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“Fine.”
CHAPTER10
Emma
“What are you looking at, Em?”
I stepped back from the kitchen window guiltily. “Nothing, Dad. Did you need something?”
“Wouldn’t mind a cup of tea. Maybe a couple of cookies?”
“Sure thing.” I glanced out the window again while I filled the kettle with water. It wasn’t my fault I couldn’t stop perving, was it? I mean, if Jake Walker was going to smile at me like that, turn my insides to mush like that, stir up all those old feelings like that, what was a girl supposed to do?
As if that wasn’t hard enough, I still couldn’t get the memory of that damned bathroom scene out of my mind, and it really was driving me crazy. How many times had I made myself come, remembering that night? Christ, too many to count. Fuck you, Jake. Or not. That would be a monumentally bad idea, no matter how obsessed I was becoming about it. About him.
I brought Dad his tea and two chocolate chip cookies on a plate. “Thanks, sweetheart.” He shifted in the chair, his tall frame rail thin now. But his blue eyes still shone with love when he looked at me.
“I’ll get you a cushion, one sec.”
“How’s Jake doing out there?”
“Okay, I guess. I haven’t really been paying that much attention.”
“He’s a nice boy. I always liked him.”
What was I supposed to say to that?Me too? Alwaysmorethan liked him, in fact. Always. Probably forever. “Maybe I should go and check on him. See how he’s doing.”
“Good idea. It’s very soon after his accident. I’d hate for him to overdo it, just for the sake of my garden.”
Yep, that was all the encouragement I needed. I went outside, not taking my eyes off Jake once as I crossed the deck and went down the steps. There sure were a lot of leaves for one person to rake all by themselves. I stopped to grab a rake and gloves from the garden shed, not listening to the voice of reason that was telling me to turn around and march straight back inside.
“Hey.”
He turned, saw me and smiled. Could hestopsmiling at me like that?
“Hi.” Leaning on the rake, he watched me approach, and I felt that all too familiar fluttering in my belly.
Don’t think about the cold, hard tiles of the bathroom floor. Don’t think about the taste and the feel of his cock in your mouth. Don’t think about his hands on your body. Don’t think about any of it.“I thought you could use a hand.”
“Great.”
“Just rake everything into one big pile?”
“Yeah.” He stooped to scoop up a pile of leaves on the rake and I turned away hastily. I didnotneed to be ogling his ass right now.
Dammit, I needed to think of a safe topic of conversation, and fast. “Next door is looking so good.”
“It is. It must make you happy to see.”
“For sure. Ruby loved that garden and to see Zara and Matt bringing it back to life like this is just the best.” I loved having Zara and Matt living next door, even though her inheriting Ruby Winstead’s property had made my life much more complicated. I’d done a pretty good job of avoiding Jake after coming home three years ago to look after my mom. As soon as she passed, I’d wanted to run. Again. But then Dad had gotten sick almost right away and here I was, once again tied to the small town that was not nearly big enough for me and Jake and all my unresolved feelings for him.
Still, I’d done a pretty good job of steering clear of him. Occasionally, we’d bump into each other at the supermarket, or the local bar, but I always managed to get away. But now that Zara moved in next door and we’d become friends, spending time with Jake had been unavoidable, because Matt and Gabe were best buddies, and where Gabe went, Jake usually followed.
The whole situation was a mess. I dragged the leaves across the grass with much more force than was perhaps necessary.
“You okay, Em?”
Please don’t say my name like that. Like a caress.“Sure, I’m fine.” Forcing myself to turn around and look at him, I gave him a strained smile. He smiled back, all sweet and cute, so I drew a deep breath and let the irritation go. It was hardly his fault that he was so adorable. “I’m fine.” Better. It sounded a lot more convincing the second time.
