Conflict of Interests

by Denean Dawson

  Danielle stopped in her tracks and looked at Jack. He wasn’t playing around when he spoke about having children with her, he had been thinking about it a lot lately, and he felt like they were ready. He had never thought about having a family before Danielle had entered his life, but every time he looked at her, he could imagine a baby in her arms, his baby.

  He loved Jonathan, and spending time with his nephew had really opened his eyes to the idea of having a child of his own. He liked being the cool uncle, but he felt like he was ready to become the cool dad. He wanted to mess around and play games with his own son or daughter, and he wanted that soon. First though, he wanted to be married. Jack had been ready to propose to Danielle just a few months into their relationship; he had only held back because he did not want to scare her away. He was confident that Danielle loved him, but knew his feelings were more intense.

  “You’re talking crazy. We’ve only been together for a year; we’re not even married! Don’t you think it’s too soon to be talking about children?” Danielle asked nervously.

  Jack’s heart sank at her reaction. Things had been going so well between them lately, and he had thought that Danielle might be warming up to the idea of bringing their relationship to another level. He considered walking back on his statement, but he wanted to be honest so he said, “No, I don’t think it’s too soon. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would meet someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but then you came around just at the right time. I don’t think I’ll ever see life the same as I did back when I was playing the field. I want my future to start and end with you,” Jack said as he took the plates Danielle was holding and placed them gently on the kitchen counter.

  It took a lot for him to admit the extent of his feelings out loud. Jack was so used to pushing those thoughts out of his mind. He had spent so many years jumping from one woman to the next, never getting too close to anyone. Because of Danielle, Jack had made enormous strides in a very short time. Now, he was ready to take the next step, possibly the biggest one he had ever taken in his life. After a conversation with his brother a few weeks ago, Jack had gone out and bought an engagement ring. He was not planning to propose quite yet, Danielle clearly needed more time, but he wanted to be ready for when the right moment arrived.

  “Look Jack, I love you too, but having children is huge,” Danielle said.

  Jack understood his girlfriend’s hesitation. He knew very well that deciding to have a child was the most important decision a couple could make. He just wanted to know that, when the time was right, Danielle would be open to the idea of starting a family.

  “I’m not saying I want to have children right this second. All I’m saying is that I want to have children someday, and that I want to have them with you,” he clarified.

  “I want to have children with you too, I’ve told you that before. I’m just not ready to have them right away. I want to have more time with just the two of us,” Danielle said.

  “Well, I’m glad we’re both on the same page—” he started.

  Walking toward Jack and placing her hand on his groin Danielle added, “With a kid around, we wouldn’t be able to do this whenever we wanted.” She looked up at Jack with a hungry look in her eyes.

  Jack said, “Do what exactly?" and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him.

  Not saying anything, but smiling devilishly, Danielle began tearing off his clothes. Soon, she was writhing on top of him, and Jack did not mind at all that he was lying on the cold tile floor of the kitchen. All he could feel was the intense pleasure of the gorgeous woman moving above him, the soft skin of her breasts beneath his large hands, the erotic sound of the moans escaping her throat.

  Later, they lay next to each other on the floor, completely spent. Their clothes were strewn all around the kitchen, which was messier than it had been before they had tried, and failed, to wash dishes. Jack rolled onto one elbow to face Danielle. She smiled gently, then moved closer to snuggle against him. The two of them held each other for a moment before Danielle began to shiver.

  Jack groaned and moved to stand, “I could hold you forever, but maybe not here on the cold floor.”

  “Oh, you didn’t like that?” she giggled, raising one eyebrow at him.

  “On the contrary, I liked that very much.” Jake extended his hand to pull Danielle to her feet. When she stood facing him, gloriously naked, he underlined his point by scanning her body with an appreciative look. She spun in a slow circle, allowing him a full view of her curves. “This house will never be clean if you keep doing that, put some clothes on, woman!”

  “Fine, if you say so,” she pouted theatrically.

  Once the house was finally clean, Jack and Danielle sat down together on the couch and relaxed. The new kitchen at her bar was almost finished, and he wanted to know how things were coming along.

  “How’s the renovation going?” Jack asked.

  “Almost done! I hired a few support staff for the kitchen and some servers today so we’ll be ready for the grand re-opening!” she replied excitedly. “Caroline came to see it today and said she would die to cook in the space, and that woman knows her way around a kitchen, so I took that as a good sign.”

  “That’s great! Oh, and speaking of Caroline...any idea how things are between her and Jake?” From his brother’s perspective, everything was getting back on track, but Jack knew that sometimes women hide their true feelings.

  “Well, I think she really has forgiven him. She says she loves him, of course, he just has some more work to do to regain her trust,” Danielle replied as she shifted her body to face him.

  Jack knew his brother would never forgive himself for the hurt he had caused, and that he was trying his hardest to make up for it. It would take time for their relationship to heal completely, but Jake wasn’t going to give up on Caroline.

  “Good, good. I just want them to be happy, you know?”

  “Me too, but I’m glad there’s no drama like that with us,” Danielle replied earnestly.

  “Jake told me that he wants to marry her and soon,” Jack blurted.

  “Wow, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. They’re still working through so much stuff,” Danielle replied.

  “I know, I mentioned that, but he seemed pretty sure of himself.”

  “Well, maybe it would be good for them. Who knows? As long as they’re happy, right?”

  Jack loved that Danielle cared about his family as much as he did. He wanted more than anything to ask her to be an official part of the Jamyson clan, but, after the conversation they’d had earlier that evening, he knew it was not the right time yet. “At least I’m not rushing you into anything.”

  “Exactly. One of the reasons I love you is that you respect me enough to move at my pace. I’m really happy with how things are right now, let’s just enjoy each other. We have all the time in the world so there’s no reason to rush into getting married,” Danielle said as she moved closer to Jack, cuddling up to him.

  “I’ll marry you whenever you’re ready, babe. Until then I just want to be with you,” Jack replied. Then he leaned down and kissed her. He could feel the smile on Danielle’s lips as she kissed him back, so he knew he had said the right thing.

  After finally cleaning up the kitchen, the rest of the evening the couple sat on the couch and just talked. It was something they did often, and Jack loved it because Danielle’s face lit up whenever they landed on a subject she was passionate about. Jack had never felt so close to anyone before, not even his brother. Danielle was not just his lover, but his best friend.

  Chapter Fifteen, Here’s to Us

  Jake had never been happier. He had the woman of his dreams, a son who made him proud every single day, and a business that was flourishing. Things had gone off the rails when Melissa had shown up, but his brother had been there to set him straight. He thought it was a little ironic that a man who had been a playboy for most of his life
had helped Jake repair his relationship, but he was grateful his brother had been there for him.

  “Are you ready for this?” Jack asked as he helped Jake lug decorations into his backyard.

  “Yes, I’m ready.” He was grateful that his brother had been so eager to help him pull off a grand proposal. Jake’s relationship with Carloline was stronger than ever after the fiasco with Melissa, but he wanted to leave no doubt in her mind that he was completely committed to her. She was the love of his life, and he wanted to spend the rest of his days with her.

  Everything for that day had been set up perfectly. Danielle had taken Caroline out for lunch while the men set the scene. Jake wanted to make a grand gesture, but he knew Caroline hated large crowds, which was why he had decided to invite just a few people. He wanted to propose to Caroline in a place where they shared a lot of good memories.

  He stepped back and looked at the scene they had created. He had bought flowers, lanterns, and fairy lights. Every tree was dressed with the delicate strings of lights, and the lanterns were hung from branches above them. The flowers were arranged in a pathway from the back door to the far end of the yard where Jake would be standing holding a single sunflower, her favorite.

  “Well, I think that’s everything,” said Jack as he hung the last lantern. “Now we just have to wait for the bride-to-be to show up!”

  The men stepped back and looked around the yard. It was more than Jake had expected, but he was completely happy with it. He could only hope that Caroline would be happy with it too. He had tried to create a beautiful atmosphere so she would remember the moment forever. His only fear was that she would think it was too much.

  “Danielle just messaged me; she says they’re going to head back soon. Are you ready for them to come back?” Jack asked.

  “Yes, I’m ready. Everything is ready,” Jake replied nodding his head at the artfully decorated yard.

  “You know, if we ever get sick of accounting, I think we might have a future in party planning,” Jack said after surveying their handywork.

  Jake’s heart started to pound. He was about to ask the love of his life to marry him; he had not been nearly as nervous when he proposed to Elizabeth. He had only done it because she had gotten pregnant, and he’d thought at the time it was the right thing to do. This time it was forever. Caroline had stuck by him through a lot of ups and downs, and he wanted her to stick by him for the rest of his life.

  They headed back into the house where Jack presented Jake with a beer, which he took a huge drink of. He was vibrating with excitement, and the bottle shook in his hand. He took another large gulp to calm himself. It was hard to believe the moment had finally come.

  Before Caroline had come into his life, Jake had been in a dark place. He had thrown himself into his work, neglecting his son and himself. After Elizabeth, he had lost sight of everything that brought him joy. He had begun to believe that he didn’t deserve to be happy. Caroline had brought Jake back to himself, more than that, she had turned him into a better man. He wasn’t perfect, and neither was Caroline; each of them had as many flaws as they did good qualities. But they didn’t need to be perfect because they were perfect for each other. Jack’s voice pulled Jake out of his thoughts.

  “I hear the car pulling up, get your ass outside,” he said and started to push his brother out into the backyard.

  The plan was that Danielle would get Caroline inside the house where Jack would meet her with a bunch of flowers before showing her outside. Everything was set in motion once the women walked through the front door. Jake waited nervously outside. Denise and Jonathan were still waiting in the back yard, and Denise was trying to keep the boy quiet so he wouldn’t give away the surprise. While he waited, Jake went over what he wanted to say in his mind, his heartbeat erratic and his palms beginning to sweat.

  Jake could hear voices getting closer and closer to the backyard, Caroline constantly asking what was going on but not getting a reply. As she stepped out onto the patio and took everything in, time stood still for Jake. His heart started to beat normally and his breathing calmed to a steady rhythm. In that moment, he felt more certain about what he was about to do than anything else in his life.

  Jack gently pushed Caroline further into the backyard because she had become frozen to the spot. Jake walked forward and took Caroline’s hand, pulling her back to the end of the flower pathway. He handed her the sunflower, which she accepted with a trembling hand.

  “Jake, what is all this?” Caroline whispered.

  “Caroline, I love you so completely that it hardly seems right to wait any longer. I know that our relationship hasn’t been perfect, but I don’t want it to be perfect. You are everything I want, everything I need, and I want to grow with you, to learn from you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to wake up next to you every single day, I want to come home to you every single night, and I want to add another child to our family. You are my beginning, my ending, and my everything.” Jake knelt down on one knee and lifted the ring he had been clenching in his palm. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  The words had rushed out of his mouth quicker than he had expected, but once they were out there, hanging in the air between them, he knew there was no going back. Either Caroline would say yes, and they would spend the rest of their lives together, or he had read everything wrong and it had been too soon after all.

  Without saying anything Caroline just nodded her head frantically as she held out her hand. Finally, she stammered, “Yes,” then, more loudly, “Yes!”

  Jake slipped the ring onto her finger, jumping up quickly so he could wrap his arms around her waist and lift her into the air, spinning her around. Cheering erupted from everyone watching, and Jonathan ran up to wrap his small arms around their legs.

  “I’ve never been happier than I am right now,” Jake whispered into Caroline’s ear as he reached down to ruffle his son’s hair.

  “I love you so much, Jake. I can’t wait for the rest of our lives together,” Caroline said as she pulled Jake into her so she could kiss him.

  Jake returned her kiss passionately, becoming lost in the moment. Then Jonathan screamed, “Eww, you’re kissing right on top of me!” and detached himself from their legs. Everyone burst out laughing, and Jake kissed his fiancée once more before slipping an arm around her waist and leading her across the yard to join the others.

  “I think we all need a celebratory drink,” Jack announced emerging from the house with a bottle of champagne and a tray of glasses. “Would the future groom like to do the honors?”

  Jake popped the cork and poured the fizzing liquid into the glasses.

  “To the happy couple,” Danielle said as she raised her glass.

  “To love,” Jack joined in.

  Jake and Caroline each took a glass and toasted to themselves, unable to stop smiling at each other. The day had been everything he had hoped it would be and so much more. For a moment Jake just watched everyone around him talking excitedly.

  “So, aren’t you happy I brought Caroline into your life?” Denise asked when Jonathan had pulled Caroline’s attention to him.

  “Happier than you’ll ever know,” Jake replied with a huge smile on his face.

  “You’re lucky I think you’re a great guy and I allowed this to happen. I wouldn’t let my niece marry just anyone, you know,” Denise said jokingly.

  “I honestly believe you when you say that. You’re not the easiest to impress,” Jake teased, bumping his old friend’s shoulder lightly.

  Jake knew that he had gotten everything right. Every step of his life, even the ones that had seemed wrong at the time, had led him to Caroline, to this moment. There had been days where everything had seemed so pointless, when he had felt so useless, but he would never feel like that again. With Caroline by his side, and his family around him, Jake couldn’t imagine a better life.

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  Conflicte
d Affection by Denean Dawson

  About the Author

  Do you like to escape?

  From what, you ask? How about life, kids, work, the never ending to do list, or whatever is getting in the way of relaxing today?! Who doesn't love that hour or two or three (right!) where your special reading spot beckons to you to settle in with your favorite comfy outfit and disappear into a digital or paper world that takes you away from it all?

  If so, welcome to the club!

  If you like fun, sexy stories with a happily ever after, you've come to the right place.

  Travel is Denean's passion and inspiration. Domestic travel, international travel, long weekends, months at a time, lots of luggage, or a single backpack. The world is filled with unique people, incredible landscapes, and a mountain of opportunities to experience something new. It's the perfect canvas for creating characters, storylines, and settings, or envisioning the perfect ones, to share with her readers.

  So, come escape with her!

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