She’d been so thrilled about the baby that she’d chalked Caleb’s absence up to a resurgence in the real estate market, but looking back Naomi could see the signs that he’d planned to leave. Caleb loved glitz and glamour and shiny new things. Naomi had fulfilled those needs longer than most of his girlfriends, but in the end, he’d been glad to escape without a child to complicate their breakup. He’d made that obvious when he’d elected to skip Grace’s funeral.
Naomi took a deep breath, pushing away the sad thoughts.
This was the perfect chance to have that one-on-one chat with Jake. The last thing she needed was to keep dwelling on things that made her emotional. She wanted to offer Jake her compassion for his loss, after all, not sink into a dark place thinking about her own.
After a quick glance in her mirrored compact to check for caramel stuck in her teeth, Naomi smoothed on a coat of lipstick, ran her fingers through her hair, and headed for the exit, calling out—
“I’ll be right back!”
She pushed through the door, pretending she didn’t hear Maddie asking her where she was going.
Outside, the winter air was crisp and clean-smelling, but not nearly as cold as it had been last night. Naomi could feel the cool wind nipping at her cheeks, but it wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, with the sun shining and tinsel-covered garland glittering above Main Street, the day was gorgeous, the kind of early December afternoon that made the New Year and new beginnings feel like they were just around the corner.
Naomi held tight to the thought as she hurried across the quiet street, and aimed herself at Jake Hansen.
Chapter Four
Naomi moved quickly, with the determination of a woman on a mission of good will, but she was still a good ten feet away when Jake looked up. It was like they had a psychic connection.
Or like he could smell her coming, the way bees and dogs smell fear.
Although Naomi couldn’t see Jake’s eyes through his dark sunglasses, she knew he was looking at her. She could read it in his stiffening shoulders, in the jaw that clenched down around his last bite of sandwich, and in the hand that fisted his brown lunch bag into a ball. She could feel his attention on her—making her pulse speed and her mouth go dry—even when he hurled the wadded up bag toward the trashcan at the end of the table, acing the shot on the first try.
“Two points!” Naomi said, lifting an enthusiastic arm into the air, committing to the lame gesture before she could think better of it.
But she was too nervous to play it cool. That sky-before-a-lightning-storm energy that had leapt between her and Jake last night at the auction—singeing everyone unlucky enough to be in its path—was sizzling in the air, making the hair at the back of her neck stand on end.
Obviously Jake wasn’t any more pleased to see her today than he had been yesterday, or the day before. She half expected him to bolt before she reached the picnic table, but he stayed put as she hopped the curb and crossed the crunchy brown grass.
“Hi,” she said, licking her lips and forcing a smile, hoping he’d say something and put her out of her misery, but she was not surprised when he simply sat there chewing his last bite, watching her from behind his dark lenses.
“Okay, so, you obviously weren’t happy that I bid on you last night at the fundraiser,” she pushed on, voice beginning to shake. “And I get that. I totally do.”
Naomi pulled in an uneasy breath. The weight of Jake’s silent attention was an anvil tied around her ankle, pulling her to the bottom of the ocean to drown. This was even worse than she had thought it would be, but she forced herself to keep going. She’d made it this far; there was no turning back now.
“I wanted to let you know that it’s okay if you want to call it off,” she said. “I mean, I…I didn’t mean to pry, but you know how small towns are…” She waved a hand in the air, including all of Summerville in the nervous gesture, fighting to ignore the fact that her heart had suddenly moved from her chest to her throat.
“So, um, I…I wanted you to know that I know about your wife, about what happened, and that I am so, so sorry for your loss.” Naomi threaded her fingers together and squeezed tight, determined not to wave her arms around like a coked-up air traffic control worker while offering her condolences. “I know this must be a really hard time of year for you and I totally understand if you want to back out of the whole date thing. I’m still happy to donate the money and I—”
“Did Jamison put you up to this?” Jake asked, his voice deeper, and even sexier sounding that she remembered.
It was the kind of voice that could sell luxury cars, hundred-dollar chocolate bars, and gazillion-thread-count sheets. Naomi could feel its rich vibration brushing over her skin, tracing a path down her spine, making her raw nerves prickle with awareness.
“No…n-not at all,” Naomi stammered, struggling to maintain her focus. “No one put me up to anything. I just…I wanted you to know how sorry I am.”
Jake smiled, a hard smile that made the afternoon feel colder. “Honestly, Naomi, I couldn’t care less what you’re sorry about.”
Naomi blinked, too shocked by the harshness in his tone to immediately respond. Jake was never rude. Jake never said an unkind word to anyone. Ever.
But maybe he’d changed. Or maybe he knew more about what Naomi had been up to the night before she left Summerville than she had assumed.
He had mentioned Jamison’s name.
What if Jamison had told him? What if Jake knew that not only was Naomi a coward who didn’t have the guts to end their three-year relationship face-to-face, but a cheater, too? And not just a regular, run-of-the-mill cheater. She was the very worst, tackiest, lowlife kind of cheater—the kind who dumped you by letter, then kissed your little brother.
At least, Naomi hoped all she and Jamison had done that night was kiss. They’d both been so drunk she couldn’t be sure. Considering she’d woken up in a sleeping bag with him the next morning, she suspected they might have done more than make out, but at least no clothes had been removed.
“It just happened” was the hallmark cry of cheaters everywhere, but Naomi didn’t know how else to account for the spectacular lapse in judgment that led to her and Jamison being together.
The encounter wasn’t premeditated. She’d only asked Jamison to meet her at the Hansen’s hunting cabin so she could give him the good-bye letter she’d written Jake. When Jamison realized what it was—and that Naomi was planning to leave without telling Jake good-bye face-to-face— they’d fought. Fighting morphed into bitching about how much they both wanted out of Summerville, which led to throwing back shots of cheap vodka leftover from the deer season, and not long after there had been kissing.
Naomi was eighteen; Jamison was sixteen. They’d both been young and restless and drunk and things had just…happened.
When they woke up the next morning—heads pounding and mouths full of cotton—they’d both been horrified. They swore to never, ever tell Jake what had happened. Never. No matter what. They both loved Jake too much to hurt him by confessing to something that shouldn’t have happened, and would never happen again.
But maybe sometime in the past fifteen years Jamison had changed his mind about keeping his mouth shut.
Fifteen years—it’s been fifteen years! Even if Jamison spilled his guts, surely we’ve all grown up enough to get over it by now.
Strengthened by the thought, Naomi stood up a little straighter. “That’s fine,” she said, tipping her head respectfully in Jake’s direction. “You don’t have to care. I was hoping that we could be friends, but if we can’t, a civil relationship is fine with me. I just want to make peace and leave the past behind us.”
“Sounds good.” Jake slid his long legs out from beneath the bench and stood. “So I’ll meet you at the entrance to the fair at six o’clock.”
“What?” Naomi frowned, wondering what she’d missed.
“I’ll meet you for our date at six o’clock,” he said, stepping closer, until she was fo
rced to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact—or rather—sunglass contact.
Jake had grown since high school. He was taller than he’d been at eighteen, back when she fit under his chin perfectly when they hugged, and broader, too—details she hadn’t noticed during their ill-fated encounter at the A&P, or when he was on stage last night. Even in a navy blue Summerville Fire sweatshirt and jeans, Jake looked like the kind of guy who ran into burning buildings while others ran out, who lifted hunks of timber off trapped victims and smashed through walls while saving lives. His presence was so powerful it made Naomi’s bones feel wobbly at the centers and other parts of her tingle in ways she didn’t want to think about, ways they hadn’t tingled in months.
It had taken time for her body to recover from the early labor, and even when it had, the rest of her had been too focused on healing to think about men in that way. It wasn’t just her body that had been through hell this past year; her heart and soul had been ravaged, too. Truth be told, after Caleb walked out when she needed him the most, Naomi hadn’t been sure she’d ever be interested in a man in that way again.
But of course she would be. What was that saying—time heals all wounds?
Although at the moment, Naomi wasn’t thinking about the healing power of time, she was thinking about how good it would feel to step into Jake’s arms, lean her cheek against his solid chest, and inhale the comforting Jake smell of him. How good it would feel to be held by a man who knew what it was like to lose someone he loved, and to hold him right back.
She didn’t want to simply offer Jake her condolences, she wanted to wrap him in her arms and kiss his forehead the way her mother used to do when she was little. She wanted to promise him that his heart would heal, and that one day the world would be beautiful and magical and full of love again.
But then, maybe he knew that. Maybe Naomi was the one who was alone, the only one who still felt a pull between them so strong that not touching him was almost physically painful. Maybe Jake already had someone to tell him everything would be okay, and rock him through the night.
As if summoned by Naomi’s thoughts, the door to the aging firehouse squealed open and the blonde from last night banged out, jogging across the uneven paving stones toward the picnic table with a perkiness that made Naomi’s nose wrinkle. Even in a SFD sweatshirt and jeans, ponytail, and no makeup, Faith was gorgeous, so young and vibrant and humming with energy that Naomi felt shabby and tired in comparison.
“Hey, boss, what’s up?” Faith asked, not bothering to introduce herself to Naomi or even glance her way. “Can we have take-out family meal today?”
“Everyone was told to bring their own lunch today,” Jake said. “With the schedules thrown off, family meal is too much hassle.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be such a grump.” Faith ribbed Jake’s side with her elbow in the sort of easy gesture that reminded Naomi more of a brother and sister than boyfriend and girlfriend…an observation that pleased her more than it probably should.
“It won’t be a hassle,” Faith continued. “We’ve got money in the till and I told everyone you and I would grab burritos from the food truck. I’m starving to death, and Kevin’s stomach is growling so loud I can’t hear myself think.”
“You’re always starving to death,” Jake said.
The obvious affection in his tone was so polar opposite to the brittle voice he’d used with Naomi that it made her chest tighten. She wanted that Jake voice back, the one that warmed you all over instead of raising chill bumps on your arms.
Faith grinned. “That’s because I’m the only one in the department who actually does my entire workout every day instead of skipping cardio.” She nudged Jake again. “So, come on. Let me buy you a burrito.”
“Thanks, but I already ate.” Jake tugged his cell from his back pocket and glanced at the screen. “And my twenty minutes are up. Make sure you have your pager, and you can run down to the food truck if you want.”
“I’ve got it,” Faith said, lifting the corner of her sweatshirt to reveal a pager clipped onto her jean pocket. “I’ll run down now. You sure you don’t want anything?”
“No, I’m good. Have to save room for all the fair food tonight.” He finally turned back to Naomi, the smile that had curved his full lips vanishing without a trace. “So I’ll see you at six?”
“Six it is,” Naomi said, not inclined to give Jake another chance to wiggle out of their deal. He clearly wanted to honor his obligations, and she was clearly a liar, liar with her pants on fire.
If this conversation had proved anything, it was that Naomi wasn’t going to be satisfied with peace between her and Jake. She didn’t want peace. She wanted to care about him, and for him to care about her in return. She wanted her friend back, the Jake who listened with his whole heart, gave the best advice, and could soothe her worst case of nerves with nothing more than a strong hug. She wanted to make him laugh the way she used to, to help him lighten up, and to realize he deserved time to play.
As she watched him turn and walk back to the firehouse with solid, dutiful steps, she vowed to make it happen. By the end of their month of dates, she would bring some pizzazz into Jake Hansen’s life, or die trying.
The thought made her smile until Faith turned to her and said—
“Who the hell do you think you are?”
—and sent her grin running for cover.
“Excuse me?” Naomi said, though she’d heard the girl loud and clear. But in her years of working with the often-volatile personalities in the entertainment industry, she’d found that most people didn’t have the guts to repeat an antagonistic remark twice. Given the chance to back down, most people would.
“I said, who the hell do you think you are?” Faith repeated, proving she wasn’t most people, and that Jake hadn’t cornered the market on loathing Naomi.
“Do you know what he’s been through?” Faith continued, propping her hands on her hips. “Do you have any freaking idea?”
“I do, and that’s why I came over to speak with him,” Naomi said in her sweetest voice, hoping it would soothe Faith’s ruffled feathers.
She didn’t want to get into a feud with anyone in Summerville, especially someone Jake cared about. After seeing them together today, she no longer thought Faith and Jake were romantically involved, but they were obviously close friends.
“I found out about what happened to his wife after the auction last night,” Naomi continued softly, not wanting her words to carry. “I realized it’s getting close to the day he lost her, and I felt terrible that I might be stressing him out at such a difficult time. I told him it was fine if he wanted to forget the month of dates thing, but he wouldn’t hear of it. You know how stubborn he is.”
Faith frowned, but when she spoke next, her voice was slightly less venomous. “You really said that?”
“I did. And I meant it. I don’t want to hurt Jake. I just want my friend back.”
Faith’s pale brows shot up. “Are you serious? You think you and Jake are going to be friends?”
“I do.” Naomi smiled, hoping it looked more confident than she felt. “Jake means a lot to me, and I can be a good friend to him if he’ll let me.”
Faith gave an amused snort. “Lady, I get that you’re trying to be cool, and I appreciate it and all, but you obviously don’t know Jake.”
“Oh, I know him,” Naomi said in a wry voice. “But you don’t know me.”
“No, seriously,” Faith said, a hint of pity in her tone. “If you betray Jake’s trust—that’s it, no second chances. He’s like the Old Testament God, the one who turned people into pillars of salt for turning around to look backwards when he told them not to, and stuff. I mean, I love him like a brother, don’t get me wrong, but forgiveness isn’t his strong suit.”
“That’s why I bid on him last night,” Naomi said, smiling up at the slightly taller Faith, deciding she liked the girl. Anyone who cared this much about Jake was all right in her book, even if she was curre
ntly giving Naomi the third degree. “I knew the only way I would get him to stick around long enough to even think about accepting my apology was if he felt obligated to remain in my presence.”
“That’s pretty hardcore,” Faith said.
“I’m pretty hardcore,” Naomi answered. “And I don’t give up on things I want without a fight.” Then she added—in what she hoped was a reassuring voice—
“But I promise I’m not going to do anything to hurt Jake. That’s not on my agenda.”
Faith bit her lip, seemingly debating whether or not to accept Naomi at face value. Finally, she sighed and lifted her hands into the air in grudging surrender. “Okay. We’re cool. For now. But I’ve got my eye on you,” she warned, narrowing her gaze as she stepped past Naomi onto the sidewalk.
Naomi nodded. “Duly noted.”
“I’m going to get burritos,” Faith said as she backed away, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder. “You want one?”
“Really?” Naomi asked, touched by the unexpected offer. She’d been away from Summerville for so long that even the most basic Southern hospitality still seemed like an amazing gift. Once more, she gave silent thanks that she’d finally had the sense to come home.
Faith shrugged. “Yeah, well, I know you guys bought the place across the street. I’m kind of torn between being a friendly neighbor, and giving you the cold shoulder out of respect for Jake. Right now, I’m leaning more toward friendly neighbor. But I could switch to cold shoulder any moment,” she added quickly, obviously wanting to make it clear to Naomi that a welcome-to-the-neighborhood-burrito didn’t mean Faith was letting down her guard.
Naomi nodded again, fighting a smile. The more Faith talked, the more Naomi liked her. Her bluntness was refreshing.
Melt With You (Fire and Icing) Page 4
