Secret Love (The 4Ever Series Book 2)

by Isabella White

  As much as he was looking forward to a new beginning with Holly and their daughter, he still needed to tell Kate that the wedding was off, even after he’d assured her that he would go to Hawaii to marry her. He never thought, not in a million years, that Holly would forgive him for choosing Kate over her. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to choose Holly. His heart ached for her, everything ached for her, but he couldn’t put his family through all of that again. It was one of the reasons he’d kept quiet about her being a doctor at Downsend, constantly hoping that Amelia didn’t run into her somewhere. It was a miracle she hadn’t.

  His lips caressed her cheek softly, lingering a beat as he breathed in her scent. She was finally his again. But first, he needed to sort out important things. He forced himself to get up. He’d switched on his phone for only a few minutes the day before to call Amelia to let her know that he wasn’t going home and that she should look after Jamie. He could hear the smile in her voice as she told him no problem and glad that he sorted shit out. Messages poured in, but he wasn’t ready to deal with any of them. Kate must have tried to get hold of him a million times.

  His phone continued to beep as messages rolled in. He eventually put it on silent. They were all from Kate, none from his mother. He knew she was behind this; Holly had all the proof, and she had absolutely none.

  He dialed his inbox and listened to message after message. Kate wanted to know why his phone was off, why she couldn’t get ahold of any of them. Later messages a freaked-out Kate wanted to know why he wasn’t at home, why nobody was answering their phones. She sounded angry, and he wouldn’t have expected anything less. She’d tried calling Amelia and Gus, but everyone seemed to be ignoring her calls? It didn’t sound like Amelia, she liked Kate, that much he knew. But she also knew what Holly meant to him.

  Fifteen messages from Kate, all of them asking the same thing, then throwing a hissy fit. He understood her insecurity, though. From the corner of his eye he saw movement, and he looked toward the bed and at Holly. She’d just woken up. Putting the phone down on the dresser, he got back into bed and merely stared at her. Neither said a word. When their lips touched, it felt as if his insides were going to melt. How she didn’t know what she was doing to him, he couldn’t fathom. He just didn’t understand that.

  His hand slipped beneath her robe to find only skin. He grunted as her perfect, naked body flashed behind his eyelids. “You know just what I like.” He pulled her harder against him before rolling on top of her. Their kisses grew blazing hot. He opened Holly’s robe fully, her breasts and stomach sung under his lips when he trailed them down her body. Goosebumps flashed all over her skin when he stroked the sides of her body softly, moving lower and lower, until he found the spot he knew drove her insane, and then buried his tongue inside of her, making her breathe faster. Soft groans left her mouth and when her legs started to tremble and her fingers drove into his hair, he knew she was close.

  Holly orgasmed, but Jake didn’t stop. Only after he saw her biting her lower lip did he chuckle and moved back up. He removed his shirt and found her eyes on his arms. He’d forgotten about the tattoos. She touched the area below it softly.

  “What is this?” she asked, staring, mesmerized, and then the realization of what they were flashed over her face.

  “I felt the need to do this. It’s Jamie’s and Romalia’s dates.”

  Tears glistened in her eyes. He hadn’t wanted to make her cry.

  “You got tattoos with their names and dates?”

  “I take every opportunity I can to show you how serious I am about all of this.”

  She grabbed him and kissed him as if she was never going to get another chance. Loving it, Jake kissed her back. He removed his jeans and boxers as quickly as he could, then nestled himself between her legs.

  Holly laughed softly, making him stop.

  “What?”

  “Not so fast, mister. I forgot about one small thing.”

  Jake squinted.

  “I need to show you that you are not the only one with a magical mouth.” She touched his lips and then pushed him back on the bed, disappearing beneath the covers. Her soft kisses on his chest made him feel like he was in heaven. He could do this every single day and never get tired of her. She went lower, kissed the his V-line, and then rubbed her hand gently over his cock.

  He grunted softly. It felt so good.

  Her hands took hold of his shaft, tightening their grip around him, and then her mouth covered the tip of his cock and she sucked. It was amazing how she pressed her tongue gently, scraping softly with her teeth. It drove him insane. More sucking and pulling with her hand in opposite directions was making him groan again. She knew just what he liked. Holly’s blowjobs were the fucking best.

  He wanted her, he wanted to kiss her lips, wanted to be inside of her. He grabbed her head gently and pulled her up to him from under the covers. She was laughing before his lips claimed hers. The kiss was deep, and hungry.

  Gently maneuvering her onto her back, he climbed on top of her, and finding her opening, thrust himself into her, again and again. It felt so fucking good. Sex had never felt this amazing with Kate or anyone else. He’d always had to use some sort of sex toy to get himself there, but not with her. Only she could do to him what no one else could. He gave her everything he had. If she didn’t believe how much she meant to him with words, he’d show her every single time he made love to her. He was being rough with her, but when images of what she must have gone through in hospital as she fought for her life flashed through his mind, so he slowed his pace. She was loving every second of it. The noises she was making confirmed it.

  Her back arched beneath him, and he felt the beginnings of her orgasm against his dick. He sucked on her lips again and she mewled like a kitten. Rolling him over, she was on top again. She turned so her back faced him, not a position he liked much as he couldn’t see her face, but she found that spot faster each time and start riding his cock hard.

  Jake thought he was going to die and go straight to heaven. Grunts escaped his lips, and screams of pleasure entwined with hers. He loved her sexual noises. When she convulsed, he took over the pace and slammed into her harder, and faster. He was almost there. He gripped her hips and pulled her back forcefully, her body slamming onto his.

  Suddenly, he threw her off and changed places once again. Shoving his arm beneath her torso all the way around to her hip, he grabbed on and pushed them slightly upward, while supporting himself on his elbow and knees.

  Then he gave it to her again. Deep and hard thrusts; he was almost there. She was beyond herself, whimpering and screaming all at the same time. It fucking made him crazy. And on that thought, he finally came, rooted deep inside of her. “Fuck!” he yelled, thrusting harder until he was spent.

  Jamie and Romalia weren’t going to be their only ones, he couldn’t help but think. He made a mental note that they still have to talk about that, all of it, what he did the last time too. But he wasn’t going to think about that right now. Now it was only them.

  He fell collapsed on top of her, forcing a laugh from them both, tired yet satisfied. Holly turned her head to look at him, her beautiful curls covering her eyes. Jake pushed them away to simply stare at her. He slid his arm beneath her head and pulled her body halfway on top of his.

  “That was amazing, like always,” he whispered against her ear, kissing her earlobe softly.

  “Thank you. I’ll be here all week.” Her tone was joking, but he hated how true her words were and wished that he and Jamie could leave with her, but it was not enough time to get Jamie a passport and a visa, even with his contacts.

  “I promise you. You will see her.”

  “I know. It’s just so unfair. We just discovered the truth and now I have to leave. It’s as if fate doesn’t want us together.”

  Jake laughed. “Bee Puke, I walked out of a flight because of a patient that was fed the wrong meds at P&E and I had to sort that out, which meant I had to reschedule m
y flight. If that hadn’t happened, I would have never seen our daughter, and I would have been lying in a bed far away from this one with the wrong person, imagining she was you. Fate is on our side, I can promise you that.”

  Holly giggled, but then silence followed. “I saw you,” she finally said.

  He had no idea what she meant, so he studied her face. He removed his arm from around her neck and rolled onto his stomach, resting his upper body on his elbows. She looked away as if a memory was haunting.

  “When?” he asked, gently lifting her chin to make eye contact with her again; tears glistened in her eyes.

  “The day they were born.”

  Jake merely stared at her. That was impossible. He hadn’t been there, he knew that, otherwise none of this would’ve happened. He’d searched for her and he would never have not seen her.

  “I didn’t really see you… think it was some sort of hallucination.”

  His heart wanted to break. She’d wanted him there so badly and he hadn’t been. He was never going to get over this.

  “I flatlined on the table...”

  His entire body froze as she said those words. She’d died? He closed his eyes for a second. He knew if that had happened, his mother’s lies would’ve died with her and he never would have been with her now. Would Jane have contacted him to tell him she’d died but their baby had survived? He opened his eyes to look at her.

  “…And that’s when I saw you running toward me. When I woke up, my mom was there. She was so relieved, and I was so happy that you’d finally changed your mind.” She smiled. “I knew that Amelia would be with them, taking care of them when I couldn’t, and when I didn’t see you, I knew you were with them, too. I asked my mom if she’d seen you, and she just stared at me, her eyes sad. She told me you weren’t there. I fought with her at first because I’d seen you, and then she told me that I must have had a hallucination.” A tear rolled over the bridge of her nose. He couldn’t hold his in anymore. Shifting, he half-lay over her. He knew he was kind of crushing her, but he didn’t want her to see his tears.

  “Don’t cry. I’m not telling you this to make you feel crappy. I’m telling you this because deep down, I knew you wanted us, I was just so scared to find out if my gut was right or wrong. I’m so sorry I didn’t stay or call you.”

  Jake sniffed, wiping away his tears. Reaching for her hand, he kissed her fingers softly.

  “I was a mess, too, Jake.”

  “Yeah, I gathered that much yesterday.”

  “So you did speak to my mother?”

  “I did. She even got pissed off with me because I kept saying I wasn’t there.”

  She smiled. “Well, it serves you right.”

  He kissed her. “I will always want you, Holly, but you have to promise to talk things out, speak to me face-to-face before making any decisions. I would never say anything like that to you over the phone. I’m not a coward.”

  “I promise,” she whispered.

  “Will you please explain to me now why the hell you had crazy sex with me when you thought I’d left you?”

  She smiled, the embarrassed kind, then closed her eyes. “I loved you. I still do. Believe me, I tried not to love you. I tried to get over you. I even went on a couple of horrible dates, and some not -o-horrible, but I just couldn’t. None of them were you.” She sighed. Those words made Jake feel as if he were melting. “You want to know the real reason I left?”

  He nodded. There was more?

  “I knew if I stayed, I would do anything to make you happy. But I also knew that I’d end up hating myself and hating you if I had an abortion. I couldn’t imagine a life where I would hate you that much, so I left.”

  Jake just stared at her. She’d felt exactly as he had, exactly, and he hadn’t even known it. He kissed her without saying a word, knowing that it was going to be one of many to come, because Holly would never leave him, not ever again.

  HOLLY

  THEY LEFT THE HOTEL THE MINUTE AMELIA phoned. Mara and Kate were headed to the cabin. Robin must have told his mom where they were.

  Holly was petrified. She became quiet. He knew she didn’t want to see Mara.

  “I promise you, she would never hurt you like that again, Holly. Never.”

  She nodded and buried her cheek against his shoulder as they walk out the hotel arm-in-arm.

  During the ride to the cabin, Jake told her that they should go for a nice breakfast as he knew Amelia wouldn’t want to see his mother either. But he had no choice, he needed to do this. It was the only way for them to be truly free to live the rest of their lives together in peace.

  Holly didn’t like that. How much more proof did he need to show him she wasn’t the one lying to him?

  When they finally reached the cabin, there was no sign of another car. Holly finally managed to breathe.

  They hurried inside.

  “Mommy,” Jamie ran into her arms.

  A part of her couldn’t wait to tell Jamie that they were going to stay. That Daddy was coming home. They were going to be the family she always wanted for them.

  Amelia just gave her a smile and hugged her tightly. She didn’t have to say what was on her mind. Amelia spoke an entire conversation just with her body without using a single word.

  Jake kissed Jamie on her head. “Good morning, pumpkin.”

  Jamie was shy again and Jake just laughed. “Is it going to be like this every morning?” he joked.

  “No,” Jamie said and laughed. “Where were you last night?”

  “Daddy was painting, sweetheart,” Rod spoke from the kitchen counter.

  “Painting?” Amelia asked.

  “Rod,” Holly said.

  “Rodney Ballucio,” Jane scolded and Amelia just wanted to know what she’d missed.

  Jake just laughed and shook his head.

  “You want to go for breakfast?” Amelia asked.

  Jamie nodded. Jane, Rodney, Amelia, Holly, Moira, and Jamie left.

  Jake followed them to the car as he gave Amelia the keys to The Beast.

  “So what, you don’t trust me with your SUV?” Holly asked Jake and he laughed.

  “I’ve seen you drive.”

  She gasped. “Nothing is wrong with my driving.”

  He bent his head into the window as Amelia adjusted the seat for her feet to fit the pedals. He kissed Holly softly.

  “Okay, lovebirds, we need to leave.”

  “Yes, Mom,” Jake grunted.

  Amelia stuck out her tongue at her brother playfully as his eyes caught Jamie sitting between Rod and her grandmother. He winked.

  “Drive safely,” he scolded Amelia.

  “Good luck,” Amelia said and reversed out of the parking spot and drive through the black gates.

  Amelia wasted no time. “So I take it you took my advice.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “I told you it would be a different choice.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  Amelia laughed but she left it there. She glanced in the rearview mirror and asked Jamie if she wanted to sing a couple of songs.

  Holly tried to join in on the ones she knew, but she couldn’t help feeling a knot in her stomach. What if Jake didn’t manage to break off his wedding? She sighed when she realized they had reached the town without passing Mara and Kate.

  Amelia parked the car and Holly found her staring at her as they all started to climb out.

  She pulled her back into her seat as she was ready to get out.

  “He’ll call off the wedding, Holly.”

  “Then why does it feel as if I’m never going to see him again, Amelia?”

  “That’s called doubt and I’m sorry, but you are stuck with us, whether you want it or not. We love you, Holly. Jake loves you. He cannot live without you. He will call this wedding off. What you have with my brother? It’s the real deal. That guy would walk through fire for you and Jamie. He will cancel the wedding.”

  JAKE

  Jake paced around the room
and decided to give Holly a call, and was happy when she picked up immediately.

  “What do you want?” she asked in serious tone and he laughed.

  “You guys at the restaurant?”

  “Yes, we are. Jamie is already playing in the jungle gym.”

  “Good,” he said.

  “Are they there yet?”

  “No, but please don’t worry about any of this, okay. Have faith in me.”

  “Yeah, okay.” She took a deep breath.

  “Holly, I love you.”

  “Love you too,” she said and switched off the phone. She still didn’t believe him.

  He went to sit outside where they made the big bonfire last night.

  Half an hour later, he heard small little footsteps running toward him.

  “Daddy,” Michael yelled and was in Jake’s arms. He closed his eyes and kissed the boy on his head.

  This was breaking his heart.

  Kate followed, and the look on her face told him she was furious. First he postponed the wedding, practically jilted her at the altar, and then he didn’t pick up any of her calls. Of course she was mad. That much he knew. He felt sorry for her too. Today wouldn’t be easy.

  “Where the hell were you?” Lisa came up.

  He wasn’t a fan of his third sister. Somewhere along the line she’d turned into a bitch.

  “Lisa, enough,” Gus’ voice came from the inside.

  “No, Dad. He had responsibilities.”

  “I said enough,” Gus yelled and Lisa fell silent. The rare times their father spoke to his children like that, they knew they were out of line.

  Lisa rushed off toward the lake with Kimmi and Ben behind them. Ben was already eleven. He didn’t even look at Jake. They were close, the only brother Jake had, but after this, he wasn’t sure how close they were going to be.

  Lilly walked out as Jake stared at the backs of his youngest three siblings. His mom had probably brainwashed them on their way back, making Jake sound like a bastard who was going to put them all through hell again.