“And her reason would be?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t ask her for an immediate answer.” He glanced up and down the hallway to make sure no one was coming, then lowered his voice. “She just found out today that she didn’t get the job at Sac State and she’s a little down. We’re going to dinner tonight and, hopefully, I can cheer her up.”
Chris grinned. “I bet you can.”
“I also told her that we’re done hiding our relationship.”
“About time. It’s not like everybody didn’t know anyway, especially with the way you’re always looking at her. I’m surprised you haven’t set the damn building on fire.”
“Hey, what can I say?” Jeremy straightened from the wall when he saw Serita approaching. “You ready, baby?”
“Yep. Are you leaving, Chris?”
“I am. Looking forward to seeing your pretty face around here permanently,” he said with a wink.
Serita divided a glance between Chris and Jeremy.
Jeremy waved a hand. “Don’t pay any attention to him.” As he guided Serita toward the front, he shot Chris a lethal glare over his shoulder. Outside, at her car, he asked, “Any place in particular you want to go for dinner?”
She slid in behind the wheel and angled her head thoughtfully. “No, but I’ll think about it on the way home.”
“Okay.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips, closed the door and got into his own car. As he followed her, he thought about everything he wanted to have with her and decided he needed some advice. He hit the Bluetooth button. “Dial Brandon.”
Brandon answered on the second ring. “Hey, cousin. What’s up?”
“A few things. I need your help.”
He chuckled. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with the woman you met six weeks ago, would it?”
“Yes. I’m in love with Serita. I want to marry her and add her name as co-owner of the company.” The line went silent so long Jeremy thought he’d been disconnected. “Brandon?”
“What the hell are you talking about? Look, I know you’ve been spouting that love-at-first-sight crap all your life, but this isn’t some fairy tale. It’s real life.”
“Brandon, don’t act like it doesn’t happen. You do remember my parents falling in love within a week, right?”
“Yeah, but that—”
“And correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it your dad who walked up to your mother the day he met her while he was on a two-week military leave and asked for her name and phone number, then married her on the next one?”
“Okay, you’ve got me on that one.”
“I also know that, had you not been acting like such a butthead, you would’ve acknowledged the fact that you loved Faith far sooner. Need I go on?”
Brandon’s heavy sigh came through the line. “Damn, it’s like that?”
“It’s exactly like that,” he said with a chuckle. “So, are you going to help me or not.”
“You know I will, and I can’t wait to meet this woman.”
“I can’t wait for you to meet her, too.” If Jeremy had his way, it would be soon.
“What do you need to know?”
“As I said, I want to add Serita as co-owner and I want to know how you handle it with Faith.” Faith’s and Brandon’s fathers were best friends and had started Gray Home Safety with a pact that the company would be passed down to their children. Only no one had known about Faith until her father found her after twenty-eight years. Brandon had had no idea that the woman he’d rescued during an accident and begun dating would be his second in command and he hadn’t been happy about it. Now they were happily married.
“If you’re serious about this, Jeremy, then you need to be able to say that you trust Serita with everything and I do mean everything. No second-guessing on decisions, always listening to her suggestions, and when they’re better than yours, being man enough to accept them. It means that sometimes you won’t be in control.”
Jeremy mulled the advice over in his mind. Could he really allow someone else to come in to the company he had built from the ground up and make decisions?
“You’re quiet, cuz.”
“I’m thinking. Was it hard to give up total control?”
Brandon laughed. “Hell, yeah. And you know me when it comes to business.” His cousin ended up with his foot in his mouth on more occasions than the family could count because of his intense nature. “But I’m learning it’s okay. Of course, I still have issues, but Faith keeps me grounded.”
“Thanks. That’s what I need to know.” He drove into the complex behind Serita and parked. “I just pulled up to Serita’s, so I’ll talk to you later.”
“Let me know if you need anything else and I hope everything works out. Later.”
He ended the call and got out. That was what he loved about his family—no matter what went on, he could always count on them to give him good advice. Smiling, he caught up with Serita.
Serita stopped and got the mail before going to her unit. She opened the door. “I still have no idea where to go for dinner.”
“That makes two of us.” Jeremy followed her to the kitchen, where she dropped off her lunch tote.
She flipped through the envelopes. “What would really be good is another one of those five-star meals that you cook,” she said, smiling up at him flirtatiously.
“It’s a little late for that tonight, but we can do it next time.”
“And I can’t wait.” She opened one of the envelopes and read for a minute. “I don’t believe it.”
“What is it?” He leaned close and saw it was from a university in Reno.
“The college where I taught in Reno is offering me a position, this time as an assistant professor instead of adjunct.” She smiled.
Jeremy’s heart started pounding. “I thought you didn’t want to teach full-time, and typically assistant professor positions are just that.”
“I know, but this is a great opportunity and would put me on track for tenure.”
“I agree. But what about your job here? What about us?”
Serita’s smile faded. “I...don’t know.” She tossed the letter on the counter and paced. “I need to think about this.”
His heart pounded harder. “What is there to think about? You said you loved me.” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was she just going to throw away everything?
“Jeremy, I do love you.” She placed a hand on his arm. “I do.”
He stepped away from her. “Yet you’re willing to walk away.”
She scrubbed a hand across her forehead. “I didn’t say that. All I’m saying is I need time to process all this—two job offers in one day is a lot.”
“If the shoe were on the other foot, I wouldn’t hesitate because I know what I want. You. If I had a choice between taking a job and staying with the woman I love, you’d win, hands down.” Jeremy observed her a long moment. “But, obviously, you don’t know what you want,” he said softly, his heart breaking.
“I do want you. I want us, but this is a big decision.”
It came to him that maybe she didn’t love him as much as he loved her. “Then I should probably go and give you the time and space you need to figure it out.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, pivoted on his heel and walked out.
Serita rushed out of the kitchen behind him and blocked the front door. “Wait.”
“Can you tell me right now that you’re not going to walk away from us?” When she didn’t reply immediately, he gave her a bittersweet smile. “I didn’t think so. I’ll see you in the morning.” He stepped around her and opened the door. “Be sure to lock up.” Kissing her once more, he walked out. Now what am I supposed to do?
Chapter 17
Gabriella snatched the covers off Serita. “Okay, that’s it. You’ve been in here for four hours and
I’ve let you wallow in your self-pity long enough. It’s time to get up and face the music.”
Serita groaned, rolled over onto her side away from Gabby and tried to take the covers back. “I need more time.” Ever since Jeremy had walked out the door, she’d been in bed with the covers over her head, trying to shut down so she wouldn’t have to deal with the hurt she’d seen in his eyes or the mess she’d made of her life in a matter of minutes.
“No, you don’t.” She sat on the side of the bed. “You know I love you, right? We’ve been through pretty much everything together since sixth grade, but as your friend, I have to tell you, you’re full of shit.”
She flipped over onto her back and glared. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me. You found a great guy who loves you and wants to give you the world, and you’re screwing it up. How many times have you cried about one man or another cheating on you or trying to change you?”
Too many times to count. “But I might not get another opportunity to land a tenure-track position. And I’m already established at the school and, if I went somewhere else, I’d have to start from the bottom again.”
Gabby stared at her incredulously. “Don’t insult my intelligence. You know as well as I do that you’ll find another job, and one that will be even more perfect than this one. But you won’t ever find another man who adores you the way Jeremy does.” She placed a sisterly hand on Serita’s shoulder. “Now, do you want to tell me what you’re really afraid of, because I know it’s more than just about the job.”
Serita dragged herself to a sitting position. Why did Gabby have to know her so well? “It is partly the job.” She released a deep sigh. “But it’s also Jeremy. I love him more than I thought possible, and I’m so afraid everything is going to come crashing down and I’ll lose him.”
“So...what? You just walk away instead?”
“Every time I think I’ve found the right guy, something happens. It starts off wonderful, then somewhere down the line things change and the person I am is not the one they want to be with.” She thought she had loved her ex, but in hindsight, what she had felt for him didn’t hold a candle to the deep emotions that had consumed her with Jeremy.
“Serita, love always carries a risk, but you can’t let your fears get the best of you. Remember that tenth-grade girl who built her own robot because the boys wouldn’t let her be part of the team? You need to get her back.”
She smiled at the memory. Those boys thought the only thing a girl was good for was writing down the data. When she’d refused, they’d kicked her off the team. She’d buried her head under the covers for two days crying until her mother did exactly what Gabby had just done—snatched the covers off. So, I guess those boys were right, since you’re lying here doing nothing. She had been so outdone by her mother’s words that she’d hopped out of bed and started her own design. She chuckled inwardly, recalling their faces when her project took first place. Serita had been risking it all in her field since that day. Not so much in her personal life, however.
“Sis, don’t throw away what could be the best thing in your life because of fear. The worst thing you could do is look back and wonder. You don’t want that regret, trust me. I know.” Gabby fell silent. “I won’t do it again,” she added softly.
Obviously Serita had missed a few things while living in Reno. She’d get the story some other time, but right now she had more pressing issues.
“What are you going to do?” Gabby asked.
All the moments they had spent together from that first day until now ran through her mind. She would never forget his first words to her: I don’t know what impresses me more, beauty or your brains. It’s the brains, I’m thinking. He’d made her laugh, called her sexy, and he’d never once made her feel that being a nerd was a bad thing. And where would she find another man who would come to her rescue when she felt overwhelmed? Tears misted her eyes. “I messed up. I can’t leave him.” Deep down inside, she knew what she wanted, and when Jeremy had asked, she should have swallowed her fears and told him the truth. She wanted him. As much as she wanted to teach—and she did believe she would find another opportunity—she wanted, no, needed Jeremy in her life.
She hugged her. “Good girl.”
“I need my laptop.” Serita jumped off the bed, retrieved it from the desk and brought it back over to the bed. She searched for and found what she needed.
Gabby glanced at the screen. “What are you planning?”
“You told me to get her back, and I’m going to need your help to pull this off.” Serita explained her plan.
“If you’re going to do it, might as well go all out.”
“I don’t want to leave anything to chance. The cooking thing might be a little dicey but, hopefully, I can make it work.”
She stood. “You’re definitely going to need my help then.”
Serita laughed. “That’s why I love you. You tell me the truth, even when I don’t want to hear it.”
“You’ve got that right, my sister. Now I’m going to bed. I need my rest for this.”
“Thanks for everything.” Gabby was right. Serita loved Jeremy, and she’d be damned if she was going to let another woman take what she already had. His love.
* * *
Jeremy woke up Wednesday morning more tired than when he’d gone to bed. He doubted he had slept more than two hours straight all night. He replayed the conversation with Serita over and over, and each time he remembered her not being able to answer his question broke his heart a little more. He had no idea what to do. He did know that he needed to talk to the one person who had guided him his entire life. Picking up his phone, he sent a text to Chris saying he might be late, then called his father. Even though he had retired two years ago, he still got up early and had probably done two or three things by the time Jeremy showed up at seven.
When Jeremy arrived, his dad greeted him with a hug. “Come on in, son. I could tell by the tone of your voice you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“I do. Mom still sleep?” he asked, trailing his father to the kitchen.
“She was a half hour ago. Do you want me to get her?” He poured himself a cup of coffee and added sugar.
He shook his head. He met his father’s concerned gaze. “I just need to talk to you right now. You can fill Mom in later.”
“Then have a seat and tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Serita. I think I’m going to lose her.” All the details of what had happened poured out of him. He told his father about Serita not getting the Sac State job and him offering her one at his company, and then Serita receiving the letter from Reno and saying she didn’t know what she was going to do. “You know what hurt the most, Dad? I asked her to tell me she wasn’t planning to walk away and she couldn’t.” Jeremy buried his head in his hands. He had never been this miserable. “What am I supposed to do? I love her.”
“Jeremy, you’re so much like me it’s frightening.”
He lifted his head. “What do you mean?”
You’ve always known what you wanted in every area of your life and you went after those things with determination and never took no for an answer. Just like me when I was your age. The problem with love is you can’t control the other person. No matter how much you love Serita, it will never work unless she loves you with the same passion.”
That was not what he wanted to hear. His misery increased tenfold. “Are you telling me to break it off?”
His father chuckled. “No, unless that’s what you want.”
“It’s not,” he said emphatically. “I want to marry her.”
“Well, the only thing you can do is continue to show her that you love her. Don’t tell her, show her. Bring her flowers, and I don’t mean some huge arrangement. Just something small, so she knows she’s on your mind. What’s her favorite beverage or sweet?”
Jer
emy straightened in his chair. The flower thing he had on lock, and he would be stopping at the store to pick up a bag of Skittles—minus the green ones—and line them up just as she liked. As far as the drink, he drew a blank. Then it dawned on him that she’d mentioned not being able to find a good recipe for the café con leche she’d had in Madrid. He whipped out his phone and Googled recipes. He tried to recall which place had the one she liked best and what they’d put in it. It took him a few minutes, but he found it. “Dad, I need to use the espresso machine.”
“I guess that means you’re not giving up on her.”
He smiled for the first time since leaving Serita’s place last night. “You guess right.”
“Let me get that machine out for you.”
He wanted it to be hot, so with a promise to bring it back later, Jeremy left. He stopped at the store for the ingredients and the candy, then the florist for a red long-stemmed rose. Jeremy planned to leave everything on her desk for her to find when she arrived at eight, and he had less than twenty minutes to get it done. Chris was already there when he arrived. He stuck his head in the office. “Morning.”
“I thought you were going to be late.”
“It didn’t take as long as I anticipated.” His father was a man of few words, but he made each one count. Had it been his mother, Jeremy would have been late. He walked to Serita’s office, tore the corner off the Skittles and took out the ones she didn’t like. He taped the corner closed and attached a small sticky note: Because they ruin the whole pack. In the break room, following the directions from the website, he made the café con leche and carried it down to the office. After arranging everything, he stood back and viewed his handiwork. Satisfied, he went to his office. He was going to give her every reason to stay.
Jeremy settled at his desk, powered up his laptop and checked his email. He always wondered how spammers got his address and sent more than a few to that folder. He clicked on one confirming the date to service one of their robots at an outpatient surgery center. He was glad he’d had the foresight to offer maintenance contracts. As he opened a folder to work on the proposal for the manufacturing company, Chris came in.
Her Christmas Wish ; Designed by Love Page 33