Page 4 of Loving Jake

Besides, he openly admitted to himself for the first time in years, he was lonely. He longed for companionship, someone to share an occasional meal with or to watch a late-night movie. A roommate, if even for only a few weeks, would be a welcome change in his otherwise solitary life. Standing at the screen door, he reminded himself that a roommate, particularly this roommate, was strictly limited to a friends’ only relationship. He needed no repeats of his life’s past failures.

His gaze traveled over the screen door, and he noticed several pink hearts painted around the door knob. The corners of his mouth curved into a grin. The realization that he might have actually found the ideal place to stay for the next several weeks gave him the push he needed to ring the doorbell. So much for those few redeeming qualities he claimed to possess, he thought, and pressed the button for the second time.

“Coming,” called the voice from inside the house, just as he had about decided that there wasn’t anyone home. He shifted uncomfortably as he waited, pushing the tip of his boot at a piece of chipped wood on the porch floor.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Kimberly.” Jake raised his sunglasses to the topof his head, taking with them the shoulder-length strands of hair framing his tanned face.

“Jake?” She stepped closer to the screen door. “My gosh, it is you. I’m sorry; I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you were the FedEx man. I’m sorry, with those aviator glasses on and your hair down, I, ah, ah?—"

“Please, don’t apologize,” he interrupted. “I’m here uninvited. As for my hair, I rarely wear it down and never on television. Far too radical for my producer to allow on his network. Did I interrupt you sunbathing or something?” Discreetly, or so he hoped, he admired her enticing figure, clad only in a bikini top and a pair of faded cut-off denim shorts. A very short pair, he couldn’t help but notice, though he didn’t want to. Kimberly Urbane, he reminded himself, was forbidden territory, and he needed to keep it that way for both of their sakes. Despite his own mental scolding, a bolt of desire seared through him, and he struggled to push the sensation aside.

“Oh, ah, no. I was out back, in the garden.” A scarlet flush swept over her cheeks. “I was pulling weeds.”

“Ah.” He nodded toward her face. “That would explain the streak of dirt on your cheek.”

“What?”

She rushed to rub her palm against her cheek, and he held up his hand to stop her. “I’m teasing Kimberly. No dirt. You’re fine.”

“Oh. Ah, okay. Please come in.” She opened the screen door and directed him with a flutter of her hand toward the inside of the house.

“Thanks.” Jake shut the door behind them, and he rubbed each of his palms, suddenly damp, against the soft denim of his jeans.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

Jake’s gaze darted up to meet hers and he realized that shehad caught him checking her out. “Ah…thanks, that would be great.” Despite getting busted by her only moments earlier, he had to force himself to look away from her enticing backside and focus on the interior décor as he followed behind her. The living area was tastefully designed, with boldly colored accents against soft cream-colored furniture. The room vibe invited you in, and he found that he liked her style, a lot.

The clicking sound of his western-style boots against the ceramic tile echoed through the house as he followed her into the kitchen.

“Is lemonade okay?”

“Perfect.” His gaze wandered over the white countertops and cabinets, again accented with vibrant accessories smartly placed throughout the kitchen. “Nice place. Carly said you are remodeling it yourself, didn’t she?” He leaned his lower back against the side of the kitchen countertop and folded his arms across his chest. Unable to suppress his amusement, his grin widened as he watched her flutter around the kitchen, preparing their lemonade. He didn’t want to make her nervous, he really didn’t. Over time, once she had a chance to know him better, the more comfortable around him she would become and they could finally become friends. Hopefully, with any luck he could convince his libido to chill, and everything would be just fine between them.

He watched her bend down to pick up a large spoon she had dropped, and he ended up wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. She had to be aware of the provocative picture she made; how could she not? And, with her looks and body, how could she possibly be nervous around him? She probably had men lined up at her door most days. Her black, curly hair lay in a long braid against her bare, slender back. The bikini top she wore, although conservative for California’s standards, accentuatedher full, rounded breasts, causing him to move his eyes to the kitchen window more than once.

“Thank you,” he mumbled when Kimberly handed him a tall, chilled glass, the cold liquid a welcome reprieve from the heated sensations moving through his body. His emotions were running so unexpectedly hot that when Kimberly finally responded, it took him a few moments to understand that she had begun to answer his earlier question.

“Sort of, I guess. Much of the woodwork was already here; I just refinished it. George helped me put in a few closets upstairs, and I have to admit that I have applied more coats of stain than I ever dreamed I would in a lifetime.”

“Impressive. You did a nice job.”

She smiled at him, her full and generous lips tinted a soft pink, and he took another long, slow drink of lemonade.

“Thanks. I’ve lived here for almost six years, and I still find myself shocked by the work that needs to be done.”

His gaze traveled to various sections of the kitchen and then returned to settle on her face. Her skin was smooth, with the briefest of freckles smattered across her nose, and he was tempted to reach out and run the pad of his thumb over them. He cleared his throat and dropped his hands to his sides before tucking each of them into a back pocket of his jeans. “You’ve done a good job. You must have moved in not long after graduating?”

“Yeah.” She clasped her hands in front of her and then quickly released them to drop them at her sides. “I lived with my parents for a few years after college and then decided it was time to prove that I wasn’t the shy, passive little thing everyone believed me to be.”

Her eyebrow went up in a challenge for him to deny it, and he couldn’t, because she was right; it was her friends’ collectiveopinion of her. She was the observer rather than the center of attention. He sensed a silent strength within her that he found attractive, and it forced him to try even harder to maintain a distance between them. He could never take advantage of her feelings for him, and that’s what he would be doing if they became involved, because it could never work out between them. Never. “Looks like you’ve done a pretty good job proving your point.” He gestured with his hand to the cabinetry behind her.

“Thank you,” she responded with a bright smile. “Just because I prefer to be behind a camera rather than in front of it, doesn’t mean I was invisible like everyone seemed to treat me growing up.”

He laughed. “I seem to recall you making yourself invisible several times when?—"

“Yeah, well,” she hastily interrupted. She placed a hand on each of her hips and tilted her head slightly to the side. “I’ve changed. I’ll never have George’s easy way with people or Carly’s ability to command the attention of everyone in the room, but I’ve learned to hold my own. Which has me wondering, Jake.” She paused and took a deep breath. “I’m not intentionally trying to sound rude or anything, but why are you here? And how did you get my address? Carly, I bet,” she mumbled the answer to her own question loud enough for him to hear.

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