Page 35 of Long Story Short

‘Listen, I’ll talk to Hayley when we get back. Whatever happens for the rest of the conference, it’s on me, not you, okay?’ Jake said fiercely. ‘There should be no consequences for you. I promise, Freya.’

I could tell how much he cared. I had no idea if Hayley would listen to him, though. The six months I had worked with her had made me wonder if she listened to anyone but herself.

‘I appreciate that.’ I would have preferred the truth from him but he clearly wasn’t ready. He was trying to make things right. I had to give him that.

Jake looked across at me. My hair blew in the breeze and he touched a strand with his fingertips. I looked back at him.

‘I’d love to kiss you again.’

23

My breath hitched. I wanted to kiss him again even though I could list all the reasons why we shouldn’t. There was also a list of reasons why I wanted to, though. Out on the Bridge on a New York summer’s day, looking into a handsome man’s eyes, I just went with the moment. My body was already leaning towards him like it couldn’t help itself. So, I smiled. ‘I’d love that too.’

He closed the distance between us, his fingers sliding properly into my hair, catching my lips with his like they were something precious. I found myself melting into him as he pulled me closer, his other hand on the small of my back. I hooked mine around his neck as we lost ourselves in the kiss despite the fact people were walking past us on the bridge. Everything faded into the background once again as our lips explored one another.

When his tongue touched mine, I murmured contentedly and Jake’s hand on my hair slid down to cup my chin.

Our kiss deepened and I tried to get even closer to him. His facial hair brushed against my skin again. His hold on me grew tighter like he was claiming me somehow. And I was happy to let him. Fire burned in my lips from his warm, passionate touch. I wondered if his kiss felt this good, just how good other touches from him might feel.

Then Jake broke away from my lips. ‘Freya,’ he said in a gruff voice that sent pleasure travelling down my body. His eyes were dark as he looked at me, his breath as ragged as my own. He shook his head. ‘You’re making me forget where I am.’

I smiled. ‘Me too,’ I agreed, also breathless.

He leaned in again and touched my lips gently with his. ‘Should we keep walking?’

‘I suppose we should,’ I said, thinking that I’d prefer to be alone with him but as we were on the very public Brooklyn Bridge, we should probably pull ourselves together. But God, kissing Jake was addictive.

Jake took my hand in his and we left the railing to carry on strolling across the bridge. The clear day allowed us to see the Manhattan skyline perfectly. We were silent as we walked, taking in the view, our hands entwined like we’d always walked that way.

I snuck a look at his profile. He was so handsome; it was crazy to think I had kissed this man. When he caught me looking, he glanced my way and gave me a smouldering smile like maybe he also couldn’t believe his luck. I had always wondered what it was like to kiss someone who gave you butterflies and who you craved more from with each touch of their lips. I hadn’t had that before.

As I had told Liv, and Jake had overheard, my love life had never quite lived up to my hopes. I had read romance books, like Jake’s love stories, wondering why I always felt like something was missing when I was with a man. I didn’t want to get carried away thinking that Jake might finally be different, but kissing him was certainly a revelation compared to previous kisses in my life. My lips still tingled from his touch and my body was still warm from being pressed against his. My mind was alive with thoughts of what might happen next.

‘I wish I knew what you were thinking,’ Jake suddenly said. He was looking across at me. ‘You are usually so chatty, so easy to read, so open with me but that look on your face right now… I want to decipher it so badly.’

My skin flushed at the thought of him knowing how I was feeling. ‘I never know what you’re thinking, though…’ I replied with a raised eyebrow. I felt like I had misunderstood Jake from the first moment we met.

‘You have to know that all I’m thinking is, “that was an incredible kiss and I can’t wait for more”.’

I couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across my face.

‘And how gorgeous you look right now,’ Jake added. He squeezed my hand wrapped in his.

‘Thank you,’ I said, flustered by the way he was looking at me. I was happy that he wanted more kisses just like I did. But it felt crazy when I was only now starting to get to know the real him. And I worried that he would never show me that man completely.

‘You look concerned,’ Jake suddenly said, studying my expression. ‘Are you worried about Hayley?’

‘Yes, and this,’ I said, gesturing to our hands. ‘Liv reminding us that you’re basically my client while we’re out here, and Davis Mulberry seemed to sense something…’

‘And tried warning you off me?’ Jake asked astutely.

‘He did,’ I admitted.

‘You told me that we should ignore him,’ Jake pointed out. ‘He’s trying to push our buttons. He enjoys winding people up. He brings out the worst in me, I can admit that. Especially when I saw him trying to flirt with you during the panel, and asking you out.’

I glanced across at me. ‘You didn’t like that?’

‘Definitely not,’ he replied quickly. ‘And not just because I wanted to be doing that myself, but he really isn’t someone you want to get involved with.’

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