by Savanna Grey
They’d settled into a routine most evenings after Olivia went to bed. Making two cups of coffee, she carried them into the family room. Jack came in right behind her.
“That smells really good.” he said as he picked up his mug. They both thrived on the stuff.
“How was your girl’s night out at the diner?” Jack inquired. They were sitting, facing one another, Emma with her legs tucked under her, Jack with his supported on the ottoman.
“Never dull, that’s for sure.” was all she said.
“Not going to give me the gory details, huh?” he teased.
“Nope.” she grinned from behind her coffee mug.
They were both quiet, sipping their coffee. Emma was first to break the companionable silence.
“I’m really glad you and Olivia spent some one-on-one time together tonight. She needed that.”
Again with the smile that melted her insides. “That child has more energy than that damn bunny you see on television. I think I need to spend a few more days a week at the club playing racquetball.”
His comment brought her back to discussing what was going to happen over the next few days. Sadness crept in, but she pushed it back. She didn’t want him to feel guilty about going back to his life.
“Look, Jack the next few days are going to be crazy around here. Saturday, friends are coming over to celebrate Easter with us for Olivia. We’re painting eggs, doing an egg hunt for the kids and cooking on the grill. If you’re too busy to man the grill, Grady said he’d be more than happy to do it.”
The hell he would, thought Jack. “No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll take care of the grill.” he said firmly.
“That would be great, Jack. Thank you. Everyone has been wonderful about helping to make this a happy holiday – as happy as can be expected; for Olivia. “
Dredging on, she brought up Easter service at church. “We’ll attend and come home for a quiet Easter dinner. I bought a ham to fix for us.” she hesitated.
“You mentioned heading back to Richmond Monday morning. Is that still your plan?” she thought she might swallow her tongue, it felt so thick and dry in her mouth.
Jack sighed, resigned to the fact that they had to discuss his leaving. He knew it was necessary, but he wasn’t quite ready to let go what he and Emma had shared the past week. He was surprised to find how uncomfortable he felt about leaving Olivia, not because she wouldn’t be cared for. He knew she was in the best of hands with Emma, but because he felt like he was letting his sister down. She was an amazing little girl and deserved the best.
He’d talked to his boss that morning. They were eager for his return. Several new contracts were being finalized over the next few weeks that included mergers. He had to be in the office to secure them.
“I have to, Em. I’m sorry. I wish I could stay longer, but I’ve got to get back to the office.” his own words sounded like a bad B-rated movie.
“Don’t apologize, Jack. We talked about this. We knew this time would come. No regrets, remember?” She was letting him off the hook too easy. Didn’t she care that he was leaving? Why wasn’t she pushing for him to stay?
“Let’s just keep our focus on making Olivia happy. We can do that, can’t we?” she whispered.
His eyes had turned that dark shade of chocolate they always did when he was aroused. He set his mug on the coffee table and turned back to her.
“Can we focus on making ourselves happy tonight, Em? We deserve that don’t we?” He had moved in close as he spoke, his head leaned to the side, whispering in her ear.
The tingles spread across her flesh, making the hair on her arms stand on end. He was suckling her ear the way that shot little rods of excitement straight to her core.
“Would it startle you to know how much I need you, how much I need to be inside you?” His tongue invaded her ear as he nipped her.
Wetness invaded her lower region. He had pushed her back onto the couch and lay partially on top of her, his mouth taking possession of hers. “Tell me what you want, Emma. Tell me. Let me hear you say it.” His mouth skimmed down her throat to her breast, beading her nipple through her blouse. Her back arched up, pushing her breast further into his mouth.
“I want you, Jack. All of you.” she cried out, her hands grasping his shoulders for support.
He wasn’t satisfied. He followed his trail back up to her mouth and plundered its hot sweetness. “Where do you want me, Em? Here?” He kissed her neck. She whimpered. “Here?” He nipped her earlobe. Again she whimpered as she rubbed against his groin. She reached around and placed her hands inside the back pockets of his jeans and pushed him hard against her, grinding into him.
“Inside me, Jack. Please make love to me. I need you inside me.” Jack stilled at her words. His heart contracted at her request.
He stood and lifted her into his arms. He carried her all the way upstairs into his bedroom. They were making love on his terms tonight. He intended to love every inch of her beautiful body before the night was over, and then do it again.
“Sorry, Tucker. You have hallway duty again tonight.” he said to the loyal dog as he shut out the world and closed his bedroom door.
Chapter Sixteen
“I want the green one.” “Give me the red one.” “Mom, Sara won’t give me the blue.” Kids huddled around the picnic tables on the outside patio vying for various food coloring bowls to decorate their hard boiled eggs. Twelve children laughed, fussed, cried and a few parents cussed, Emma was certain at the mess they were making.
Emma didn’t care about the mess. She cared that Olivia was one of the kids laughing, and she was. Her friends had come from school and church to decorate eggs and participate in the egg hunt. Later they would be hitting a piñata one of the other parents had volunteered to fill up and bring. It was a large, wildly colorful egg.
As was the norm at cook-outs, the men all congregated around the grill, while the woman were spread out watching children and chatting it up.
Along with several of the parents, Sydney, Melanie and Kathryn had come. Sydney had brought her three nieces. “I love my nieces, but I hate the lecture I always get when I pick them up.” She shuddered. “If you would get married and have children of your own, Sydney, you wouldn’t need to borrow your sister’s children.” She sighed. “I get that from my mother, God bless her, EVERY SINGLE TIME.”
Emma kissed her cheek. “I’m glad you brought them.” She carried hot dogs over to Jack for the grill. As she placed them on the tray beside the grill, Grady commented to her on what a great turnout she’d had.
“It is, isn’t it? I’m so glad everyone could come. Thank you for picking up the extra coolers and ice from Bottoms Up. I don’t know what we would have done without them.” She squeezed his shoulder and moved on.
Jack hadn’t missed the interaction. He couldn’t help but notice that every time Grady was near Emma, there was some reason for him to be touching her. Yeah, maybe this time it was her squeezing him, but he made sure to open the door by stopping her. His mood darkened just a little thinking of leaving Emma behind with Grady sniffing around.
The three amigos hadn’t missed Jack’s play of emotions while he watched Grady and Emma. Sydney sat forward so just they would hear. “I don’t think he realizes it yet, but he’s got it bad. Maybe more so than she does.”
Mel concurred. “I think I have to agree with you there, Syd.” Kat’s nose crinkled as she contemplated what they were saying. “Are we talking about Jack or Grady?” It didn’t sit well with her to think of Grady and Emma together, not that he was anything to her, just that she wasn’t his type.
Mel and Syd stared at her as if she had two heads. “Jack, you goof! Haven’t you been paying attention?” Sydney asked.
“What? She was talking to Grady. I didn’t know if I’d missed something or not.” Kat defended herself.
“Some reporter you are. Maybe I need to question some of the information you report on.” Melanie jabbed.
That got
her popcorn thrown in her face.
“You’re a poor sport.” Melanie teased.
Jack needed another set of tongs. He headed into the kitchen where he found Emma stacking more egg cartons. “You look like you raided a hen house.”
She glanced behind her shoulder. “Yes, I’m no longer able to visit the Johnson farm. Their hens would probably peck me to death.”
Today her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her cheeks were rosy from running back and forth with the kids in addition to the breeze coming off the water. Her bright blue eyes shone clearly as a vibrant sky. She was breath-taking.
“You never cease to amaze me.” He came up behind her and slid his arms around her, kissing her neck.
“Oh yeah. Why is that?” she asked playfully, little thrills of excitement coursing through her at his touch.
“Whatever you set out to do, you’re all in. It’s obvious that people here adore you, but that’s not surprising either. What’s not to love?” He’d voiced this aloud, but truly he’d been thinking to himself. She was truly amazing.
“Jack, that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.” Her heart melted completely for this complex man holding her. She turned in his arms, hooking her hands around his waist. “You’re not so bad yourself, ya know.”
She closed the distance between them, forgetting that they were visible to the entire patio through the French doors, and kissed him with all the pent-up love she’d held back in the small little compartment inside her heart.
As she started to pull away, Jack dragged her back in, not ready to release her. She tasted of pineapple and strawberries. Fruit never tasted so good. The kiss deepened and threatened to get away from him until they both heard cat whistles and applause from the patio.
Her head buried in his chest. “Crap.” was her only response. He glanced over at the door seeing people smiling and giving him thumbs up signs. All but the three amigos and Grady. Grady’s scowl could probably start a fire with its intensity. Jack knew it was wrong, but he looked directly at Grady and smiled a smile that men understood. It was a message of possession. He knew Grady received it, because he stiffened in his chair and looked away.
Good. Now Grady along with everyone else knew.
“Knew what?” his inner voice asked him. That Emma belonged to him. Holy Crap! He wanted Emma for himself. When had that happened? That didn’t fit into any of his plans right now. Not at all.
No. This was just great sex talking. He liked her and respected her. She was joint guardian to his niece. Of course he felt something for her, but it was not LOVE. Get a grip man. Great sex didn’t equal love. He was just cloudy given the amount of time he and Emma had spent in close quarters the past few weeks. That was all. The sooner he moved on the better for all involved.
He’d keep his commitment to his sister by staying plugged in to Olivia via Skype and on weekends where work allowed. That was all. The quicker he cut intimate ties the better.
Emma felt him stiffen. She reared back to look up at him. He dropped his hands quickly as if he’d been burned. “Guess the cats out of the bag, huh?” she said jokingly. He didn’t laugh.
“No, there’s no cat. Just a kiss. No big deal. We wouldn’t want people to get the wrong idea, now would we?” He was cold as ice. He’d never responded to Emma in this manner before. What was wrong with him?
“Jack, what’s wrong?” She didn’t understand what had just happened.
“Nothing’s wrong. We just don’t want people thinking we have something permanent going on here, because we don’t.” He said it firmly, attempting to drive home his point.
It would have hurt Emma less if he’d physically smacked her. “Right, Jack. We wouldn’t want them to think we were a couple. That would cramp your style wouldn’t it? I think your hamburgers are burning.” She grabbed the stack of eggs and carried them out the door, slamming it behind her.
“Great!” she thought as she headed over to the kids decorating eggs. “Men. Ugh!” She slammed the eggs on the table, asking one of the other parents to divvy them up.
She headed down the steps to where they’d set up the food table. She was slamming cups and plates around, rearranging the table when the girls reached her.
“Hey, what’d that cup ever do to you?” Mel asked calmly. Emma frowned up at her.
“Okay, the way I see it, we have two options here, Em.” Sydney waited for Emma to acknowledge she was listening. She stopped slinging plates and looked over at Sydney across the table.
“We can let Kat kick Jack’s ass, or leave it alone and let you handle it after we leave. What’s it going to be?” She had to admit that right now she wouldn’t mind seeing Jack bent over in pain, but that was temporary and didn’t solve anything. It might make her feel a little better though. The adult in her won out. It took the steam out of her anger too.
She walked around to her friends and said, “As much as I might take pleasure in watching Kat kick his deserving butt, I’ll deal with him later.” She hugged them and said, “Come on! We’ve got eggs to hide.”
The remainder of the afternoon passed without further incident. Emma was too busy chasing kids, filling drinks and cleaning up messes to think too much about how Jack had acted in the kitchen. The piñata was busted, candy was collected and the golden egg had been found by one of Olivia’s friends. It contained a bag of chocolate gold coins. The girl was ecstatic. Another reminder to Emma that it was the little things that meant the most in the grand scheme of things.
She was pooped. Mission accomplished. Olivia had a memorable day. She had talked about her mom and dad without getting upset for the most part, and she had a great time decorating and hunting eggs.
Everyone had pitched in and helped clean up, so there really wasn’t much left to do. She walked Sydney, Melanie and Kathryn to the front door.
“Thank you guys again for everything. It was a great day for Olivia.” They eyed her suspiciously.
“You haven’t secretly been drinking, have you?” Kat questioned her chipper tone.
“Of course not, you ninny. I’m just happy that Olivia had such a good day. That’s ultimately what I wanted.” She said hoping they bought it.
“Emma Heart, who do you think you are fooling, because it isn’t anybody but yourself.” Sydney admonished. “When you’re ready to admit that, and you need a friend, we are here for you. Just don’t try and convince us that everything is peachy keen. We know better.” With that Sydney hugged her good-bye and sailed out the door with her three nieces in tow.
“What she said.” Kathryn and Mel followed suit and left Emma standing at the door not wanting to face reality just yet.
She hadn’t realized Grady was still here until she turned to head back inside. “They’re right, ya know.” She jumped. “Grady, Jeez! You startled me. I thought you had left.”
“You know I love you like a sister, Emma. It doesn’t sit well with me seeing what Jack is doing to you. It’s not hard to figure out the rest. You deserve better than that. Just don’t forget that when you’re caught up in doing what’s best for everyone else.”
She’d held her emotions in check all day, pushing back the hurt Jack had caused her in the kitchen, making her feel like just another body he’d been to bed with.
“Grady, why couldn’t I fall for a guy like you?” she questions him seriously.
“Probably for the same reasons I didn’t fall for a girl like you. I think they call that glutton for punishment.” He tried to lighten the mood.
He pulled her into his large frame, hugging her to him. “You know I’m here for you whenever you need me. Doesn’t matter when or what time. We all love you, Emma.” He kissed the top of her head and released her, not before he spotted Jack at the breakfast bar fuming.
Grady leaned over and whispered in her ear. “His mouth may be saying one thing, but his body language is saying another. Trust me on this one. The man is fighting with himself.” He tipped his baseball cap and was gone.
He was banging spatulas and cups and anything else he came in contact with in the kitchen sink.
Olivia had fallen asleep a short while ago after the excitement had died down and most of the guests had left. Jack had carried her upstairs to her room so she could nap in peace.
It was closing in on five o’clock. She’d have to get Olivia up soon or she would never sleep tonight.
“Care to explain your temperature change today, Jack? What was that all about?” Her tone conveyed her confusion. “One minute you’re kissing me and the next you’re treating me like a one-night-stand.”
Jack knew she was right, but he didn’t care. All he could think about was how she’d looked wrapped in Grady’s arms. Always Grady. Maybe his gut was right. Grady was waiting in the wings to jump in as soon as Jack was gone. Well he was welcome to her. He was done playing house. It wasn’t his style.
“What is it you want me to explain, Emma. I think you’re a pretty bright individual. I thought you understood the no strings attached rule. We agreed to have no regrets. We had a good time together. Now it’s over. End of story.”
She was in physical pain. She wasn’t sure she could breathe. It was like falling off the monkey bars at school, landing on your back and having all the wind knocked out of you. It took a few minutes to be able to respond.
“Let me get this straight. Yes, I heard everything you just said, and I know exactly where we stand, but was it necessary for you to make me feel so cheap, Jack? What did I do to deserve that?”
“Oh don’t be so melodramatic, Emma. What did you think was going to happen? That we’d sleep together, maybe continue some sort of relationship after I returned to Richmond? Was that it?”
She had hoped that their time together had meant something more to him that what he was conveying now. She had read him all wrong. Obviously what she had felt for him deep down for years that had manifested and expressed itself the past few weeks, was not reciprocated.