* * *
“I didn’t think I was ever going to get you alone,” Jake said, as he moved with Sky on the dance floor.
“You haven’t had a horrible time tonight, have you?”
“It hasn’t been horrible at all,” he assured her.
“Good.”
“But this part is definitely my favorite. I like the way you feel in my arms.”
She tipped her head back to smile at him. “That’s convenient, because I like being in your arms.”
“Of course, naked in my arms would be even better.”
“Hold on to that thought for just a little while longer.”
“I’ve been holding onto it all night. It’s the only reason I’m still here.”
“I know this isn’t easy for you,” she said. “And I hope you know that I’m grateful you agreed to come with me today.”
“I’m not sure your father approves of me being here.”
“Did he say something to you?”
“No words are needed when I can see him glowering from clear across the paddock.”
“That’s not personal,” she assured him, as the last bars of the song they’d been dancing to faded into the night.
The tempo of the music immediately changed, and the dance floor was suddenly packed with bodies twisting and gyrating.
Jake backed away from the crowd and closed his eyes.
“Let the air fill your chest...”
“Jake?”
“...hold it there...”
Sky slid her hand down his arm, uncurled his fingers to link them with her own.
“...then slowly let it out again.”
“Are you okay?”
He managed to nod.
He was okay, it was just a lot of noise and a lot of people.
But he needed to get out of here.
There was too much noise.
Too many people.
He needed to be alone.
Sky squeezed his hand gently, reminding him of her presence.
And when he looked at her, everything and everyone else faded away, making him realize that he didn’t really want to be alone—he wanted to be alone with her.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked.
He nodded. “I’m sorry, I just—”
She lifted her free hand and touched her fingers to his lips, silencing his explanation. “I’m ready to go, too.”
* * *
Sky didn’t worry about saying goodbye, even to the bride and groom. After all, they were celebrating the beginning of their happily-ever-after and she was still looking for hers.
Was she foolish to think that she might find it with Jake? To believe that he might finally be the man who could love her enough to want to stay with her?
She knew it was too soon to be making declarations or dreaming of a future for them, especially when he wasn’t even ready to call her his girlfriend. But she felt as if they’d made definite progress tonight.
And the night wasn’t close to being done.
Of course, they first had to spend some time fussing over Molly when they got back to his place. But Sky didn’t mind one bit. Over the past several weeks, she’d fallen in love with the dog right along with the man.
Too soon, she reminded herself sternly.
When they finally made it to his bedroom, Sky unhooked the fastening of her halter and wiggled out of the dress so that she was standing in front of him wearing only a teeny tiny bra and even tinier panties in matching ice-blue lace.
“I’m having those heart palpitations again,” he warned.
“You better lie down—” she pushed him back, so that he fell on top of the bed “—and let me take care of you.”
He shifted up on the mattress and she straddled his hips with her knees.
“Did I ever tell you how glad I was that you ran out of gas that day?”
She chuckled as she unfastened the buttons that ran down the front of his shirt. “You think I ended up in your bed because you played Good Samaritan?”
“That role seemed to appeal to you more than that of sullen stranger,” he noted.
“You only think so,” she told him, opening his shirt to run her hands over the rippling muscles of his chest and stomach. “The truth is, the first time that sullen stranger walked into Diggers’, I knew that I wanted him.”
“The first time?” he said skeptically.
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. The moment our eyes locked, my heart started to pound inside my chest and I thought, he’s the one who will finally end my extended period of celibacy.”
“When I saw you, I thought, ‘This woman is going to be trouble.’”
She paused with her hand on his belt. “You said something along those lines before you kissed me the first time,” she recalled.
“What I didn’t know then was that you’d be worth every minute of it.”
“As long as you know it now,” she said, and lowered her head to kiss him.
He let her be in control for about two minutes, then he flipped her onto her back, quickly discarded the rest of his clothes and lowered himself over her.
Now he kissed her, and it was long and slow and deep. Then he skimmed his mouth over her jaw...down her throat...and lower to nuzzle the hollow between her breasts.
His shadowed jaw rasped against her tender flesh, making her shiver. Then his lips found her nipple, and the shocking contrast of his hot mouth on her cool skin made her gasp, made her yearn.
As his mouth continued to taste and tease her breasts, his thumbs hooked the sides of her panties, tugging them over her hips and down her legs. He nudged her thighs apart and his thumbs glided over the slick flesh at her core, parting the folds, seeking and finding the center of her feminine pleasure.
She was quivering with want, with need, when he finally reached for the square packet on the bedside table to sheath himself before burying himself deep inside her.
From the beginning, there had been passion between them. But now, in addition to that passion, there was tenderness and affection. He held her hands above her head, their fingers entwined, as their bodies moved together in a sensual rhythm as old as time, pushing them ever closer to the pinnacle of pleasure—and over the edge. And he captured her mouth again as he found his release.
If she’d been thinking clearly—if she’d been able to think at all—she wouldn’t have said it. She would have clenched her jaw tight and pressed her lips together to hold back the words. But her brain was pleasantly fuzzy in the aftermath of passion and her heart was so full that the words just slipped out, a whisper against his lips: “I love you, Jake.”
* * *
The words filled Jake with equal parts joy and terror.
And while he couldn’t deny that he’d developed strong feelings for Sky during the time that they’d been together, he was still reluctant to trust that what they had together was real. Afraid that he would somehow end up hurting her without ever intending to. And even more afraid that Sky might wake up one morning and discover that he wasn’t really what she wanted or needed—and that he never would be.
So he didn’t respond to her announcement except to ask, “Will you stay with me tonight?”
Chapter Sixteen
Sky hadn’t expected a reciprocal declaration. Well, maybe there was a tiny part of her that had hoped Jake might have come to the realization over the past five weeks that he was in love with her, too. But she understood that he was wary of getting involved and his heart was still healing. Not just from the loss of the men who had been like brothers to him—although that scar was undoubtedly the deepest, but also the abandonment by his fiancée and the lack of support from his father, who she thought should have been his staunchest ally.
But his family was his to figure out. She just hoped he knew that she had his back. Where
ver. Whenever.
And maybe he did know, because when he awoke in the night, sweaty and shaking, he reached for her.
Of course, he had to reach over Molly, who’d jumped up onto the mattress as soon as Jake started muttering and thrashing. Sky didn’t object to the Lab’s presence because she knew Molly was looking out for her master, and the dog retreated to her own bed again as soon as she knew he was okay.
And then Sky used her hands and lips and body to show him the truth and depth of the feelings in her heart.
* * *
When Jake awoke in the morning with Sky in his arms, he had the strangest sensation inside his chest. A sense of belonging, as if he was exactly where he needed to be. That with Sky, he hadn’t just found home but peace.
Except that it was crazy to be planning a future with a woman just because he’d managed to sleep through the night with her in his bed.
I love you, Jake.
The words she’d whispered to him echoed in his head, tempting him with possibilities and promises.
But he’d heard those words before.
He’d even let himself believe them.
Sky wasn’t Margot—he knew that. And he couldn’t help but wonder how things might be different now if he’d met her first. If he’d known her before his life had fallen apart.
She wouldn’t have stopped loving him.
He knew her well enough now to be certain of that. Sky was smart and strong, sexy and fun, loving and compassionate and fiercely loyal.
She was everything any man could ever want in a woman.
But he wasn’t worthy of her love.
Not now.
Maybe not ever.
* * *
Jake was already up and cooking breakfast when Sky made her way to the kitchen.
“I could get used to waking up to this,” she said.
Right away, she realized her mistake.
The stiff smile that curved Jake’s lips turned into something that more closely resembled a grimace before he turned away to fill a mug with coffee for her.
“Thanks,” she said.
He nodded.
“You look like you were out running already this morning,” she said, searching for a neutral topic of conversation.
“Yeah. Now that the warmer weather’s here, it gets too hot for Molly later in the day,” he said. “And we’re usually up early, anyway.” He gestured toward the table with the spatula in his hand. “Have a seat. This is just about ready.”
She sat, and he put a plate of sausages and eggs in front of her.
“So is it confirmed that your brother’s coming to town next weekend?” she asked, as she picked up her fork and poked at her eggs.
Jake nodded as he settled across from her.
“I’m scheduled to talk to the seventh and eighth graders about online safety at the elementary school on Friday, but other than that, I’m available whenever you want me to meet him.”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about what you said, and I’ve decided that you’re probably right.”
“Words I always like to hear,” she said lightly. “But maybe you could be a little more specific.”
“I should be honest with Luke.”
She nodded slowly. “I did say that.”
“And you were right. It’s past time to stop pretending and own up to what my life really is.”
“Your life is nothing to be ashamed of, Jake.”
“It’s nothing to be particularly proud of, either.”
“I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree about that,” she said. “Because I truly believe you should be proud of not just who you are and what you’ve done in the past, but everything you’re doing now.”
“I’m not really doing anything now.”
“No? Because it looks to me like your uncle’s workshop is undergoing another transformation.”
“A friend of Nat’s is looking for a place to board and train emotional support animals,” he acknowledged. “I’m just trying to see if the space would be suitable for her needs.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling not just deflated but annoyed with herself for getting her hopes up.
Jake cut off a bite of sausage and popped it into his mouth.
Sky pushed her eggs around some more. “So...when am I going to get to meet your brother?” she finally asked.
“I don’t know what Luke’s plans are for his visit. We might not be able to coordinate schedules.”
“Now I get it,” she said. “This sudden urge to be honest with him is a way of cutting me right out of the picture.”
He didn’t even deny it. “I’m trying to do what’s best for you, Sky. And if we keep doing this...if we continue spending time together...”
“Spending time together?” she echoed, stunned. “Is that all this has been to you?”
“You have to know that I care about you, but—”
“I love you, Jake. Maybe I didn’t intend to let those words slip out last night, but I’m not sorry they did. I’m tired of trying to deny what’s in my heart and hiding the truth of my feelings so I don’t scare you away.”
“I am scared,” he admitted. “Mostly of the possibility that I’ll end up hurting you.”
“Newsflash, Jake—if you didn’t want to hurt me, you wouldn’t be dumping me without giving our relationship a real chance.”
“I’d only end up hurting you more if I tried to be the man you want and need.”
“You are the man I want and need,” she insisted.
He shook his head. “I told you from the beginning that I was a bad bet.”
“I didn’t believe it then and I don’t believe it now,” she said.
But it was obvious to Sky that he believed it, and she knew that no one but Jake could change that.
She pushed her chair away from the table and carried her plate to the sink.
“Please, Sky...”
“What?” she demanded, when he faltered. “Please, Sky, what?”
He only shook his head.
Molly, sensing the tension between her two favorite people, whined plaintively.
The sound squeezed Sky’s already bruised heart.
“That’s the problem,” she said. “You don’t know what you want. Or maybe you do know but you’re afraid to admit it. Afraid to take a chance on everything I’m offering.”
She slid her feet into her sandals and grabbed her purse.
“When you figure it out, you know where to find me.”
* * *
Sky hated being a fool.
But it wasn’t the first time and, considering her track record with men, it probably wouldn’t be the last. And while it sucked that she couldn’t seem to make a romantic relationship succeed, she had a good life. She had her friends and her family and work that she enjoyed—and maybe it was time to reconnect with some of those friends.
Alyssa Channing was first on the list. They’d chatted briefly at the wedding about rescheduling their aborted lunch from several weeks back, but now they actually did so.
“It’s so good to finally be able to sit down and catch up with you,” Alyssa said, after the waitress had delivered their meals to the table the following Saturday afternoon.
“It’s been a crazy busy summer.”
And so much had happened since the last time she was here with Alyssa—the same day that she’d run out of gas on her way home after meeting with Jodie. The same day Jake had come to her rescue and she’d ended up back at his house. In his bed.
Had it only been six weeks?
Had she really fallen in love so quickly?
“Tell me all about it,” Alyssa urged. “And don’t spare any of the sexy details about your military man.”
“Actually, that’s old news,” she said. “I’m not seeing Jake a
nymore.”
Her friend winced. “I’m sorry.”
Sky waved a hand dismissively. “Let’s not waste our time talking about it.”
“Your call,” Alyssa assured her. “But I should warn you that he just walked into the restaurant.”
Of course, Sky had to look.
And as her gaze met Jake’s across the room, she silently berated herself for not considering the possibility that their paths might cross this weekend. Jake didn’t venture into town very often, but she should have expected that he’d take his brother out for a meal while Luke was in town. And since dining options in Haven were limited, she should have anticipated that they’d end up at Diggers’.
“Do you want me to ask Geena for takeout containers?” Alyssa said. “It’s a nice day for a picnic in the park.”
Sky shook her head. “No, this is good,” she lied. “But it is a nice day, so we could take Lucy to the park for a walk after lunch.”
“And maybe stop at Scoops for ice cream on the way?” her friend suggested hopefully.
“Definitely.”
And if Sheila Enbridge, the proprietor, wanted to speculate that Sky Gilmore was soothing her broken heart with three scoops of chocolate fudge brownie supreme, she really didn’t care.
* * *
Jake couldn’t finish his lunch and get out of Diggers’ fast enough.
The whole time he was eating food he didn’t remember ordering and couldn’t taste, he cursed himself for not foreseeing that he might run into Sky at the restaurant where she worked.
True, she worked on the bar side and she hadn’t actually been working, but he should have anticipated the possibility.
If you realize you’ve let your guard down, it’s already too late.
“For someone who’s been here almost five months, you haven’t really made yourself at home,” Luke remarked when they were back at the house.
“Why do you say that?”
His brother gestured to the kitchen walls. “If this was my place, those flowers would have been the first thing to go.”
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