Page 21 of Loving Jake

“Mmm,” she murmured contentedly in his arms. She wiggled closer into his warmth, the top of her head nestled against the column of his throat, and he took the opportunity to press a lingering kiss to the top of her head. Her deep sigh had been barely audible over the sound of his beating chest pounding in his ears.

“Just think.” He paused and trailed his fingertip along her cheek. “In another half an hour, it will be time for a good afternoon kiss.” He chuckled softly before running his fingers through her long, curly hair spread across both of their naked bodies.

“Mmm.” Almost instantly, every muscle in her body tensed. “What did you say?” She lifted her head to look at him.

“An afternoon kiss, Kim. It’s eleven-thirty. We slept the morning away.” He laughed at the sudden widening of her dark, sultry eyes.

“Slept the morning away!” She pulled her long limbs from around him and scrambled to get off the bed. “George’s birthday party. I forgot that I promised Linda I would take pictures. Yikes. I’m supposed to be there by one o’clock,” she rambled and ran her fingers through her tangled hair.

“Slow down, Kim. You’re not making any sense. George’s party was last night. What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Today’s the kids’ party, you know, balloons, cake. That sort of stuff. The family type of thing. I promised Linda I would take pictures. She particularly wants me to try to get a family shot of George and her and the kids. Darn, I’m going to be late,” she muttered.

“Oh.”

“You’ll come with me, won’t you?” She paused at the bedroom door. “I mean, you’re welcome to come. I didn’t mention it before because I thought you would still be in New York.”

Jake, now propped up against several pillows, bent his head back to stare up at the ceiling. He had finally made the decision to risk the possibility of a future for them together, and their discussion was being postponed by a kids’ party. The irony was not lost on him. Postponed only until tonight, he promised himself. He lifted his head up and glanced over at her. Hetraced the long, winding curves of her naked body with his eyes and felt himself grow hard again.

“What the hell. Since I missed out on a piece of birthday cake last night, I guess I owe it to myself today.” He grinned broadly at her.

“Great.” A grin teased the corner of her lips. “Jake.” She tilted her head at him and tossed back her hair behind her shoulder. “If you think it will get us out of here sooner, you’re welcome to join me in the shower.”

Jake smirked cockily. He needn’t waste any time to consider the best offer he had had in a long time. He nearly stumbled over his own feet, as he raced into the bathroom after her.

“Sweetheart,why don’t you come inside with Auntie Kimberly, and I’ll get you a bandage. Maybe mommy has some of those bandages with Mickey Mouse on them. How’s that? Will that make you feel better?” Kimberly cooed to her three-year-old niece, Maggie, who now sported a scraped knee from trying to keep up with her older brother in a game of tag. Nodding her head, with two curly ponytails positioned high above each ear, the small child wrapped her arms around her aunt’s neck. Kimberly smiled over her niece’s head at Jake.

Jake watched as Kim placed a gentle kiss on Maggie’s forehead before scooping the child into her arms and heading in the direction of the house.

Jake stood at the gas grill with a spatula dangling from his hand. He was alone now, having volunteered to watch over the barbecue, while George put more beer in the cooler. Jake turned over each of the hamburgers and then closed the grill cover just in time to watch Kimberly walk into the house with her niece cuddled in her arms. He felt his stomach muscles tighten at thesight of their two curly, black heads bent close together, appearing very much like mother and daughter.

He raised his hand and raked several strands of his hair away from his forehead. He should have pulled his hair back in this heat. He was irritated and disgusted to admit that he hadn’t because Kimberly told him she liked it down and loose. Maybe he would just cut it all off and get a crewcut for all he cared at the moment. It had taken an afternoon of watching Kimberly with George’s children to realize that he had deluded himself about any possibility of a relationship with her. It would never work, just as it hadn’t worked with his ex-wife.

George’s kids clung to their Aunt Kimberly, particularly the little girl, Maggie, as if she were their own fairy Godmother. Kimberly’s own daughter would look just like her; long black curls would frame a pair of dark, almond-shaped eyes. Her sons would probably have dark hair also, definitely a dominant gene in the Urbane family, having bypassed only Carly. Daughters and sons. Kimberly’s daughters and sons. Children she should have, children he couldn’t give her.

The strong smell of burning meat permeated the air and forced him to return his attention to the burgers he was supposed to be standing guard over. He was glad for the distraction; it helped push aside a wave of hopelessness that washed over him. At least he had come to a decision over the last half an hour. He wasn't going to have the discussion he had planned with Kimberly tonight. He had been living in a fantasyland for the past twenty-four hours, and it was time to come back to reality. Any chance they might have together was gone, gone with the soft tenderness she displayed when she ran a soothing hand over her niece’s cheek or pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

Jake turned the meat over with a deep sigh. Someday he would be grateful that he had spared his already damaged heart from further injury, even though at the moment, his heart hurtas if it were already beyond repair. He glanced at the glass door that Kimberly and her niece had disappeared through, and he shook his head as a deep sadness engulfed him.

“All better,Maggie? Good girl. Now go out there, and show those boys that you’re just as tough as they are.” Kimberly quickly placed a kiss on Maggie’s cheek before the three-year-old raced out the kitchen sliding glass door.

“She’s such a cutie, isn’t she?” Carly commented from behind her.

“Yes, she is.” She stared out the patio door into the backyard and drew a mental picture of her own children. Perhaps two little girls, maybe three, and a couple of boys. The girls would have black hair like her own, while the boys would have Jake’s golden-brown hair. She pictured her sons with hair long enough to brush their shoulders, pushed back from their faces by tiny aviator sunglasses, and laughter bubbled inside of her.

“Kimberly, you made the last pitcher of lemonade, didn’t you? I need to make another batch. Can you help me find the mix?” Carly held an empty pitcher in her hand and waited for her sister’s response.

“Ah, oh, sure.” Kimberly shook herself. She was surprised to find Carly in the room with her, and she knew it was because she had been lost in her daydreaming. A shiver crept through her as she fought to clear the previous images from her mind. Wonderful images, she silently prayed, that foreshadowed her and Jake’s future together. Never had she dared to allow her dreams for the two of them to occupy such a real presence in her mind. The last eighteen hours, most of them spent in Jake’s arms, had changed all of that, and she permitted herself the fantasy.

She was not so naïve as to believe that Jake’s feelings ran as deep as her own. How could they? She had nearly twenty years of love for him locked away inside of her, some of which she had finally been able to show him when he had taken her into his arms last night, more seeping out of her during the night and then again in the morning. Neither of them had spoken of their feelings to the other, and she suddenly worried over the reason. An uneasiness teased her, despite the recent intimacy they had shared and the contentment she had felt only a few moments ago. An unwanted insecurity developed deep in the pit of her stomach. She needed to find Jake to see the raw passion burn in his eyes for her as it had only hours ago.

Kimberly turned away from the patio door, and with a glance at the interior of the kitchen, she realized she couldn’t remember what she was supposed to be looking for.

“I think Linda keeps more lemonade in the pantry,” Carly said.

“What? Oh, right.” Kimberly nodded and walked over to the pantry. She retrieved the can of powered lemonade and placed it on the countertop before she walked toward the sliding glass door.

“Kimberly?”

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