Breaking His Rules (Feeling the Heat #4)

by Alison Packard

  Despite her best efforts, Melissa was affected. Not only was he touching her, but the aromatic combination of his soap and shampoo was having a visceral effect on her senses and her body. Every nerve ending tingled with excitement as her taut nipples pressed insistently against the silky cups of her bra and, between her legs, a primitive beat throbbed out its need in no uncertain terms. Maybe her brain knew she shouldn’t want Jake, but her traitorous body hadn’t gotten the message.

  She almost groaned with relief when Jake finally worked the fabric from the zipper tracks and smoothly zipped the dress. “There you go,” he said in a low, rough voice. For several tension-filled seconds neither of them moved and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to turn around and kiss him like she had last night.

  “Thank you,” she said, in a not so steady voice. “I’ll just get my shoes and I’m ready to go.” Without looking at him, she moved to the closet and retrieved her shoes. After she’d slipped them on, she turned and found Jake watching her with unreadable eyes. He moved toward her and for one brief moment she thought he meant to take her in his arms, but instead he brushed past her to retrieve his coat from the closet.

  * * *

  As Jake pulled his Land Rover into an open parking spot on a side street off of Ocean Avenue, near Il Fornaio, Melissa slipped off her sunglasses and set them in the cup holder in the center console. Although the sun was still shining, by the time dinner was over, it would be dark and she wouldn’t need them.

  To say she was nervous would be an understatement. In just a few short minutes, she and Jake would face their first test in their charade of being a couple. When this whole thing began, she’d been looking forward to the look on Shauna and Denise’s faces when they got a look at Jake, but now that didn’t seem to matter as much as it had before. All she could think about was what Jake had told her when they were having lunch on the beach.

  For most of her life, she’d been conditioned to believe that most men, let alone one as handsome as Jake, wouldn’t look twice at her, so color her shocked when he’d admitted he’d been wondering what it would be like to kiss her too.

  “How’s your head?” Jake asked as he killed the engine.

  “Much better. Thanks for skipping the Steinbeck house so I could take a nap.”

  “Honestly, I didn’t mind. It’s just a house. While you were sleeping, I got in a workout in the hotel’s fitness center. Their setup gave me a few ideas for the gym.” He pulled the keys from the ignition. “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.” She unbuckled her seat belt and pulled down the visor to check her makeup.

  “You look beautiful.”

  Stunned, she turned her head and the masculine appreciation in his eyes made her heart do somersaults. Other than a few half-hearted compliments from her former boyfriend, Brad, no man had ever told her she was beautiful before.

  “Thank you,” she said, and flipped up the visor.

  As Jake got out of the SUV and walked around to open her door, Melissa took a deep breath. As they said in Hollywood, it was show time.

  Five minutes later, the hostess escorted Melissa and Jake to the Ocean Avenue room where Melissa could see a large banquet table had been set up near the paned French doors that led out to a lovely garden patio filled with a variety of colorful blooming flowers. Il Fornaio was located about two blocks from the beach at the end of Ocean Avenue and the open doors allowed the soft sea breeze to circulate through the dining room.

  As they approached the table, the first person Melissa noticed was Paige—mostly because Paige had spotted her and was waving her over to sit in the empty seats next to her and Rob.

  “Melissa.” Her father’s deep, booming voice startled her and she stopped short as he rose from his chair across from Paige and moved forward to give her a hug.

  “Hi, Dad.” She kissed his cheek and looked around him to smile at her mother. “This is Jake Sawyer. Jake this is my father, Daniel Atherton.”

  Her father shook Jake’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Jake.”

  “Same here, sir,” Jake replied politely.

  “Come sit over here,” Paige called out. “We saved you guys a seat.”

  As her father sat down, Melissa became aware of Jake’s hand on her waist. “Mom, this is Jake,” she said, looking at her mother even as she felt Shauna’s eyes burning into her from the far end of the beautifully set table.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Atherton.”

  “Please, call me Claire.” Her mother smiled at Jake, then looked at her with a proud smile. “Melissa, you look breathtaking.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” She turned her attention to Shauna, who was seated next to Kurt. There was no sign of Denise, but the chair next to Shauna was empty; perhaps Denise was running late. “Jake, at the far end of the table is my cousin Shauna. She’s the bride. Shauna, this is Jake Sawyer.” Melissa moved closer to Jake, who wrapped a proprietary arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

  Melissa tried not to smile as Shauna’s mouth gaped open. “That’s...he’s your boyfriend?” Shauna asked when the shock wore off.

  “That I am.” Jake guided her around the table and pulled the empty chair out for her. She sank down on the cushioned seat and exchanged a quick glance with Paige, who’d been watching the introductions unfold with undisguised glee. “Congratulations on your wedding tomorrow,” Jake continued smoothly as he sat down.

  “Thank you,” Shauna said, and reached for Kurt’s hand. “This is Kurt, my fiancé.”

  As Jake and Kurt nodded to each other, Melissa met her cousin’s cold stare and smiled brightly. “Are you okay, Shauna? You look a little pale.”

  “I’m fine.” Shauna’s eyes narrowed into slits as she picked up her wine glass and took a long sip.

  Beside her Paige let out a low amused snort and it was all Melissa could do to keep from laughing aloud. For more years than she cared to remember, she’d silently endured Shauna’s cruel remarks. Maybe it was childish to gloat since Jake wasn’t actually her boyfriend, but she still felt a measure of satisfaction that, for the moment, she’d wiped the hateful smirk clean off her cousin’s smug face.

  Chapter Eight

  Coming from a large extended family, Jake was no stranger to familial tension. So when he’d sat down at the table, the hostile vibes emanating from Shauna toward Melissa didn’t surprise him much.

  He also wasn’t surprised that Shauna picked sparingly at her food, eating only half of her dinner salad and a few tiny bites of her baked chicken entrée. Shauna was extremely thin. Without actually talking to her he couldn’t say for sure whether she was naturally slender, or if she was a chronic dieter. He hoped it wasn’t the latter. Many people, but mostly women, didn’t realize the damage extreme dieting could do to their bodies, and their mental state. He couldn’t count the number of women he’d trained over the years that were at a healthy weight yet honestly believed they were fat. Many of them didn’t train with him for long. Once he made it clear he wasn’t into fad diets or punishing and unsafe exercise routines, they shopped around for a different trainer.

  In spite of Shauna’s obvious disdain for Melissa and Paige, the rehearsal dinner hadn’t been a total disaster. Melissa’s parents sat directly across from him and were quick to include him in the conversation. They’d asked him about his personal training background and the gym, and then the subject had turned to baseball when Melissa informed them that J.T. was his brother.

  Although Daniel Atherton bore a striking resemblance to his brother, Darren, that’s where the likeness ended. Darren, and his wife Beverly, were the polar opposite of Melissa and Paige’s down-to-earth parents. Judging from their frosty demeanor, Jake had a strong hunch ice cubes wouldn’t melt in their mouths.

  Throughout the meal he’d been aware of Shauna keenly observing him and Melissa. From the stunned look on her face when he’d been introduced, it was clear she found it hard to believe Melissa could attract any man, let alone him. And b
ecause he hated how Shauna had bullied Melissa for most of her life, he took every opportunity available to show her just how attracted to her he was by frequently touching Melissa’s arm, or leaning in close when they talked.

  And while this had been their plan all along, it wasn’t a ruse. Not anymore. And if he was being honest with himself, it never had been. He’d been attracted to Melissa from almost the first moment he’d met her, and now, every moment he spent with her only increased his desire for her. Earlier, when he’d helped her with her zipper, it was all he could do not to pull her against him and touch her intimately, like he’d been dying to do for weeks.

  “So what made you decide to open a gym?”

  Shauna’s question effectively halted the amazingly detailed mental image Jake had conjured up in his mind—the one where he and Melissa were naked and entwined on the king-size bed in the hotel room, giving in to the mutual attraction that simmered between them. Annoyed, Jake turned to look at Shauna. With her artfully highlighted brown hair and blue eyes, Shauna was an attractive woman, but all he saw when he looked at her was someone who got her rocks off hurting other people. And because bullies like Shauna thrived on intimidation, it was a safe assumption Melissa wasn’t the only innocent person Shauna had tormented in her lifetime.

  He kept his expression neutral. He disliked the woman, but not enough to make everyone at the table uncomfortable by ignoring her.

  “I’ve always wanted to own my own business. And since I struggled with weight issues when I was a kid, I decided when I got older that I wanted to help people learn to get healthy without it becoming an obsession.”

  “You had a weight problem?” Shauna asked, and gave him a skeptical once over with a raised brow.

  “Yes. Before high school.”

  “Well, you obviously learned how to control your appetite.” Shauna looked pointedly at Melissa, who was sharing a decadent chocolate dessert with Paige. “Some people have no willpower whatsoever.”

  Jake tamped down his irritation. Shauna wasn’t the only person he’d encountered who believed that bullshit. “It’s not about willpower. Many people who go on diets have an extraordinary amount of willpower. It’s just that restrictive diets can’t be sustained over a long period of time and end up doing more harm than good. I’m an advocate of getting in touch with your body’s hunger signals. I don’t believe any food is off limits.”

  “It’s all about moderation and paying attention to your body,” Melissa said, setting her fork down on her plate and turning her attention toward him and Shauna. “Jake taught me that.”

  “Yes, well.” Shauna exchanged a conspiratorial smirk with Kurt, and then continued, “You still have some weight to lose, Melissa. That cake you and Paige just scarfed down won’t help your cause any.”

  “Who are you? The food police?” Melissa shot back in a voice taut with anger. “Not all of us want to wear a size zero, so keep your opinion to yourself.”

  Paige, who’d kept a low profile during dinner, leaned forward and skewered Shauna with a withering stare. “Actually, you can go fuck yourself, Shauna.”

  “Paige.” Daniel Atherton’s sharp voice rose above the shocked gasps from around the table. “That was uncalled for.”

  “It’s long overdue if you ask me.” Paige sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not apologizing, Dad. Not until Shauna apologizes for all the shitty things she’s said about Melissa since we were kids.”

  “I think it’s time to toast the happy couple.” Shauna’s father’s measured tone cut through the sudden tense silence. He shot a warning glance toward his nieces as nearby customers watched their table with growing interest. “Everyone, please raise your glasses.”

  * * *

  “Oh. My. God,” Paige said to Melissa as they stood next to each other at the double sinks in the women’s restroom. “I wanted to strangle that bitch with my bare hands. You know I don’t like to use the C word, but it really applies in her case.”

  “I’m so glad dinner is over with.” Melissa tossed her wet paper towel in the trash receptacle, then met Paige’s eyes in the mirror and grinned. “I almost lost it when you told her to go fuck herself. The look on her face was priceless.”

  “I’ve never seen so many jaws drop in my life.” Paige let out a burst of laughter so infectious Melissa couldn’t keep the smile from her face as Paige continued, “And mad props to you, sis. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you stick up for yourself.”

  “I don’t know what came over me.” Melissa opened her purse and withdrew her tinted lip balm and applied it to her mouth. “Maybe you’re finally rubbing off on me.”

  “Or maybe you’re beginning to realize that no matter what size you are you don’t have to take that bullshit from anyone.”

  “I think I am.” She recapped the tube and slipped it back into her purse. “I only wish I’d figured it out sooner.”

  “You discovered it when you were supposed to.” Paige’s eyes softened as she leaned her hip against the counter. “I hate that you’ve spent a major portion of your life thinking you were lacking in any way because you’re not, Melissa. You’re the most loyal and generous person I know.”

  Melissa snapped her purse shut with a decisive click. “I can tell you one thing. I’m done taking shit from Shauna and Denise. I’m tired of being a doormat.”

  “Hallelujah!” Paige held up her hand. “That deserves a high-five.”

  Laughing, Melissa slapped her palm against Paige’s and then they left the bathroom.

  * * *

  “We’re not far from the beach,” Jake said as he let Melissa precede him out of Il Fornaio. “We might be able to catch the tail end of the sunset. How about it? Want to take a walk?”

  Not ready to call it a night just yet, Melissa nodded as she slipped the slim shoulder strap of her purse over her shoulder. “I’d love to.”

  She waved to Paige and Rob as they stopped at the corner and honked. Behind Rob’s car, Kurt and Shauna sat in Kurt’s top-of-the-line Mercedes. Neither of them looked happy. Shauna turned her head to look at them, but even the waning light of day couldn’t conceal her pinched expression. Shauna probably couldn’t wait to get back to the resort and start bashing her and Paige with Denise.

  “Let’s go.” Jake reached for her hand, presumably so Shauna would notice, and together they turned right and headed down sloping Ocean Avenue toward Carmel Beach.

  Although it was June, the cool gentle breeze blowing in from the Pacific indicated that the night would turn colder. Melissa was grateful for the light sweater she’d snagged from her suitcase before leaving the hotel.

  “Well, that was an interesting dinner,” Jake said, giving her a sidelong glance.

  “Interesting?” She couldn’t help but chuckle at the understatement. “More like extremely uncomfortable.”

  “Not that I ever doubted you, but your cousin really is a bitch.”

  “Oh, she was tame tonight. She didn’t have her partner-in-crime there to egg her on. Thank God, Denise decided to stay at the resort to take care of the wedding dress snafu.”

  “What’s the problem with the wedding dress?”

  “According to Aunt Beverly, the seamstress didn’t fit it properly, but I don’t think it was the seamstress at all. It’s Shauna. Since I last saw her, at her shower a couple of weeks ago, it looks like she’s lost ten pounds. She should have tried it on before they left Sacramento.”

  “She’s very thin,” Jake acknowledged.

  “I know. And what’s scary is I used to want to look like that.” Melissa inwardly cringed. “As much as I can’t stand her, I’m afraid she’s taken the whole losing weight before the wedding thing way too far.”

  “If she did it just for the wedding then she’ll probably start eating at the reception. I’ve trained several women in the past two years who were dieting for their wedding and the one thing they talked about the most was being able to eat again after the ceremony and
the pictures were taken.”

  “That must be frustrating.”

  “It is. But it’s the way society is these days. I do what I can to try to change my clients’ diet mentality, but I’m only one person. I can’t change the world.”

  She squeezed his hand. “You helped me change. I was leery of your no-diet approach at first, but it worked for me.”

  “I’m glad you had an open mind. I think you were the first client whose eyes didn’t glaze over when I started talking about listening to your body. It’s an amazing machine...if only people would learn to trust it more.”

  Melissa nodded and breathed in the soft fragrance from the multi-colored flowering plants blooming in an oblong brick container bed next to the sidewalk. Ahead of them, the rhythmic sound of the waves spilling against the shore beckoned not only them, but a handful of others toward the beach. At the bottom of Ocean Avenue, they left the paved street and walked onto the soft white sand. The beach seemed to be a popular spot to witness the sunset. But the orange and pink ribbons that filled the sky were no match for the hypnotic pull of the ocean. By unspoken agreement Melissa let Jake lead her away from the crowd gathered around a small bonfire and closer to the water.

  “So we’ve known each other almost nine months now and tonight’s the first I hear of you having had a weight problem,” she said as they stopped on the firmly packed wet sand near the shore. “What gives?”

  “It’s not that big of a deal.” Jake let go of her hand and bent to pick up a shell. He looked at it and then tossed it into the swell of water that stopped just short of their feet and rolled back into the ocean.

  “I’m not so sure about that. In fact, it explains a lot about you.”