AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His clothing was scattered all over the floor and the furniture. He grabbed everything except his sport coat. When he was ready, he avoided looking at the bed. Would he be able to sleep there tonight?
Nikki wasn’t like the other women he had bedded. She never had been.
What was he supposed to do with that knowledge?
They made their way down to the car in silence. The snow had picked up, but it wasn’t sticking to the roads.
Nikki tried once again to convince him to let her leave without him. He shut her up by leaning her against the car and kissing her hard. Then he tucked her into the passenger seat and closed the door. Once the engine fired, he turned up the heat.
“You okay, Nik?”
She nodded. “I’m good.”
When she reached out and put a hand on this thigh, he felt like he had won the lottery. “What’s your schedule like this week?” he asked.
“On Wednesday, I only work half a day. I could fix dinner and you could have some time with Emma.”
“Any chance I might spend the night?” His hands gripped the steering wheel.
The long silence made his stomach curl. He heard his passenger sigh. She sounded conflicted. “I’ll have to think about it, Jake.”
“Is there a downside?” He asked the question lightly, as if he was merely curious instead of stung by her palpable reluctance.
“I want you, but I don’t want to get involved. My life and yours are both complicated. You’ve left me twice now. And both times nearly killed me. So I like to think I’m smarter than I used to be.”
“You don’t think much of my character, do you?”
“It’s not your character. It’s my self-control.”
The rest of the trip passed in silence. Jake chewed on her words, unable to put a positive spin on them. She cared about him, but she didn’t want to get hurt when he inevitably left again.
She wasn’t wrong. He wasn’t cut out for Falling Brook. Hell, he wasn’t cut out for anywhere permanent. That was why he wandered. But could he change? Did he want to?
“Will you still come to Joshua’s wedding with me?” he asked.
“Of course. I said I would. Besides, it will be fun. Your brother is a super guy. I’m so glad he and Sophie found each other.”
The snow was coming in heavier bands. Jake focused his attention on the road, glad of the excuse to drop the conversation. Talking about his brother’s happy nuptials made his own life seem empty and meaningless.
When they finally pulled up in front of Nikki’s modest house, she leaned over and kissed his check—a brief peck, nothing to get hot and bothered about.
“I enjoyed tonight, Jake. Thanks for dinner...and everything.”
“I’ll walk you to the door,” he said.
“No. Keep the car warm. I’ll talk to you soon.”
And then she was gone, though her scent lingered.
Jake waited for the front door to open and close. Then he put the car in gear and headed back to Falling Brook. The long drive gave him plenty of time to think. Too much time. Why were people so complicated?
As soon as Josh’s wedding was over, there would be no reason to stay. Except for the trial, of course. But even those legal proceedings didn’t demand Jake’s presence. He didn’t care what happened to his father.
Not at all...
But he couldn’t lie to himself. He was falling for Nikki all over again. Which scared the hell out of him...
Nikki spoke briefly with Nella, and then urged her to go home before the roads got any worse. She handed the girl an envelope with cash in it. “Thank you so much for staying late. I really appreciate it.”
