Love Reconnected (Hollywood Series Book 1)

by Michaels, Avery

  We sat and talked and ate until we were about to pop. Laughter filled the house as if it had been meant to be here the whole time as we reminisced about our childhood.

  I sat back and let Jake catch up with his mom. I saw her every week, but he didn’t. I had been hogging him since he’d arrived in town. I grabbed a few plates and headed off to the kitchen to let them talk.

  I ran some water in the sink and started rinsing our dishes one by one before putting them in the dishwasher.

  As I was putting the leftover greens in a storage container, it occurred to me that I knew this house like the back of my hand. I knew it as well as I knew my own.

  “Leave those dishes, girl! Come in here with us,” Momma Lewis called out. I finished washing up the pot that had been used to cook the greens and placed it in the drying bin.

  “I was just loading the dishwasher.”

  “Well, I was just reminding Jake about that rat tail phase he went through,” she said. I laughed hysterically, recalling the long piece of hair he’d let grow out at the nape of his neck. “I thought I would never get rid of that tacky thing! I would sit at breakfast imagining him going off to college with that long piece of hair attached to his head. I had to cut it off while he was asleep! He cried about it for two days!”

  “I did not!” Jake shouted playfully.

  “In his defense, it was all the rage back then,” I told her when I could contain my laughter enough to speak.

  “Yeah, and your hair wasn’t much better, missy. How many cans of hairspray did it take you to get it to stand up like that?”

  “Hey, my hair was cool! It was the ‘80s!”

  “It was 1992!” she said.

  Momma Lewis popped the last dough ball in her mouth while she described Jake’s and my “matching” phase right after we’d met and decided we would be best friends forever.

  “You two acted like you needed to match every day with your hyper-color shirts and washed-out blue jeans. Kate, your momma didn’t know what to do with you! You were such a tom boy she thought you would never wear a dress again!”

  She threw her head back in laughter but stopped abruptly.

  Jake and I carried on for a moment before he said, “Momma?”

  Her eyes were wide and full of tears.

  “Are you all right?”

  She grabbed her throat, and I realized that she was choking.

  “Call an ambulance!” I grabbed her from behind to try the Heimlich maneuver. I wrapped my arms around her and thrust once, twice…nothing.

  I wasn’t getting anywhere, and she was panicking. Jake was on the phone with 911, shouting behind me when she went limp in my arms. He just kept screaming for me to do this or do that. I was sure he was only relaying what the operator was telling him, but I had to tune him out to concentrate. I slid her to the floor and opened her mouth but I couldn’t see anything. I went around and thrust upward on her stomach a few times then looked in her mouth again. I could see it. I did a finger sweep and pulled it out.

  “Katie, do something!” Jake kept screaming behind me.

  “Jake, put the phone down and go upstairs. Look in the medicine cabinet and get her glycerin pills,” I told him calmly.

  “The lady on the phone says not to put the phone down.”

  “Do it!” I checked for a pulse and got one. Jake was back by my side in a flash with the pills. I began rescue breathing. It took two rounds before she woke up coughing.

  I leaned back on my heels in relief.

  She complained of chest pain, which I suspected she would after such a terrifying ordeal, so I slipped a glycerin in her cheek, rubbing her head.

  Jake was totally freaking out. I decided it was best to keep him busy. “Jake, I need you to get me a wet rag, okay?”

  “Okay!” He ran off into the kitchen like it was a race.

  “Are you feeling any better, Momma Lewis?”

  “Yeah, honey. Thank you.”

  “Let’s get you up on the couch.” I helped her.

  The medics arrived just as I was getting her calmed down. They checked her pressure, did an EKG, and offered her a ride to the hospital to get checked out. She looked at me, all wide eyed. “It’s okay; she’s okay,” I told them.

  “Are you sure because—” Jake started.

  “She’s fine, Jake.” I reassured him. Mrs. Lewis had had an episode with her heart about a year before and had to go in for some tests. She’d hated the hospital ever since.

  Jake wouldn’t know that, though, because he hadn’t been there. She’d refused to let me call him; she didn’t want him to worry. He couldn’t be faulted for what he didn’t know. I had respected her wishes, as she’d respected mine.

  We sat with her until she decided she was ready for bed. “I’ll walk you up, Momma. I’m going to stay here tonight,” he said more to me than to her. I nodded.

  “I won’t hear of it,” she said. “You two go on and have fun.”

  “No, Mom, I’m not leaving after all that.”

  “I’m fine! Tell him, Katie.”

  “I don’t think it would hurt for him to stay here tonight,” I told her.

  “I’m not going to be fussed over,” she told us both with a pointing finger.

  I kissed her cheek, gave Jake a nod, and headed to my car, saying a silent prayer of thanks for the way things had turned out. Things didn’t always go that smoothly. We had been lucky.

  “Katie!” Jake yelled from the doorway, jarring me from my thoughts. He jogged out to the driveway and pulled me to him in a hug so tight he lifted my feet from the ground. “What you did…”

  “It’s nothing,” I smiled.

  “If you hadn’t been here—”

  “But I was.”

  “Thank you.” He hugged me again.

  “She’s really lonely without you,” I told him. “You should spend some time with her.”

  “Yeah, well, she just kicked me out.” He laughed. “She’s pushing me on you, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

  “She’s as stubborn as an ox.”

  “That’s like the pot calling the kettle black,” he nudged me.

  “Get in.” I relented. As soon as I put the car in drive, he laced his fingers in mine. I was a little taken aback, but it made me smile. It was amazing how such a small gesture could bring butterflies to life in my stomach. We’d held hands before, but in a friendly, tugging-each-other-along sort of way, not like this.

  We pulled in my driveway, and he brought our joined hands to his lips and held a kiss there for a long moment. It was so tender that I closed my eyes, relishing the feel of it before he let go. When he let go, I remembered that I’d have to let him go too…but not tonight. We walked up to the house hand in hand, as though we’d been together for years. He took my keys from me, unlocking the door like the gentleman he was.

  As soon as we were inside, he set the dishes down and pulled me close. So close that our noses touched. He pressed a button on his phone and Train’s “Drops of Jupiter” filled the room. He took my hand, placing it on his shoulder, and began to sway. I giggled a little at the cheesiness of it all, but his eyes caught mine, and he said, “This is your song.”

  “My song?”

  “Every time I hear it I think of you.”

  “I think you’ve got that backward. You’re the one who’s been out ‘looking for yourself.’ I’ve been here the whole time.”

  “I wasn’t looking for myself; I know who I am,” he said. I was too caught up in the moment to refute anything. He started singing along, and it was beautiful. I never knew he could sing. I was completely entranced by him. “‘Hey, Soul Sister’ will be your new song though. It fits better now,” he said as the song fades.

  I knew it well. It was one of my favorites. I thought of the lyrics. They weren’t about friendship. They were about a deeply passionate relationship between a man and a woman.

  I pulled away from Jake, grabbing the dishes we’d taken to his mom’s house, and carried
them to the sink.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, you say everything right. That’s the problem,” I told him. “Why now? Why do you want to know me now? I have to know.”

  “I never wanted to not know you, Katie. You’re the one who shut me out.”

  “I know.” I slapped my hand on my forehead so hard I said, “Ow!”

  “That wasn’t smart.” He laughed, lightening the mood, which was exactly what I needed him to do. It was as if he could read my mind. “I’ll clean this up; you go on to bed.”

  “I need a shower,” I said.

  “You just had a shower.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not really tired, and I think a shower will help me sleep,” I said.

  “Well go ahead and I’ll join you after I wash these.”

  He did join me. He walked in the bathroom just as I was wetting my hair. My hand went immediately to my lower abdomen in defense mode but for naught. He stepped in behind me without a word and lathered my hair. I let him massage my scalp and neck before I quickly ran a soapy cloth over the rest of my body and jumped out, leaving him to bathe.

  I dressed in underwear and a T-shirt then slid into bed, closing my eyes. He was getting so close. It felt like he was purposefully trying to be intimate. I shook off the notion, knowing that he was just trying to help me feel comfortable with what we were doing. I had told him I hadn’t been with anyone since my husband. I was certain that he was trying to make this whole “casual sex” thing easier for me.

  I felt him slide into the bed behind me. He kissed my head and laid his hand on my hip. I didn’t roll over. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t know how to tell him that he was getting too close.

  ****

  For the first time in I don’t know how long, I overslept. I was snuggled into Jake when I opened my eyes. I ran my nose up his smooth neck, taking in his scent, when I realized the sun was brighter than it should’ve been.

  It was one of those “leap to your feet” moments. I was on my feet and moving before I was all the way awake. It was after seven! I had planned on going in early to help Joe open, but fortunately, hadn’t said anything to him about it so at least he wouldn’t think anything of my tardiness.

  I drove to work nervous about the reporter’s threat from the day before, but when I arrived at the diner, it was business as usual. Jake had explained that Joan had hired look-alikes for us so we wouldn’t be bothered, but that reporter would expect me at work today, therefore, I expected him. I figured he would be alone again since he wanted the scoop.

  Just as I suspected, he strolled in again around nine, slithering into a booth as if he hadn’t had his ass handed to him the day before. Shameless, I thought as I marched straight toward him. “Get out.”

  “I was hoping you had reconsidered my offer.”

  “Nope.”

  “Very well then, I’ll have some coffee.”

  “You don’t hear so good.” My southern grammar broke through when I was angry. “I said leave.”

  “Do you know the difference between me and all the other idiots with a camera staking out the Winfrey Hotel right now?”

  “Nope. Don’t care, either.”

  “I’m a reporter,” he continued. “I can spot bullshit from a mile away. They’re just trying to sell a picture, while I’m selling a story. Do you understand the distinction?”

  “Again, I don’t really care.”

  “You should, Kate.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because the more I dig, the more interesting you become, and the more interesting you become, the harder I dig. Now, my story can be about your relationship with Jackson Jacobs, or it can be about his scandalous fling with a woman who isn’t quite who she says she is. The choice is yours.” I blinked a few times, wondering if he really had me figured out, or if he was fishing. “Your hesitation is intriguing.”

  “Joe!”

  “No need.” He tossed a quarter on the table. “You earned it, one way or another.”

  “Get out of here and don’t come back, you piece of shit!” I yelled across the small space. Everyone was staring as Joe busted through the kitchen, but the man was already gone.

  “Harvard, you can’t talk to people like that in here; I don’t care what they say to you. If you have a problem, I’ll handle it, but you’ll run off customers.” A couple got up from the bar and left as if to hammer home his point.

  “I’m sorry, Joe. It won’t happen again.”

  Chapter 7

  At noon, news vans from various channels pulled up simultaneously in front of the diner. I watched from the window as cameramen hoisted their equipment on their shoulders, and men and women alike got camera ready. There were also several people just standing around with tape recorders. Patrons began to leave because of the ruckus.

  I pulled my phone out thinking I would text Jake for advice, but when I found a message from him that said, Miss you already, babe, I decided against it. He was enjoying being “normal.” I didn’t want to take that from him. I could handle this.

  I caught Lauren checking her makeup and pulled her to the side. “Lauren, I would appreciate it if you would not talk to those people.”

  “You’re crazy!” She laughed.

  I thought fast. “Okay, talk to them but tell them about your date with Jake…ah, Jackson. Don’t talk to them about me.”

  “Everything’s not about you, Kate.”

  “Exactly! You’re right. Don’t let them manipulate you into talking about me or telling them my address. You tell them about you and Jackson and what a wonderful time you had with him the other night.”

  “I can’t be manipulated. I’m just not wired that way.” I held back the eye roll because that was exactly what I was doing to her. “Why would they care where you live anyhow?”

  “They just want to make Jackson look bad,” I told her. “They want to make some sort of scandal out of our friendship.”

  “Well, if there’s any scandal to be made, it should be about my dating Jackson.”

  “You’re right. You tell them that but be nice about it. You wouldn’t want anything hurtful to be said about him. It might upset him.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to upset him,” she said with conviction. The poor girl was still in la-la land. As much as I hated to say it, it suited me at the moment, so I let her believe whatever cockamamie thought process she had going on in that head of hers. I decided to try to make this up to her somehow in the future, but right now, I needed her to cooperate.

  “Tell them what a gentleman he was with you and how much you enjoyed your date. I would dodge any questions related to him being locked in a hotel room at the Winfrey.”

  “I’ve got this, Kate. I think I can handle it from here,” she said mockingly. I nodded and tried to get back to work, but Joe called me over.

  “Harvard, I think you should take the afternoon off.”

  “Joe, I can’t! I need the money!”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but all this pizzazz is running off my customers, and I’ve got bills to pay too.”

  “Yeah, okay, I understand, but I can come back tomorrow, right?”

  “You come back when all of this blows over. You’ll have a job here as long as you want, but I can’t have all of this.” He motioned to the parking lot. “It’s costing me business.”

  “Sure, I get it.” I nodded. And to think that we all thought Jake coming in would bring more business.

  I had Lauren step out first to talk to them. They nearly ran her over, poor thing, but after a minute, she captivated them with what I hoped was a story about her. I took the opportunity and made a beeline to my car, ripping a hole in my hose in my haste. They chased after me on foot but couldn’t manage to get to their vehicles fast enough to follow me.

  When I got to the house, I pulled my car in the garage for the first time in a while, just in case. My forehead hit the steering wheel with a thump of relief when the garage door closed behind me.
r />   I couldn’t afford to lose my job over a love affair. Not even a love affair, I reminded myself. Just an affair. After this week, Jake would go back to LA, and Ty and I would be on our own again. Had I not slept with him, I might have considered accepting his help financially…as a friend. But now that we’d had sex, I just couldn’t. Which really just left me with one option.

  I walked in the back door with purpose to find Jake lying on the couch eating Ty’s goldfish crackers. He was watching Oprah. When he saw me, he jumped to change the channel as if I had caught him watching porn.

  “Katie, what are you doing home so early?”

  I turned off the television. “I almost got fired because that douchebag from Vegas found me at work.”

  “Mick Lennox?”

  “I don’t know his name. The reporter that you attacked.”

  “Yeah, he has a reputation for crossing the line.”

  “Oh, he crossed the line all right. When I refused to give him an exclusive on us, he sent every reporter in town to the diner.”

  “That dick!”

  “You have to go, Jake.”

  “What?”

  “You have to leave.” I picked up his shoes and tossed them at his feet.

  “You mean like for the day? You need some time to yourself?”

  I looked at the floor because I couldn’t meet his eyes, “No, like for good. I can’t do this. I’m just now getting my shit together, and I can’t afford to lose my job.”

  “This”—he motioned around, his tone mocking—“is what you call ‘getting your shit together’?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You have a Master’s degree in radiology, and were in medical school, Katie! Now you’re a waitress in a shitty diner, living in your mom’s house, which is falling apart by the way.” His words lit a fire of anger inside me.

  “You think you know me?” I tilted my head.