Page 9 of Loving Jake

“I’m sorry, Kim. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay.” She paused to flip through several more photographs. “I have little things, or should I say big things, like Daisy to remind me of her.”

“You’re fortunate.” His hand stopped in mid-air, the paintbrush never quite reaching the wall. He stepped off of the ladder and laid the paintbrush down on the can. He reached for his beer and took a long drink.

Jake set his beer bottle on the bottom step of the foot stool. He secured the lid on the paint can and gathered together the dirty brushes and rollers. “I think that’s it for tonight. I’ll be able to determine in the morning whether the walls need another coat or not.”

“Wow.” Her eyes darted around the room. “I was so caught up in sorting photos, I didn’t realize you had made so much progress. The room looks great, Jake. Thanks.”

“No, thank you, Kim. I’ll wash the paint brushes, and then I’m heading to my hotel. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”

“Forget the brushes; I’ll wash them out. I really appreciate your help.” Her smile quickly faded as she watched him stretch his T-shirt over his head. His stomach muscles contracted in response to the movement, emphasizing the sharply defined muscles under his deeply tanned skin. She took a largegulp of air, jumped up from her seat on the floor, and scurried out of the room like a frightened mouse before he caught her drooling over him again. If Jake wondered where she’d gone, he’d figure it out soon enough when he found her waiting at the front door for him.

“I’ll be going to see my grandfather in the morning, so I should be here around two o’clock tomorrow. It will still be early enough in the day in case I need put on a second coat of paint.” He opened the front door and breathed in the warm California night air.

“Jake,” she said before he had the chance to say goodnight. “I wondered. I mean, I thought perhaps, if it was okay, that I might go with you when you see your grandfather sometime? I didn’t know him as well as Carly did, but he used to come to our house for dinner occasionally, and I thought it might be nice to see him. If it’s okay with you?”

Jake studied her upturned face for a brief moment, and she had to force herself not to squirm under his intense scrutiny. “Sure.” He smiled faintly. “Maybe next week?”

She smiled softly in return. “See you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.” He looked at her, and with a quick wink, he turned and walked away.

Once again, Kimberly found herself following his movements until he reached his car and drove away. She shut the door and locked it. She made her way through the kitchen and opened the backdoor to let Daisy inside.

She doubted that she had made any progress in her effort to win Jake’s love tonight; he certainly didn’t give her any positive vibes if she had. Her disheveled appearance likely didn’t help, although she had caught him watching her a few times tonight. Or was he returning her stare? She shook her head. Didn’t matter, she wasn’t giving up on him. She was determined not to get discouraged. A tiny smile curved her lips. She might needevery minute of his stay to convince him that she was the one for him, but she was up for the challenge. She yearned for Jake Taylor to return her love and planned to do whatever it took to make that happen. In the meantime, she would hold him to his earlier offer. Jake claimed that he wanted to be responsible for the work around the house, and she’d let him. She mentally wrote a list of home repair projects she needed completed while she turned off the lights and made her way up the stairs and into bed. Her lips continued to tilt upward until they grew into a large smile.

FOUR

Kimberly looked into the tiny mirror attached to the passenger side visor and visibly winced. “Your grandfather is going to think that I look like a witch,” she exclaimed as she attempted to smooth the mass of curls that, fifteen minutes ago, had lain in soft waves against her shoulders.

“You should have told me, Kim. We could have rolled up the windows and turned on the air conditioning.” He pulled the Ferrari into a visitor’s parking spot at the rehabilitation center with a swift turn of the steering wheel. He turned the ignition off, released his seatbelt, and then turned to face her. He took a strand of tangled curls between his fingers, rubbing the silky hair between his thumb and forefinger. “I wouldn’t say a witch exactly, Kim. Marge Simpson maybe, but not a witch.” He looked straight into her eyes, his gaze burning her with its intensity.

She managed a tremulous smile in return. “Thanks a lot.” She choked out a laugh while she tried to get a grip on her emotions. She reached out to pull her hair from his grasp and paused. She looked up to find his eyes had gone serious, the previous teasing that caused them to sparkle no longer evident.

He moved his head toward her with the slightest of movements.

“Jake?”

He blinked and released her hair, slipping his hand from underneath hers. He swiftly turned away and grabbed the car keys. “We better go inside. My grandfather is expecting me.”

Kimberly nodded although she didn’t understand what had just happened or, more specifically, what hadn’t happened. He had wanted to kiss her. She knew he had. She saw the desire in his eyes just as she was sure he witnessed the same in her own. Confused and needing some air, she reached for the door handle with shaking hands and bolted from the confinement of the sports car.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she waited for Jake to get out of the Ferrari. Every self-help blog she subscribed to would tell her to confront him, to make the move he was hesitant to make, but she couldn’t, not yet, especially since this was the first time that he had shown any interest in her other than friendship. She didn’t want to make the wrong move or push him before he was ready, when clearly, he wasn’t.

She had decided the morning before he moved in, after a sleepless night, that she wasn’t going to create any grand plan to make him fall in love with her. Instead, she would be herself around him and let the chips fall where they may. Either he fell in love with her, or he didn’t. She never believed in playing emotional head games, and she didn’t plan to start now.

Since he had moved in a week ago, they had spent part of each day together. Her work load was light, and she had time on her hands, as did Jake, leaving them both with plenty of time to spend in each other’s company. They took turns making dinner and then shared it on the back patio, relaxing in the lawn chairs after making small talk. They went for walks with Daisy and stayed up late watching movies. Not once had he made any typeof gesture toward her that she could consider anything but strictly platonic, and it killed her. She found herself reluctant to go to bed at night and eager to wake up in the morning, cherishing every moment they spent together, and she had no idea whether he felt the same way or not.

He only had to look at her with those golden eyes of his, and she wanted to fall into his arms. She had to keep reminding herself to be patient, regardless of how it tortured her to do so. She wanted him to fall in love with her, not use her as a convenient bedmate while in town. Jake traveled all over the world, and beautiful women likely threw themselves at him every opportunity they received, and she didn’t want to get placed in the same category. Besides, she undoubtedly paled in comparison to the glamorous and experienced women he was accustomed to, the type of woman she never wanted to be. She loved spending time in her garden or taking photographs in the park. She preferred a quiet dinner at home rather than a meal at some trendy restaurant, and she began to think Jake did too. He didn’t talk much about himself, but he appeared happy in her company and relaxed when they were together. She leaned her back against the car while she waited for him, taking a deep breath in an attempt to get her emotions under control.

Jake remained in the car,his dark brows drawn together. He pressed his eyes shut. He had been holding a strand of her hair between his fingers when the urge to kiss her had overcome him. He hadn’t realized he had moved toward her until he heard her whisper his name. Fortunately, he realized what he had done, or more precisely, shouldn’t be doing, before it was too late. Even though the desire to taste those red, heart-shaped lips had crossed his mind a hundred times over the last week, he couldn’t let it happen.

If tasting her lips was the only thing he thought about when he was with her, he might not be worried. His mind went into a direction of its own every time he so much as glanced at her. Looking out the car window, he shook his head in hopes of clearing the arousing images of Kimberly that kept forming in his mind. They had to remain friends. He genuinely felt comfortable with her, and it had been a long time, if ever, that he had felt that way with a woman. He couldn’t take advantage of the feelings she tried to hide from him, and he couldn’t allow any of his own to gain control of his heart. A relationship that was anything more than friends would end in disaster; there was no other outcome for them. He’d already seen this movie and held a starring role in it, and it hadn’t ended well for anyone. He couldn’t do that to Kimberly, and he most definitely couldn’t live with the guilt that came with hurting her in the process.

Ignoring her questioning look when he finally got out of the car, Jake directed her towards the large brick building in front of them with a nod of his head.

“I have to warn you.” He paused to open the large glass door for her. “My grandfather’s state of mind is unpredictable these days. Sometimes he is as ornery as ever, and other days, it’s like he’s depressed. One day last week, he didn’t even wake up while I was here. I don’t know if it’s the medication, or his broken hip and the therapy it has required him to do, but he definitely has good days and bad days. I’m telling you this, so you won’t be disappointed if he is not in the best of moods or even sleeps through our visit.” He started to place his hand on the small of her back and realized that touching her would be a mistake, particularly since the yellow sundress she wore glided over her like a glove and had him itching to touch her. Instead, hedirected her down the white hallway of the rehabilitation center with a swift motion of his hand.

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