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“I’m closing my eyes so I won’t see if anything untoward is happening in there.”
Both Jake and Anne started laughing, and Anne said, “Nothing untoward is happening. You can open your eyes.”
Meg emerged from the hall, dressed for work and grinning at both of them. “So you guys finally worked everything out?”
“Yeah.” Anne was smiling just as broadly as her friend was, feeling sheepish and giddy both.
“Excellent. I’m leaving now, so you can do whatever untoward things you’d like to do without being interrupted. Just please tell me that I get to be the one to tell Raney.”
“You can tell Raney.”
Meg cackled as she grabbed her purse and headed to the door. “She’s going to be so jealous that I knew before her.”
Anne called out a laughing farewell as her friend left the apartment. Then she turned back to Jake, who was gazing at her with a softness that turned her into emotional mush. “So what now?” she asked.
“I don’t know. What do you think?” He pulled her against him again, so she was leaning against his chest.
It wasn’t a bad position at all.
“You left poor Stew in a lurch. Will you go back to San Diego to help him out?”
“I don’t think so. I can talk him through things on the phone, if he can’t figure it out on his own.”
“Then I guess you should probably start looking for a new assistant.”
“I guess so. Although I’m not sure we have to start that immediately. I mean, not right now.” He shifted their bodies slightly so she could look him in the eyes.
“What else did you have in mind for right now?” she asked, although she was pretty sure she could read the hot expression in his face.
He leaned down and said against her lips, “Right now, I’m going to do what I’ve wanted to do for ages, but didn’t think I’d ever be allowed.
She wrapped her arms around him. “And what’s that?”
“This.”
He eased her down so she was lying on the couch, and he showed her.
Epilogue
Two months later, Anne was popping up on a surfboard, early on a Sunday morning, trying to get her stance right.
She didn’t seem to be naturally talented at it.
The board wasn’t even on the water—it was just on the sand so she could practice—but she still couldn’t seem to get her feet placed right when she hopped up from the paddling position.
Jake laughed when she tried to jump again and ended up with one foot off her board completely.
She groaned and glared at him.
He walked over with a grin. “It’s not as hard as you’re making it. Push with your arms and pull your feet up under you. Don’t worry about doing it really quickly yet. Just stand up in the right way and make sure this leg is out front when you do.” He patted her right thigh.
She sighed and got down again on her stomach on the board.
“Don’t worry about being fast this time. Just stand up.”
Without the pressure of doing it quickly, she stood up just fine.
“Good,” he said, coming over again and sliding his hand down her thigh to change her stance slightly. “Bend your knee a little more.”
“Like this?” she asked, looking over at him. He looked gorgeous in the morning sun, relaxed, happy, and in need of a shave. It had taken her a few weeks to convince him to teach her to surf—since he knew exactly what her real motive was in the request—but he’d relented eventually.
He’d gone out on the water yesterday to show her the basics, and she knew he’d go out again once she was ready to get off the beach herself.
He hadn’t yet surfed on his own yet, but she was pretty sure he would.
He’d never be able to surf like he used to—not with his bad knee—but he could surf some. He could have a little of what he’d lost.
She wanted that for him.
It wasn’t like the last two months had completely changed him. He still worked like a maniac during the week, but he was doing better about taking the weekends and evenings off.
Anne was loving her new job, and she was loving Jake even more.
He seemed satisfied with her stance, but his hand lingered on her upper thigh.
