by Maddie James
“It seems there’s a slight predicament,” Howie told them, trying to hide his sympathetic grin.
“Anything we can do to help, Dad?”
“I’m not sure. It seems June Hobson broke her arm yesterday and is unable to bake the strawberry wedding cake.”
Kelly rolled her eyes. Was that all?
“I had my heart set on a strawberry cake,” Grace said sniffling. “Now we don’t even have a wedding cake.”
It wasn’t the end of the world. The wedding party tomorrow was small—only a few relatives. Surely they could get by without a wedding cake.
“We’ll make one,” Rob said. His gaze bathed Kelly with half-concealed amusement, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
“What?”
“Kelly and I will go to the store and buy enough cake mix and icing to make you two cakes, Grace,” Rob declared. “We won’t let your wedding day be ruined for lack of a strawberry cake.”
****
Rob wasn’t joking. An hour later Kelly walked through the front door of his home.
“I still don’t understand why we have to bake the cake at your house.” She heard the childish pout in her voice.
“Because your mother’s kitchen is a mess and my dad’s house is cleaned up for the wedding.”
“Something makes me think there’s more to it than that.”
Hands clutching cloth grocery bags, Rob kicked the door shut. “I can’t deny I wanted to get you alone.”
Kelly was unprepared for the giddy heat that raced through her. This wasn’t good. What in the hell was she doing here? With him? Was she out of her mind?
He strode across the great room, leaving Kelly to take in the sights and smells of his wonderful log cabin. A bank of tall windows at one end of the great room allowed sunlight to stream into the spacious open area and across dark hardwood floors. The ceiling was vaulted with fans slowly turning overhead in the exposed wooden rafters.
Kelly pivoted taking in the rustic charm of Rob’s home with its two brown leather sofas and an overstuffed, burnt orange chair. Magazines and books were scattered on the coffee table and on the floor beside the chair. Above the stone fireplace was the only bit of modern technology in the room, a large flat screen TV. The log cabin didn’t fit the picture she’d created of him as a sophisticated Chicago lawyer.
At the opposite end of the room, a metal, spiral staircase led up to a loft that could be seen from the floor below. Behind the staircase was a galley kitchen, perfect for a bachelor. Rob was already there unloading groceries.
“Like my bachelor pad?” he asked not turning around when she came into the kitchen.
Kelly gazed out French doors to a patio and well-manicured yard beyond. “I must admit I didn’t figure you for a log cabin kind of guy.”
He turned to face her with a knowing look as if her response pleased him. “Surprised you, huh?”
“I should say so.” She shrugged. “You didn’t have this house when you were married, did you?”
“No.” He turned back to the countertop, removed a carton of eggs and folded the cloth bag. “We owned a house in Locust Grove close to my dad. I couldn’t stay there.”
Kelly glanced at him, hearing, once more, the hurt in his voice. What woman would divorce a guy like Rob? His ex-wife must be out of her mind.
Rob pulled a hand mixer and a glass bowl from a lower cabinet. “You’ll have to do the honors,” he said, “if you want this wedding cake to turn out right.”
“You’re assuming I can cook.” She walked over beside him, trying to ignore the tingle of excitement racing through her body just because of his nearness.
“I figure you have many talents. I’ve already seen your pitching arm and how you sit a horse.”
The memory of yesterday afternoon rushed back like gangbusters. Kelly felt her face grow warm. As she told Rachel, she had enjoyed that kiss a little too much. The ride back to the barn had been an erotic nightmare as her body felt on fire where it touched and rubbed the saddle. That she’d been without a good dose of sex for a long time had been all too apparent to her.
“Well, get out of the way, mister, if you want me to work on this cake.” Kelly bumped Rob, aiming to tease him a little.
He didn’t move, standing his ground so that their bodies touched. “Do you want my help?”
She swallowed hard. “No, get out of my kitchen!”
“My kitchen, remember.” He pulled out one of the chairs from the small dining set by the French doors, turned it around and straddled it, resting his arms on the back. “I’ll watch.”
Kelly’s body warmed and then throbbed as she struggled to ignore Rob’s gaze upon her every action. She wore sandals and a blue, cotton and spandex sundress with a halter neckline, open at the back. Her legs and body were much too exposed to Rob’s rapt attention.
Kelly couldn’t remember the last time she’d made a cake, but it was like pitching or riding a horse, something not easily forgotten. Turning on the oven to heat, she greased the cake pans and dusted them with flour. With every move she made, she felt like a clumsy child, but she put her mind to it and slowly, methodically prepared the cake batter and poured it into the round baking pans.
When she picked up a cake pan to place it in the stainless steel oven, Rob jumped up and opened the door for her. He stood there while she retrieved the second pan and put it on the rack. Then he shut the oven door.
“How long?” he asked.
Kelly glanced at the box once more. “Thirty-five minutes.”
Rob twisted the timer. “Done. Let’s go sit down.”
Kelly followed him into the great room and plopped down on the sofa, thinking he’d take the easy chair. Instead he sat next to her and turned slightly toward her with his arm resting on the top of the sofa.
She shot him a questioning look. “What?”
“You’re beautiful. You’ve always been beautiful.”
The sincerity in his voice made her feel warm and cared for. She met his concerned gaze. “I bet you say that to all the girls,” she said trying to make light of his words.
“Not recently.”
She attempted to change the subject and leaned forward picking up a book from the coffee table. “So what are you reading? American Assassin.”
“A Mitch Rapp thriller by Vince Flynn.”
Kelly set the heavy hardback book down and glanced at him. “Do you read much?”
“Not much else to do in Lanham for a bachelor.”
“An eligible bachelor,” she reminded him.
“Not many single women to select from until you came to town.”
Kelly avoided his heavy-lidded gaze and the hint of suggestion in his voice. No one in her family had made her feel loved for herself until Aunt Bess had taken her in. To Thomas she had been a commodity, another teacher whom he let into his bed to satisfy his basic urges. After so many years, he probably had felt obligated to pop the question. She hadn’t loved him. Once she had loved Rob.
Don’t do this to yourself.
But her body refused to listen to reason. She settled back feeling the brush of his arm on her exposed back “I won’t be in Lanham much longer,” she told him in a soft voice.
The muscle in his arm flexed. “Why not?”
“I have plans,” she lied. “To start with, I’m going to visit friends in North Carolina on Saturday.”
“You don’t want to stick around? See your mother settled?”
“My mother needs no help from me. Your father is taking quite good care of her, better than I could ever do.”
“How about sticking around to get to know me again?”
Air squeezed out of her lungs. “No way!” The words escaped from her in a breathless rush before she could stop them.
“I’m so terrible then?” He touched her bare neck. “Once you didn’t think like that.”
The tingle from where he touched her coursed throughout her body. “That was more than twenty years ago, Rob.”
She scooted away, but he stopped her with his fingers on her shoulders, pressing her back toward his hard body. “What happened then, Kel? Why did you run away?”
Kelly tensed, her heart thudding wildly in her chest. “What do you mean, what happened? I got pregnant, remember? My father wanted me to get an abortion. I wasn’t going to do that.”
Rob caught her chin and forced her to face him. His eyes were filled with curiosity and pain, a mixture of what he must be feeling. “I admit I didn’t think about it at the time, but later, especially after Jess couldn’t have children, I wondered if I was the father of your baby.”
Her eyes rounded in alarm and a shudder of fear passed through her. She shook free of his touch. “Of course not.” Her tone was sharp. “You weren’t the only guy, you know?”
“I thought I was.”
Kelly ignored the hurt she heard. “Well, don’t kid yourself.”
Rob sat quietly a moment as if absorbing what she had said. Kelly hated herself. Hated the big secret she kept. But there was no impulse to reveal the truth. She’d kept it so long from her father for fear of what he might do. She’d kept it from C.B. and even Aunt Bess. There was no possible way she could tell her mother the truth especially now that she was marrying Rob’s father. It was her secret to hold, now and forever.
Finally Rob touched her again, pulling her into his arms as they sat there on his brown leather sofa. She was stiff, resisting, filled with fear and determination not to be overcome.
“Okay, the past is over. Let’s forget it. Let’s talk about the future.”
“Future?”
“You and me.”
A lump lodged in her throat. “We have no future.”
“We could,” he said in an offhanded way.
“I’m leaving town,” she protested.
“Not until Saturday.”
There was a promise and a threat in his response. Kelly searched his face. He wasn’t kidding by the look in his eyes. Rob lowered his head to kiss her.
The timer buzzed in the kitchen.
“Saved by the bell!” Kelly ducked out of his arms and hurried away from him.
Grabbing a pot holder, she opened the oven door and lifted the sweet-smelling strawberry cake from the racks. She placed each hot pan on cooling racks, closed the door and turned off the oven.
Rob was next to her by then, blocking her exit from the kitchen. He removed the pot holder from her hand and tossed it toward the countertop. He missed, and it slid to the floor. Kelly caught the miss from the corner of her eye, but her attention was riveted on Rob. He towered above her, the muscles in his arms visible because he was wearing a short-sleeved blue Polo shirt that matched the color of his eyes.
“I love you, Kelly.”
“Rob,” she protested and tried to slide past him.
He grasped her arms, tugged her toward him. “I’ve loved you, Kelly, since the first moment I laid eyes on you. I married Jessica thinking she was just like you. But she wasn’t. When Dad told me he was marrying your mother, I couldn’t believe my luck. Here was my second chance with you. To have you back, to hold you, to love you once again is like a dream come true.” There was a silent plea in his eyes. “Please, Kelly. Let me show you how much I love you.”
“Rob!” she said again, but this time with less force.
“Let me love you.”
Now his voice was low and husky, heavy with desire that sparkled in his eyes. Electricity crackled between them. He caught her hips and pulled her against him. Her eyes widened when she felt his erection.
“You see what you do to me?”
Thomas had never spoken to her like that or pursued her with such intensity. The old Rob had never been like this either, always respecting her wishes about their hidden relationship. Their one night together had been the first for both of them.
Not any more. No, not any more.
Kelly reacted to his arousal like a mare ready for a stallion. She grew wet fast. Her whole body burned, especially in her most private place.
What am I going to do?
“Let me love you,” he urged again.
Her breath turned shallow. She couldn’t speak. She needed to get away while a shred of sanity remained.
His head dipped, and his mouth sought hers, greedily working over her lips, kissing her as if tomorrow would never come. She heard herself whimper.
Rob’s hands investigated her hips, scrunching up the skirt of her dress and then dropping down to her cotton panties. He grabbed her bottom. Her body arched against him, seeking his hardness against her soft spot. She kissed him back with a bewildering passion that seemed to spring up from nowhere. It was as if she could not get enough of him, his taste, his feel, his heart.
“I have condoms in my bedroom,” he murmured pulling her even closer, gripping her hard.
She wanted to jump inside his skin—be a part of him as she had so long ago. The ache, the drive was irresistible and she didn’t resist. Saturday she would be gone. Today she needed this release, this closure. She could go to North Carolina with a clear mind, no longer wondering what if.
Kelly rocked against his erection. She grabbed his face between her hands and drove her tongue into his mouth as frenzied in her desire as he.
“God, Kelly, I can stop now but not much longer if you keep this up.”
“I don’t want you to stop,” she said gasping.
And he didn’t.
Chapter Twelve
Making love didn’t change a thing and it changed everything. Kelly still planned to leave on Saturday, and now she had even more reason to go.
Turning her head, Kelly peeped at Rob sleeping soundly beside her. They were lying in his king-sized bed, having spent the night together making love three times. She had counted them, wondering about the stamina of the man she had once loved and lost.
A sense of disbelief tore through her. Was she crazy? She licked her lips and turned on her side to stare at Rob’s gray bedroom walls.
What must she have been thinking to have sex with Rob? Oh, that’s right. She hadn’t been thinking. Her urges had taken over, sweeping her away when he swept her into his arms and carried her to his bed.
Have I made the biggest mistake of my life?
Carefully, so not to wake him, Kelly eased the sheet back and crawled out of bed. Her panties were discarded on the hardwood floor. So were her sandals. Her bra was nowhere to be found. Kelly slipped on her panties and picked up the sandals. Padding out of the bedroom, she went through the great room and found her bra in the middle of the kitchen floor right next to her rumpled sundress.
Last night Rob had pulled the tie at the back of her neck and the bodice of her dress had toppled down around her waist. He had unbuckled her belt and then the dress had fallen to the floor leaving her standing in front of him with her head held high. He had unsnapped her bra, lifting it off and kissed her non-stop, his hands moving, cupping, caressing, and stimulating her beyond caring. Even now her nerve endings felt on fire simply remembering.
Kelly put her bra back on and struggled into her dress. Turned toward the French doors and the bright morning sun streaming through them warming her face, she reached behind her neck to tie the halter.
“Let me help.”
His deep voice sent chills skittering down her spine. His strong hands hovered near her neck tying the tie. She longed to lean back against his chest and experience his arms around her one more time, but she couldn’t. Not now. Not ever again.
Without saying a word, Rob took matters into his own hands and hugged her against him, kissing the top of her head and squeezing her tight. “You feel so good,” he murmured. “God, how I love you.”
No, this wasn’t right. She had made enough mess of things simply by sleeping with him.
When she didn’t reply, he asked, “What are you doing up so early?”
“We never finished icing the cake.” Kelly inclined her head toward the now cool pans. “And I need to get home. Today is my mother’s
wedding day.”
“Ah, yes. I conveniently forgot.” He let her go. “Can I help?”
“No.” She turned to face him. He was naked.
Rob grinned down at her expression. “What? You’ve never seen a naked man before?”
“Not one as handsome as you,” she said truthfully.
He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her hard, breaking off seconds later. “If I keep this up, I won’t stop.” He backed away. “I’ll go get cleaned up and then take you home.”
“Great.” She was breathless. Bemused. Determined.
She offered him a half-hearted smile and turned back to the kitchen counter as if ready to ice the cake.
When she heard him leave, Kelly rocked against the counter and put her hands on the surface to steady herself. Deep in her heart she felt that familiar remorse and an ever-deeper sense of panic. She had lived with those feelings over twenty years, never getting closure or peace, always on the wrong side of things simply because of one big secret that hung around her neck like that dead albatross in the poem she read in college.
****
Rob took her home but they didn’t say much to each other on the way. Unaware of her lies and misgivings, and the terrible dread she lived with, Rob wore a self-satisfied look, like a cat that had caught a mouse. He must think everything was fine, that they were starting to explore a new relationship. He loved her, he said. That’s all that mattered.
“I’ll take the cake on to Dad’s and go to work for a while before I go back home and dress for the ceremony,” Rob told her as he pulled up to the curb of her mother’s house.
Kelly stilled for one heartbeat before turning to face Rob. His compelling blue eyes bore into hers as if stripping her bare or searching her soul. The shadow of his beard added to his ruggedly handsome, manly beauty while his tousled blond hair reminded her of a small boy. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought.
Rob smiled back, reaching out to touch her chin, urging her lips toward his. She didn’t want to kiss him, but couldn’t resist. Leaning forward, Kelly brushed his lips with hers, quivering at the gentleness of his kiss so full of poignancy and longing.