Page 47 of Play For Keeps

Jake reaches for me, his hand brushing my cheek, sending an electric current right through me to my core. “It’s okay, Ev. I feel the exact same way. We’re feeling the same things. Stop overthinking it.”

Stop overthinking it? I know he’s right, but it’s not that easy.

“I love being around you,” he continues. “And I love being with Birdie too. And when I’m not around you, I’m thinking about you. You’re in my head, Everly.”

“You’re in my head too. I’ve tried to stop thinking about you, but you make it so hard.”

He chuckles. “I’m not going to touch that.”

I shake my head at him. His smile, his eyes, the way he’s looking at me… it all feels like too much. In a perfect world, there would be no thinking twice. Jake and I would jump in with both feet. But I can’t forget that there is so much at stake.

“What are you thinking about, Ev?”

How do I answer the question truthfully? I’ve tried to fight the feelings I have for Jake for weeks, but my resolve has slipped away. I’ve been scared to allow myself to fall for him, but more than that, I’m scared my daughter already has. She has to be my number one priority. I can’t run the risk of having her heart broken.

“You know what I’m dealing with, Jake. You’ve seen it firsthand. There isn’t a lot of room in my life for love. My life is a mess right now. I don’t even know how long I’m staying in Reed Point. And then there’s Birdie. She gets attached to people… I’m pretty sure she already is attached to you.”

“I wouldn’t be asking you for a chance if I wasn’t falling for Birdie too. I swear to you. I know you two are a package deal.” He takes a small step towards me, closing the space between us. “We don’t have to put a label on it. We can take things slow… for as long as you want. But I can’t fight this with you anymore. It’s driving me crazy.”

“What do you want from me, Jake?” I need to know exactly what he’s thinking. Am I a one-night stand? Is he looking for a relationship? Does he understand that Birdie is my first priority? “Tell me exactly what you want. I need you to be clear.”

“I want to be with you. Just you. We don’t need the label, but I do want it to be just us.” He pauses. “If we do this, there’s no one else.”

My breath hitches. I want all of that too.

If I knew this was going to work.

If I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.

I swallow the knot in my throat as he takes one more step closer, his hands reaching up to my cup face.

“I promise you I’m not going to hurt you or Birdie. Give this a chance. I want to get to know you both better.” Jake’s thumb runs over the edge of my jaw, and I close my eyes, leaning into the touch. His other hand finds the curve of my hip, walking me backwards until he has me backed up against the door.

“What’s stopping you from letting me in, Ev?”

He gently tips my chin to look at him and dips his face, so his mouth is inches from mine. I want him to kiss me. I want to tell him that I’ve thought about that kiss every minute of every day. The way it made me feel. The way he made me feel.

My breath hitches in my throat. “I don’t want to get hurt again. And I don’t even know how long we’ll be in Reed Point. And there’s Birdie. You’re so much younger than me, Jake. We are in such different places in our lives.”

“You don’t need to be scared. I’m not interested in anyone but you. But say everything you need to say now, Ev. Ask me every question you need an answer to, because once I start kissing you, I’m not going to be able to stop.”

I swallow hard at his words then draw a deep breath. “Why, Jake? Why me? When you can have any twenty-something-year-old you want.”

Jake’s fingers tighten on my hip as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear with his other hand. “You say that like you’re not the hottest woman I’ve ever seen. In my life. You make me hard every time you come near me. I don’t give a fuck about our age gap. I don’t want anyone but you, Ev. You’re beautiful, smart, sexy as hell and my heart stopped fucking beating in my chest when I saw you for the first time. And I know you feel this pull between us like I do. It’s not easy to find that with someone. I want you to admit you feel it too.”

His words send goosebumps over my skin because he’s right. I’ve never felt a connection like this. We’re standing close enough that I can feel his chest expand against mine, and I swear I can feel his heartbeat through his t-shirt. But taking things further with him continues to make me nervous. “What if we’re better off as friends? I don’t want to ruin something good.”

He lowers his gaze to mine, and his hand moves slowly to my lower back. He pulls my hips into his. “We both want more than just friends. Give this a shot. I know you want to.”

Jake leans back a few inches, his eyes never leaving mine, searching for my answer.

I’m confused about so many things, but the one thing I know for sure is that I want him too. This desire inside of me threatens to unravel me.

Needing to touch him, my hands glide up to his chest to rest on the hard muscles of his pecs. He feels so good, but my body aches for more.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he breathes. “I know you’re afraid, but I promise you, you don’t need to be. And I’m just as nervous as you.”

I look at him, surprised. “I make you nervous?”

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