical side knew experiencing it with Heath couldn’t happen.

  They could play at lessons and go their separate ways, because Heath had already made it clear nothing else could or would happen. Jubilee needed to accept this if she was going to avoid getting her heart broken all over again.

  “Did you hear me?” Brian asked.

  “I’m sorry, no. What did you say again?”

  He sighed heavily. “I asked if you wanted to go for a walk after this?”

  No, no, and no, she thought. “I can’t. I need to get home.”

  Brian shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He finished his pale ale with a belch that cemented Jubilee’s opinion of him.

  She hadn’t planned to let him kiss her when he took her home, but when she stood outside her door, fumbling for her keys, he apparently took that as a sign that she wanted a kiss. He leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers. Surprised, Jubilee froze and then decided to see if maybe Brian’s kissing skills were better than his conversational ones.

  The way he kissed her could only be described as nicely. There was little passion behind the kiss, and when it ended, Jubilee had the absurd thought that it was about as intense as kissing your brother, that kiss. She bit back a laugh, although maybe it was really a sob. Because the contrast between this staid, boring kiss and Heath’s soul-burning kisses was so apparent it was physically painful.