“Jake.” She laughs softly and grips my arm. “I’d love to have dinner with your family.”
“You would?” I breathe a sigh of relief.
She cups my jaw with her hand. “You are so sweet when you’re nervous.”
Her lips brush mine, and I relax. She’s not upset. If anything, she seems excited.
“I have something for you,” I tell her as I kiss her softly one more time.
“Oh yeah, and what’s that?”
I pull away from her and reach into the glove box. I pull out the small fabric bag from where I shoved it before she got in the car.
“It’s not much… but I thought you might like it.”
I watch as she loosens the strings on the bag and tips the pendant and leather cord out into her palm.
She flips it over in her hand.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathes. “What is it?”
“It’s sea glass,” I explain as I hold my hand out for it and hold it up to show her. “I found it on the beach a few days ago and I thought you might like it.”
“It’s the colour of the ocean.”
“When I was little, I used to find them for my mum. She always called them ocean treasures and said they were gifts from the sea… when I saw it, I thought of you.”
She looks into my eyes and I see tears welling in the corner of hers.
“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to wear it.”
She snatches it from my hand and slips it over her head, all the while scowling at me. “I love it, you stupid fool.” She wipes at the tears that are threatening to roll down her cheeks. “It’s beautiful, thank you, Jake, I love it.”
“Happy birthday, precious,” I whisper as I kiss her again.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Eden
“I can’t believe you didn’t make this beautiful young woman a cake for her birthday.”
I hold back a giggle at the bewildered expression on Jake’s face.
When he said he was taking me out, I never imagined I’d be meeting his mum and hanging out with his brother again, but I couldn’t have asked for better.
I haven’t had a family dinner in a long time.
“In my defence, Ma, she kept her birthday a secret from me, and you’re eating some of her cake right now.”
She points her cake fork at her son. “But you didn’t make it yourself now, did you? This is a store bought cake.”
“Jesus Christ,” he mutters under his breath, and this time I do giggle.
He pulls his cell phone from his pocket and taps away at the screen. “There,” he announces. “I’ve got it locked into my calendar so I can make sure I bake her a damn cake next year.”
My heart rate accelerates in my chest at the thought of him making plans a year from now – even if it is just to shut his mother up.
He winks at me, and I smile nervously in return.
“So, tell me more about these shoots you two have been doing,” she prompts as she takes another mouthful of cake. Considering she wasn’t happy about it being store bought, she sure seems to be shovelling it in.
Jake’s smile widens as he glances at me.
“The crew came out to my place and we did two more shoots on the beach,” he tells her.
I feel myself blush. I don’t know if couples shots were really the way the shoot was intended to go, but that’s sure how it ended up. My blush only deepens when I think about what we got up to on that same beach after the photographers left.
“So, do you have any more lined up?” she asks.
I shake my head. “They said they had more than enough material.” I shrug, and squeeze Jake’s leg under the table knowingly.
“I’m just that good.” He puffs out his chest, and I roll my eyes.
Zayne laughs, slapping his hand over his mouth to try and hide it, and I grin at him.
“He’s really not that good,” I say in a stage whisper.
He laughs again. “I bet they made you kiss and hold hands.”
He shudders at the mere thought of all that disgustingness.
Jake shakes his head in amusement and lightly punches Zayne’s arm. “They sure did. I’m covered in girl cooties, bro.”
“Ewwwww.” Zayne grimaces. “That’s gross.”
“I’m gross?” I ask him with raised brows, fake outrage thick in my tone.
He winces. “Sorry, Eden, it’s not your fault you’re a girl.”
We all laugh.
Jake leans in, his mouth brushing my ear. “Just for the record, I really like your particular cooties. And I especially like the ones that live in your p—”
I squeeze his leg to stop him from talking and he chuckles.
I blush as he straightens up, his mother and brother none the wiser to his filthy mouth.
“Seriously though, Ma, you should see Eden’s pictures, she’s made for it.”
She smiles sweetly at me as I blush again. “Now that I believe.”
She’s such a lovely woman, I don’t know how she managed to raise such a full-of-himself, punk-ass son, but deep down I see a lot of her in him.
He’s sweet, compassionate and protective underneath all that bravado.
It’s just a matter of stripping his ego back, one layer at a time.
“Jake and Eden sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Zayne bellows before Jake slaps a hand across his mouth.
“fwisrt cowmes lowve,” he murmurs, trying to sing through his brothers hold.
“That’s it, kid, you’re out of here,” Jake announces as he scoops Zayne up and tosses him easily over his shoulder.
I giggle as he walks him out of the room, stopping only to wink at me before disappearing.
“Kids.” She shrugs with a laugh. “You gotta love ‘em.”
I giggle. “I think he’s pretty great.”
She looks at me curiously, her expression probing but soft – it’s a real ‘I’m a mum and we need to have a boy chat’ face. “Are we still talking about Zayne?”
She doesn’t look old enough to be Jake’s mother, so she must have had him young.
I blush and dip my head.
“That’s what I thought.” She smiles. “He’s a good boy when he’s not strutting around like a peacock.”
I giggle. She knows her son well.
“Have you known each other long?”
I don’t really know how to answer that. I can’t exactly tell her that we’ve been hurling insults at each other for the better part of the last two years.
“My brother is on the tour too,” I say by way of explanation.
“Ah.” She smiles knowingly. “Which one is he?”
“Zeke Brady?” I offer.
Her eyes widen. “Well now… you have found yourself in quite the pickle then, haven’t you?”
I giggle nervously. “I’m not sure I know what you mean…”
She raises one of her dark brows at me. “You don’t fool me, sweetie, I know all about those boys and their rules and their nonsense. I’ve been a surf mum a long time now, even if he thinks he’s all grown up these days.”
Busted.
“My brother doesn’t know anything about me and Jake,” I admit.
I don’t know how I’ve found myself in this position, having a D and M with the guy I’m sleeping with’s mother, but here I freakin’ am. It’s as though I’m a magnet for awkward conversations these days.
“I might not have had a date in years, and this might be terrible advice, but you and Jake seem happy – if you think your brother is going to ruin that for you, then you shouldn’t feel like you have to tell him – not until you’re sure there’s really something there to be ruined. Do you know what I mean?”
I think that makes sense. I don’t even know if Jake is serious about me, or if he’ll want anything to do with me once we go back to reality.
I need to figure that out before I worry about telling Zeke anything.
“See how it goes for a while. Worry about the rest later, honey,�
�� she encourages.
“Thanks.” I smile at her.
“But just so you know, I haven’t seen my Jacob look so happy in a long time.” She giggles. “Well, I mean, he’s always happy – mostly with himself,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “But he’s never been this happy with someone.”
I don’t know what to say to that.
“Boy’s his own harshest critic and biggest fan. Never seen anything like it,” she muses.
Jake chooses that moment to come strolling back into the room.
“I told the little turd to hit the showers.” He chuckles before looking between his mother and me. “Uh oh. Why do I get the feeling you’re about two seconds away from bringing out the baby albums?”
“Ooooh, can we please?” I beg.
Jake says, “No!” at the same moment his mother says, “Of course we can.”
I giggle.
“This is why I don’t bring girls here, Ma,” Jake says with a grin and a shake of his head. “You have absolutely no ability to keep my shit personal.”
She waves her hand at him dismissively and I watch his eyes soften as he looks at her.
He loves his mum. It’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Alright, birthday girl, it’s time to go before she gets the chance to ruin my reputation.”
“Oh.” I pout. “But I was really looking forward to seeing embarrassing pictures of you,” I tease as I get to my feet.
“Next time, I promise.” He chuckles as he drags me into his side and wraps his arm around my middle.
I don’t know if I’m being hugged or held hostage.
“Fine.” I pout again like the diva I am, but on the inside, I’ve got butterflies about him promising that he’ll bring me back here.
He’s nothing I expected, and everything I expected at the same time.
I don’t know what we’re going to do in four days’ time when everyone meets at the next stop on the tour.
This desire he has isn’t waning, neither is mine, not in the least.
I’m not sure I can go back to the way things were, and what’s more, I’m not sure I want to. But this – whatever this is, is undoubtedly about to get a hell of a lot more complicated.
***
I’m standing in the armpit-deep water, and Jake is floating lazily on his back a few metres away.
I’m doing it.
I’m really fucking doing it.
It took me another couple of days, but now that I’m out here, I’m not so scared anymore.
He has somehow managed to erase my fears almost entirely.
I look out at the horizon and take a deep breath, clutching the sea glass pendant he made for me before gently pushing my arms under the water, diving, followed by my head and body.
I keep my eyes squeezed shut and pop back up quickly.
“Ha!” I yell with a grin as I take a breath of fresh air.
It’s exhilarating. I can see why Zeke loves it so much out here. I feel I’m giving my fear of the ocean the middle finger – as though I’m telling it a giant fuck you. It may have taken my parents, but it’s not getting me.
I look over to where Jake was floating, expecting him to still be there, but he’s not. He’s right next to me, and the look on his face is one of pure admiration.
“You went under.”
I nod at him excitedly.
I kind of feel like a little kid at their first swimming lesson, but I don’t care. This is big for me – huge even – and I owe it all to him.
I lunge for him, throwing my drenched body against his.
He catches me effortlessly and holds me tight.
“I would never have ever been able to do that without you,” I tell him as he lowers us into deeper water.
“It’s all you, precious, trust me.”
“I do trust you, that’s the reason I’m in the water right now, Jake.”
He dips his head, my praise clearly making him feel uncomfortable.
“Don’t go turning all modest on me now, golden boy,” I tease.
“Me, modest?” He smirks.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “I think your fearlessness has rubbed off on me,” I say with a content sigh.
“What makes you think I’m fearless?” he asks, his eyes searching mine as he holds me close.
“Zayne seems to think you’re not scared of anything, and I have to agree. I’ve seen the way you do life, Jake – nothing holds you back… you’re not afraid of a single thing.”
“I’m afraid of losing you,” he whispers, his tone vulnerable.
My heart races and my insides turn to mush. I’m this strong, daring man’s weakness, and the idea of that does crazy things to my heart.
It also answers my questions – this is real for him too.
“I don’t want to go back, precious.”
I know what he means.
Tomorrow we get on a plane and leave this little piece of paradise behind.
We’ll have eyes on us from every angle when we get to the final stop on the tour – the one where I have no doubt that Jake will be crowned the winner of the world title.
I don’t know what the fuck we’re going to do.
We’ve barely talked about it; instead I think we’re both trying to pretend it’s not happening.
But time is nearly up; we can’t put this off any longer.
“We’ll think of something,” I say and it comes out like a promise. “If you want to?”
I don’t even know what we are – if we’re anything at all. This whole thing has become so complex. This isn’t a simple boy meets girl.
“You’re mine, Eden. That’s the only thing I’m sure of.”
My heart races. Belonging to someone never felt so good.
“What do you want to do about Zeke?” he asks quietly.
I place a kiss on his cheek. “For now, I think we should keep this between us, and we’ll worry about Zeke when we’re ready. I might decide you’re a cocky prick once we get back to the real world.” I giggle.
I feel his fingers stroking my skin under the water. “Oh, precious, there’s no doubt about it.” He smirks that arrogant smirk that I love to hate and then chuckles.
I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him in close. I can feel tears prickling in the corners of my eyes.
I don’t want to lose him now that I know what it’s like to have him.
“We’ll figure it out, Eden. I promise,” he says as he holds me tight.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Jake
I’ve never hated being on location so god damn much. I’ve never hated being on a beach with waves crashing at my feet ever, actually… but this sucks a bag of friggin’ dicks.
I can’t touch her.
I can’t kiss her.
I can barely even fucking look at her without drawing unwanted attention.
The competition starts tomorrow, and I already can’t wait for it to be over.
This is quite possibly the highlighting moment of my career, and I’m not even bothered right now.
I’m completely screwed.
I’ve fallen in love with a bratty, precious little princess and I’m over the god damn moon about it.
I fucking love her and her sexy god damn ass.
She’s nothing that I thought I wanted in a woman and that only makes it more appealing, forbidden fruit and all that shit, I guess.
I am grateful for one thing at least – word on the beach is that River hooked up with Lukah while they were away, and that means everyone is gossiping about that, and not the fact that me and Eden stayed behind together.
Alexi is bound to rough the poor little bastard up when he finds out, and he will find out – I don’t know how he hasn’t heard already – so maybe Alexi will be too preoccupied taking care of his own sister to worry about helping Zeke kick my ass.
That’s the least of my concerns right now anyway.
My main problem – a really fucking big problem if you a
sk me – is finding a minute to get my hands on my girl.
A few flirty smiles and one stolen kiss are not cutting the mustard.
We’re having a bonfire on the beach later on to celebrate this being the final leg, and if I don’t get an opportunity to steal her away tonight then I never will.
“You’re staring again,” Max states as he bumps his shoulder into mine.
“What about it?” I smirk. “I like the view.”
He eyes me up and down before his gaze follows mine all the way to Eden. “I heard you and her stayed back over break… alone.”
I chuckle but say nothing. Eden has made it clear she wants to keep this under wraps for now at least, and I don’t want to be the asshole that breaks her trust.
“When you’re nursing a broken nose, I’ll be sure to say ‘I told you so’.” He grins at me, and I punch his arm.
“We had to shoot some pictures and shit… it was work.”
“I bet you did a lot of work, bro.” he calls to me with a wink as he walks away backwards.
I shake my head in denial, but the grin across my face is probably telling an entirely different story.
Max is a good dude, I’d be dead by now if it was his sister I was messing around with, but he’s more forgiving with someone else’s it would appear.
I look back to Eden who offers me a smirk that’s sexier than sin, and fuck it, I’ll be getting close to her tonight one way or another – big brother be damned.
***
“You’re not paying attention in the slightest, are you?” Brad claps his hands to try and catch my eye.
“Not particularly,” I drawl as I watch Eden and her friends splashing around in the shallow water. Eden is only in up to her ankles, and I’m trying to figure out why she doesn’t go deeper – I know she’s brave enough now.
“Jesus Christ, Jake,” he growls. “Can you at least look at me when I’m talking to you?”
I reluctantly pull my eyes from the knockout in the fire-engine-red bikini.
“What’s up?”
Mr. May: A Forbidden Love Romance (Calendar Boys Book 5) Page 10
