Irresistible Lies
Page 20
He was driving her crazy, and he knew it.
Once the puzzle was finished, they all went to the grocery store together. Grace had a short list of things she and Jake needed to get them through the week. Jake normally hated food shopping, but he was on his best behavior in front of Jamie. They were in and out of the store in less than half an hour and the experience was actually enjoyable.
Grace was able to get all of the things she needed while Jamie pushed Jake in the shopping cart, keeping him entertained by putting him in charge of the shopping list. The two of them were having a great time ordering Grace around the aisles, but she was having so much fun watching them that she didn’t mind. At the end of it all, Jamie paid for her groceries, giving the cashier his card before Grace could take hers out of her purse.
“Jamie, you don’t have to do that,” Grace said, a little embarrassed.
“I want to.”
“I can afford my own groceries.”
She almost said something about how she had fed her son for years on her own, but she bit her tongue, knowing that would only hurt him.
Jamie wasn’t interested in her arguments. “And I can afford your groceries, too, so what does it matter who pays for them?”
“Fine,” she grumbled, filling up the cart with her bags.
It did bother her that he paid for them, only because she didn’t want him to feel like he had to take care of her. He could take care of Jake, that was all good and well, but one of the reasons she hadn’t told him that she was pregnant in the first place was because she didn’t want to make him feel responsible for her or obligated to be with her.
She didn’t want Jamie to settle for her—she wanted him to want her.
So did he?
That was the question that haunted her for the rest of the day. She wanted so badly to be alone with Jamie so they could talk, but he and Jake could not get enough of each other. They wouldn’t leave each other’s side, which left Grace sitting on pins and needles, waiting for the moment when Jamie would let her know what, if anything, she meant to him.
Jamie seemed to know she was growing impatient, and he did everything in his power to make it worse. He found little ways to touch her, holding her hand and putting his arm around her shoulders. Every time she tried to get him to give a hint as to what he was thinking, however, he would find a way to backtrack or be incredibly cryptic.
When she asked how long he was planning on staying, for example, he shrugged like he couldn’t care less and said he was still thinking about it.
She couldn’t stand it much longer.
After going food shopping, Grace, Jamie and Jake went apple picking, baked an apple pie, had dinner and watched an animated movie that Jake picked out about trains. By the time the credits rolled down the screen, Jake had fallen asleep on Jamie’s shoulder.
“He’s asleep,” Jamie whispered to Grace.
She loved her son dearly, but the words were music to her ears.
“We should bring him up to bed,” Grace said.
“You stay here, I’ll do it.”
“But you’ll come back down, won’t you?” she asked a little too eagerly for her own liking.
Jamie smiled knowingly. “Of course. Give me a minute.”
The minute felt like an eternity. When Jamie finally came back down the stairs, Grace had nearly worked herself into a nervous wreck.
Jamie sat down next to her on the couch, relaxing into the seat cushions like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“He’s a great kid,” he said. “Really great. You did good, Grace.”
“Thanks, Jamie.”
Silence fell between them, and Grace couldn’t decide how to break it. She wanted to come right out and ask him what he was thinking, but she was afraid that she wouldn’t like his answer.
How could she ask if he still loved her without risking being hurt again?
Still, she was the one who had gotten them into this mess, so it was only right that she break the ice. She took a deep breath, finally ready to pour her heart out.
“Jamie, I want you to know how sorry I am,” she said. “I should never have kept Jake a secret from you. It was the wrong thing to do, and I could not regret it more than I do at this moment. Seeing you two together today made me realize how incredibly selfish I was, not giving you the chance to be a father and know your son.”
He took her hand and held it, giving her the strength to continue on.
“I was so hurt by our breakup that I used it as an excuse to keep secrets and lie. I tricked myself into believing that I was doing you a favor. I told myself that you weren’t ready to be a father, and that if I told you about Jake, you would be forced into a family you didn’t want.” Her voice broke a little, but she forged ahead, needing to make him understand how sorry she was. “Now, I can see that it wasn’t my place to make that decision for you. I wish I could have seen past the hurt and done the right thing from the start.”
“Grace...”
She kept her eyes trained on the floor. “I understand if you can’t forgive me. I know it will take time before you can trust me again.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Jamie pulled her into his arms. “Can you ever forgive me?”
Grace looked up at him, her brown eyes shining with tears. “Forgive you? What on earth do you have to apologize for?”
“For being the world’s biggest idiot.” He planted a kiss on her neck and burrowed his head there. “For letting you go.”
“Jamie, you’ve apologized enough.”
“I’ll never have apologized enough. I hate that I hurt you. I wish I had been smart enough in college to realize what I had. You were the best thing that ever happened to me. You still are the best thing.”
Grace’s heart filled with joy at his words. She placed her hands on the sides of his face and gave him a beaming smile.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
“You still want me.”
“Of course.”
“You don’t hate me?”
“I could never, ever hate you.”
“Oh, Jamie.” She pulled him to her, locking his lips in a fervent kiss. He kissed her deeply and wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him.
“I’m so glad you walked back into my life,” she whispered against his lips. “I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”
“Not exactly.” Jamie pulled back slightly, that devilish glint in his blue eyes.
“What does that mean?”
“You’re not the only one who knows how to keep a secret.”
“Explain.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What if I told you that us finding each other again wasn’t a coincidence?”
Grace’s mouth dropped open. “How is that possible?”
Jamie pulled her closer so that she was sitting on his lap. “See, I tried to track you down when you didn’t come to graduation and refused to answer my phone calls.”
Grace nodded, remembering. “You called my parents. You showed up at the house. They told me.”
“Well, they didn’t tell me where you were, and I couldn’t find out. It wasn’t for lack of trying, either.”
She frowned. “How long did you look for me?”
“Grace, I never stopped. I’ve been looking for you for five years. I came to Virginia for you. It was all for you, not the brewery. You mean more to me than all of that, and I’d give it all up in a heartbeat if you asked me to.”
Her breath caught, and she thought it was the most romantic thing she had ever heard. She kissed him gently on the lips, so much love pouring out of her she was certain he could see it. “I’m so sorry I ran away, Jamie. I’m sorry I made everything so difficult.”
“You have no idea,” he said. “It drove me crazy, not knowing where you were; not being able to talk to you or touch you or tell you how sorry I was. Not knowing if you were with another man, if you were married...”
“I wondered, too,” Grace said. “I hated to think of you wit
h someone else.”
“There was never anyone who came close to you,” he said. “But you had Charlie...”
“No, no, Jamie. Charlie and I were never like this. How could I have loved him when you still had my heart?”
Jamie smiled ruefully. “Since we’re being honest, I have to tell you, I have never been so jealous in my life. Every time I was around Charlie, I wanted to start a fight. I couldn’t even stand it when you said his name.”
“Well, since we’re being honest,” Grace said, “I may have talked him up around you a little bit to keep you off the scent of Jake. That night I left your hotel after we made love? It was Caroline who called, not Charlie. Jake was sick.”
“And in New York? When you were on the phone and said ‘I love you’?”
“That was Jake, too.”
Jamie’s face lit up, and he laughed. “You little liar. You have no idea how crazy that made me, thinking you loved him. The reason I gave you so much work to do when I came to Virginia was to keep you busy enough that you wouldn’t get to spend any time with Charlie.”
“Jamie!” She swatted playfully at him, but he caught her hand and kissed it. “I was so pissed at you. I thought you had turned into such a jerk!”
“All’s fair in love and war, sweetheart.”
Grace laughed until he stopped the sound with a kiss, gently guiding her to lie down on the couch. The kiss quickly turned into something more and he moved his hands over her body, spreading the delicious heat. She pulled him as tightly to her as she possibly could, desperate for all of him.
He broke the kiss, his voice thick with desire. “I love you, Grace. I have always loved you, and I always will.”
“I love you too, Jamie,” she said. “I was so stupid to think that would ever change. You’re a part of me, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
She tried to pull him back into a kiss, but he resisted. “There’s one more thing we need to get straightened out.”
“What?” she asked impatiently. “Can’t it wait?”
“Absolutely not. It’s very important.”
“What is it?”
“We’re a family now, you, me and Jake.”
Grace smiled, loving the way that sounded. “Yes, we are a family.”
“A family should live together.” His expression grew serious. “I want you and Jake to come home with me. There’s a place for you at the brewery, if you want it. We can have more kids. I’d like to be there for all of it this time.” His hand slid to her stomach. “From the beginning.”
It was all Grace ever wanted, right there for the taking. She felt her eyes fill with happy tears. “Of course we’ll move. Of course. I never want to be apart from you again. I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. Can you do me a favor and reach into the back pocket of my jeans?’
Grace raised a questioning eyebrow at him but did as he asked. There was only one thing in his pocket, and it was small. It felt like...
“Jamie, is this...?”
She was holding a sparkling diamond ring, more beautiful than any she had ever seen, because it was meant for her.
Jamie beamed down at her, his blue eyes shining with happiness. “Grace, I can’t imagine going back to living my life without you, and I never want to try. I love you, I love our son, and I want us to be a real family. I really don’t think I can stand to go another day without putting a ring on your finger and making an honest woman out of you, my sweet little liar.”
She laughed even as tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.
“Grace, will you marry me?”
“Yes, Jamie. Yes, yes, yes.”
Grace pulled Jamie down for another kiss, knowing that this was one of those moments she would never forget. This was the start of her happily ever after.
Thank you for reading Irresistible Lies!
We hope you enjoyed Grace and Jamie’s story.
For more information about the author or to get in touch, please visit www.juliettewhitebooks.com.
Table of Contents
Irresistible LiesJuliette White
Chapter 1
Chapter 2“Mommy.”
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Thank you for reading Irresistible Lies!