He tucked the sketchbook to his chest. “No.”
The book was immediately placed to the side and she crawled toward him. “Yes, you are. You’re drawing me when you said you wanted to draw from one of my photographs.”
Jacob didn’t have time to scramble to his feet. And it would be worthless to hold the book out of reach because she had the upper hand. “I never said when I would draw that photograph. I still plan on doing so.”
She lunged for the book, but he shifted so she missed. Losing her balance, she toppled over him. At this point he had the book over his head and stretched as far as he could with one hand. The other hand was resting on Hallie’s hip, preventing her from crawling farther up his body.
Their eyes connected seconds later. Heat rushed in his veins, flooding his whole body with desire. His hand trailed up her back and the notebook fell to the floor behind him. Jacob cupped her face with both of his hands and pulled her closer.
Lips grazing, he exhaled a moan before deepening the kiss. When he had Hallie in his arms, everything felt right in the world. When she smiled, there was sunshine. Nothing had ever felt this right before. Not his job. Not his long-term goals. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once because he knew in an instant everything could change.
Hallie shifted from where she was straddling him. She probably thought she was putting too much weight on his aching body, but she couldn’t be more wrong. Her hands moved to his hair, and she tugged gently to get better access to him.
Their kiss grew more heated by the second and all he wanted was to lose himself in her. A phone buzzed on the counter and they broke apart. She looked just as dazed as he felt. Was he as much an escape for her as she was for him?
She smiled as she glanced over to the counter. “I think it’s yours.”
He shook his head and pulled her close again to steal another kiss. “It can wait.” The buzzing stopped and he grinned wickedly. “Right now, I just want to spend some time making out with my girlfriend.” Jacob dragged her close again, but the buzzing started up once more.
Hallie laughed as she climbed off him and headed for the phone. She held it up for him. “It’s your brother.”
Jacob got to his feet and closed the distance between them. He caged her in against the countertop and curled her hair around her ear as he answered his brother’s third attempt at calling him. “Must be an emergency if you’re this insistent on reaching me.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Hallie’s forehead.
“Mackenzie is pregnant!”
Hallie’s eyes widened. Clearly Ryker’s boisterous voice could be heard through the speaker. “That’s wonderful,” she called, “congrats Ryker!”
“Is that Hallie?” Ryker asked.
Jacob chuckled. “Who else would it be?”
“Tell her thanks. We’re excited. She’s going to be due in the spring. We’d love it if you’d come by for a visit. Meet all the kids.”
Jacob glanced at Hallie who nodded at him encouragingly. This would be the first time he spent time with Ryker and Mackenzie after the big blowup. He’d never met his nieces. He just knew their names. “Are you sure she would want that?”
“Are you kidding? It’s about time we set things right, don’t you think? Sawyer and Kennedy deserve to know their uncle. I know we’re still working on our relationship, but I think this would be good for all of us.”
“Don’t overthink it,” Hallie whispered. “They’re your family.”
He wrapped his free arm around the small of her back and pulled her close. “Yeah, I think we can make something work,” Jacob said quietly.
“Really? That’s great, man. We’ll set something up the closer we get. Unless you want to come by around the holidays?”
Jacob frowned. “I’m not sure what my schedule will be like. I hope to be training.”
“Oh, right. The competition in Vegas. Okay, yeah. Just let me know, okay?” his brother insisted.
Jacob nodded more to himself than anything. “Yeah. I’ll let you know.” He hung up the phone and tossed it on the counter. “I’d say you’re a bad influence, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
She grinned, her arms draping around his shoulders. “You love me.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Her eyes widened and she blushed. That was when he realized he’d said it out loud. “Jacob?”
He shook his head before pressing a quick kiss to the crown of her head. “Don’t overthink it.” He used her words from before. “You don’t have to say anything. Let’s get back to the movie, yeah?” Turning, he didn’t wait for a response. He hadn’t exactly said he loved her in those specific words, but he’d admitted to the feelings all the same.
The scariest part was that he’d meant what he’d said, and he didn’t regret it one bit.
