Never Ever Satisfied

by Donna McDonald

  Trudy’s snicker turned into a giggle, which ultimately turned into real laughter. “It’s a freaking sentence. Jackson Dozen Wu. Oh my god, that’s so funny. No wonder Jack hates it.”

  “Yes. We are very aware of its linguistic resonance,” Brandon said.

  Trudy covered her mouth to laugh at Brandon’s defense, but quickly put a hand over Brandon’s on the table. “I’m sorry, Brandon. My weird sense of humor kicked in.” She moved her hand to Jivika’s arm. “Sorry. So sorry. I don’t mean to be disrespectful… not in any way.”

  Trudy looked between the two lovely young people who were being so earnest. It was suddenly clear that they truly had hopes of fostering a personal relationship between her and Jack. She had no doubts—none at all—that they meant well, but what the hell was she supposed to do about any of this?

  “When your father was your age, Jack was a hothead with a sharp tongue and a bad temper. He was not charming and smooth like you are, Brandon. Maybe he was rebelling against his family, but Jack had a giant chip on his shoulder about wanting to be the best. He often refused to take any direction at all in the kitchen. His vast cooking talent luckily made up for his attitude most of the time or he’d have no career in television today.”

  Jivika poured her a cup of hot tea when a beautiful plate of cinnamon sprinkled banana rolls arrived for dessert. “I took the liberty of requesting these. We can order something else if you like.”

  “No. I love banana rolls and those are absolutely beautiful,” Trudy said, then thanked Jivika for the tea. She sipped and braced herself to ask Jack’s son what had to be asked. “What exactly are you expecting after telling me all of this?”

  Brandon and Jivika looked at each other. They seemed a little startled by the question, but eventually smiled at each other. It was Brandon who finally turned back to her.

  “I was hoping you might give my father a chance to date you… if the situation arises where he wishes to do so. I think his pride might keep him from asking, but if you are each other’s destiny, I am sure the opportunity will arise.” His words drifted off to a shrug. “I will at least always know I tried to help him all I could. Perhaps I am selfishly hoping to stop being concerned for him.”

  “Jack and I? Each other’s destiny?” Trudy laughed around her banana roll. “I dusted your combative father with flour this week because he insulted my pie crust. My destiny is to be the thorn in your father’s paw. He’s certainly the thorn in mine.”

  They both looked so disappointed, she couldn’t leave them that way.

  “Okay,” Trudy said softly, washing down her delicious banana roll with her equally delicious tea. She was definitely coming back here. “If the question of dating ever comes up, I’ll give your father a chance. But please don’t count on it happening. That kind of romance… well, it’s never been a part of my life… or his. Our careers are demanding. I’m not the kind of woman a man would ever make a grand gesture for.”

  “Of course you are,” Jivika said. She held a hand out to her future husband. “Normally, my Brandon knows only what his data sheets show him. Yet he has asked the woman of his father’s dreams to dinner so he can plead his father’s case for love. This is an extremely grand gesture, is it not?”

  Trudy sipped her tea, looked deep into the replica of Jack’s sincere eyes, and then nodded. “Yes. I suppose that’s absolutely true. But the question is—how much like the son is the father? I’d date Brandon in a flat minute if I was half my age and you hadn’t gotten to him first.”

  She smirked knowing her point was made when Jivika and Brandon exchanged extremely worried looks.

  “I’m teasing,” Trudy said, setting down her empty teacup. “All I can promise is that you’ve given me some things to think about where Jack is concerned. So in that regard, you have been successful.”

  “Then this date was money well spent,” Brandon said.

  When it was time to leave, Trudy wished them well in their life together. Jack had raised a good child and it was obvious the boy adored him, as did the boy’s future wife.

  Brandon had also revealed what she’d declined to hear from Luke. Jack had used her forfeited finder’s fee to buy and support the boy’s home. Maybe he’d been young back then, but he’d also been about as perfect as a man could ever get.

  Though regret was something she refused to give mental space to, her drive home was spent thinking about the chance she’d missed in getting to know more about the younger Jack than just his amazing kiss.

  Chapter Nine

  Trudy suffered through nearly a full minute of silence before she couldn’t stand it anymore. “Well?”

  Ann laughed at the grumpy demand contained in such a simple word. “Haven’t you heard? A well is a hole in the ground filled with water.” She grinned when Georgia laughed at her awful joke.

  Jellica laughed. “Don’t mind Ann. She’s just afraid to say what we’re all thinking.”

  The women she loosely called friends all dissolved into chuckles as they watched her. “Okay, I’ll bite. What are you all thinking?” Trudy asked.

  “That you should jump Jack next time he stares at you,” Jellica ordered. “And I think you should do it on the show so we can all watch. I get most of my cheap thrills from cooking shows.”

  The mass of female giggling over Jellica’s comments only made Trudy frown that much harder. “It’s not funny. I have another show with him tomorrow. What if his son was telling me the truth? How am I supposed to stuff eclairs with Jack staring at me and thinking God knows what?”

  “If you’re that embarrassed, you could always ask him to look away while you properly stuff his… uh… eclair,” Georgia suggested, before dissolving into laughter.

  Ann and Jellica’s hysterical laughter followed Georgia’s strange outburst. A full three minutes later they all finally got control of themselves.

  It had taken Trudy one of those minutes to figure out what she’d said that was so funny. By then, all Trudy could do was glare about it. “Can you three please drag your dirty minds out of the gutter? I need some real help here.”

  Georgia’s house was the most centrally located for their ‘emergency’ meetings. She leaned over her table to stare at Trudy. “You know what your problem is? You’ve made this something in your mind that it’s not in real life. So his son checked you out? Henna grills me all the time about her father.”

  “Brandon’s opinion of me was not why I couldn’t sleep last night. He was a charming companion—not like his father at all. Jack is barely civil to me,” Trudy argued.

  George snickered. “Woman, listen to the words I’m saying. Let them go into your brain. You’re single. Jack Dozen is single. If it was any other guy, you’d have been to bed with him by now and have already kicked him to the curb.”

  Ann nodded. “He’s not twenty-five anymore, Trudy. And you’re not that much older than him.”

  “I am thirteen years older and I look it. I’m not a fit yoga teacher like you or Jellica.”

  Jellica snorted. “If Chef Dozen wanted a yoga teacher, he could have all he wanted, and you know that. You had groupies yourself for many years. Look who comes to his shows, Trudy. So stop using your mature body as an excuse for your cowardice. It’s obvious the man has the hots for you.”

  “That was harsh,” Georgia said to Jellica. “Yet I’m strangely proud of you for saying it like that.”

  Georgia looked at Trudy. “If you think this guy is no big deal, and that you’re no big deal to him, then what’s the big deal about sleeping with him? We know you want to. In fact, everyone who’s seen you two on his show knows you both want it bad. Just do it. Sex is not a commitment to marry—unless you want it to be one.”

  Trudy let a tense breath escape. If it had been any other guy, she probably would have indulged herself. But it wasn’t any other guy. It was Jack. And she was afraid of him. “I guess I didn’t want to risk hurting him again.”

  “Or getting hurt yourself,” Jellica added. “Whi
ch is perfectly understandable. We all get that.”

  Trudy sighed, growing resigned to their lack of moral support, at least of the kind she’d been hoping to get from them. “Confessing to you all has been a completely humiliating experience. I expected you to tell me I was right to have reservations.”

  “The only thing you should ever have reservations for is dinner,” Ann said.

  “Ha. Ha. Another joke from Ms. Hole In The Ground,” Trudy said, standing up.

  “Don’t forget the fundraiser Friday night. You promised you’d go to this one. Ann and Jellica have done their civic friend duty,” Georgia reminded her.

  Trudy sighed and nodded. “Okay. Okay. I know it’s my turn to go.”

  “Black dress and heels. It’s formal,” Georgia said.

  “I can’t freaking believe the turn my crazy train has taken lately. Georgia Bates is now a fashionista and demanding I dress appropriately. If you ask me, Brent needs his ass kicked for messing with your head,” Trudy grumbled, heading out the door while they all laughed at her complaining.

  “And that’s a wrap for today. Great show people. Time to go home,” the producer yelled.

  Trudy untied her segment logo apron and slipped it off. Her hands were unsteady and her heart was beating like a drum. Her flutters were the fault of the man currently talking to his audience and passing out left-over cream-filled eclairs to the lucky few who managed to charm him.

  Why in hell he’d decided on air to feed her part of an eclair and finish it himself was beyond her. If he hadn’t stared at her the whole time, she might have been able to fluff off what he’d done.

  Rolling her eyes at her girly reaction, she turned away from Jack and his fans hoping to beat a hasty retreat. Several audience members stopped her exit. She was politely chatting when she felt Jack take her arm and tug her away from them.

  “Sorry,” he said, smiling at the women. “Chef Baker and I have a meeting.”

  “What meeting?” Trudy demanded. “I have to go home and get dressed. I have a date tonight.”

  Jack stopped smiling and talking. He told himself to let it go—or at least to wait until he had her alone. He glanced at their giggling, eavesdropping fans and blew out a breath. But in the end, he had to know. “What kind of date do you have?”

  Trudy eased her arm out of his grasp and stepped away from him. “What kind of question is that? It’s dinner… you know… across a table with food. It’s a date.”

  Jack stared into her eyes for what felt like days and then his gaze dropped to Trudy’s mouth. He was tired of fighting his attraction to her. He was tired of her pretending she was immune to him. He knew better.

  “Fine. Meeting first though,” he said firmly, motioning for Trudy to follow him before striding across the floor.

  “Rude—always so rude,” Trudy muttered under her breath, surprised to hear the fans giggling over her words. Did Jack actually expect her to follow just because he commanded it? She gave the fans an apologetic smile and nodded in Jack’s direction. “Chef Dozen tells me I’m bossy, then bosses me around.”

  “Honey, he’s a man,” one of them said to her. “Enjoy the ride. I know I sure would.”

  There were lots of laughs and seconding to that comment. Trudy didn’t respond to the innuendo, just grinned and shook her head. At the door to the hallway, Jack turned back and glared when he saw she wasn’t at his heels.

  “Chef Baker,” he called in warning.

  “Stuff it, Jack. I’ll be right there,” Trudy called back. Her eyes couldn’t roll any higher, but swearing viciously at him in front of fans would not be good publicity.

  She walked across the floor as slowly as she could, tolerating his glare better than she did the female catcalls being whispered behind her to “go get him, girl”. It reminded her too much of advice she’d already received from her so-called friends—advice she’d been trying her best to ignore having ever heard.

  “That crap’s not my fault, Jack. That crap’s your fault for feeding me half an eclair while everyone watched us,” Trudy hissed when she next to him.

  “I guess I’m just not as good at compartmentalizing my life as you are,” Jack whispered back.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Trudy demanded, keeping her voice low as they hurried down the hall.

  Jack held up a hand, peered into the tiny makeup room, and then motioned her inside. It was empty because their show was the last one scheduled. The makeup people had already left for the day.

  When he didn’t bother with the lights, Trudy crossed her arms and backed up to a wall. Jack pulled tissues from a box and brought them over to her. He lifted them to her mouth, held her chin, and proceeded to gently wipe her lipstick off. “This stuff looks tantalizing, but I bet it tastes awful. I don’t want to take any chances.”

  Stunned by his actions and his comments, it took her a moment to find her voice. “Jack, what the hell are you doing?”

  “Stalling before I officially make my big move. The eclair was an impulse—not that I’m sorry about it,” he said softly. “Patience is what I tell all the boys. Don’t be in a rush. Give your girl time to get used to you moving in on her. You want to excite her, not scare her about your intentions.”

  “Well, I’m not a girl so you don’t have to worry about scaring me,” Trudy said, a little surprised when Jack stopped wiping to stare.

  “You’re not a girl?” He looked down at the front of her and brought a free hand up to explore.

  Her hiss over the shocking intimacy had her back pressing back harder into the wall. “Jack,” she said, her voice raspy with shock. “What are you doing?”

  “Just checking to make sure I’m right… and I am. You’re definitely a girl,” he answered smoothly, his mouth descending to her now mostly bare one before she could move out of reach.

  Every bit of breath left her when Jack’s warm lips slid over hers. He didn’t push for the kiss so much as coax her mouth into going along. Both his hands slid down to link their fingers. He stepped into her body and just like that, all of Jack was pressed along all of her. His mouth left her mouth then, which thankfully let her draw in a much needed breath.

  “What…” Her voice quivered. His mouth grazed over her cheek and down her neck. “What are you doing now?”

  “Leaning. Discovering how soft you are. Smelling you.”

  Her hands were slowly raised above her head with her fingers still linked with his. His face dipped out of sight again and she felt his mouth moving near her collarbone. Trudy panted in short breaths for the full thirty seconds he stayed in that spot.

  When Jack finally raised his gaze to hers again, she wet her lips with her tongue before she whispered his name. Hearing it must have been something he’d been waiting for because his hips were suddenly pushing against hers and his tongue was dancing in her mouth like it had the right to do so. Her moan, when it broke free of her throat, was loud in the quiet room.

  Jack moved his mouth and panted softly in her ear. “I think we should date.”

  “Date?” Trudy answered. “Jack, I’m fifty-three.”

  “I know. Believe me, I know. Do you want to wait another fifteen years to kiss like this again?” he demanded. “I barely survived losing this last time.”

  “No… I mean… what are you talking about? There is no… this,” Trudy protested in another hiss.

  “Denial won’t change the chemistry between us. Time didn’t change it. I’m not twenty-five now. You’re not going to chase me away.” Jack let her hands slide down. He let go of her fingers to slip his arms around her waist. “But you make me feel twenty-five again because you’re the only person I’ve ever felt this strongly about kissing or hugging or getting close to. Does us kissing like this not make perfect sense to you? Where is your brutal honesty now?”

  “I…” Trudy wet her lips while she pondered her rebuttal, but Jack took all licking as an invitation. His ravenous mouth covered hers again. He moaned and sampled and bit and sucked.
Her knees nearly buckled from the eroticism of what he was doing to her.

  What they were doing was glorious and crazy and about seventy other things Trudy would never have expected her hibernating libido to appreciate so strongly. She started to push Jack away, but her hands ended up running along his shoulders—over and over. God the man was built well. How could she keep saying no? Why did her instincts yell “run” around him?

  “Wait… wait…” she squeaked when he started for her mouth again. She felt Jack’s rising interest pressing against her stomach. “You kiss well. Okay? You kiss well,” she said. His pleased smile made her glad she’d said that instead of asking the stupid ‘why’ question.

  Jack rested his forehead against hers. “Are you busy tomorrow night? I want to see you. I’m even willing to eat in a restaurant with you.”

  She chuckled over the restaurant concession, and after smiling at her, he ended up kissing her senseless again. When he stopped, she was panting and out of breath again.

  “Jack… I can’t. I have a date tonight and a thing tomorrow night with Georgia… some sort of fundraiser.”

  “Cancel your date tonight,” Jack ordered.

  “No. It’s dinner, not…” Trudy stopped, staring into his eyes. “It’s not kissing. What are we doing, Jack?”

  “Not nearly what I wish we were,” he said sternly. Jack stared back and stared hard. “No kissing him. Promise me.”