“I really love your family, Jake. You’re very blessed.”
Jake nodded. “Yes, I am. It’s a big, growing family. And they all love you too.” It took everything in him not to tell her that he loved her. “Are you ready to start preparing to go scuba diving again? I know I messed up with the kiss but I want to get back to spending time with you. And we did start getting you ready to mark that off your bucket list.”
She bit her lip. She leaned close. “Jake, this could blow up in our faces. You were scared after you kissed me the other night. And, well, I’m scared too. I’m scared I could fall for you and you aren’t the marrying type. Then what? We work next door to each other and I’d be miserable. And I’m not okay with that. I’m happy here and I don’t want to make a huge mistake.”
He wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her he’d never hurt her. But she was right. This could go bad. “I messed up the other night. And I can’t promise you I won’t mess up again, but I will do everything in my power not to hurt you. How do we know if we don’t take a risk?”
She inhaled deeply and her green eyes shadowed. “I’m scared,” she repeated.
It took everything in him to keep his voice low, to hold back. “You came here to step out and become, in some ways, a risk taker. Take a risk on me.”
“What are you two huddled up about?” Shar called from where she and Gage were cuddled on the couch.
Sammy Jo jumped back.
Jake didn’t answer his sister but instead hitched a brow at Sammy Jo. “Are we going?”
She held his gaze then nodded.
“Sammy Jo has just agreed to tackle scuba diving. We start lessons tomorrow.”
“Awesome, that’s great,” Shar called. “Jake will get you into all kinds of adventures. I’m a snorkel gal myself, but that’s cool. You two are looking good. Hey, Jake, you should bring Sammy Jo to the Windswept Bay Fudge Fest next week.”
“Yes, you should,” Olivia agreed and then all the females in the room joined in urging him to take Sammy Jo to the Fudge Fest.
Jake couldn’t help himself. He tugged gently on a strand of Sammy Jo’s silky hair. “Sammy Jo would make anyone look good. And if she wants to go to the Fudge Fest, I’m all in.”
Sammy Jo blushed and he wanted to not be sitting in the middle of his parents’ home with all of his sisters and brothers and family watching them like hawks. He wanted to be alone with Sammy Jo.
“Do you like fudge?”
“Who doesn’t like fudge?”
“Then it’s all set. Fudge Fest is next weekend.”
“See, that wasn’t hard,” Shar teased. “You must be losing your touch, brother, if I had to remind you to ask Sammy Jo on a date.”
His sister winked and Sammy Jo laughed. Jake’s mind wasn’t working correctly and that was no lie. But he hadn’t liked not getting to spend time with Sammy Jo. And he was hoping she felt the same way about him.
“So, you’re crazy about him, right?” Roxie asked over the phone the next day after Sammy Jo had gone to the Sinclair’s for dinner.
“Roxie, I am in so much trouble. I’m crazy about him and keep trying to not be. But he’s kind of hard to ignore. He talked me into getting back to preparing to go scuba diving. But, Roxie, that’s part of the problem. I can get in the pool and I actually managed to go underwater wearing the oxygen mask and breathe in and out without panicking. But the thought of jumping into the ocean and going under terrifies me. He loves it. What’s he going to think when he realizes I can’t do it?”
“Stop being negative. You do not know that you can’t do it. And he sounds like he will help you. Don’t give up on it right now. Just have fun.”
Yeah, sure. It just wasn’t that easy. She hung up a few minutes later when customers entered the shop to browse.
By the time she locked the front door and went up to her apartment to change, excitement over seeing Jake again helped push back the worry over the scuba diving. If she hadn’t promised Gram she would try it, Sammy Jo knew she would delete it from her bucket list. But she had promised.
She pulled on shorts over her swimsuit and slipped her feet into her sandals. She buttoned the front of her blouse over her swimsuit and then, grabbing her purse, she headed back down the stairs to wait for Jake. He would think she was eager to get to their class but the truth was she was just eager to see him.
“I thought this day would never end,” he said when he met her at the foot of the stairs.
As she looked at him, every worry that she’d had all day melted away. “Me too.” She had missed him.
When they reached the pool, she felt as though she had a heavy case of indigestion. Despite the indigestion, she was distracted thinking about being near Jake. He was so distracting with his muscles and Adonis looks and those blasted twinkling eyes that were full of mischief and life. She loved that about him. How alive he was.
If just some small amount of that could rub off on her, then her life would be far more adventurous than ever before.
“Okay, so we’ll practice breathing with the regulator and several other skills you’ll need. Then next week, we’ll get you out on an actual dive.”
A knot of indigestion tried to kink up behind her sternum. “Sure. Perfect.”
He helped her strap on the air tanks and she was aware of every time he touched her. She concentrated on that feeling instead of the dread that she was getting one step closer to marking off the major hurdle on her bucket list. Her and Gram’s bucket list. Gram had wanted to scuba dive so badly. She remembered listening to Gram talk about how much she regretted never learning. That when she and Granddad had first met, he had urged her to learn and go with him but fear had held her back. She regretted that the rest of her life.
Memories are worth the effort. That’s what Gram had said over and over. Working hard to make memories, not regrets, was worth pushing and stretching yourself.
And so, scuba diving had gone on the bucket list. Despite her claustrophobia and fear of suffocating, Sammy Jo had told herself that she would make the dive.
But the problem was that she just might not make it.
She might not have gumption enough, as her gram called it, to get that particular item marked off her list.
And if she couldn’t mark it off, that would be one of, if not the greatest, regret of her life.
Jake was having a hard time concentrating on scuba diving readiness. The minute he picked Sammy Jo up, he felt as if he’d been kicked in the lungs by a mule and he was struggling to breathe ever since. The woman took his breath away. But as they moved into the pool, he had the feeling that something was bothering her.
The other time that they’d practiced with the oxygen tanks, he had thought she was nervous. She struggled a little to actually go under the water and breathe through the regulator. He knew that some people had trouble with that technique.
“Hey, so take it easy. Let’s work on your breathing and getting comfortable with using the regulator. You seem a little nervous.”
“It’s not exactly a natural process. It does rattle me a little.”
“No problem. We’ll go slow.”
“Okay. I’m all for that.”
Later, after she submerged under the water and he worked with her on using her equipment while submerged, he felt better about her responses. When they headed back to the apartment, she was more relaxed. He was too, because being so near Sammy Jo had him wound up and struggling to keep his hands to himself and his concentration on anything other than the fact that she was adorable. More than adorable. She was mind-bogglingly distracting. He was having a hard time these days thinking about anything but her.
He knew there was no denying how he felt for her. He’d fallen, and fallen hard, in love with her. And he couldn’t run from it.
Truth was he’d been feeling that way for a while.
“So, that was fun,” he said as they reached the steps that led up to her apartment.
“Yes, it was. It’s still got
me a little uptight but I’m working on it. Thanks for being patient. What’s up with the Fudge Fest? I need to call Shar and find out if I need to have something in the festival. I mean, do vendors have booths? Or is it mostly a food thing?”
“Some people have booths. But mostly it’s food related. We are in a tourist town. Fudge is a big part of tourist towns. I’m not really sure, because it’s not like I go on trips and eat a lot of the rich stuff. But obviously many people do because the fudge shops in town do great business. I think Grant may have some art pieces in an auction that is going to charity. That should be fun.”
“It sounds like it. Thank you for taking me.”
“I’m just sorry my sister beat me to asking you out. I would have asked you that night but Shar and her big mouth decided to butt in and ask you for me.”
Sammy Jo giggled. “Your family does seem to think they need to do the asking for you. Why is that?”
“The truth?”
She nodded and leaned against the stair railing with her hands behind her back as she studied him. He wanted to lean in and kiss her.
“They are afraid I’ll miss how great you are and mess up. They are trying to ensure that I give us time to get to know each other. And then there is the fear part. They are afraid that I will get cold feet and back down and shut down.”
“Oh. Do you think you would?”
He stepped close. She stood on the bottom step, bringing them to the same height. He placed his hands on either side of her on the railing and stared deeply into her beautiful green eyes. “I did the other night. But no more. I had never felt what I was feeling before and it scared me. But I think I’m way over that.” She inhaled deeply, drawing his gaze to her lips. “What about you, Sammy Jo? Are you scared?”
He leaned close, and her jeweled-toned eyes flashed wide. “N-no. Not scared,” she said, breathless.
His lips curved upward. “Good.” And then he gave in to the overwhelming desire he was feeling. He kissed her. She froze as his lips touched hers. He paused, letting his lips press against hers and feel the slight tremble that vibrated beneath his. And then he scooped one arm behind her and pressed his hand against the small of her back as he fully captured her lips with his. This was right.
This was home.
When Sammy Jo’s hands came to rest against his shoulders, every cell in his body tensed.
“Jake,” she breathed against his lips. “What are we doing?”
“We’re enjoying ourselves.”
“But,” she said, breathless. “What if it doesn’t work out?”
He didn’t want to scare her away with too much too soon. “What if it does? Stop worrying. Jump. I’m tired of worrying and want to explore what is between us. I can’t resist this.”
He pulled her into his arms and let himself explore every wonderful feeling that exploded through him as their mouths melded together. He wasn’t sure he would be able to stop.
And knew he didn’t ever want to stop.
What was she doing? Sammy Jo’s heart pounded erratically as she clutched two fistfuls of his shirt and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. Tomorrow she might be rational again. But tonight, she was taking a risk. She was jumping. She was all in.
And with the way his lips felt on hers, and the churning, burning desire pulsing through her, she wasn’t real sure she would ever let this kiss end.
After what seemed like too soon, he pulled away and let their foreheads rest against each other as they both fought to regain control of their breathing.
“Well, I’m really surprised I’m still standing. You melt my knees and my heart, Sammy Jo.”
“And you did the same to me, Mr. Sinclair. That was some kiss.”
“I liked it,” he said in a deep, raspy growl. “I’m not sure I can move away from you.”
She chuckled. “Good, because I’m not sure I can let go of you.”
“Then we’ll just stand here looking out at that moonlit water while we regain control.”
And that was exactly what they did.
Chapter Ten
Sammy Jo had thrown caution to the wind and kissed Jake until she was breathless and unable to think straight. It was a feeling that she could get used to. She could kiss Jake forever. But when he found out just how much of a fake she was, there was no way he could kiss her forever. She could never hold onto a man like him.
The thought filled her mind and she tried not to think about the depressing thoughts the next few days. Of course, she would be working and, out of the blue, his kiss would steal into her thoughts and she’d find herself just staring off into nothing with a goofy grin on her face.
Like now. A shiver of awareness hit her as the bell on the door jangled and she shook herself out of her kissing thoughts. It was Jake’s sister, Olivia.
Olivia swept into the shop, looking gorgeous in a green sundress. “I was driving by and wondered if you had time to come to lunch?”
Sammy Jo’s day brightened instantly. “Sure, I’d love it. Now?”
Olivia chuckled. “Yes, now. We’re actually all heading to Lilly’s treehouse. Lilly is all excited because she just finished a new book and she’s itching to celebrate. The girl holes up during the writing of the books and sometimes we see her and sometimes we don’t. At the dinner the other night, I don’t know if you noticed, but she was a little distracted. That’s because she was nearing the end of her book but Trent had practically kidnapped her and brought her to Mom’s to eat. He says he’s barely seen her since. But she finished yesterday and called to have us all come out to celebrate.”
“That sounds great. Let me grab my bag. It’s kind of dead today anyway. I really need to hire some help, though, so I’m not always tied down to the shop.”
“Yes, or we’ll be accusing you of being a recluse.”
They locked up and she slid into the passenger’s seat of Olivia’s sports car. “So, Lilly and Trent live in a treehouse?”
Olivia’s green eyes sparkled. “Yes, they do. Actually, they have two houses. The treehouse is really her writing get-away. It’s pretty awesome.”
They were driving down the ocean drive and after just a little distance outside the city limits, she turned onto a road that wound upward.
“This is the tallest area of Windswept Bay. You can see for miles.” Olivia drove her little car around the curving road until they came to a turnaround with a private gate. She pushed a button and in a moment, the gate opened and they pulled through. Once inside, there were other cars lined up beneath the canopy of trees.
“It is really cool up here.” She was intrigued.
“Yes, just wait. Trent is a very talented guy. And he created Lilly’s vision perfectly.”
They walked through the trees and stepped up onto a boardwalk that rose from the ground and wove through the trees. She gasped when she saw the actual treehouse through the thick trees with the boardwalk stairs leading up to it. She could see all the other Sinclair women milling around on the deck.
Shar waved and so did Jillian. Excitement swam through Sammy Jo.
“I am so glad you came,” Lilly said the moment they stepped onto the deck. “Welcome to my treehouse.”
“I love it. I wouldn’t have missed seeing this for all the world.” She turned and looked out over the treetops to the ocean in the distance. “This is amazing. And you write up here?”
“I do. Gets my creative juices flowing. But it’s not healthy for me to shut out the world, so my new deal is that when I finish a book, I celebrate with all my new sisters.”
Her words sank in and Sammy Jo felt like an impostor again. Did they all just automatically assume that she and Jake were together? Was Lilly including her in the sisters description because she thought there was more between her and Jake than there was?
Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable about misleading her new friends. Would they all still want her around when Jake moved on to someone who fit him better?
The idea sat like a lump in the pit
of her stomach. She had decided she might be getting an ulcer worrying about being an impostor.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Shar came out of the treehouse wearing a harness around her hips and a little red helmet. The dark-haired beauty’s eyes were gleaming as she rubbed her hands together. “I tell you, my brother is a genius and every time I come out here, I’m more and more convinced that I need to have him make me a zipline somewhere on mine and Gage’s property. Why should you be the only one who gets to have fun on a whim?”
Lilly laughed. “He’d build you one. You know he would. He’d build you a treehouse, too, if you wanted one. He loves building them.”
Sammy Jo looked on, totally confused. She watched as Shar walked over to the stairs that led up to the second-story deck. They’d told her that that was actually Lilly’s writing room. And it was then that she noticed a platform and a wire. A wire with a handle and a connector on it. “What is that?” she asked.
Cali smiled from where she was leaning against the deck railing, looking out at the view. “That is Lilly’s zipline. Trent’s love for treehouses extends to adult-sized surprises that would make a kid’s mouth water.”
Sammy Jo’s stomach dropped to her toes and bounced. “Shar is going to ride down that?”
She stared at the wire that she now saw ran through the trees and wove around and eventually ended near the ground. It was one of the scariest things she’d ever looked at. And yet it was also intriguing. And Shar looked exhilarated as she stepped up onto the platform and hooked herself to the heavy-duty line.
“Yes, it is the most fun. We’ve all done it. We love coming out here and riding down.” Cali was an elegant beauty with a class that Sammy Jo could never hope to have. Imagining Cali riding down that zipline was about as out of character for Cali as Sammy Jo could imagine.
“You ride that thing?”
Cali winked. “Yes, and while I’m not as crazy about it as my zealous sister, Shar or sis-in-law, Lilly, I really enjoy it. It kind of clears your head and makes you feel like a kid again. You should do it. It’s very safe.”
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