Seducing Mr. Right

by Rebecca Rose

  “Jake, how are you feeling today?” He pulled himself out of his rambling thoughts and focused on the team leader, Charlotte.

  “I’m good.”

  “Really? You haven’t said too much today.” She looked at him with a mixture of concern and pity. Jake really hated that expression.

  “I’m good. Just wondering where I go from here.”

  “Where do you want to go?”

  “If I knew, I probably wouldn’t be asking.” His answer was short, a little bitter and he regretted it as soon as it came out. “Sorry.”

  “Very frustrating, isn’t it? Most of us ask that question even though we haven’t been through what all of you have. Jake, where do you want to be in a month?”

  He gave a little laugh. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about shopping.”

  “Do you go out to shop?”

  Doc gave Jake a good-natured hit on the chest. “Out to shop? Hell, my groceries are delivered!” There were murmured agreements and a few chuckles.

  “You should try Big Y on Tuesday mornings, Doc,” Jake informed. “Hardly anyone there.”

  “Maybe next week.”

  “Really?” Charlotte said to Doc.

  “Oh God. Now she’s going to try and set us up, Sanders. I’m sorry, two men in the grocery store looks gay. Now, I don’t have a problem with that lifestyle, but I’d really like to be picking up the ladies, not giving them mixed signals.”

  “All good on my end,” Jake announced.

  “That’s right. You’ve been dating a woman. How has that been going, Jake?”

  Jake turned and looked at the leader. “Okay.”

  “Just okay?”

  “I’m thinking of getting a cat.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “Well, I have trust issues, and I’m thinking if I start with something small, eventually I’ll work myself out of this funk.”

  “Sounds reasonable. What’s your girlfriend think?” At Jake’s silence the room looked to him for an answer. “Have you talked to her about the trust issues? What are the reasons you have them?”

  “Why do any of us have them?”

  “But, what are your reasons?”

  Jake shifted in his chair. How did this conversation move to him? Hadn’t he diverted the attention away from himself fairly well over the past few weeks? “I just don’t think I can trust myself, so how can others trust me?”

  “That’s a good question. Anyone care to answer it?” Her eyes scanned the group. “No? Jake, who are you?”

  His eyes darted around the room then rested on Doc, who only shrugged his shoulders. “I’m Gunnery Sergeant Jacob Sanders of the Marine Corps.”

  “Yes, but who are you?”

  Shaking his head, he told her, “I don’t understand.”

  “Before we can give a part of ourselves, we need to know what part to give and trust that it’ll be taken care of. Now, I’m not saying that starting a relationship is wrong. But if you’re questioning yourself, make sure you’re spending more time concentrating on you, and not the relationship.” Charlotte looked to the group to include them. “This is the time to be selfish. You need to work on you, before becoming part of a ‘we.’ Some of you have spouses and feel the pressure to make it all okay. It’s not going to happen overnight. And it’s certainly not going to happen if you distract yourself from getting better. Jake?”

  He gave a low groan when she picked him out again. The last place he wanted to be was the center of attention.

  “What are you going to do for yourself today?”

  He looked around him as his mind moved in a million different directions. “You know, I haven’t been missing any time lately. I’ve been able to control my temper and go grocery shopping on other mornings besides Tuesdays. The woman I’ve been seeing is funny, smart, and beautiful. Yet I feel it’s unfair because I’m always holding a part of myself back from her.”

  “What part, Jake?’

  Jake shrugged, “That’s the problem—I’m not sure. I don’t know myself enough, and maybe that’s why I don’t trust every thought I have.” The realization left a suffocating weight on his shoulders. He had suspected he wasn’t ready to play house yet. But there’d been something about Sophie that made him want to know who she was. What made her smile, laugh, cry? At night, did she read herself to sleep, or did she simply drift when the urge came to her? How many times did she take bubble baths in her fancy tub? Did she burn everything she cooked, or was she exaggerating about it? But finding those things out wasn’t why he was there. Group was about rediscovering things about yourself. Your own favorite color. What made you smile, laugh, and cry.

  “Sophie and I really just started this datin’ thing. I care for her.” Jake fell silent for a moment. “Is it too much to ask her to wait?”

  “Wait for what, Jake?”

  “Me to be ready.”

  Doc grunted, “If you find a woman that will wait for you to stop being crazy, hold on to her. Lord knows my wife wasn’t up for the job.”

  The counselor looked at each of her patients. “None of you are crazy. And asking the person you care about to understand that you need more time is not asking too much. You must think about your needs and make the right choices for you. Don’t worry about what other people are thinking or how they’re reacting to your actions. You’re responsible for your decisions and thoughts. No one else’s.”

  “I was responsible for other people once, and they died. I can’t go back to that. I don’t want the pressure of having someone count on me again.” Jake looked down at his hands. When another hand covered his, he was shocked to see it was Doc offering him comfort. Jake nodded to show his appreciation—it seemed the only thing Doc could do without getting too close to someone. However, the gesture helped Jake feel understood and supported. A breakthrough for the lost doctor who almost took his own life.

  “Learning who you are will come with time. Jake, what are you going to do for yourself today?”

  An hour later, Jake walked to his truck while small white flakes fell from the sky. The snow covered everything with its angelic grace and cleaned the dirt from the dingy world around him. Sadness overpowered the hope he’d felt earlier. What was his favorite way to fall asleep? How did he like his steak cooked? Sophie went to make him one, once, and he freaked at not knowing.

  She always talked about kids. How cute one was that she saw while shopping. How her cousin’s kid began to walk. There wasn’t any doubt in Jake’s mind about it; Sophie would want them. But did he? Could he handle the responsibilities that went with them?

  Starting his truck, Jake stared out the front windshield. Life moved on with or without him, and he was sick of missing out. He wanted to be a part of the world that brought happiness and joy to one’s heart. He needed it in the worst way, and now he knew how to get it… by taking care of himself. Such a simple answer, and yet, it was something he needed to force himself to do.

  A hawk soared down to land on a tree branch in front of him. The bird looked directly into Jake’s eyes and let out a screech, as if to say, Well? What are you waiting for?

  “Nothing,” Jake said to the empty truck cab. The windshield wipers swished back and forth, pushing at the fallen snow obstructing his view. Then Jake’s new friend fell forward into a gentle glide and swooped away. Jake wanted to be that free. To know where he was going and have confidence in himself.

  “Today I’m going to really start learning who I am. That’s what I’m going to do for myself.”

  More determined than ever, Jake put his truck into reverse. He wanted Sophie in his life, but right now he needed to find his way into an existence he could live in freely. Hope that she’d stick around bloomed, while dread leaked black doubt into his heart. This decision threatened to pull him down into the doom of depression. But instead of giving into it, Jake surprised himself and found anticipation. He only wished Sophie would show the same compassion she’d shown him from the first moment they met, because breaki
ng her heart would be necessary to obtain his goal.

  * * *

  “Dear, I really think you should come.”

  “Mom, I don’t want to.” Sophie paced her office with the cordless phone to her ear. Sometimes her mother was more than pigheaded; sometimes she was an absolute pit bull.

  “You need to stop these self destructive ways you’ve taken up. Your father and I are not here to pick up the pieces of your life.”

  “I didn’t ask you to.”

  “No, you didn’t. But that’s what a parent does.”

  “A parent wants what is good for their child. Something the two of you seem to have forgotten when it comes to Bruce.”

  “This isn’t about Bruce. You’ve made up your mind when it comes to him, and as we all know, there is no changing it once that happens.”

  “What do you want from me, Mom?”

  “I want my little girl to be happy.”

  Sophie tapped her foot on the chipping tile floor of her office. “So, you both have realized what a slime bag Bruce is?”

  “Why must you use language like that?” Sophie heard her mother give a small huff. “We want to spend a night with our daughter. Is that too much to ask?”

  Her mother sounded overly sincere, Sophie knew there must have been something Antoinette wasn’t telling her. She could feel the trap being laid, and she knew she had to be careful. “Can Jake come?” At her mother’s hesitation, Sophie knew her assumption was right.

  “Sweetie, he can come another time. We really wanted it to be us.”

  There it was: the slight high pitch in her mother’s voice when she wasn’t quite lying or telling the truth. “Who’s ‘us’?”

  “Now don’t get upset, but your father and I have a friend, and his son is in town.”

  Sophie gave on impatient gasp. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  “He’s only in town for the holidays, and—”

  “I’m not going.” Rage filled Sophie, but she tried to stay reasonable.

  “Sophie, please think about this. We already told him you were coming along. We can’t go back on our word.”

  Sophie growled, “Then you shouldn’t have given it.”

  Antoinette became quiet for a moment. “It would mean a great deal to your father and I. You know how your father has been down since he lost all that money on the stock market.”

  “And this is a way for him to make new connections to help make up for the loss?” Sophie’s voice became too quiet, even for her own comfort—a surefire sign that her temper was about to reach an epic high. While it did bother her that during the crash her father lost money on numerous investments, her parents hadn’t lost everything. Very little, in fact, when one looked at her parents’ entire estate.

  “We need to come together as a family, Sophie. Your father and I have always been there for you.”

  Sophie’s temper boiled as she tried to remember if her parents had ever supported her instead of pushing her into doing their bidding. The sad fact was she couldn’t. With her voice under restricted control, Sophie began: “I can’t be a part of this. I’m sorry. I won’t be roped into your world again. I’m not on this earth to help secure bonds with your friends, political or otherwise. You and Dad are just going to have to find another way.”

  “After everything we’ve done for you!”

  “Mom,” Sophie’s patience waned but she refused to be pushed into a shouting match. “As a parent it’s your job to do just that. Not make me your puppet for affluent gain.”

  “You are coming, and there is no way around it. Be ready this Saturday at four p.m. The limo will be picking you up. I want you to wear the deep blue dress with the low cut in the back, and for goodness’ sake, go to the stylist. I won’t stand for that dreadful blond. Do you hear me, young lady?”

  “Mom, I’m not going, and that’s final!” Sophie hit the End button on her cell. She would have given just about anything to see the look on her mother’s face when the call disconnected in her ear. The woman was insufferable. She didn’t know when the line was crossed, and Sophie wondered if she even cared.

  Sophie wanted to punch something, anything. Her day was not going as well as she had predicted. The morning started off sunny and warm, for late autumn weather. Then by the time she needed to go to work, it had clouded up, gotten bitter cold, and started to snow as if the end of the world was coming. Her back windshield wiper broke, leaving her view hindered and dangerous. Then she skidded into her work parking space and almost hit Dave’s truck.

  Sophie pulled her hands through her now red hair. The color change seemed like a good idea. She’d been a brunette all of her life, and she’d decided to try every color until she found something she loved. Dave had commented that it matched her personality. What the hell was that supposed to mean? She wrapped herself tighter in her woolen winter coat. Something had happened to the heat in her office, leaving it so cold Sophie swore she could see her breath. The stupid repairman was delayed due to the weather, because apparently, a lot of people were feeling the sudden freeze.

  Wiggling her toes to make sure they didn’t get frostbitten, Sophie looked at her computer harder than she needed to. Somehow today the numbers weren’t working out right with last year’s figures, which was going to be a problem with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s just around the corner. “Why the hell did they put all the holidays at the end of the year?”

  “Because it makes everyone miserable,” Dave answered her.

  “And that’s exactly how I feel. What’s up, Dave?” She rubbed her hands together and blew on them for warmth.

  “Why don’t you move some stuff out front so I don’t find you frozen into a Popsicle? Come on, I’ll help.”

  “I should just go home. I’m feeling a little useless today.”

  “Why?” He sat on the edge of her desk. “You’re anythin’ but.”

  “Nothing seems to be going right. I don’t know what happened this afternoon to have everything going crazy. Plus, I just hung up on my mother.” She looked at him with sorrowful eyes.

  “Not a cool thing to do, Sophie.”

  “I know. But she kept trying to get me to go to dinner with them and some friend who has a son. I mean, really? What’s wrong with her?” After slamming a fist on the desk, she rose and started gathering some papers. “You going to help me move this crap? Or sit there and watch?”

  He laughed, “Oh, I’ll help you. But if you keep that attitude with me, I’m dumpin’ you in the fourteen inches of snow we’re getting.”

  “Fourteen!”

  “You should watch the weather more often. The day just went from stormy to blizzard.” He grabbed a stack of papers and left her staring at him.

  “Dave! Please tell me you’re joking!” Sophie yelled out, charging from her office. She jolted to a stop at the sight of a familiar-looking, short brunette with blond streaks talking to him. She was the mystery woman from the Halloween party. From the displeased look on Dave’s face, she also concluded it was Jake’s ex.

  Without thought of consequence, Sophie walked up to them. After placing her armload of files down on a table, she turned to Dave, who stood uncomfortably between the two women. “Who’s your friend, Dave?”

  “Ummm…”

  “I’m Shawna.” The woman extended a hand. Sophie looked at it with a raised eyebrow.

  “Really? You want me to shake that? You’re Jake’s ex, aren’t you?” The description Dave had given her was dead-on—a trashy-looking brunette with no fashion sense and too many piercings. And, right now, she looked very confused. Well, Sophie should clear that up.

  “Yes, but I don’t see what that has—”

  “No, you wouldn’t,” Sophie interrupted. “Are you here looking for Jake?”

  “Not your business,” Shawna scoffed.

  “Listen, girls,” Dave began, “I don’t think this is the time—”

  “Oh, but Dave, I do. The place is empty and now I understand why my day h
as been going so badly. It’s been preparing me for this.” Sophie took a step toward Shawna, whose eyes grew large. Their faces were mere inches away from each other when Sophie began. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You don’t belong here and no one wants you here. You’re white-trash stench is stinking up the place.”

  Shawna’s mouth fell open. “What? Who the fuck do you think you are? Dave, who is this person?”

  Dave held up his hands and stepped back.

  Sophie smirked at him. “You’re a smart man.” She turned her attention back to Shawna. “Get out of our restaurant,” she said between gridded teeth.

  Shawna crossed her arms. “No. I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ve done nothing to deserve this. Dave, will you please get rid of this person?”

  Sophie heard him laugh and it made her smile. “I’m Jake’s girlfriend and I don’t appreciate you sniffing around. He doesn’t want you, and if you don’t get your ass out of here, I’ll remove you myself.”

  “I’d like to see you try.”

  Sophie pounced as a starved animal would on helpless prey. She grabbed Shawna’s hair and yanked her toward the door. Shawna bellowed out in pain, and then swung. Sophie caught the fist in the jaw and let go. Next thing she knew, they were both on the floor rolling around. Fists and knees hit hard-bodied surfaces. Sophie could taste blood from her split lip, but she gave one good blow to Shawna’s gut, then stood over her.

  “Get out!” Sophie hauled Shawna to her feet then threw her out the door where she landed at Jake’s feet.

  “What the…?” Jake looked down at his ex and then at Sophie, who stood with her confident chin in the air.

  “I told her she wasn’t welcomed here and she refused to leave.”

  “Jake! She attacked me!”

  Jake looked down at Shawna then stepped over her to Sophie. “Your lip is bleeding.” He dabbed at it with his jacket sleeve.

  “Hello? I could sue your asses for this.”