“I haven’t been a Mrs for many years,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, “and I’m mighty grateful for it. You will call me Adele.” A firm nod followed the pronouncement, brooking no argument.
“All right. Thank you, Adele.” Kelly found the other woman’s straightforward, no nonsense demeanour a bit unnerving, but was too intrigued by meeting Jake’s mother to let it bother her. She wanted to know more about this woman who had raised the complex man she knew.
“Mum, you’re here.” Jake appeared before them. Kelly had hardly seen him since he’d greeted her at the door over nearly two hours ago, though her eyes had searched the crowd for him more than once. Now, Adele tilted her head, tapping one finger to her cheek and he leaned down to drop a kiss there before he perched himself on the edge of another chair. “How was the drive down?”
“Long,” Adele grumped. “I remember now why I don’t make the trip often anymore.”
“I told you I would have come to get you.”
Kelly couldn’t help but smile at their matching frowns.
“Aunty Adele,” Trina cried as she rushed toward them. “I’m so glad you could come.”
Adele’s frown vanished as she greeted her niece. “Happy birthday, Katrina.” She handed over a small present that had been sitting on her lap.
While her friend opened the gift and gushed over the contents, Kelly sneaked a glance at Jake. He sat forward in his chair, elbows resting on his knees as he kept his attention fixed on Trina. She couldn’t help but drink in the sight of him while she had the chance. It felt like so much longer than two weeks since she’d seen him last and she’d missed him every waking moment—and quite a few of the sleeping ones too.
She realised she wasn’t the only one sneaking glances when Jake’s gaze shifted sideways, locking with hers. The dark intensity in his eyes made her gasp, her body responding of its own accord. The pull she felt towards this man never seemed to waver, despite the manipulations that had been the trademark of their most recent relationship. No matter what else happened, she always wanted him—always. What the hell was she going to do?
“Tell me, dear, have you spoken to Michael?”
Jake turned his head at the sound of his mother’s voice and the moment was gone. “I called him at home last night but he didn’t answer his phone,” Adele continued.
“He said something about getting out of town for a few days with his girlfriend,” Jake murmured, his voice gravelly. “I don’t think Sydney agrees with him as much as he thought it would.”
“That’s probably why then,” Adele said with a nod.
“And Danny’s working tonight so he won’t be here,” he added with a frown. “He works too hard. He’ll burn out if he’s not careful.”
“They’re grown men now, Jacob. It’s time to let them take care of themselves.”
“Yeah.” Jake rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, looking away. “So they keep telling me.”
Adele reached out to pat her eldest son on the arm before turning back to Kelly with smiling eyes. “This boy spent too much time taking care of his brothers when he was young. Too much responsibility is bad for a child.” She shrugged. “And yet, I don’t know what I would have done without him after his father left.”
“Really?” Kelly had no doubt her surprise was written all over her face. She’d known Jake had two younger brothers, but she’d never met them and he didn’t talk about them much—at least not to her. She hadn’t realised he kept such a close eye on them. “He never told me.”
“Oh, I’m sure there’s lots of stories he’s never told you,” Adele began with relish. Trina gave a hearty guffaw at Jake’s expense.
Jake shook his head. “Mum, please don’t.”
“Do tell,” Kelly said, giggling in delight.
That small bit of encouragement was all it took. Adele placed one hand on Kelly’s arm and gave her a wicked grin. “Let me tell you about the time Jake tried to cook dinner for his brothers and nearly set the house on fire.”
Jake groaned and his head dropped forward. “Not again.”
The older woman gave a throaty laugh as she leaned toward Kelly with a conspiratorial air. “I walked in after work, eight o’clock at night, to find the two younger boys covered in marshmallow and there was Jacob furiously scrubbing my only frying pan like the devil was after his hide.”
Kelly gave Jake a quizzical look. “Marshmallows in a frying pan? I’ve never heard of that before.”
“I was toasting them,” he cried, throwing his arms in the air as if he’d explained this five hundred times—which she suspected was how many times his mother had told this story. “The boys wanted to go camping,” he told her, “and toasted marshmallows was the closest we could get. We were doing fine until Danny threw up all over the kitchen floor. I had to choose. Marshmallows or Danny-vomit.”
Adele shook her head and tutted at him. “Such a smart boy. And yet it never occurred to you to turn off the stove before walking away.”
“I was distracted!”
Ignoring his protests, Adele turned back to her and Trina with an amused snort. “I never let him cook anything more than toast and microwave dinners after that.”
“So, that’s why you were such a bad cook?” Kelly said between peals of laughter. “Maybe I should tell your mum about the great curry incident.”
Trina nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely.”
“Right then, I’m out of here.” With a good-natured grin, he rose from his chair. “I know better than to stick around when women start to gang up on me.”
Through her laughter, Kelly watched him walk away.
“You’ll never find a man more reliable and loyal than my son. Any woman would be lucky to have him.” Adele’s voice held a hint of censure that made Kelly turn around. The older woman watched her closely, as if assessing her worthiness. Kelly wondered what Jake had told his mother about her and the thought brought her recent behaviour to mind. All the times when she’d pulled away from him, cut herself off from the tenderness she knew damned well they both felt, even when she hadn’t been clued in to his ultimate intentions. She could hardly blame him if the picture he painted of her was less than rosy.
“You’re right. Jake is a wonderful man. A woman would be lucky to have him… incredibly lucky.” As soon as she said the words she knew she believed them. Jake had his issues, as she had hers, but he was a strong, generous man who would do anything for the people he loved. Just as he would do anything to be with her, because…
Her heart tripped a beat as she accepted the truth once and for all… Jake was in love with her.
Chapter 20
“I hope you and my mother didn’t spend too long swapping tales behind my back.” Jake smirked when he saw Kelly jump at the sound of his voice, a high-pitched squeal escaping her.
Spinning around, she put one hand over her chest. “Jake, you scared the crap out of me.”
He chuckled as he leaned against a beam and crossed his arms. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to.”
She turned her attention back to the open fridge for a moment before pulling out a half-empty bottle of lemonade and closing the door. The extra fridge was stored down here under the shelter of the deck, only being used for parties when the kitchen fridge was overstocked.
“Why do you want to know?” she asked as she filled a plastic cup and returned the bottle to the fridge. “Have you got something to hide?”
He shook his head. “Not from you—not anymore.”
The corners of her mouth twitched upward. “That’s nice to know.” Cup in hand, she approached him with measured steps, curiosity alight in her eyes. “You didn’t tell me how close you are to your brothers. It sounds like you were a real hero to your mum.”
Side by side, they walked out into the backyard. “Mum had three boys to raise all on her own. Money was tight, really tight. She always worked two, sometimes three, jobs to make ends meet. Which left me taking care of my younger brothers. We had
help from the family,” he gestured back toward the crowd of relatives on the deck, “but I made sure they did their homework, ate dinner, had a bath every night. The boring day-to-day stuff. When I was old enough I got a part-time job to help out but I didn’t make much.” At the time he’d had no real comprehension of how much his life differed from the other kids at school, that most kids didn’t help raise their younger siblings the way he did. He didn’t remember a time when his life had been any other way. “I did what needed to be done, but there was nothing heroic about any of it.”
They fell silent as they approached the fire pit. The blaze of the early evening had burnt down now, and the chairs surrounding the pit had been abandoned. Jake pulled up a canvas camping chair for Kelly to sit on before putting another right beside it for himself. The night around them was quiet, despite the continued revelry going on upstairs. A quick search produced a long stick which Jake used to prod at the last of the burning logs. He managed to persuade a few flames to dance anew, before he relaxed back into his chair. The firelight flickered across Kelly’s face, illuminating her features, and he had to look away to resist reaching out to touch her.
“I miss you,” he said quietly. His voice rasped and he had to clear his throat before he tried again. “I miss talking to you and being around you.”
She was silent for so long he gave up on getting a response, then, “I miss you too.” Turning in her chair, she pulled her legs up under her and placed her hand over his where it rested on the arm of his chair. “Tell me more about when you were growing up.”
He took a moment to think about what he would say, what he needed her to know. “There isn’t much more to say. I went to school and I took care of my brothers. There wasn’t too much time for anything else. The truth is, by the time I graduated high school I was jack of the lot of it. I just wanted to be free. I moved out of home the same week I turned eighteen. It felt like I was escaping from prison.” He’d never admitted that to anyone, especially his mum or his brothers. He’d cut out his own heart before he hurt any of them. “That’s the selfish wanker my mother refers to as a hero.”
“I can understand you feeling that way. It must have been a heavy load to carry for so long.” She stroked the back of his hand now in soothing motions and he turned his own over until their palms were touching and their fingers naturally entwined. “Your brothers would have been older by then, wouldn’t they?”
“Yeah, they were old enough to take care of themselves and Mum had a better job so she didn’t have to work as many hours. Things were better. But it doesn’t excuse the fact I ran out on them at the first opportunity. All I cared about at the time was making up for all the parties I’d missed out on.” He’d studied hard at university during the day, but his nights had been all about having a good time. For the first time in his life he didn’t have to care about anyone but himself and he’d excelled at it. But then, Kelly knew firsthand what a self-obsessed prick he’d been at the time.
He looked at her, wanting to explain himself in a way he hadn’t been capable of back then. “That’s the place I was in when I met you. When I walked into that party all I had on my mind was having a good time and getting laid—nothing more.”
She seemed dumbfounded. “How the hell did you end up dating me?” she asked. “It must have been pretty obvious you were going to have your work cut out for you when it came to sex.”
“You floored me, that’s what happened.” He remembered the first time he saw her. Trina had introduced Kelly to him, and a bunch of other people she knew, at the same time. She’d looked like a frightened butterfly caught under a microscope, but she’d shaken hands with each of them and said hello. When her eyes widened a little at the sight of him, before dropping shyly away, he’d been lost. “I’d never really dated anyone before I met you.”
She watched him askance, as if she wasn’t sure she could make the leap to believing that one.
“It’s true,” he said with a grin. “I didn’t have time for stuff like dating when I was in high school. Then once I got to university and realised there were women who were willing to skip the dating part and head straight to the sex I happily followed them there.”
“Lovely,” she said, rolling her eyes at him.
“Yeah, I was a real prince. But you made me want to put in the effort to get to know you. You weren’t just beautiful and smart, you were fun to hang out with. I enjoyed all the conversations we had, as well as the time we spent making out.”
Kelly groaned out loud, one hand over her face. “We did so much making out.”
“Hell yes.” He gave a maniacal laugh as he nodded in agreement, before adding, “And you never once asked me to do anything for you. You didn’t need me, you just wanted to be with me.” He wasn’t sure if she would ever understand what that had meant to him.
“I’d never met anyone like you before.” She smiled as she watched the dying fire. “And the fact you paid so much attention to me, it was like a dream come true at the time.” A shadow passed over her features. “I got so caught up in the romance of it, I never saw what was going on with you.”
“I didn’t want you to see,” he assured her, shaking his head. “I didn’t want to talk about it. I never once picked up the phone to talk to my mother or brothers during that time. I didn’t want to be around them, but at the same time the guilt of leaving them was choking me.” He lifted her hand, brought it to his lips so he could place a kiss on the back. Her skin was soft and warm to the touch.
“Being with you, it woke something up inside me. Showed me what a superficial git I was being.” Jake took a deep breath before looking into her eyes. “I did fall in love with you, Kelly, and I knew you loved me back. The night we had sex, I realised how special you were to me and I panicked. As far as I saw it, being in a relationship meant being tied down and I couldn’t handle that. I’d spent half my life taking care of my brothers and feeling responsible for them. Then I finally broke free only to fall in love after barely more than a year? If leaving home had felt like getting out of prison, loving you was another cell door waiting to slam shut.”
“And that’s why you walked away?”
He nodded curtly. “I didn’t walk away, Kelly. I ran—as fast and as far as I could.”
“You know that was a bit extreme, don’t you?” she said, frowning at him. “I was eighteen and we’d only been together just over a month, I wasn’t expecting a marriage proposal. You were my first real boyfriend. I was simply enjoying being with someone.”
“Trust me, I know how ridiculous it sounds now, but I wasn’t exactly thinking straight at the time.” He held her gaze as he said, “I don’t regret leaving. It was what I needed to do at the time. But I do regret the way I left and I regret hurting you. I’m sorry for that. Will you ever forgive me?”
“Me forgive you?” she asked, incredulous. “After I’ve spent the past few months using you to make myself feel better?” She groaned in dismay as she ran her free hand through her hair. “Do you have any idea how many different disparaging names I’ve called you in my head over the years? A woman can be surprisingly inventive over the course of a decade.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “I probably deserved them anyway so, you’re forgiven for every one.”
She licked her lips, looking down at their joined hands before returning her gaze to his face. “So are you,” she said in a quiet voice. “Thank you for telling me all this. I understand now. And I forgive you.”
They came together, arms wrapping tight around each other. Feeling her warmth against him, Jake had never been more grateful for anything in his life.
“Jake, I have to ask you something.”
He pulled back to see the wry grin on her face. “Anything.”
“Will you go out to dinner with me?”
“What?” He couldn’t possibly have heard those words correctly. “Did you just ask me to go out with you?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s what I said.”
&n
bsp; “On a date?” he clarified.
She nodded. “Yes, on a date.”
“I’ll have to check my schedule,” he teased. “But I think I can squeeze you in somewhere.”
“You’d better.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s take it slow this time, though. We can get to know each other with our clothes on.”
His breath caught in his chest. “Please, tell me you’re not going to suggest we be friends first. I don’t think my hard-on can take it.”
Laughing, she cupped his cheek with her hand. “No. We both know that ship sailed a long time ago. All I mean is, let’s slow things down. Take our time. If we’re going to do this right then there’s no need to rush.”
He kissed her with an infinite slowness that was all depth and thoroughness. His fingertips stroked her cheeks and neck until he felt her shiver with pleasure. “No need at all.”
Chapter 21
“Why do you look so nervous?”
Kelly glanced up from the menu. She and Jake were seated at a linen-covered table in an opulent modern restaurant. The nearby glass wall gave them a wonderful view of the Yarra River at dusk. The evening had gone smoothly so far, and yet she couldn’t seem to stop herself from trembling. She’d spent the last few minutes trying to concentrate long enough to choose a meal, but so far the elegantly scripted words read like so much gobbledygook.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I guess it’s been a while since I’ve gone on a first date with a man I’ve already been sleeping with for months.”
He smiled and winked at her. “Are you afraid your conversational skills aren’t quite up to par with your skills in other areas?”
“Of course not.” She snapped the menu closed and put it on the table in front of her. “I could talk you under the table, buddy.”
“That’s one of the reasons I love you, Kelly,” he said with a laugh. “You don’t give an inch.”
This Time Forever: Second Chance Romance (Finding Forever Book 3) Page 12
