“Who’s Max?” She handed me a glass.
“Oh, um, like a bodyguard that Jake knows. He’s keeping an eye on things at the apartment— well, when he’s not with Aaris.”
Emily paused with the glass resting against her lips and grinned. “Aaris found a man? Is he ancient?”
I explained how Max was the exact opposite of every man she’d ever been with. “I think she’s really into him.”
“And what about you, Hayden? Are you and the detective hot and heavy too?” She winked and took a sip.
“No,” I blurted out with a laugh. “Not at all. He’s just here to do a job and then things will go back to normal.”
The thought of him leaving left me with an ache in my chest, but it was the reality slap I needed. “I’m surprised you aren’t out there celebrating the merger.”
Emily looked over my shoulder through the patio doors. “I’m sorry about your birthday, babe. I did get you a little something. Let me grab it.”
She slipped off the stool and I dumped the wine into the sink. I couldn’t stand the taste of it, but I wasn’t willing to offend the only friend I had here.
She returned with a square box. “Here you are. It’s nothing extravagant, but I wanted you to feel special tonight. Everyone deserves to feel important on their birthday.”
It was a coffee mug featuring a cat wearing a ninja suit. Underneath were the words Pawsassin. “Em, I love it!”
She grinned. “I found it while we were in Chicago. It reminded me of you. Now, instead of hiding out in here like social rejects, let’s convince your mom to cut the cake. Cake makes everything better.”
I agreed and she left to go find her. A few minutes later, the two of them returned and Emily excused herself to go to the bathroom.
“You want cake, Hayden?”
“Pretty much why I’m still here,” I joked, earning myself a frown.
“I had to check with Reid first, but he said it was fine.”
“Wait,” I interjected. “You had to check with Reid to see if it was okay for me to have my birthday cake?”
She bit down on the corner of her lip. “Well, don’t be mad, but we changed the cake. It’s just that not a lot of people like strawberry.”
I hopped over to the counter and lifted the lid on the bright pink box.
Congratulations, Reid!
I stared at the icing letters until they blurred from my tears. “Excuse me,” I growled before hobbling out to the backyard.
“Reid!” Every head whipped my direction. Even the band stopped playing.
He looked up from his conversation and smirked. “Yes, Hayden? Is there something I can do for you?”
I gripped the railing and side-stepped my way down the steps toward him. “Yeah, you can explain to me how my birthday cake turned into a congratulatory cake for you.”
I felt a wall of muscle at my back and knew that it was Jake without having to turn around.
“I don’t believe we’ve met. Reid Michaels.” He extended a hand to Jake.
“Detective Jake Hopkins. What exactly are we celebrating?”
Reid smiled, much like a teacher would to a small child. “Well, my company Genetistry finalized the merger with PharmTech yesterday. I’m sure you’ve seen our commercials.”
Jake shook his head. “Nope. Never heard of either one of those.”
Reid’s smile faltered slightly, but he managed to recover before it was noticed by anyone other than me. “Well, we completely redesigned the field of genotyping. Until my company came along, people had to put in a lot of legwork to discover their ancestry. I developed a saliva DNA kit that simplified the process. My product is accurate to .01% and more importantly, the only company backed by the FDA.”
Jake nodded along and smiled at the appropriate times, but I didn’t miss the discreet eye roll. “And how does PharmTech factor in?”
The grin took over his entire face. He’d probably made a boatload of money in the merger just like Scrooge McDuck. He’d probably install a safe room filled with gold coins that he could swim around in too.
“Well, PharmTech will use the information we’ve stored to better understand genetic mutations and diseases, which will lead to scientific discoveries and, if I’m being candid, hopefully a cure for cancer. Just think, never having to watch a loved one suffer through the agony of illness.” He spread his hands wide, looking so much like a magician that I almost expected him to pull a rabbit from a hat.
“So, you’re taking information from your current clients without their consent?”
Reid shook his head. “Not at all. The participants are receiving the opportunity to participate in groundbreaking research. This is a good thing. Have you considered having your DNA tested? I could make you a deal.”
Jake slung his arm around my shoulders. “You know, I’m good. Hayden’s handled my family tree stuff up until this point and I’m pretty satisfied.”
I tried to keep a straight face.
Reid’s jovial used car salesman persona slipped again. “Hayden? Let me guess, she’s using Ancient Tree. I’m telling you right now, it won’t be as reliable as my saliva test.”
I frowned at his words. “I’m a wonderful researcher of genealogy and ancestor-like things.”
Reid shook his head condescendingly. “Hayden, you spend more time lost in your head than you do in the real world. It’s like you’re content to remain a receptionist the rest of your life. Hello, thank you for calling Salon Wicked, this is Hayden, your hairfessional. How may I assist?”
He’d called the salon one time, yet made a point of mocking my mandated greeting every time I was around him.
“She’s a writer too, you know,” Jake added and I sighed.
Here we go…
“Oh, that’s right. A ‘writer.’ Anyone can call themselves a writer when there’s no research involved.”
Jake’s hand slipped off of my shoulder and he took a step toward Reid. “Have you read them? Because there’s a lot of research that goes into them. Your sister stays up late putting hours of work into them.”
Reid apparently missed the unmistakable threat in Jake’s tone and slapped his shoulder. “Yeah, bud. Sure. ‘His hard member throbbed against her creamy thigh…’” He mimed jacking off. “She writes romance… I wouldn’t even consider that a real genre.”
I gasped. I mean, I knew they hadn’t read anything I’d written, but to completely dismiss my entire career as fake. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to cry or stab him to death with my salad fork while casually noting that his DNA was going all over the lawn.
Jake reached out and gripped the front of his shirt before growling, “They’re cozy mysteries, you fuck.” He released him and Reid stumbled back. “Let’s go, Hayden.”
I reluctantly trailed after him, feeling like I’d committed a crime. Nobody dared to raise their voice in the Michael’s household. We let our success speak for us.
Feelings were something best kept to yourself, or as my father had so tactfully put it, “Don’t tell me about the labor pains, just show me the baby.”
It was why they hadn’t read my books. Unless I’d hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, I wasn’t worth reading.
“I have cake,” my mother called from the patio as we approached.
He took one look at the cake and roared, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
The band stopped playing again and my father speed-walked across the yard over to us. There was no running. Running might give our guests the impression that things were less than perfect.
“Young man, you would do well to remember where you are,” he pointed at Jake as he climbed the stairs. “And you, young lady, are ruining your brother’s big night by bringing this man and his foul language here.”
“Ruining his big night? Do you hear yourself? It’s her goddamn birthday and not one of you assholes has done a thing to celebrate her!” Jake’s face was turning a dark shade of red and I worried that he was going to
stroke out on me.
“We did celebrate her,” my mother argued. “We gave her a very expensive gift.”
He ran a hand raggedly down his face before biting out, “You gave her a couch on layaway. A couch she didn’t ask for, but is now expected to foot the bill on because you have this warped idea that you’re teaching her money management skills.”
“You don’t like the gift? Fine. We’ll give it to Reid. At least he knows how to appreciate things,” my father snapped.
I glared at Jake. Thanks a lot.
This would go down as the worst birthday in history, and that was counting the time that Reid faked being sick to get out of going to my party. Instead of finding someone to stay with him, they’d simply canceled the party completely.
Jake turned to leave but stopped at my father’s words. “Reid would appreciate it more? Did Reid appreciate the money you gave him to start his company? Money he was never expected to pay back?”
My father’s face was mottled with anger. “You are out of line—”
Jake stood toe to toe with my father, towering over him by at least half a foot. “And you are missing out on an amazing woman. She is intelligent and so damn talented, but you would know that already if you ever bothered to pick up one of her books.”
My father interjected, trying to reestablish his authority as the patriarch of the family, but Jake wasn’t having it.
“Did she tell you she had a book signing? No, of course not,” he answered his own question. “Why tell the people who belittle your career. Well, I’m going to tell you that she sold out of almost every book she brought. There was a line of people waiting to see her; not pretty boy Reid over there. Her.”
He looked at Jake and then at the sea of interested faces. “Young man, I—”
“Don’t deserve her. Sit and piss all over her work and who she is as a person. One day, she’ll be on the top of every book list and you’ll be trying to peddle some bullshit to the media to remain relevant. By then it’ll be too late, because some of us knew she was worth something from day one.” His voice remained low and even. He could’ve been discussing the weather or some other monotonous subject; not me or my life.
Snapping out of his trance, Jake looked out over the lawn. “I’m sorry to have ruined your evening.” He turned back to my parents. “I’m excluding the both of you and fuckboy over there. You three deserve to have your evening blown to shit. C’mon, Hayden. We’re leaving.”
Jake took my hand and pulled me through the glass patio doors, past the expensive furniture and top of the line everything, and out to his truck.
His breaths were coming in short bursts and his face was still an alarming shade of red. He helped me into the truck. “You can tell me off now. I fucked up. I know it wasn’t my place to say anything, but damn it, Hayden, I couldn’t just sit back and let them rip you to shreds.”
I burst out laughing and it took me a full minute to get it under control enough so that I could speak. “Oh my god, Jake. Did you see their faces? You called my brother a fuckboy!”
I wiped my streaming eyes with the back of my hand. I wanted to kiss him for what he’d done but settled for squeezing his hand. Soon, he’d be gone and all I’d have left would be the memories of him telling my parents where to go and the feel of his hand in mine.
He grimaced. “I did. God, I’m not getting invited to the family Christmas party, am I?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think either of us will. How did you know that my dad gave Reid money?”
He walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in before answering me. “I didn’t. It was a hunch that proved to be correct. I can’t believe they’re on your ass about paying it back, while letting him off the hook.”
I hadn’t known about the money, but it made sense. To have heard Reid tell it though, it was implied that he’d built his empire from the ground up all by himself.
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Can we go home now?”
He hit the accelerator, letting the pipes loudly announce our exit. “I’ve got one stop to make first, if it’s alright.”
We drove back to the bakery and Jake left the truck running while he ran in. He came back out a few minutes later with a small pink box.
“It’s the best I could do last minute.”
Happy Birthday, Beautiful!
I was struck dumb by frosting for a second time. Some of the letters were slightly smudged, indicating they’d been done in a hurry, but it was perfect for me.
I was caught between wanting to play it cool and needing to snap photos to post on every one of my social media accounts.
“Hey.” He reached for me. “As clumsy as you are, you don’t wear your scars on the outside. They’re on the inside. Every time you were told that chasing your dream was stupid, it cut you.”
I blinked away the tears.
“Now, let’s get you home. We’ve still got a few hours left to celebrate.”
Twenty-One
“So, she’s close then?” Jake asked around a mouthful of cake.
Strawberry cake, thank you very much.
I licked the pink icing off my fork and nodded. “I feel like we’re close, but I still can’t picture the villain. Jessa and Laura are quite the team though, don’t you think?”
He scrolled through the manuscript before looking up at me. “They’re something, alright. I thought you were out of your mind when you paired them up, but it works. You’re a fucking genius, you know that?”
I rolled my eyes with a laugh. “Sure. Okay.”
He reached out and gripped my chin in his hand. “I’m serious, Hayden. Because of people like your parents, you can’t face the truth that you’re great as you are. You don’t need the damn sprays and spells or whatever the fuck else you keep around here. If people don’t like who you are; then fuck ‘em.”
I cleared my throat and shifted on the couch. “We better get some coffee going. It’s going to be a long night of writing.”
Jake kept his hand on my face. “Let’s take a break for tonight.”
I grinned at him. “C’mon, Jake. You’re not getting soft on me, are ya?”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, psyching himself up. “Baby, there’s not one part of me that’s soft. I’m fucking rock hard. And in watching the way the pulse is jumping in your throat, you know exactly what I mean.”
Baby… swoon.
“Holy shit.” I exhaled faintly. A quick glance down at his dress pants confirmed that he was indeed rock hard.
“It appears that I’ve rendered the writer speechless,” he teased with a smirk.
I placed a hand tentatively against the back of his neck and his eyes widened. When I leaned up and pressed my lips against his, he let out a rough exhale of his own, one that made me think he hadn’t expected my reaction. His hand moved down to the strap of my dress and his fingers roved under and over the material.
Our mouths moved together with an urgency as we explored the other’s body. I trailed a hand down his dress shirt, coming to rest against his pocket. I tucked it inside, feeling the beat of his heart against my knuckles. I wanted to be carried around in Jake’s pocket, safe from the world.
The stubble on his face scraped against my skin and I shivered with pleasure. Jake’s hands tangled in my hair and our knees bumped together, but our mouths remained connected. I shifted on the couch until I was sitting on his lap with my dress bunched up around my hips.
His tongue traced my lips and I smiled before opening up to let him in. He kept one hand fisted in my hair while the other found the zipper of my dress and began coaxing it down.
“I think that maybe you want this as badly as I do,” he whispered, moving his hand down to stroke against the front of my panties.
“I do,” I panted and thrust my breasts up against his chest as the straps of my dress slipped down my arms.
Damn the fact that he was leaving. I could feign writer’s block and drag the story out for another year
or two. I could force him to stay and feed me strawberry cake every night. I could demand that his mouth kiss every square inch of skin.
I loosened his tie while lifting and lowering my hips against the front of his slacks, forcing a moan out of both of us. “Until you leave, I’m yours,” I murmured against his lips.
The words were scary, and I pulled away after saying them. It was too much. I was basically prostituting myself out for as long as he was here.
I’d just laid all my crazy cards out on the table, not even bothering to keep them close to my chest for a while longer.
“Hey.” He managed to pull me right back in. “You’re my girl. I’m not going to hurt you, okay?”
“I’m your girl?” I blurted out.
He smiled. “The only girl I care about.” With that, he wrapped an arm around my lower back and pulled me up against his chest before bringing my mouth back down over his.
No one had ever defended me like he had…or gone out of their way to make my birthday special, even when the majority of the night had been shit.
His tongue stroked my bottom lip and I opened my mouth to let him inside again while keeping my emotions on lockdown.
Jake suddenly pulled back. “I think we need to do some yoga. Your energy is all wrong.”
“Yoga? Really?” I disagreed. My energy was in need of sex. Lots and lots of sex.
He stood up and carried me toward the bedroom.
“Wait, where’s Bootsy?” I shuddered as his lips found my ear lobe.
“I gave her the tablet and started a Bob Ross marathon. She’s good.” He lowered me to the carpet with a smirk and kicked the door closed behind him. “Hands on the wall, Ms. Michaels.”
I did as he asked and moaned softly as his hands patted down my body, lingering in between my legs.
“You wouldn’t be carrying any pencils or pens on your person would you, sweetheart?” he whispered against my ear.
“No, Detective,” I whispered back.
“Good girl. Because you’re going to let this happen. Your job isn’t to write it—none of your fade to black bullshit, okay?”
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