“We’ll split the check and seduce each other,” he suggested. They looked at each other. Suddenly, Lori didn’t care about the dinner anymore.
“I should pick up a change of clothes so I can go straight to work in the morning,” she said.
“OK. You ready?”
“Oh, I’m ready,” she said.
He picked up the check from the edge of the table and paid it on the way out.
“Thought we were splitting that,” she said.
“Like hell. My dad would kill me if I let a woman pay her own way.”
In the car, Jake pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. She suddenly wished she didn’t have to go to work tomorrow, and said so. Jake started the car and drove toward Lori’s house.
“Maybe we should both take some time off. Maybe take a weekend trip,” he said.
“That sounds like an amazing idea,” she said. “Where did you have in mind?”
“No idea. Just somewhere where we’d have a whole weekend undisturbed.”
“Or we could tell everyone we were out of town, and just hide in my bedroom all weekend,” she said.
“We may as well, because no matter where we go I think I’d be hard pressed to get you to leave the hotel bed. You’re a sex maniac,” he teased. Then they were at Lori’s house.
“You go ahead. I’ll want my car in the morning so I’ll drive. I just need a few minutes to grab some clothes. I won’t be long,” she promised.
He gave her another kiss — a quick one, this time — and she rushed into the house, threw everything she would need to get ready for work the next day into an overnight bag, and drove to Jake’s house. He was watching for her and let her in immediately. He had music playing and a fire going in the gas fireplace. He’d poured her a glass of wine, and had a beer for himself.
“This is nice,” she said, settling down on the sofa next to him. “I see you even bought wine.”
“I paid attention to the kind you had and bought the same stuff,” he said. “I still don’t know anything about wine.”
She picked it up and took a sip. “That hits the spot,” she said. Then, as soon as she put it down, Jake kissed her again. But he wasn’t in a big hurry to move to the bedroom. He asked her about her childhood and about her job as a nurse. They moved on to discussing politics, their favorite books and movies and music and different vacations they’d had. It was easy to talk to him, and he poured her another glass of wine and excused himself to fetch himself another beer. When he returned, she settled happily against him, his hand idly stroking her arm as they talked.
“I feel happier just sitting here talking to you than I’ve ever felt before,” he said. She realized the same was true for her.
“I didn’t think I was a quiet-night-at-home kind of girl, but with you, I am,” she said.
“What time do you have to get up?” he asked.
“Early,” she said. “I won’t wake you. I’ll just slip out quietly.”
“Nonsense. I still owe you breakfast, remember?”
“Are you going to get up at 5 a.m. to make it?”
He gulped. “Absolutely.”
“Well, OK. Because I have to be there at 7.”
“Then why do I have to get up at 5?”
“To make the biscuits from scratch!” They both laughed at that.
“I’m ready for bed. How about you?” he asked.
“Very ready,” she said. He clicked off the fire and they carried their drinks to the kitchen, and then they were in his bedroom.
“We can’t stay up too late, now,” she said. But it was an hour before they actually went to sleep.
Chapter 20
The next morning, Jake had scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, orange juice and coffee ready for her when she stepped out of the shower.
“I could get used to this,” she said. “I usually just grab something quick on my way out the door.”
“Have any plans for after work?” he asked.
“Not really,” she said.
“My place or yours tonight?” She noticed he was just assuming they’d be spending the night together again, and found she didn’t mind that assumption.
“If I say your place, do I get breakfast again?”
“You do.”
“Then I’ll stop by my house after work and get another set of clothes,” she said.
“Why not bring over a second set of toiletries and a few outfits, instead of having to pack stuff every night?” Jake suggested. “It’ll save you time in the long run.”
“Well, OK,” Lori said, surprised. “I guess that makes sense. Sorry to eat and run, but I need to get going.” He kissed her, quickly but deeply, and she was off.
The ER was usually pretty slow in the early morning, and she was grateful. She made a beeline for Harriet first chance she got.
“All right, lady. Spill your guts!” she said.
“I guess I missed some excitement at your party,” Harriet said, smiling.
“Yes, you sure did. But it went great. Molly and the baby are home and doing fine.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to lend a hand. But as you probably noticed, John and I had some unfinished business to attend to.”
“I did notice that. So did everybody getting the house tour,” Lori teased. “So you and John are dating?”
“We are more than dating. We are going to get married.”
“What the hell, Harriet! You guys just met!”
“No, we met in the ’70s. And we should have gotten married then. And we would have, if my parents hadn’t sabotaged us. All these wasted years. I thought he didn’t want to see me. He thought I didn’t want to see him.”
“What happened?”
“I was still living at home. He was living with an uncle a couple of hours away, doing his plumbing apprenticeship. We were talking about getting married once he was done. My parents didn’t want me to move out. Kept finding reasons why they needed me to stay home and help them out. I was making the mortgage payment for them every month. They told him I didn’t want to see him anymore because I was going to marry a rich man, and that they’d call the cops on him if he didn’t leave me alone. They told me he had come by and made a scene and said he was done with me and that they needed to keep me away from him. That I was always pestering him but he had a girlfriend where he was living, and he was going to marry her. I didn’t want to believe it, but he wouldn’t talk to me. Marked my letters ‘return to sender.’ Of course, I didn’t know my parents had convinced him I didn’t want to see him and that they’d threatened him with legal action.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Broke my heart. And a couple of years later, I heard through the grapevine that he was married, so that was that. Sounds like he and his wife had a perfectly good marriage, but she died a few years ago, not long after they retired to Florida, so he came back up here to stay with Johnny and Caroline while he looked for a place up here. You know the rest.”
“Do you really think you want to marry so soon?”
“Soon? I’ve been waiting long enough, girl. We’re living in my little place right now but we’re going to buy something bigger. In fact, I was planning to call Jake about it.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say.”
“Say ‘Congratulations.’”
“Congratulations!” Lori hugged her. “Really.”
“We’re going to have a big wedding! None of this courthouse nonsense. It’s my first wedding and I’m going to make the most of it.”
“You should! You really should. I hope I’m invited?”
“Are you kidding me? Everyone is invited!”
Lori glanced up and saw that her boss, Tiana, was giving her that look that meant she should get back to work. She made a big show of keeping busy until Tiana was gone, and then she slipped into an empty exam room and quickly texted Caroline.
Lori: “You didn’t tell me your FIL had moved in with Harriet!”
Caroline: “He came by and go
t most of his stuff day after party. We haven’t seen him since”
Lori: “Harriet seems happy”
Caroline: “He gave Johnny big lecture to help more. He actually got better. Somewhat. Was sorry he left!”
Lori: “Ha! Hey, gotta run”
Caroline: “Clipper tonight?”
“Lori: “Not tonight but soon!”
She slipped her phone back into her pocket and got back to work. Tiana had magical powers that enabled her to know when a nurse was slacking, so she didn’t press her luck any further.
After work, she stopped by a drug store and picked up extra deodorant, shampoo and everything else she could think of that she’d need to get ready away from home. She was surprised that he’d suggested she bring everything over, but she also saw it as a good sign. At home she picked through her underwear drawer, making sure she chose all the sexiest pairs, plus a few little naughty pieces of lingerie as well as some actual clothes. As much as she’d savored spending time in her new place, she found that now she only wanted to get to Jake’s place as soon as possible. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked the same as ever, but somehow different, too. And then she realized what was different.
“Lori, you are in love,” she said to her reflection. “Also, you’re talking to yourself again.”
Jake was making spaghetti when she arrived. He’d bought another bottle of her favorite Cabernet, too. The sauce was simmering away on the back burner and the pasta was boiling in a big pot.
They kissed hello and she took a seat at the kitchen table. He had a formal dining room, but he apparently never used it. Little wonder it always looked picture-perfect.
“That smells great. By the way, I brought my stuff,” Lori said, lifting her shopping bags to show him. “I almost feel like I’m moving in,” she joked.
Jake was draining the pasta into a colander, a big cloud of steam enveloping him. “Maybe you should,” he said.
“What?” Lori thought she must have misheard him.
“Maybe you should move in. With me.” He turned around, pot of drained pasta in hand, and looked her in the eye.
“Isn’t it kind of soon?”
“Does it feel too soon to you?” He tipped the pan of bubbling sauce into the pasta and mixed everything together, then placed the entire spaghetti pot on the table, not bothering to transfer it to a serving dish. Then he pulled a baking sheet with three pieces of garlic toast out of the oven and put that on the table, too. Finally, he removed a green salad from the refrigerator.
“Dinner is served,” he said. “I hate extra dishes so I hope you don’t mind that I usually serve straight from the pan. Hell, if you weren’t here, I’d eat straight from the pan. I did decide to follow etiquette to the point of using plates, so feel special.” He took his seat and began filling his plate with the spaghetti. Evidently, the salad was going to be all hers.
Lori wanted to ask him if he’d been serious about suggesting they move in together, but his tone was now so normal and matter-of-fact that she wondered if she’d misunderstood. She took a bite of salad and chewed it slowly, buying time.
“I’m not quite sure I heard you right, a minute ago,” she said.
“About the dishes? I hate dirty dishes. So when it’s just me, I’ll eat right out of the pan. My mom would be horrified, but what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
Lori knew he was deliberately changing the subject. “No, the other thing.”
“Moving in together?”
“Yeah, that.”
“If you think it’s too soon, then it’s too soon. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Well, I mean, you just surprised me. That’s all.” She picked up her wine glass and took a sip. Then she picked it back up and took a gulp. “It seems kind of out of order.”
“You talked to Harriet today?”
“Yes, I did,” Lori said. He seemed to be deliberately changing the subject again.
“She called me today. She and John Sr. are getting married and they want to buy a house. She told me a little bit of their story. What a damned shame, huh, that they lost all those years? And what a cool thing that they’re making up for lost time now! I don’t want to lose time. I already know that you’re the one for me, Lori. And I can’t see any reason why we should waste one day. So why not?”
“Well, for one thing, I just bought that house.”
“Harriet wants to buy it.”
“She what? She didn’t say that to me!”
“No, she assumes it’s impossible. But she did say they wish they could buy it. The house is full of memories for them, you see.”
“I did see. I saw them re-enacting their memories on my damned bed.” A thought occurred to her. “You aren’t wanting me to move in just so you can earn another commission on my house, are you?” Even as she said it, she knew how crazy it sounded.
“Yes, you’re onto me. I often seduce women and re-sell their houses so I can earn extra commissions. It’s how I roll.”
“You haven’t even said, you know. I mean we haven’t even talked about the future.”
Jake pushed his spaghetti aside and reached for Lori’s hands. “If you can’t tell by now that I’m in love with you, I don’t know what to say. I thought the message was coming through. And I kind of thought I was getting a message back. Was I wrong about that?”
Lori’s mouth went dry.
“You weren’t wrong,” she said, nearly whispering.
He pushed back his chair, stood up, and extended his hands to Lori. She took them and he pulled her into his arms. “I love you. Move in with me.”
“I love you, too,” she said. “OK.”
The spaghetti was concealed into a cold mass when they returned to the kitchen an hour later but they ate it anyway.
Chapter 21
Caroline stared at Lori, who was calmly sipping a Moscow Mule.
“First Harriet, and now you? Are you serious?”
“I’m totally serious. I already moved all my clothes. I probably won’t bring any of my furniture. It’s basically a done deal.”
“But you just met him! And you just bought that house! I mean, are you really, totally, absolutely sure you’re doing the right thing? A few weeks ago you were telling me you didn’t even like him!”
“I admit it’s soon. But I’ve never been in love before. Not really. And nobody has ever been in love with me before. And you were right, he’s nothing like I thought he was at first. I’m happier when I’m with him than I’ve ever been before.”
“Is it the sex? Are you just in that sex-crazy stage and you’re mistaking it for more?”
“Yes, we’re in the sex-crazy stage, but it’s definitely more.”
“Well, if you’re sure, then congratulations. I really am happy for you. It’s just … well, really soon.”
“Well, we’re moving in together. It’s not like we’re actually getting married.”
“That’s true. But Johnny and I dated for almost two years before we moved in together. It’ll be at least that long again before I feel like we’re ready to get married!” She laughed.
“So how are things?” Lori asked. “He was driving you crazy a couple weeks ago. Has he gotten any better about doing his share of the housework?”
Caroline put down her beer. “You know, he has. His dad was only living with us for a few days, but in that time he noticed that Johnny was usually sitting playing video games or watching sports on TV while I was doing, well, everything. He said since Helen died he had to learn how to do the laundry and the dishes, how to cook, how to mop a floor, how to scrub a toilet, all of that. And he said he just wished he’d appreciated how much his wife did over the years when she was still alive. She didn’t work outside the home, but still. He took everything totally for granted. Which I can understand. That was how things were back then.”
“Yeah, my mom was expected to take care of the house by herself, too. It’s just how it was, I think. Even though my mom worked, to
o.”
“Yeah. John said Johnny has no idea how much work goes into cleaning a house. He turned off the TV one day. Johnny was like, ‘Hey, I was watching that!’ And John was like, ‘No, you’re going to come learn the right way to clean a bathroom. I’m gonna teach you right now.’ And I just stood there, my mouth hanging open. Now Johnny cleans the bathrooms. It’s his job.”
“Oh, man, that’s amazing.”
“Yeah, I just wish he’d lived with us a few more days. Maybe he’d have taught Johnny how to cook, too!”
“Ha, that’s great.”
“It’s a start, anyway.”
Lori finished her drink and set down the copper mug, making eye contact with Ashley and nodding to signal for another. “Well, fortunately, Jake not only has been cleaning his own house all along, but also frequently does emergency maid service for some of the houses he shows. He’s neater than I am. So we’re good there.”
“So, not to change the subject, but apparently Harriet is planning an extravagant wedding. Did she tell you about it?”
“Just that she was planning to go all out. I haven’t heard the details yet.”
“Oh. My. God. They are going nuts. I’m supposed to go dress shopping with her next weekend, which I guess will be fun. They’re trying to find the perfect place for the ceremony. They still haven’t settled on a location yet. They aren’t very religious, so they don’t want a church. John has told her she can basically do whatever she wants. It’s like she’s been holding this in for decades and now she’s going crazy.”
“I think it’s rather sweet. You know, Jake was joking that I should sell my house to them.”
“Would you really do that? Sell a house you just bought?”
“Well, I’m not living there anymore,” Lori said, accepting another Moscow Mule from Ashley, who overheard the last part.
“You’re moving?” Ashley asked. “You just got settled in!”
“I might as well make it Clipper-official, I guess. I have moved in with Jake. You can feel free to spread the word. It’ll save me a lot of trouble if you do,” Lori joked.
Kiss & Tell (Small-Town Secrets-Fairview Series Book 2) Page 18