Page 54 of Love Lies Bleeding

I process his words like the second chance they are before I let a grin split my face and I offer him my hand. “So, you’re a dad now. Does that mean you’re going to get boring and start drinking wheatgrass smoothies instead of coming out with me?”

“Fuck off, Jake. I’ve never touched a wheatgrass smoothie in my life and I don’t intend to start now.”

We move toward the door as if Hunter has an imaginary line that keeps him tethered close to the woman he loves and his son.

“Why don’t we talk about the way you keep looking at Cherry.”

I swallow past the pain and shake my head. I can’t tell him what happened between us, not yet, and maybe not ever. “Yeah, okay, point taken. Can we just go coo over your son instead?”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

I catch Cherry’s eyes as I walk in, my own drawn to her like the moon to the sun. She looks away first and I know what I should do next, I’m just not sure if I can.

18. Cherry

“Why are you here?”

Folding my arms in front of me, I glare at Jake who is working on his laptop at the end of the counter. My shop seems to have become his new base of operations and I don’t like it, because I’m getting far too used to having him around and that’s a dangerous thing. Not that we talk much, or do anything really, we kind of tiptoe around each other in a forced politeness.

Jake looks up from his screen and lifts his eyebrow in question as if I’m stupid. “You know why, Blossom.”

“I don’t need your help.” I throw up my hands determined to talk to Lexi about this now that Theo is here and she’s under slightly less stress. She and Hunter are in the Hamptons this weekend but when she comes back, she needs to call Jake off. Eight weeks of seeing him almost every day is too much for my poor heart.

“Maybe not but you have it anyway.”

Not willing to deal with him anymore, I studiously ignore him, or at least I try to. Jake is too much of a presence to be ignored though. Even silent, he’s loud. I’m aware of every move he makes. My phone ringing makes me jump, but that turns into a groan of frustration when I see Harvey’s name on the screen.

Grabbing it up, I head to the back for some privacy. This call isn’t going to be any less frustrating than the others, I’m sure. “Hey, Harvey, tell me you have some good news.”

I hear a beleaguered sigh down the phone and roll my eyes to the heavens as he begins his litany of excuses. “Cherry, you should take the offer from KLM. You don’t have the finances to fight them and win. At this point, you have the upper hand but once they’ve bled you dry they’ll lower the offer for the property.”

My blood almost boils with anger at the injustice of what these people are trying to do. “So that’s it? I just have to let my mom lose the one thing in her life that brings her joy?”

“I wish I could say no, but a corporation this size has almost limitless funding. You can’t win, Cherry. Not unless you have a fairy godmother tucked away somewhere.”

I know I could ask Hunter. He’d help me in a minute, but I’d never abuse my friendships like that, and he and Lexi have enough on their plate.

Blowing out a breath, I feel nauseous anxiety build in my belly. A sick feeling that I’m going to have to sell my mom’s salon to some rich developer who won’t take no for an answer. “Okay, Harvey. Don’t say anything to KLM yet. Just give me a week to think about it.”

“It’s the right thing to do, Cherry.”

“I’ll call you.”

Hanging up, I close my eyes and lean my forehead against the wall of the storeroom as defeat washes over me.

“Why are you dealing with KLM?”

I push off the wall and move past Jake into the larger space of the showroom, busying myself shifting pieces around so I don’t have to answer.

“Cherry, answer me, damn it!”

“No.” I whirl on him in frustration. “My life is none of your business so keep out of it.”

Jake stalks toward me, his muscles almost vibrating with tension and I feel my body respond to his anger. He has no right to poke his nose into my private life. Yet underneath my anger, I can feel the heat of desire curl inside me. He’s a stunning specimen of a man and I know from personal experience that he has all the attributes and skill to back it up.

Seizing my arms, he gives me a gentle shake. “Do not fuck with me about this, Blossom. Tell me who that was or, so help me God, I’ll turn you over my knee.”

My skin prickles at his threat, my breaths coming quicker as I stare at him. What would it feel like to give in just this once and let my guard down enough to take what I need from him? To let his touch soothe away the worries and just let me feel for a while. Fighting with Jake has become my favorite thing to do. The banter we share is a distraction from the life that feels like it’s too much.

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