Dare to Love

by user

  her legs and running for her car.

  “I’m…I’m sorry to bother you, Jake.”

  “How did you find my house?” he asked, frowning.

  “You’re listed in the telephone book.” She’d been surprised to find how far outside

  the city he lived. Then again, considering the size of his house and yard, it didn’t surprise

  her he had to travel half an hour east of San Francisco to afford this much land.

  Small

  houses with no yards went for over a quarter of a million in the city.

  His brows knit together, but he didn’t speak. Almost like he couldn’t quite believe she was standing there.

  “Jake?”

  “Why are you here?”

  This wasn’t going to be easy. Did she really expect it to be? She’d just have to stand

  there and take it. Whatever he dished out, she deserved. “I’m here to apologize.” Somehow it didn’t seem powerful enough. The words fell flat. He stared at her, his

  lips in a straight line, no emotion showing on his face.

  “For what?”

  “For last night. For what I did, for what I said. For assuming—”

  “It’s not necessary. You didn’t need to come all the way out here.”

  “It is necessary,” she said, taking a step toward him. He looked, as usual, amazing.

  Last night in a tux, today in shorts and a tank top, showing off tanned, broad shoulders.

  Her heart accelerated, whether from sheer nervousness or feminine delight she wasn’t

  sure.

  Taking a deep breath, she figured she’d better just spit it out. “Jake, I was wrong.

  I’ve always prided myself on not being a snob, not judging people based on their appearances or occupation. And I grossly underestimated you. I have no excuse other

  than complete stupidity. Please, I beg you to forgive me.” He stood silent for a moment, his head tilted at an angle as if digesting what she’d just said.

  “Come in.” He held the door open and motioned her inside.

  With a silent sigh of relief, she stepped into the tiled entry, immediately struck by the

  simplistic beauty of his home. She’d thought the same thing when she pulled up into the

  double driveway. A one story beige frame with blue painted shutters and ornate double

  front doors, the house had beckoned her in welcome. The lawn was expertly manicured,

  evergreen bushes lined the picture window in the front, and three river birch trees

  provided a shady overhang.

  Children played in the front yard of the surrounding homes, screaming and laughing,

  riding their bikes and playing ball.

  It was a beautiful sight.

  “You want a drink?”

  She nodded and followed him, admiring the dark Berber carpet and pale gray walls.

  The furniture was modern, from the black leather sofa and matching chair in the family

  room off the entry way, to the glass and chrome table nestled in a nook in the kitchen.

  “I’ve got beer, some white wine, or iced tea. Take your pick.”

  “A glass of wine would be great.” She smoothed her hair off her face and tucked it into her ponytail before sitting down at the table.

  He came back with a bottle of beer and a glass of wine. She took a sip, surprised at

  the smooth flavor.

  “What is this?” she asked, twirling the liquid in the glass.

  “Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, eighty-eight.”

  “I like it. Very easy and light.”

  He shrugged, but didn’t respond.

  “You have a lovely home,” she said, cringing at the small talk.

  “Thanks.”

  She turned at the sound of scratching, surprised to find a beautiful dog wagging its

  tail on the other side of the sliding glass door. “Oh! You have a dog!” Without a look in Jake’s direction, she bounded from the chair and threw open the

  door, stepped out back and dropped to her knees to pet the dog.

  He was very friendly, licking her face and wagging his tail furiously.

  “Aren’t you just the sweetest thing?”

  “His name’s Rascal.” Jake stepped out behind her.

  She looked up at him. “He’s adorable.”

  Jake rolled his eyes. “Wait ’till he drops his slimy tennis ball in your hand.” Lucy laughed and ran her hands over Rascal’s thick coat. “I’ve always wanted a dog.

  I love animals.”

  “Why don’t you have one?” He handed her glass of wine over and they sat at a white

  patio table with a blue flowered umbrella.

  “Father would never allow it,” she said, petting Rascal on the head.

  “So? Move out. You are kind of old to be living with Daddy, aren’t you?” Not the first time she’d heard that. “I’ve thought about it, but Father and I spend so

  much time at night going over cases and paperwork related to the firm, I just felt it was

  easier to stay there. I have my own wing of the house, so I get plenty of privacy.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Look, Jake. The house is huge. Father and I barely run into each other unless we’re

  having a meeting in the home office. We lead separate lives, and he stays out of my

  business.”

  At Jake’s raised eyebrow, she added, “Mostly.”

  He leaned back in the chair and took a long swallow of beer. “And what if you want

  to bring a man home to spend the night? What then?” Heat rose in her cheeks. “I don’t.”

  “Ever?”

  “No.”

  “So, you’re a virgin.”

  “No!”

  He laughed, and she felt her face flame even hotter.

  “I meant I’d never bring someone to the house.”

  “What do you do when you want to sleep with someone?” How had this conversation gotten so personal, so intimate? “I don’t really think that’s any of your business.”

  “Counselor, you’re evading the issue.”

  “I’m not being evasive. I’m simply uncomfortable talking about something so personal.”

  “Your choice.” He stood. “I’ll be right back.”

  After he went into the house, Lucy took a couple quick drinks of wine and scrunched

  her shoulders, trying to ease the tension in her neck. She’d done what she came to do.

  They really had nothing left to say to each other.

  Jake stepped back outside with a plate of steaks and layered them on the grill.

  Lucy

  giggled at Rascal’s rapt attention to each slice of meat going from plate to grill.

  “I really should go.” She watched as he closed the lid on the grill and turned to her.

  “You can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just put a steak on for you.”

  “Oh.” She supposed she’d been invited to dinner. “All right, then. Thank you.”

  “No big deal. We all have to eat.”

  Lucy hated this distance between them, and knowing she was the cause of it set the

  guilt demons plaguing her again. She wished she knew how to get things back the way

  they were before. Although they hadn’t known each other long, she’d quickly grown

  accustomed to how comfortable she felt talking to Jake. There were no barriers, no games

  between them.

  At least there hadn’t been. Now there was a steel wall between them that she wasn’t

  sure would ever come down. And she’d put it there.

  “What can I do to help?” she asked.

  After turning the steaks, he motioned her inside. “You can help me fix a salad if you

  want.”

  “I’d love to.”

  They stood side by side in the expansive kitchen. Lucy sliced vegetables at the counter while Jake pre
pared a potato dish on the stove. “You can cook, too?” she asked.

  He smirked. “Yes, I can cook. I don’t have servants to do it for me.” She bristled, feeling every sting of that insult. “Yes, we have servants. Should I apologize for that, too?”

  “Not unless you feel it’s necessary.”

  Instead of picking a fight, she held her tongue and took it out on the carrots and cucumbers, furiously slamming the knife into the poor, defenseless vegetables.

  “Don’t cut your finger off,” Jake said over his shoulder. “I realize you probably don’t have much experience with chopping vegetables.” That did it. She stormed over and grabbed his arm to turn him so he’d face her. “I screwed up last night. I realize that. I said I was sorry. If I have to go on apologizing for

  coming from a wealthy family, then I might as well leave now. Because I’ll be damned if

  I’ll allow you to make me feel guilty because of the circumstances of my birth.

  And you

  call me a snob? Well, you’re a snob, too. You think just because I come from a rich family that I have no useful skills. Well, let me tell you, mister, I learned to cook a long

  time ago, I don’t let the servants do everything for me. I can grocery shop, do the laundry, wield a dust rag and a broom as well as the latest in vacuum cleaners, and I mop

  a mean floor. So you can take your reverse snobbery and shove it.” She was so furious her entire body shook with the adrenaline rush it took to get that

  tirade out.

  Jake’s lips curled into a smile. He reached out a hand and gently extricated the knife

  from her fingers. She hadn’t even realized she’d been pointing it at him the whole time.

  “I’ll take that.” He seemed to be fighting a grin. “You sure get all fired up and passionate when you’re pissed, don’t you?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, instantly mortified at her behavior. “I’ve never done anything

  like that before.”

  For the first time since she’d arrived, his eyes softened. “Hey. You’re entitled to vent, too. And you’re right. I guess I had a little leftover anger from last night.”

  “Truce?” she asked, holding out her hand.

  He slipped his in hers and squeezed gently. “Truce.” Lucy sighed and went back to making the salad, feeling a considerable lightening in

  her heart.

  Jake poured more wine and they worked together amicably, talking back and forth

  about her job and his. She set the table and put out the other food while Jake brought in

  the steaks. She smiled at the domestic scene. It was the first time she’d cooked with a

  man, and it felt good. Homey, comfortable—almost intimate.

  Things between them felt right again. Which both thrilled her and scared the heck out of her at the same time.

  What did right mean as it pertained to her and Jake? What was happening between

  them?

  Something good? Or something that would end up hurting them both?

  Chapter Five

  Lucy pushed the plate away, completely satiated. After the huge dinner, coupled with

  two more glasses of wine, she couldn’t move a muscle. A lethargic fog settled over her,

  and she figured she’d be stuck in the kitchen chair the rest of the night.

  Jake held out his hand. “Come on, let’s go out back and sit in the glider, watch the full moon.”

  Wrong. Not capable of movement. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m stuffed and had too much wine. I’m immovable.”

  “You want me to sling you over my shoulder and carry you?”

  “I’m up!” She stood, wobbled a bit, and followed Jake outside. When had the sun gone down? Dusky shadows fell over the moonlit backyard. They eased into the glider

  together, and Rascal settled at their feet.

  Jake handed her yet another glass of wine.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were trying to get me drunk so you could take

  advantage of me.”

  He slipped his arm over the chair, resting it lightly against her back. His devilish smile held her. “Baby, if I wanted to take advantage of you, I’d make sure you were stone

  cold sober. I’d want you fully aware of everything that happened.”

  “Oh.” She shivered with the promise of that statement, her mind conjuring up vivid

  images of naked limbs and fevered kisses.

  She hoped she wasn’t drooling.

  Time to change the subject to something neutral. “Tell me about your childhood.”

  “Why do you want to know about that?”

  “I’m interested.” She glanced at his profile silhouetted in the faint light from the kitchen window.

  He gazed out into the darkness and took a sip of his beer.

  “Not much to tell. I left home when I was sixteen, started working construction right

  after that.”

  “You ran away?”

  “Not really. My old man didn’t give a damn whether I stayed around or not. He was

  probably glad to see me go.”

  She sensed the sadness wrapped around his carefully guarded words. “That must have been hard for you. What about your mother?”

  “She died before I left.”

  The bitterness in that statement brooked no further prodding. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s old history.”

  “Still, it’s hard to lose a parent when you’re so young. My mother died when I was six.”

  His hand slipped to her shoulder, and she felt the squeeze of his fingers against her

  bare flesh. “That’s rough.”

  “I don’t really remember much about her. I know she smiled a lot.” Her memories were so distant. All she had were pictures of a laughing woman holding a young Lucy in

  her arms, looking for all the world like the happiest woman alive. She wished there were

  more.

  “So, it was just you and your dad after she died?”

  “Yes. He tried to be both parents, but Father isn’t one for showing much affection. I

  know he loves me.”

  “Girls need a mom. Your dad never remarried?”

  “No. He was too busy with work to even consider it. He never even dated after Mother died.” Lucy wished he had. Maybe a woman’s influence would have softened

  him. God knows she would have loved to have a mother figure around.

  “Too bad. That’s probably why you and your dad are so close.” Were they? Lucy wondered sometimes how her father really felt about her. He wasn’t outwardly affectionate, and the only positive reinforcement she’d received when

  she was younger came upon making good grades in school. Even now, she’d get a pat on

  the back for winning a case at work. At times she felt more a valued employee than a

  beloved daughter.

  “You and your dad? You didn’t get along?” she asked.

  Jake laughed. “That’s an understatement.”

  “Why not?”

  “He was a mean, vindictive, sorry SOB who never had a kind word to say to anyone

  in his entire life.”

  She turned to him and rested her hand on his. “That’s a terrible way to raise a child.

  No wonder you left home.”

  “No big deal. I’m over it now,” he said with a shrug and another pull of his beer.

  Wanting to ask more questions, to delve deeper, she could tell by the distant look on

  his face that he didn’t want to continue the discussion. “Did you finish high school?”

  “Eventually. I hooked up with Bob and he kind of adopted me. Took me home with

  him. He and his wife, Shelly, gave me a place to stay. They never had kids, and I was

  trouble in the worst way, but still, they looked after me. Bob made me finish school

  before he’d let me work full ti
me at the job sites.” Lucy warmed at the affection Jake showed for Bob. “Sounds like a very good man.”

  “He is. Pain in my butt sometimes, but he’s been good to me.”

  “And now you have your own construction company. You’ve come a long way.”

  “I had to work damn hard to get here. Went to night school, again at Bob’s not so subtle urging, while working full time in construction. Got my degree in business, continued to work like a madman, then had an opportunity to buy a company, so I took