When he pulled back to study her, the world was brighter, with a brilliant glow to it. Did she do that? Was just being with her what made the world seem so full of light? It made him smile to see her glancing up at him with an expression of wonder that he knew was on his face, too.
“Momma, guess what!” Maddie called.
They both started. Maddie’s voice was coming out of the baby monitor.
“Momma, the lights are on!” Gracie cried.
Zach and Jessie stilled, listening. Sure enough. The sound of little feet pounding their way up the staircase caused them to stare at each other wide-eyed for a nanosecond before they both leapt out of the bed as if it had just been set on fire.
“Oh, my god, get dressed!” Jessie cried.
The footsteps were in the hall now.
“No time,” Zach said.
He dropped to the ground and rolled under the bed, letting the mattress curtain hide him from view. Jessie kicked his clothes in after him and he saw her bare feet dash across the room as she snatched a robe from her closet.
She had her back to the door and he assumed had just belted the robe before the knob on the bedroom door rattled as the girls banged on it. Jessie opened the door, stopping their assault on the wood.
“Momma, did you see?” Maddie asked.
“The lights are on!” Gracie said again.
Lying on the hard wooden floor, buck naked, under the bed while Jessie and the girls spoke just a few feet away from him made Zach want to laugh. It was so ridiculous, like he was a teenager caught in his girlfriend’s room after curfew, except he wasn’t. He was a grown man caught by two little girls. Two girls who did not need to see him in his altogether.
“Wow! The lights are on!” Jessie cried. “Let’s go celebrate with waffles!”
“All right,” Maddie cried.
“Momma, where’s Zach?” Gracie asked.
“He’s not downstairs?” Jessie’s voice sound strained.
“No, we didn’t see him,” Maddie said. “We thought he was up here with you.”
“I don’t see him,” Jessie said. Zach admired her deft maneuver at not really lying. “Maybe he’s with Rufus.”
“Nah, Rufus is still on the couch,” Maddie said. “He slept with me and, boy, does he take up a lot of space.”
“He does? Let’s go see,” Jessie said. “I bet Zach appears as soon as I make some coffee.”
Zach waited three seconds after she closed the door behind them to roll out from under the bed. He noticed that the lamp on the nightstand was lit. So that’s why everything had seemed brighter after he kissed Jessie. The lights had come on. Well, that was a part of the reason. He still thought the world, at least his portion of it, was brighter just because she was in it.
He hurriedly dressed. The room was still cold but he could feel the heat coming out of the radiators as the house began to recover from the power outage. He realized with the power back, Jessie wouldn’t need him and Rufus to help her out anymore.
He should have felt relieved. The storm was over. He was going home. Life would go back to normal, except normal didn’t have as much appeal as it used to.
He stopped by the bathroom to make sure he was presentable and then he dashed down the stairs. It felt like the last day of a beach vacation and he was overcome by a sudden need to get in as much time in the water—or in this case with the girls—as he could before it was over.
He skidded into the kitchen, drawing up short when he found the female contingent of his Maine crew sitting there staring at him. Ruh-roh.
Chapter 15
“Morning, Zach,” Carly said. “Gosh, you look like you hardly slept at all.”
Jessie glanced up from the waffle iron to see Zach enter the room. Just the sight of him made her insides flutter. His hair was mussed as usual, but now it had a level of bedhead to it that made her feel her blood pressure spike. She knew exactly how those finger trails had gotten into his thick head of hair and her fingers itched to make more.
He grinned at Mac, Emma, Jillian, Gina, and, yes, even Carly, before his gaze found hers. His brown eyes hit her with a level of heat that vied with the warmth now happily pouring out of her functioning furnace. Oh, man!
She cleared her throat and said, “The girls came by to check on us. They brought mimosa fixings.”
“Yes, we wanted to get the naked truth,” Gina said.
Jessie dropped the fork she was using to pry the waffles out of the iron. She glanced at him with wide eyes and he mimicked her look and asked, “You told them about what just happened?”
Jessie shrugged. “It slipped out.”
“That’s what she said,” Mac said. Emma cracked up as did the rest of the crew.
Zach held up his fist to Mac for a knuckle bump. Clearly, he was man enough to acknowledge a good that’s what she said when he heard it. It made Jessie like him even more.
“I think I’ll take Rufus for a walk over to my place and make sure everything is checking out,” he said. “So you ladies can talk amongst yourselves freely.”
Carly laughed. “You know we’ll talk about you whether you’re here or not.”
“I know,” he said. He grinned. “That’s why my ego is demanding I make a run for it.”
Jessie dished her daughters’ waffles and delivered them to the table where Maddie and Gracie sat, nibbling on the peeled Cuties oranges she’d already given them. Maddie licked her lips when the waffle with a dollop of butter was placed in front of her.
“Thanks, Momma,” she said.
Gracie looked past her sister to where Zach was headed to the coatrack with Rufus. Ignoring her waffle, she bolted around the crew sitting at the counter, and ran to Zach.
“You’re not leaving, are you?” she asked.
Zach paused while shrugging on his coat. He looked down at her and a tender smile curved his lips as he crouched down so they were eye to eye.
“Don’t you worry,” he said. “I’m just going to check on my house and make sure my power is back on. I’ll be back. I mean we have some ukulele to master, am I right?”
Gracie nodded and then she threw herself at him and hugged him hard. Jessie felt her throat get tight. Gracie was her shy one, her wall hugger, her rather-be-alone-than-get-hurt one. The fact that she initiated a hug with Zach made Jessie’s heart hurt. Her little girl so desperately wanted to love and be loved.
Zach didn’t hesitate. He wrapped her in a bear hug and lifted her off her feet, making Gracie squeal in delight. Then he put her down and tapped the end of her nose with his finger.
“Later, Gator.”
“After a while, Crocodile.”
With a grin, Gracie ran back to the table to eat her waffle. Jessie checked that both girls had all that they needed and then moved through the kitchen, picking up the mixing bowl of batter and handing it to Emma.
Emma glanced from her to the bowl and then to the doorway that Zach disappeared through and gave Jessie a gentle nudge with her elbow.
“Go,” she said. She jerked her head toward the girls. “I’ll monitor the situation.”
Jessie smiled her thanks and tried to discreetly dash after Zach. He was just pulling on his hat when she stepped into the small foyer. He glanced up at her and she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
“I . . . uh . . . did you want me to save you some waffles?” she asked. Oh, god, so lame. She resisted the urge to do a facepalm.
Zach didn’t answer her. Instead, he reached out and grabbed her by her robe. He pulled her forward, shutting the door to the foyer and pushing her back up against it. Before Jessie could say a word, he kissed her.
He pulled the tie loose on her robe, exposing her naked skin to his touch. Jessie arched into his hands when they cupped her breasts, his thumbs stroking over her nipples, which made her crazy. She made low grunting noise
s in the back of her throat as she pulled off his hat and dug her fingers into his hair while she ran her tongue over his lips and swept it into his mouth.
Zach’s hands stroked down her sides and moved around to cup her backside, pulling her up hard and tight against his crotch. She wondered if even through his jeans, he could feel the heat of her, because she felt as if she was on fire. He gently bumped up against her, making her wish they were still back in her bed under the thick covers completely naked. Oh, how she desperately wanted to try making love to Zach again.
When she reached for him, trying to pull off his clothes, he caught both of her hands in one of his and held them up over her head. She was panting and she looked at him, trying to gauge what he was going to do to her next. She didn’t think it was possible for him to make her any crazier than she already was. She was wrong. So wrong.
Zach used his free hand to stroke down her body, letting his fingers trail across her skin from her shoulder between her breasts across her belly until he was cupping the sensitive flesh between her legs. He used his thumb to press against her clit, making her see stars. He stroked her until her legs began to shake and her breath was rasping in and out of her in needy gulps.
Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, he removed his hand and pulled her robe closed and fastened the belt tight. Then he leaned forward and kissed her. When he pulled back there was a wicked glimmer in his eyes.
He moved his lips next to her ear and in a gritty growl he said, “Miss me.”
Jessie let him move her away from the door so he could open it. Rufus, who was sitting patiently on the other side, leapt to his feet and followed Zach across the foyer. With a roguish wink in her direction, Zach opened the door and the adorable twosome disappeared out the front door into the snow.
Two long narrow windows were on either side of the front door and Jessie moved to the one on the right so she could watch them. The snow was thick and deep but the sun was shining for the first time in days and it glinted off the snow, making everything a brilliant bright white.
She watched, pressing her overheated cheek up against the glass, until the two of them vanished from sight. She stepped back and fanned her face. Mercy, what that man could do to her.
She went back to the kitchen, fervently hoping the squad had not finished off the mimosas. When she stepped into the kitchen all conversation stopped.
Jillian handed her a big glass of orange juice, and Carly held up an empty bottle of champagne, letting her know it was fully loaded.
“Thank you,” Jessie said. She slugged back half the glass.
“Easy, lightweight,” Carly said. “We don’t want you passed out on the floor when Zach returns.”
“Momma, can we go up to our room? We haven’t played up there in forever!” Gracie asked. She entered the kitchen with her empty plate and put it in the sink.
“Of course,” Jessie said.
Maddie was right behind her sister with her juice glass. Jessie looked at her and shook her head. Maddie frowned and stomped her foot, but Jessie shook her head again and Maddie spun around and grabbed her empty plate off the table and put it in the sink. Then the two girls hit the stairs running.
As soon as they disappeared from sight, Carly leaned over the counter and snatched a waffle off of the stack Emma had made. She took a bite, and then swallowed and said, “Okay, girlfriend, dish. How was our boy Zach and are you two a thing now?”
Jessie tipped her glass to her lips, but Mac snagged it out of her hand before she could knock back the fizzy fuzzy juice.
“Hey!” she cried.
“No, not until you catch us up,” Mac said. “We haven’t heard from you since you asked if it was okay to have a fling. That was like . . .” She glanced at her friends, clearly having lost track of the time.
“Allow me,” Gina said. “Speaking on behalf of the few of us”—she paused and gestured between herself and Jillian—“who were not banged stupid for the duration of the blizzard, it’s been a day and a half since the news broke that you were thinking of doing the horizontal bop with Zach. So, how was it?”
“It—well, we . . .” Jessie glanced at the front door. She wasn’t sure how she felt about talking about what had happened between her and Zach. Then again, it hadn’t gone well for her when she pretended with him, and knowing this group, it wouldn’t go well for her if she tried to bluff with them either.
“That bad, huh?” Gina asked.
“Hush your mouth,” Carly said. “That’s my boy Zach you’re talking about.”
Gina shrugged and Carly looked at Jessie and said, “Say it ain’t so.”
“The thing is . . .” Jessie began and then stopped.
She felt all of them staring at her and she diverted her gaze to the countertop, feeling like an outsider looking in. She’d never had real girlfriends before. This was her first time being accepted into a group of women who weren’t friends with her just because she was rich.
She didn’t want to blow it, but trusting other people was hard for her. She hadn’t had a lot of experience being accepted for who she was, and during her marriage, she had been cut off from everyone as she tried to keep her humiliation at Seth’s drinking and cheating quiet. It had been easier not to have friends.
“Hey, it’s all right,” Mac said.
“You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to,” Emma said. She held up the platter she had filled. “Waffle?”
“What?” Carly protested. “But I want details.”
“Get her another mimosa,” Gina said. “We can juice it out of her.”
“Good thinking, Sis.” Carly reached for an unopened bottle of champagne.
“Stop!” Jillian said. She tossed her dark brown curls over her shoulder and said, “Let the poor girl eat something. Then we can continue grilling her.”
“Ha!” Carly cheered in approval.
Plates of waffles were passed around, followed by butter and syrup. The women sat around the kitchen table, with Jillian and Mac using two of the counter stools, which had them sitting slightly above everyone else.
Gossip flowed as fast as the mimosas and when Jessie shared Zach’s suspicion about how the Lewises spent their time snowed in, glasses were raised to the Lewises’s good health and particularly to Mr. Lewis’s stamina.
“The thing is,” Jessie said, filling the post-laughter quiet, “I’ve never had an orgasm.”
In slow motion, every face at the table swiveled in her direction. A bit of waffle fell out of Carly’s mouth, and Emma blinked at her as if this was beyond her comprehension.
“Never?” Mac asked.
It was a loaded question. Jessie and Mac did have the history of Jessie stealing Mac’s groom right out of the church on the day of her wedding; of course, the fact that it had turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to Mac had helped her forgive Jessie and their friendship had begun. Still, to admit that she’d never really enjoyed sex with the man they had in common seemed bad form, but Jessie wasn’t going to lie.
“Never,” she said.
“Seth was lousy in bed, very selfish,” Mac said. “I always thought it would get better after we got married.”
“It didn’t,” Jessie confirmed.
The rest of the women in the room watched the exchange. Jessie knew that they, like her, were wondering how Mac was going to take this revelation.
“Well, it looks like I never can thank you enough,” she said. “Especially since Gavin is so—”
“Dut, dut, dut,” Emma interrupted. “He’s still my baby brother. I can’t hear this.”
Mac wagged her eyebrows at Jessie and she laughed. It was hard for her to believe she’d spent her teen years resenting Mac for being so well-liked by everyone when now that she knew her, she liked her an awful lot, too.
“Yes, yes, we’re all delighted th
at you’re having multiple orgasms with your veterinarian,” Carly said.
Emma squawked but Carly ignored her, fixing her gaze on Jessie. Carly had been the most sexually adventurous of their group until she’d settled down with James Sinclair, local physical therapist and all-around great guy, who just happened to live in the old Bluff Point lighthouse.
“When you say ‘never,’ what does that mean exactly?” Carly asked.
Jessie just stared at her.
“No!” Carly slumped back in her seat. “My god, that’s tragic!”
“Is there a reason, you know, other than being married to a selfish prick?” Gina asked.
“No hidden trauma, if that’s what you mean,” Jessie said. “I just can’t ever quite get there, you know?”
“Sometimes the female orgasm is like that,” Emma said. “Mythological like a unicorn.”
“Or a Yeti,” Jillian added.
“True,” Gina agreed. “Sometimes you’re right there and then it just slips away, because some stupid man you like has his heart set on someone else and even though you adore her, you know they aren’t right together, because she doesn’t even know he’s alive, and you’re just watching this train wreck and you can’t even get the dumb man-boy to look at you, because he’s completely preoccupied by her and yet you can’t look at anyone else because you can’t get his stupid smile out of your stupid head. Fuck.”
Jessie was more than happy to join the others while they stared at Gina. It was a nice change. Gina tossed her red curls and blew one spiral off of her forehead.
“What? I’m just saying it could be like that,” she snapped and they all turned back to Jessie.
“So, have you told Zach about your situation?” Emma asked, “Communication is key.”
“Yes,” Jessie said.
“And?” Mac, Carly, and Jillian asked as one.
Jessie tossed back the last of her mimosa. “And now I’m his project. He is determined to make this happen for me.”
Every Dog Has His Day Page 14
