CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Shane
The next few days fly by in a haze of happiness, horniness, and pouncing Jake so often that by the time we arrive at our photo shoot on Saturday, it hurts a little to sit down.
I wince as I settle into a makeup chair across from where Jake is getting a quick hair smoothing from the stylist, my expression summoning a knowing grin to his handsome face.
“Hush,” I whisper, narrowing my eyes and pointing a finger at his smirk. “Behave yourself.”
“I’ve been trying to behave,” he says, clearly referring to last night and his unsuccessful attempt to convince me to take a night off from banging like bunnies. “But someone won’t let me.”
“How was I supposed to behave when you’re leaving tonight and I won’t see you for almost an entire week?” I pull my hair back in a low ponytail so the makeup artist can get to my face without any flyaways getting in the way.
We’re set up in a tent warmed by heat lamps near the Cloisters in Central Park, but a chill early November wind still penetrates the cracks in the canvas. It makes me hope we can get the shots Denise wants quickly, before my toes freeze off in the silver kitten heels the stylist selected for the shoot.
“About that,” Jake says, a testing lilt in his voice. “Why don’t you come with me this time?”
I glance up, surprised. “Come with you? To Toronto and Detroit?”
“I won’t be busy the entire time. We’d still have a chance to sightsee. Toronto is home to the Hockey Hall of Fame. You could get a jumpstart on your education.”
I blink innocently. “Are you saying my knowledge of the game is lacking is some way?”
“They have art museums, too,” he says with a laugh, not even bothering to dignify my question with a response. “We could divide our time between art, hockey, and eating pancakes drenched in Canadian maple syrup. And then in Detroit you could hit up the hotel spa and avoid looking outside unless you absolutely have to.”
“Poor Detroit. I hear it’s in the middle of a comeback, you know.” I smile, loving that he wants me to come with him, even though I know I can’t. “I would love to come, but I’ve already RSVP’d for two fundraisers and I’m dog-sitting for Cat while she and her husband visit his family upstate. But next time. I’m a fan of maple syrup and hanging out with you.”
“Next time,” he agrees with a smile. “You’ll definitely have to come to the Ottawa game in January. The canal will be frozen by then. We can go ice-skating. Do the entire ten-mile stretch from downtown to the lake and back.”
“Sounds amazing, though you may have to drag me back to the hotel in a body bag afterward,” I say, earning a snicker from the makeup artist clipping a towel around my neck to protect my dress, a gorgeous silver floor length number that is totally fit for a princess. It’s the perfect foil to Jake’s roughed up tux, a grittier take on the usual men’s evening wear that is completely stunning on him.
“Nah, we’ll have your stamina up by then,” he says with a wink.
I glare at him, but I can’t keep the grin from my face. “You’re bad.”
“That’s one of the things you love about me, right?”
My smile widens. We haven’t said the words yet, but the big “L” is there every night when we come together in the dark and every morning when I wake up with a smile on my face because even while I’m still asleep, some part of me knows I’m in Jake’s arms.
The best arms, the only arms I want to wake up in for a long, long time.
I’m gone on him, so gone that not even a photo shoot can ruin my day. In fact, after the first few moments of awkwardness, I relax into the magic of being with Jake and forget all about the camera clicking away around us. We cuddle in the cloisters, kiss against stone walls covered with ivy, and pose for a Romeo and Juliet shot, my fingers stretching down from a balcony to brush his as he climbs the trellis to reach me.
The morning passes quickly, filled with laughter and lingering kisses and the warm glow of spending time with this man who makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.
Before I know it, Lucas, the photographer, calls it a wrap. “You two have amazing chemistry,” he says, walking Jake and I over to the monitor, where Denise and her team have already pulled up a few of their favorite shots. “I’d love to shoot you again. Any time. My treat. Just give my people a call and we can set something up.”
“Thank you so much,” I say as Denise widens her eyes meaningfully behind Lucas’s back, making me think not everyone gets this kind of offer from her most sought after photographer.
I’m cynically thinking that Jake’s star status has something to do with Lucas’s eagerness to photograph us again. But then I get a look at the shots Denise has selected, and my cynicism vanishes in a rush of shock and unexpected delight.
“Oh my God.” My hand flies to cover my mouth as my throat gets tight. “We look so pretty.”
Denise laughs, clearly pleased at seeing me so overcome. “And so in love. These are magic. We may get a cover out of this, you two. I’m going to pitch it hard at the meeting this afternoon.”
“Can we get copies?” Jake asks, sounding as awed as I feel. “I’d love to send one to my mom. She’s been bugging me to send her a shot of Shane.”
Lucas launches into the legal stuff surrounding the images—when we can share them and with whom—but I’m too busy staring at Jake to pay attention.
He wants to send his mom one of these fairytale shots of the two of us looking like a prince and princess on the way to their wedding. He wants to take me with him to his games and be with me all the time, and he’s already been making some noises about the two of us finding a place together eventually. He mentioned it in a joking way, insisting his cock wasn’t enjoying being away from my pussy even for the forty-five minutes it took him to run home and grab a few changes of clothes, but I could see us shacking up together in the future.
The not too distant future, in fact.
It hits me all of a sudden that this might be it. That my first date with Jake might have been my last first date, and that our first kiss might be my last first kiss, and that this might be the man I spend the rest of my life with.
The thought of Jake being mine for the long haul is so intense that the world starts to spin. My upper lip breaks out in a cold sweat, and my stomach pitches, and the next thing I know I’m making a run for the bushes.
I’m sick behind a stabby shrub that scratches the back of my hand as I push its prickly leaves away from my face, while someone from wardrobe makes anxious noises about what I might be getting on my very expensive, very borrowed dress.
But not even puking in public can completely ruin my day. Sure, I’m scared—falling in love for the first time since burying the first man I ever loved is a big deal, and more than enough reason to make anyone lose their breakfast—but I’m also happy.
And grateful.
And determined not to take a minute of my time with Jake for granted.
“You okay, princess?” he asks, his warm hand on my back. Only he could still manage to have toasty hands after spending the entire morning in forty-five degree temperatures.
“Ew, don’t look.” I emerge from the bushes, holding my hands in front of his face. “We haven’t been dating long enough for you to see that.”
“Doesn’t faze me.” His fingers circle my wrists, pulling my hands down to reveal his concerned expression. “Just want to be sure you’re all right.”
“Those oysters last night were a bad idea.” I lay a hand on my still-fluttering stomach. I think it’s nerves more than oysters, but at least my eating habits have given me something to blame.
“That’s why I don’t eat raw food,” he says, brow furrowing. “Next time, are you going to listen when I vote no on the oyster appetizer?”
“You’re bossy when you’re concerned,” I say, accepting the glass of water one of the shoot assistants presses into my hand. “It’s sweet.”
“I’m going to get you an appointment to see my doctor.” Jake holds my hand as we start toward the tent. “Hopefully he can get you in before I have to leave for the airport this afternoon.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m fine, really.” I sip my water, swishing it around in my mouth before I swallow. “I feel much better now. Even a little hungry.” I pause, considering the aching, empty feeling just below my ribs. “Starving actually. A Portobello and cheese sandwich and French fries sound like heaven right now. Want to grab lunch before you go home to pack?”
He holds the entrance flap to the tent open, studying my face as I stop in front of him. “Are you sure? I don’t mind going to the doctor. If you’ve got food poisoning, you should get checked out.”
“I really am feeling better. Maybe it was just too much coffee on an empty stomach and all the excitement of realizing you want to send pictures of me to your mother.”
His eyes soften, and a hint of shyness creeps into his expression, making me want to kiss him so much that I silently curse my stomach for making my mouth unfit for human company.
“Yeah, well, you knew I was a mama’s boy going into this, Willoughby,” he says in a falsely gruff voice. “Too late to complain now.”
“I’m not complaining. I’m honored. And I hope I get to meet her soon. I’d like to tell her what an excellent job she did with her oldest son.”
“Got any plans for Thanksgiving?” He wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer.
I turn my head away, putting my hands up to act as a shield between us. “No, but you aren’t allowed near my face right now. Not until I brush my teeth.”
“I don’t care if you brush your teeth. You should kiss me and give me your food poisoning. Then I can stay here with you.”
“Ew!” I push at his chest as he tries to steal a kiss. “That’s not how food poisoning works, you psycho. And if you kiss me right now I will never forgive you for it. Seriously, dragon. I need to brush my teeth!”
He lets me go with a laugh. “All right, princess. But after lunch we’re going back to your place. That way you can brush your teeth, and I give you a proper good-bye kiss.”
“Yes, that sounds good.” I ease past him into the tent, throwing my parting shot over my shoulder. “Though I may want more than a kiss.”
“You’re a glutton for punishment,” he says, fingers nipping at my waist as we move inside.
“That would be cock, Falcone,” I correct in a prim voice. “I’m a glutton for cock, not punishment.”
His eyes glitter, and I consider getting up to something naughty in the tent—something naughty that doesn’t include kissing, of course—but then the wardrobe mistress arrives to help me out of my dress.
With one last wicked grin for Jake, I retreat behind the changing screen, stomach fluttering with anticipation. Jake is going out of town today, but he’ll be back soon, and we’ve got the entire autumn full of holiday fun and New York City’s winter wonderlandness to look forward to. Neither of us has seen Keri lurking in dark corners in days, and life has been downright peaceful.
I’m cautiously optimistic that the pregnancy rumor Jake whispered in a mutual friend’s ear a few days ago has encouraged Keri to keep her distance, and that the profile documenting Jake’s and my love will finish the job of getting rid of his ex once and for all. Hopefully by the time it becomes obvious that I’m not actually pregnant, Keri will be obsessing over someone new and not even notice that I’m not actually knocked up.
And then Jake I will truly have nothing standing in our way.
Except his stubbornness and your tendency to run for cover at the first sign of trouble…
I wrinkle my nose at the inner voice.
Yes, in some ways Jake and I are both damaged goods, but that’s why we understand each other so well. It’s part of the reason why he’s so patient with me, and why I’m willing to call him out when he’s being unreasonable. It’s also why he’s quickly becoming one of my best friends, as well as the most amazing lover I’ve ever had.
I peek out from behind the screen, catching him stepping into his jeans, and I grin. He doesn’t see me, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll have a chance to ogle him again later, when he’s doing that putting-on-pants thing in reverse, to have me one last time before he leaves.
I sigh, affection and friskiness mixing in my chest in equal measure, assuring me that this is something special, something so good we’ll find a way past anything standing in our way.