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CHAPTER 12
Three weeks pastand it felt like forever. We were now into fall and the snow was starting to stick. Not a lot, but enough to know that in another month, the holidays would be white.
The rest of the photoshoot that week had slipped by effortlessly. When Jenna approached Jacob with a blue satin bikini, he didn’t even complain.
Desire—fast and strong—slammed into me as he’d leaned against the fake palm tree, capturing the essence of a sexy football star on vacation in Hawaii. I was glad I’d changed his month.
His poses were sexy and fun. He gave the photographer every ounce of smoldering energy he could muster. “For a good cause,” he’d said as he looked up at the camera from hooded eyes. A laugh bubbled up out of him allowing the camera to capture his fun personality under all that muscle.
From a purely objective point of view, he was definitely something to watch but his pure sexuality gave me pause. Was that enough to keep us together again? I knew I’d loved him and I still wanted him. I thought he loved me, too, but was our past enough to link us back together? So much time had passed and even though we said we wanted us to work again, we’d both changed so much. Our lives looked really different.
Then he’d looked at me—really, looked at me—and I saw it. Patience. He would wait. He wasn’t in any hurry. He was amused by this.
He was amicable to the other athletes, even Brett. He even gave me a few gentle hands on the back and lingering looks. But he never said anything else about when he walked in on Brett and me that day in my office. But he didn’t make any plans for us to see each other, either.
When he finally called, we agreed to meet for coffee in town.
A hug and a tuck in under his shoulder instantly calmed me. “I’ve missed you,” I whispered into his chest, the roughness of his cotton jacket prickling my nose.
He kissed the top of my head. “I’ve missed you too.”
After the barista took our order, Jacob guided me to a booth. I shrugged out of my coat and slid in. He slid in next to me, turning his body toward mine. “How’s your business plan coming along?”
“Good. I have an appointment at the bank later this week to try and get a loan. Now that I have steady employment at the Foundation, I think I’ll be able to borrow the start-up costs to get my training school up and running.”
“Oh, did Jenna offer you a job?” He tore off a piece of scone.
I grinned and shrugged my shoulders. “She did. I still need to pay off some expenses from the shoot but then I’ll get a paycheck, so that’s exciting.”
With mock surprise he said, “A paycheck? Shocker.”
“I’m happy. I like it there and it feels good to earn my money.”
He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I’m proud of you.”
I lifted my head regally, and with an English accent said, “Thank you.”
“What are you planning for the school? Are you going to use Betty Blue or other horses?”
“The Archers said I can use some of the trail horses for now. Lane gave me a tack room to use, and I found someone to help with beginner lessons.”
“I’m glad you have a place to work.” No reaction to the mention of Lane. Now I was nervous. This was the old Jacob. This was real.
I watched a few bundled up locals enter the warm coffee shop, pulling off their mittens and hats.
The tourists had thinned out but they would be back in full force from Thanksgiving on. Winter was even busier than the summer months for Mia and Jacob.
I turned my body toward him. “Jacob, I haven’t seen you in almost three weeks. I hate to sound needy, and I know we haven’t officially said we are together but it feels unsettled. I kind of feel abandoned.”
He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “I’m so sorry. I don’t want you to feel that way.” His lips were sweet from the blueberry scone and vanilla latte. “I’m working on another project and it’s keeping me a little busy. I should have told you. Forgive me?”
“What are you working on?”
He winked. “A secret.”
“Are you going to tell me what it is?”
“I’ll tell you in a few weeks, promise. Now, tell me about the training school. I can’t wait to watch you ride again. You always seemed so happy with the horses.” He ran his hands through my hair.
