by Karla Doyle
“And if I do, you’ll accept my decision to—” God, she hated this. “Break up?”
“Probably not, but try me. You’ve got nothing to lose except us, and that’s allegedly what you want, so let’s hear it. Do your best to scare me off.”
“Okay.” Sighing, she slumped onto the couch. “My parents have never been particularly loving or demonstrative. They’re pretentious, judgmental, and cold enough to give Jack Frost a chill. We’ve never been close, and we grew further apart when I got pregnant during university and chose to drop out and keep my baby, instead of finishing my degree and ‘making something of myself.’” But, they’re the only grandparents Macy has, and they do love her, in their emotionally remote, non-gushy way.”
“I don’t know how you turned out so amazing, but I’m glad you did.”
She didn’t deserve his compassionate tone. Or his appreciation. Not when she was trying to eject him from her life. Something she needed to forge ahead and get over with, before she succumbed to his Jake-ness.
“Despite their disappointment in me, they do love Macy. They’re the best versions of themselves with her, thank goodness. They visit a couple times a year and talk to her every Sunday. I tried dodging them last Sunday, but after their third message, I called them back.”
“From the hospital.”
“Yes. In hindsight, I should have lied to them.”
“But you’re not a liar.”
“Character flaw.”
He chuckled at her self-mockery. “The opposite,” he said, smiling affectionately.
“Based on what happened next, I have to disagree. To make a long, miserable story short, they did something that could change the future for me and Macy, and for me and you.”
“If they’re barely a part of your life, how could anything they do have much effect?”
“They called Macy’s dad,” she whispered, shifting her gaze to the stairwell. “They told him she was very sick and that he needed to come see her.”
Jake stiffened, his jaw ticking briefly before his neutral expression—his cop face—slid into place. “I know he skipped out on you guys when she was a baby, and I understand why you resent him, I really do, but wouldn’t it be a good thing if he wanted to be part of her life now?”
“If that’s what he actually wanted, maybe I’d feel that way. Maybe. Eventually. Since I haven’t heard a peep from him in almost six years, it’s not what he wants.”
“I take it he didn’t show up at the hospital.”
“No. Thank God.”
Jake nodded. “Is he planning to see her now that she’s home?”
“I honestly don’t know. I didn’t contact him and I haven’t heard from him. But if he decides to darken my doorstep, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Only that it’ll be a nightmare, for so many reasons. And, if my parents twisted the story to make Macy’s situation seem dire, which it sounds as if they did, anything is possible.”
His lips formed a straight line. “I don’t get it. Why would they push to have the guy who abandoned their only grandchild, and their daughter, re-enter their lives?”
“Because, ‘a child deserves two parents, Candace,’” she said, mimicking her mother’s righteous tone. “All of a sudden, apparently.”
“Then let’s give them what they want. Let’s show them Macy already has two parent figures she can count on.”
She stared at Jake’s calm, collected face while processing what he’d said. Trying to, anyway. Even if he’d meant the words the way she’d interpreted them, she couldn’t accept.
“Your offer is the sweetest, most generous thing in the world, but the answer is no. If Ken comes back into our lives, things could get unpleasant or downright horrible.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. I’ve never had to deal with anything unpleasant or horrible before.” His teasing squashed her stress as if it were a bug. A really stupid, slow-moving bug.
She laughed for the first time in days, sinking into Jake’s embrace when he hauled her into his arms and onto his lap. Placing her palm over his heart, she sighed at its strong, steady rhythm.
“Anything else on your mind?” he asked, stroking her hair. “Or was that it?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“Just want to make sure you have all your arguments on the table before I wipe it clean.”
She pulled back enough to meet his gaze. “That’s my point. You shouldn’t have to clean up my messy life.”
“Any kind of cleaning is easier when extra hands are involved. You have mine, if you want them.”
“I do.” The words rolled off her tongue far too comfortably. Her heart was officially on the slab.
“See how easy that was?” He grinned when her bottom lip dropped. “Okay, so ‘easy’ might be pushing it.”
“You think?”
“I think great teamwork happens with practice, so you should agree to some practice with me.”
“I don’t think practice is currently a realistic idea, with Macy wide awake until who-knows-when and you working the night shift.”
Jake’s eyebrows rose. “That’s not the kind of practice I meant.”
“It wasn’t?”
“Nope. But I like that your mind went there.” He grinned as she swatted at him. “Seriously, hold those thoughts. Then text them to me later, while I’m at work.”
“Won’t that be a distraction?”
“Definitely.” He gave her a quick kiss, casting a glance at the stairwell before and after. “Now that I have that to look forward to, let’s talk about the other kind of teamwork practice.”
“Okay…”
“Remember that time we had the blow-out argument about money, then agreed not to let money be an issue between us, and we ended up having a great day?”
“Yes,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Let’s skip the fight and go straight to the everything-worked-out part. I want to help with money, since you took a week off to be with Macy.”
“No.” She scooted off his lap and the couch, pacing the living room as her mind raced. “Absolutely not.”
“Hey.” He caught her hand in one of her laps past the couch. “It’s no big deal. Just a few bucks to help fill in the gap this one time. Hell, you can even pay me back once you get back to work, if you feel like you need to.”
Thinking their breakup was imminent, she hadn’t come up with a plan to tell him her decision about Lucky’s. Now would be logical. It just didn’t feel like the right time.
“I’m not taking your money ever again. Not here or anywhere.” Hint dropped.
“Candace—”
“No.” She shook her head. “I have everything covered. I need you to accept my answer on this and skip to the everything-worked-out part.”
The wheels were turning behind his intent eyes. Probably doing that thing where he finds a workaround to do what he wanted without breaking his word.
“Jake, please.”
Straight-faced, he sighed. “Okay. But the offer stands.”
“And I appreciate it.” Stepping into the space between his knees, she stroked his face and threaded her fingers through his hair, smiling when he closed his eyes and sighed from relaxation instead of defeat. “There is something you can do for me.”
His eyes popped open. “Name it.”
“Tell me the itinerary for our date on Saturday.”
“You still want to go?” Genuine excitement animated his features when she nodded. “I wasn’t sure you would, because of Macy. I figured we’d stay in and watch a movie, keep it lowkey.”
“Macy is better and your sister will be here with her. I want to go out and be fancy-dancy with you.”
He rose and scooped her off her feet, hugging her as if she’d told him they won the lottery.
Only it was her that’d won the lottery. Her and Macy. She bit her lip to prevent spilling the beans now. Saturday night would be the perfect time to tell him her decision about Lucky’s. A magical nig
ht to mark the beginning of the next chapter of her life, and theirs.
Chapter 14
Candace
“You look pretty, Mommy. Like a princess.”
Candace bent at the waist to kiss Macy’s sweet little face. “Thank you, baby girl.”
“She’s right, you look absolutely stunning,” Megan said, turning from her lookout position at the front window. “That gown fits as if it were made for you. Did you have it altered?”
Candace shook her head. “Just meant to be, I guess.” The dress and her relationship with its giver. “Though maybe I should have had the hemline changed.” She swooshed the trailing red fabric to one side. “I hope nobody steps on it.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much. I doubt Jake will let anybody get that close to you.” Megan’s head jerked back to the window. “Speaking of…”
“He’s here?”
Megan nodded. “Walking up the sidewalk now. I’ll get the door.”
“It’s okay, I can get it.”
Hand raised with the authority afforded a kindergarten educator, Megan halted Candace in her stiletto-heeled tracks. “Stay right where you are. A princess does not answer the door.”
“I’m not a princess.”
“I think my brother will wholeheartedly disagree with that,” she said, striding toward the door with barefooted, stretchy-pants ease. “Especially when he sees you in that dress.”
Less than a minute passed before masculine footfalls sounded in the front hall.
“Awe, you brought me flowers.” Megan’s teasing tone dissolved into a gasp. “Are you kidding? These are for me? Okay, you’re my favorite brother.”
“I’m your only brother.”
“And still my favorite. Now, come in and behold the beauty.”
Listening to the exchange between Jake and Megan slowed Candace’s heart rate to something closer to normal. The moment Jake stepped into the living room, it shot right back up. Only Macy’s presence prevented Candace from plastering herself to the front of him.
His black suit fit to a T, perfectly setting off a crisp, white shirt and candy-apple-red tie. His fresh haircut couldn’t have looked better on a GQ cover model. Chiseled jaw, twinkling blue eyes, and a smile that made every inch of her come alive. He was the most handsome, sexy man she had ever seen.
Not so long ago, she’d barely taken notice of men, good-looking or otherwise. Jake had changed that. Now he was hers to admire. Something she planned to do all night long.
“There isn’t a word good enough to describe how beautiful you are.” He moved in closer and took her hands, sending sparks up her arms with a simple touch. “Sorry it took me so long to say that. You rendered me speechless.”
“I didn’t think that was possible,” she said, playing it safe by teasing.
“I didn’t think a lot of things were possible until you.” No teasing in his tone. Nor in his eyes, as he held her gaze so deeply, she felt it all the way to her toes.
If they were alone, it’d be the perfect time to tell him everything. That Lucky’s was a thing of the past. That she loved him.
“Do you want the flower for Jake now, Mommy?”
“In a minute, Macy,” Megan whispered from the couch, where the pair sat, watching and listening.
“It’s okay.” Candace smiled at Jake a couple more seconds, then turned toward their audience. “Yes, baby girl, please bring the flower over.”
Macy sprang from the couch “It’s a boot in the ear,” she said, proudly presenting Jake with his red rose boutonnière. “I think that’s a silly name for something so pretty.”
“I think so too.” Jake crouched to give Macy a hug, a huge grin on his face as he looked up at Candace. Gaze locked with hers, he whispered something into Macy’s ear. Something that had her little girl nodding and smiling as the hug ended.
If Candace woke up right now, she wouldn’t be surprised. Everything about this moment seemed straight out of a dream.
Macy darted to the front hall, returning a couple seconds later with a clear plastic container in each hand. “We all get flowers, Mommy! Megan got a bouquet and Jake got a boot in the ear, and we get these—one is for you and one is for me!”
Watching Jake remove a small corsage from one of the boxes and slide the elastic bracelet onto Macy’s wrist, Candace’s heart grew another size. He wasn’t the only person rendered speechless today.
“Mommy, Megan, look how pretty it is.” Macy held her hand out, showing off her corsage as if it were a priceless jewel. In a way, it was. “Thank you, Jake,” she said, turning toward him for another hug. “Now give Mommy hers.”
He straightened and took Candace’s left hand.
Every part of her tingled as he slid the beautiful red-and-cream corsage into place on her wrist. A simple custom for a formal event, that’s all this was. So why did it feel like something more?
“Ready, sweets?”
She nodded and leaned—as much as the gown allowed—to hug and kiss Macy, before taking Jake’s offered hand. Rightness settled in her chest as he laced their fingers together and squeezed. It’d barely begun, yet she already knew tonight would be a night to remember.
Jake
“Wow…” Candace’s gaze swept the hall as they entered. “I assumed it would be nicely decorated, but this is next-level elegant. Is the gala always done up like this?”
“Don’t know. This is my first one.”
She froze in her tracks, wide-eyed stare focused squarely on his face. “You’ve never been to the Chief’s Gala before?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“Coming to the gala without a date is kind of seen as a kiss-up move.”
“I’m positive you could have found a date. One flash of your golden-boy smile and you could have had a swarm of women to pick from. You still could.”
“I don’t want a swarm.” He lifted her hand and kissed her fingertips. “I only want you.”
“Very smooth.”
“And very true.”
“Also, very evasive.”
“Mildly evasive,” he said, winking.
She sighed and curled her arm around his as they resumed walking. “You’ve never told me anything about your previous relationships or…other encounters. Nor do you have to, obviously. But I don’t want you to feel that you can’t tell me.”
“I haven’t told you about anybody that came before you because they don’t matter anymore.” One glance at her face and he knew that while she’d accept the answer, it wasn’t enough. “You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
He nodded at a small group of fellow officers and their plus-ones while steering Candace to an unclaimed table near the dance floor. “Here okay?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to sit closer to the bar? You look like you could use a drink, all of a sudden.”
“I’m good, but you might want one after I tell you what you think you want to know.”
“It can’t be that bad, Jake. Especially compared to everything you’ve accepted about my life.”
“Your stuff is a job. What I’ve done was by personal choice. Really stupid personal choice.” He pulled out a chair. “You might want to sit.”
She shook her head. Maybe she’d declined because of her dress. Hopefully it wasn’t her faith in him that kept her standing. If so, she was about to be disappointed. Again.
“My last serious relationship burned me pretty bad and I kind of swore off the serious stuff afterward.”
“That’s understandable.”
“And replaced it with watching strippers.”
She laughed. “You thought I’d need to sit down for that? You’re a guy. Guys like watching strippers.”
“Yeah, no. That’s not the worst part.” He glanced at the bar. Maybe he should’ve gotten something.
“Jake.” Her hand on his was as soft as her voice. “I’m not going to judge or overreact.”
“Even if I tell you I went on a pretty maj
or meaningless-sex bender for a big chunk of that time?”
She shook her head. “I’d say that’s pretty normal after being burned by a serious relationship.” Most women would be jealous or disgusted. Likely both, with a side of raging mad. Not Candace.
“You’re so calm.”
“See,” she said, laughing a little. “I told you I wouldn’t judge or overreact.”
He slid his arm around her waist. “Or run away.”
Turning to face him, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I didn’t promise that, but I don’t want to run away.”
Finally. The hum of voices and soft music became a distant buzz. The couple of hundred bodies sharing space in the hall might as well have been shadows. With Candace staring into his eyes, smiling at him as if everything was right in the world, nothing else existed.
“How long ago was the serious relationship that burned you?”
Not the topic of conversation he wanted now. Or ever, if he could avoid it. Which he could, with some distraction techniques and clever avoidance. That wouldn’t be fair. Not after he’d pushed for full disclosure about her life.
“Little over a year ago.”
The little head tilt and accompanying raised eyebrows said as much as any words could. More details required.
Might as well get it over with, so they could move on and never revisit the subject again. “I met her outside the courthouse. I was on my way out after a hearing. She—Anna—was standing in the parking lot, looking kind of lost, so I asked if she needed help.”
“Were you in uniform?”
“Yeah.”
“Lucky girl.”
“Conniving bitch would be more accurate.”
She grimaced. “Yikes.”
He eased out of her arms. Holding Candace close while talking about Anna didn’t feel right.
“I know what’ll help,” she said, lacing their fingers together.
“Me too. Not talking about it anymore.”
Her laughter burst the bubble of doom that’d enveloped him. “Nice try. You’re getting lucky tonight, but not that way.”
