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Her own family! Messing with her life. How rotten was that?
“What are you thinking?” Jake asked.
“Never mind. We need to dress and get out of here. I have to think.” She glanced around at the walls again. “By myself, away from sneaky, pernicious ghosts with nothing better to do than mess with my mind.”
“We’re out of here,” agreed Jake.
It was Saturday and playing tourist made sense while Faye put in some hours at her store. The likelihood of getting a contract to redesign the gardens was unlikely for this year at least, but she wanted to remain on friendly terms with the woman just the same. There was always next year.
They found Faye in the front hall, putting the finishing touches to the veil of her hat. “Liam loves me in these. He says I look mysterious,” she explained. This Liam fellow was right—Faye looked like a ’40s mystery woman. Faye studied Lexa, then turned her gaze to Jake. “Going out?”
“Will we be able to?” Lexa asked with a glance over her shoulder. Yesterday’s mad dash seemed like an escape.
Jake held her close to his side, tensed and ready.
“Of course you can leave. There’s nothing holding you here.” Faye took one more glance in the mirror and smoothed the tight waist of her light wool jacket. This time she looked like a forties film noir star. The veil was the perfect accent. Beneath it, her lips looked moist and luscious, painted red and full.
Jake and Lexa brushed past quickly, taking in the amused chuckle of more than one woman. Neither of them looked back to see who or what else was watching them leave.
And laughing about it.
Hours later, they’d been to Pike Place Market, then walked the downtown Seattle area. They’d gone up the Space Needle, even ridden the monorail, a relic from the World’s Fair.
All the while, he’d waited for her response to his L-word. Acceptance would come; he just wanted it sooner rather than later.
But for now he was content to spend the day with her doing nothing more than holding hands and talking. They ate ice cream, shared a pizza from a takeout window, and watched people everywhere they went.
Her delightful imagination intrigued him. Throughout the day, she’d created stories about the couples they saw. These people just met, that couple had problems, that guy was still in the closet and the wife didn’t know.
Now, on the waterfront, the state ferries glistening white on the waters of Puget Sound, he dug out his cell phone and called Miami. Jed had been on his way to do the estimates he’d blown off because of his date last night.
The date Jake still hadn’t asked about. Jed answered immediately.
“How’d it go?” Jake asked.
“Fine, son. Just fine.”
“Did you get the estimates done?”
His father sighed. “Yes.”
“So the electrician got the wiring done in the Mitchell’s kitchen?” It was Saturday, but the electrician was backed up and had agreed to work.
“He’s a pro, just like everyone else on the job. You hire the best, you get the best. Isn’t that what I taught you?” The edge of anger in his voice was new. Jake hadn’t heard it in so long, he’d forgotten the old man was capable of snapping.
“Yes, sir, that’s what you taught me.” Along with respect. And how to love a good woman. He cut Lexa a glance.
In profile, she was even more gorgeous. She had one of those well-defined jawlines that some women wore well. Delicate but sharp.
He asked a few more questions, and with each response, the old man’s voice grew more exasperated until finally he blew. Another thing Jake hadn’t heard in too long.
“Son, if you keep treating me with kid gloves, I’ll kick your ass when you get back. On second thought, don’t come back! Not until you’ve had a real vacation.”
“What?”
“Look, Jake, I know I’ve given you cause for concern. Losing your mother nearly took me too. But this babysitting’s gotta stop. I want my life back, and you need yours too. Go get laid or something. But don’t come back here until and unless you’re ready to let me be.” Then he was gone.
He turned to Lexa. “He hung up on me.”
She turned her face away, but he still caught the shadow of a smirk on her lips before she did.
“What?” He touched her shoulder, the snap between them sharp, like the crack of a whip. He drew his finger back. Maybe it was more than sexual awareness that brought the buzz to life.
Maybe the zing came from other emotions too.
She dropped her chin. Then she raised her head and turned to look at him, her eyes clear and edgy. “Whenever we get away from the house, our real lives intrude. I’ve been thinking about how I can help Faye with the gardens without it costing a lot, and you’ve been calling your dad. I counted at least seven calls in four hours.”
Jake took a step back, releasing the grip on her shoulder. She rotated the shoulder he’d been touching, then smoothed it a couple times with her palm. “Thanks, that was a real burner.”
“I’ve had a lot of worries with my father in the last few years. He used to be a crackerjack, but now—”
“But you make him sound like an invalid, Jake, and I can’t let go of my work ethic long enough to spend a day away. How will we manage a relationship this way?”
“It’s a step in the right direction to hear you admit we’re in a relationship.”
She grinned. “I want one with you. I just don’t believe long distance can work for people.”
“Another thing we agree on.” But the invalid comment stung. He hadn’t been treating his father like an invalid. Jed needed him. “A man’s supposed to be responsible and dependable and be there when his family needs him.”
“And that’s one of the things I like best about you, Jake. You’re rock solid.”
He nodded, pumped that he finally had her admitting she wanted a relationship and had noticed some of the things he took pride in. “So, if you were looking at us from a distance, what story would you come up with at first glance?”
Her lips tilted upward in a come-hither look that rocked his foundation. “Looking at us from a stranger’s point of view, I’d say we could barely keep our hands off each other. That we were in the first blush of sexual heat but quickly moving into real intimacy. That we wanted to share the important things about ourselves.”
“So we’re in the getting-to-know-you stage.” He nodded, happy enough. “And after a little more study?”
Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she considered. When she spoke, it was with consideration of each word. “I’d say we were trying to find a way to be together but had a lot of obstacles.”
He had no response but to gather her close and set her head under his chin while he stared up at the cloud-studded sky.
“I looked at the photo album last night. Faye was right—after the formal studio portrait, the photos were of picnics and dances. They used to hold parties outside by the gazebo. I saw a Victrola in the background of one picture. The lawn was strewn with tables and chairs, the tablecloths fluttering in the breeze. What fun they had.”
“Sounds great,” he said, but he sounded distracted.
“Faye told me that Matthew Creighton had to rearrange his thinking completely before Annie would marry him.”
“How so?”
“Back then, women weren’t supposed to work in construction. Men didn’t think they were capable of understanding design.”
“Supposed to focus on the womanly arts?”
She grinned. “Something like that.”
“He must have had a struggle coming to grips with a woman like Annie. Sounds like a helluva leap to make.”
She considered that. And more. Like the way Jake had packed up and moved to Florida to start again when his father needed him. Leaving a thriving business was a huge decision.
Bigger than big.
But then, she was seeing that in Jake. The man had a huge heart and a rock-solid sense of responsibility. He could ne
ver leave his father for as long as Jed needed him. And to expect him to walk away from MacKay Construction was wrong.
But the thought of never seeing him again was tearing her apart.
Just as the spirits of Perdition knew it would.
They’d brought him here for a reason. They’d brought him here for her. Not for the sex they missed or for fun or sport.
For her.
“Jake, I…” She stopped, gathered her courage. “I know it’s too much to hope that you’d consider moving here, so—”
“I would, if you wanted me to,” he interrupted her, his voice firm, his words quick.
“But your dad, what about him?”
“You’re right; he’s not an invalid. He doesn’t need or want me in his face.”
“Did the date go well?”
Jake shrugged. “I hope so. But even if it was a letdown, he can handle it. Truth is, my dad’s been okay for a while now. I’m the one who hung on too long.”
He looked rueful. “Much as I hate to admit it, Jared was right. Dad didn’t need me there every moment. What he needed was to grieve, then move on. Having me there might even have held things up on that score.”
She hugged him tighter, wanting to comfort. “Don’t be hard on yourself. You had a shock, too, and it’s in your nature to take care of those you love. The way you’re willing to move here for me.” She sighed and nestled in under his chin, felt the steady thud of his heart, luxuriated in the low burr of heat they shared, steady now and ready to go from embers to conflagration in the wink of an eye. “That’s something else I love about you, Jake. You give yourself completely. I’ve never been so cared for.”
“Back up.” He tilted her chin with his fingertip. “Did you just say what I think you said?”
She grinned. “What do you mean?”
“Say it.”
She stretched up and kissed his chin. Then moved higher to buss his lips once. Twice. “I love you, Jake MacKay. And I think it’s in spite of your curse, not because of it. I love you because you’re you.”
“Are you asking me to move here?” he asked.
“No. I’ve been thinking about Florida. About the challenge of learning everything I’d need to learn. I’m up for it if you want me.”
His eyes glowed as understanding dawned. “You’d leave everything you’ve worked for?”
“That’s my offer, Jake. What do you say?”
He laughed and howled, straight up at the sky. “I’m not asking. I’m telling you I want to move here. I love the feel of Seattle, the cool clean air, the misty rain. The dark green of the mountains.”
Her breath caught. Held. Lurched to a start again.
“And I love you, Lexa Creighton,” he whispered. “Marry me.”
“It’s been thirty-six hours, Jake. What took you so long?”
APHRODISIA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2007 by Kensington Publishing Corp.
“Kink” copyright © 2007 by Amie Stuart
“Down and Dirty” copyright © 2007 by Jami Alden
“Rock Solid” copyright © 2007 by Bonnie Edwards
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ISBN: 0-7582-2634-9