by Jillian Hart
“It looks beautiful.” Tansy reached for her arm. “I’ll walk with you and then show you to Jake’s apartment when we’re done.”
“Thank you. I really wasn’t sure if I should go to the front desk or call him.” Jolie had a list of things she was unsure of.
“Either would have worked.” Tansy led her down the corridor to the Aspen Room. Inside there were more than twenty exhibits. People milled around the room, some with cups of coffee, others with colorful drinks.
“This is amazing.”
Jolie admired the other works of art. There were paintings, jewelry, sculptures and her copper wall hangings and light fixtures. Tansy introduced her to several people at her booth, discussing the pieces.
This was the part of being an artist she didn’t enjoy. She enjoyed solitude and her workshop. After thirty minutes, Tansy led her toward the door.
“You’re a hit.” Tansy gave her arm a squeeze. “I’ve always known you would be.”
“Really?” Jolie looked at the other woman. “Why would you think that?”
“I saw your work a few years ago at a show in Denver. What you do with copper is amazing.” Tansy shrugged. “I happen to be a big fan and I’m glad Jake is going to put some of your art in the lodge.”
“Thank you, Tansy.” Jolie looked at her watch. “I should go.”
She should go home. That’s what she should do. An evening with Jake Wild was dangerous territory. Even if the evening was just about corn dogs with a young girl and ice skating. She wouldn’t have been honest, and she was always honest, if she didn’t admit she was more than a little attracted to the owner of Wildwood Lodge.
But every woman in a one-hundred-mile radius was attracted to Jake Wild, maybe a two-hundred-mile radius. Jake could have any woman he wanted. Tonight he would have his pick of any woman at the party. When that happened she would be the wallflower that slipped to the sidelines and watched everyone else fall in love.
“Hey, why the look?” Tansy led her down the hallway, away from the Aspen Room.
“Oh, nothing.” Jolie did her best to smile.
“Worried about ice skating?”
“More than a little,” she admitted, thankful that it was the truth.
Tansy led her down a quiet hall to an elevator marked Private. She slid a card into the slot and pushed a series of buttons. The door opened.
“We like security here,” Tansy said as she stepped onto the elevator. “Anna really adores you. There aren’t many people she trusts.”
“She’s a beautiful girl.”
Tansy looked at her, a long look. “There aren’t many people Jake trusts. Especially with Anna.”
“Tansy—”
The doors opened and Tansy smiled. “Enjoy your night. Try not to question everything, Jolie.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Just ring the bell. They’re waiting for you. And I’ll see you later at the party.”
“Maybe.”
Tansy’s brows shot up, but she didn’t get a chance to comment. The doors of the elevator closed. Jolie turned to face the other door. The door that led to Jake Wild’s private residence. Her heart thumped hard against her chest and she couldn’t quite convince herself to move forward.
She could call and tell him something had come up. She wouldn’t let Anna down that way, though. She took a few slow steps toward the door, thinking about years ago when she’d been a freshman in college and her dad had started to work here.
Jolie had been amazed by this world. It had been so far removed from her upbringing, she had been in awe. She had always been in awe of Jake.
Jake had kissed her that summer. On a quiet summer night at the pool, he’d brushed a whisper of a kiss across her lips. Jolie stood in front of the door remembering how she’d felt in that moment. And later, coming to terms with the reality that it had only been one kiss, nothing more. Not one to learn her lesson the first time, she’d repeated the kiss last year.
And then again just hours ago in her own kitchen. Jolie swallowed and let her hand drop to her side. What was that old saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Kiss me once, shame on you. Kiss me twice, shame on me.
She wasn’t a fool. But she’d always been a fool for Jake Wild.
The door opened.
Jake stood there, every inch the owner of Wildwood. He’d changed into a heavy, oatmeal sweater, but he still wore jeans and hiking boots. She remained motionless. What in the world had she thought, coming here.
“Are you coming in?” He opened the door wider. The insecure girl she’d been years ago resurfaced. It might be best to run.
“I think so.”
His eyes narrowed. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, fine.” She cleared her throat. “I’m good, just...”
“We have corn dogs and French fries.” He said it as if it should tempt her.
She smiled then. “Who could resist a corn dog?”
Did he remember that long-ago kiss? Or did he only remember the one from last year? She should have come up with a New Year’s resolution last year that would have kept her from repeating the same mistakes this year.
“Come in.” Jake took her hand and led her inside the apartment.
He led her through the living room with its many windows and gorgeous views of snow-covered mountains through to the dining room. The table sat in an alcove with a half circle of windows. A candle burned in the center of the table and the corn dogs were displayed on crystal dishes.
Anna appeared and reached for her hand, leading her to a chair. The little girl signed and Jake laughed dryly before interpreting.
“She said you have to sit next to me.”
* * *
JAKE HELD THE CHAIR out for Jolie. She looked at him, those dark eyes hiding something, maybe fear? He gave the chair a pointed look and she sat. He moved it close to the table and then stood behind her for just a moment, tempted by her long, dark hair that shimmered with hints of auburn when the light caught it just right.
She looked up at him and he let go and moved to his seat. Anna had already seated herself. She had her napkin in her lap and her hands folded patiently, waiting for him to say grace. He looked at the corn dogs, fries and green beans and he had to admit to feeling more thankful than he could have guessed he’d feel.
Tonight he reached for the hands of the two females at his table. Anna grinned up at him, taking his hand as he took Jolie’s. He said grace and Jolie whispered a quiet “Amen.”
He lifted his glass and clinked Anna’s first and then Jolie’s. “It’s just water, but here’s to the new year and all that it has in store for us.”
“Cheers.” Jolie smiled at him and then at his niece.
Jake reached for the serving tongs and picked up several of the miniature corn dogs, placing them on his niece’s plate. And then he passed the plate to Jolie, meeting her gaze, her sweet smile. It should have embarrassed him, serving a woman a meal of corn dogs, but Jolie smiled and made it easy. He relaxed and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d really relaxed. His physician had warned him that he’d be on blood pressure medication in the next year or two if he didn’t learn to take it easy.
Sitting at that table with Anna and Jolie, he kind of thought maybe he’d found the cure. He hadn’t enjoyed this apartment, his job or his life as much in the past ten years as he had in the past few hours.
Jolie had been right, something about New Year’s Eve made a person look at their life in a way that forced them to make changes.
Anna signed and he had to look quickly to catch what she was saying. They were doing well with this sign language business, but they both had a lot to learn. She giggled as she repeated what she’d said.
“I agree.” He grinned
at Jolie.
“What?” Jolie wiped her mouth and waited.
“Anna says you’ll have to hold my hand when we go skating.”
“Did she really?”
“Yes, she did. She’s worried that you’ll fall and get hurt.”
“I’m a little worried about that myself.” She placed a hand on Anna’s arm. “Thank you for letting me go skating with you tonight.”
Anna signed, “You’re welcome.”
They were almost finished eating when Jake’s phone rang. He excused himself from the table and answered it in the kitchen.
“Yes, Mother.”
A long sigh that meant she wasn’t happy. “I’m at the airport and your cousin Tansy says there isn’t a car available at the moment to come and pick me up.”
“That’s probably true.” But he smiled at Tansy’s ability to handle problems. “We’re having the masked ball tonight, so there’s quite a crowd. And a snowstorm is hitting.”
“Do you think you could send the next available one to get me? I don’t want to have to stay in the city.”
“I’ll have one on the way as soon as I can. But with this storm I can’t make promises. I won’t put your safety at risk in this weather.”
“Fine, I’ll rent a room and wait. I’ll call you when I know where I’m staying so you’ll know where to find me.”
She hung up. And the phone rang again. He was starting to think he should turn it off. “Tansy.”
“You shouldn’t sound so aggravated, not when you’re with Jolie.”
“My mother seems to be stuck at the airport without a car.”
“Yes, I explained to her that we have quite a crowd coming and going and I’ll get one down there as soon as possible. I didn’t call about her. I called because there’s a huge problem with the walk-in safe.”
“A problem you can’t handle?”
She sighed. “No, I can’t. I’m sorry, I tried. I know you’re busy and I don’t want to pull you away.”
He glanced over his shoulder to the two females at his table. “I can get away for a few minutes.”
“It’s the lock, Jake. I called security but I didn’t want to take chances tonight.”
He touched the cell phone to his brow. When Tansy said problem, he hadn’t expected a major incident. “I’ll be right down.”
So much for his romantic night of courting Jolie. He shook his head. He had to stop calling it that. Even if that was exactly what he’d planned to do this evening.
He walked back into the dining room and neither Anna nor Jolie was there. He heard the sound of dishes clinking and silverware rattling. He walked through the arched doorway into the kitchen. Jolie stood at the sink, rinsing their dishes. Anna stood next to her loading the dishwasher.
The scene did something crazy to him. It made him want to forget the ball, forget the breach of security and just stay in this kitchen with the two of them. Is that how it had happened to his mother? She’d gotten carried away chasing relationships and had forgotten to manage the business his father left behind.
Jake stood there for a long minute watching.
He wasn’t his mother. That’s all it came down to. He wasn’t Helena. He could fall in love and still take care of Wildwood. He’d spent the past few months caring for Anna and the business hadn’t suffered.
He had good people to help him.
Knowing that, what did he do about Jolie?
“Everything okay?” Jolie rinsed one last plate and handed it to his niece. Anna slid it into the dishwasher. “And I left your plate on the table.”
“I need to run downstairs.” He tilted his head at his niece. “You know I have a housekeeper who takes care of things like this?”
“I’m sure you do, but we were having fun. Anna taught me a few signs and I promised her I’d learn more.” Jolie bit her bottom lip. “Maybe I shouldn’t have.”
“What, promised you’d see her again?” He tried to ease the moment with a smile. “Why wouldn’t you see her again?”
He wondered what went through her mind at times like this, when her eyelids lowered and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Was she thinking about the past, what her father had done, things Jake had said at the time?
“Jolie, I want the past behind us.”
“Jake.” She shook her head. “The past is never really behind us. It set us on a path. It made us who we are. My dad stole from you. That is always going to be between us, no matter what. Maybe you can overlook it, but it will never go away.”
“I’m not going to let the past sway me.”
“Of course you won’t,” she whispered and a faint smile turned her lips. “Go, I’ll watch Anna while you take care of things downstairs. I saw checkers. We’ll have fun while you’re gone.”
“Thank you. And don’t think you’re getting out of skating.” He said the words but couldn’t force himself to relax, to return to that sense of ease they’d shared thirty minutes earlier.
He was thinking of his mom and how many times he’d put her down for getting sidetracked by romance. Sidetracked seemed to be pretty easy to come by. Anger with his mother, just as easy.
Jolie touched Anna’s shoulder and his niece looked up at her. “You get the checkers out. I’ll walk your uncle Jake to the door.”
Anna nodded and watched as Jolie followed him through the apartment to the front door. Jake glanced back at his niece and winked because he didn’t want her to worry.
At the door, Jolie said, “I can make an excuse to leave after you get back. I know this isn’t easy for you, having me here, entertaining me. Anna is sweet and I appreciate the offer to ice-skate, but you don’t have to do this.”
Jake’s cell phone rang. He hit the button to quiet the ringtone. “Jolie, you’re not here because Anna wanted a playdate. I appreciate that my five-year-old niece has taken a liking to you. But you’re here because I wanted to spend time with you.”
“You don’t act like a man who is crazy about spending time with a woman.”
He let his fingers slide through her silky, dark hair. Captivated, he leaned in to smell the hint of strawberry.
“I’m a man who has definitely gone crazy.” He turned his attention from her hair to her lips, but he didn’t kiss her. Anna was in the other room, or possibly watching from a corner somewhere. And he had to get control. He reminded himself that there was a problem downstairs that needed his attention.
“Jake.” Her voice was soft, shy, reaching out to him.
“Jolie, I can admit that I like to be in control. I don’t like to be distracted from business. You are definitely a distraction. So let’s just set the record straight. You are here because I want you here, probably more than Anna does and for completely different reasons.”
“I don’t know what to do.” She licked her bottom lip as she stared up at him.
“First of all, don’t do that again or I’m liable to say forget the jammed lock on the safe, forget the lodge, and we’ll just go live in a one-room cabin somewhere. Let me take care of business and then we’ll figure out what this is between us.”
She shrugged, still watching him intently with her dark brown eyes. “I’m not looking for a one-night stand.”
“I know. And I’m not sure what I’m looking for.”
Reluctantly, slowly, he untangled his fingers from her hair and stepped back. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
As he walked to the elevator the door clicked shut behind him. He considered telling her not to let anyone in. She wouldn’t, though. He knew Anna would be safe with Jolie.
As for himself and Jolie, nothing had ever felt quite as dangerous as this night with her. And nothing had ever felt quite as right, either.
CHAPTER EIGHT
JOLIE WALKED BACK IN
TO the kitchen. Anna sat on a stool waiting with the book on sign language open in front of her. She held it out and Jolie took it with a smile. The child looked up at her, a look that Jolie couldn’t ignore.
What would it be like to know only a few people in the world could speak your language? Her heart broke a little for the child, and broke more thinking of the years she’d spent in complete silence.
“I’ll learn,” Jolie said. “Thank you.”
Anna nodded. Her signs were useless with Jolie at this point. Since she didn’t have the ability to speak, their communication was limited.
“Is this what you’re wearing skating or should we get you changed?” Jolie asked, because with the hearing aids, Anna could hear her somewhat.
Anna grinned and signed, but then she grabbed Jolie’s hand and led her to a pretty bedroom, decorated for a child. Everything was clean and new. Anna opened a closet door and Jolie gaped at the amount of clothes.
“Wow.”
Anna grinned and signed something else as she led Jolie inside the room-size closet. Anna grabbed boots, then found gloves and a stocking cap on a shelf.
“Looks like we’ll be ready to go.”
The doorbell rang. Jolie froze, unsure of what she should do. Jake hadn’t said, but she kind of thought she shouldn’t open the door to anyone.
“Someone’s at the door. I’m going to go peek and see who it is.”
Anna grabbed her hand and shook her head.
“You don’t think I should?”
Anna again shook her head. She guessed that was the reason for the extra security, to give Anna peace of mind. A child should grow up feeling secure. Even if her fears were imaginary, Jake would make sure she knew no one could hurt her.
How would it feel to be protected by someone like Jake Wild?
“Okay, we won’t open the door. We’ll wait for Jake to get back.”
They waited. And waited. Anna beat her twice at checkers. Jolie watched as the cloudy sky darkened and more snow fell. She could see the skating rink. There were a few people on the ice. Anna glanced that way, too. The child sighed and Jolie had to agree. But at least they weren’t alone.