CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I was sitting on Jason’s couch idly flipping channels with a bowl of popcorn in my hands and a frozen bag of sweet corn on my ankle when he returned from dropping off his father at the nursing home. Jason had asked Chris to stay overnight in the guest bedroom, but the man started growing agitated shortly after we arrived at Jason’s house following dinner and began demanding to go home. Jason told me that had been happening more and more lately.
“How’s the ankle?” he asked, walking through the front door and promptly tossing his keys on the coffee table.
“Pretty sure I wasn’t lying to my mother when I told her I’d live.” I plucked the ice pack off and examined my swollen ankle. Then I winced and replaced the cold compress on the sprain. “I’ll probably be limping around the jobsite all next week, though.”
“We can go to your place if you’d be more comfortable.”
“I’m extremely comfortable right here, thank you.”
“You sure look comfortable,” he said as his eyes scanned my body. In his absence I’d changed out of my sloppy yoga pants and T-shirt into a short blue sundress that I’d packed in my suitcase but hadn’t worn on the trip.
Jason sat down on the couch and gingerly picked my feet up, setting them in his lap, displacing the cold bag of sweet corn, and gently running his broad thumb over my injured ankle. “Does this hurt?”
“Actually it feels a little better when you touch it.”
A deviously sexy look came over him and his hand traveled higher. “In that case, can I touch other things too?”
“You’re incorrigible,” I said, although I parted my knees to give him better access.
But instead of taking advantage, he grew serious. “And you’re beautiful.”
I swallowed. “I missed you so much.”
He took my hand. “I missed you too.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you more often. I was always with the boys, and it was an emotional week.”
He nodded solemnly. “How are they doing?”
“They’re children. With that comes a certain amount of resilience, but I expect this will be a wound that will never quite heal. And William is devastated. He’ll always love Jennifer.”
“I’m sure he will,” Jason said.
My throat tightened as I remembered the conversation my brother and I had on the beach. “He told me things I didn’t know. He blames himself for the divorce because he spent all his time chasing professional success and neglected his family. You know what my brother said to me?”
“What?”
“William said no one ever died thinking, ‘Damn, I wish I’d put in more time at the office.’ It’s true. It’s absolutely true. Jason, I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to sideline the things in my life that matter and someday look back with terrible regret.”
Jason had leaned back and was peering at me intently. “And what matters to you, Audrey?”
I picked up his hand and kissed the broad palm. “You matter to me. I should have told you this sooner instead of pushing you away. I want to be with you, Jason. I want to be with you more than I’ve ever wanted anything.”
He smiled. “I think your nephew already spilled the beans on that topic.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, blushing and knowing full well he was talking about Leo and what he’d blurted out in the airport.
“He’s strong. That must be why you love him.”
Jason Roma was strong in more ways than I had ever guessed. Calm in the face of pressure, protective when confronted by any perceived threat, and generous enough to forgive a dying parent who could no longer remember the terrible things he’d done. No wonder I’d fallen for him.
“You know exactly what I mean,” Jason accused. He seized me around the waist and pulled me into a straddle across his lap, taking care not to jostle my ankle. Then he reached up and traced my lower lip.
“Say it,” he whispered.
I swallowed hard and took the plunge. “Jason, I love you.”
He didn’t say anything immediately, so I felt the need to continue.
“You’re brilliant and loyal and kind and so goddamn ridiculously gorgeous I can hardly breathe every time I look at you. I’ve closed myself off for so long, but I like who I am when we’re together. I love you not just for you but for bringing out the things in me I couldn’t admit I was missing. And—”
“I love you too,” he interrupted, curling his arms around my body and reminding me of the most practical feature of his strength. “And in case there’s any doubt in your mind, I want you to know those aren’t words I’ve ever said to any woman before.”
He kissed me quickly, then fiercely whispered, “I love you, Audrey Gordon.”
I touched the rough bristle that was growing in across his jaw. “You’re everything to me. You’re more important than all the two-hundred-million-dollar courthouse projects in the world.”
He grinned. “I’m pretty sure that’s the most romantic statement ever uttered.”
“I’m serious.” I paused before I made the next statement. “And Jason, if you want to take that other job, you have my full support. I mean that.”
“Nah,” Jason said. “I’m afraid you’re not getting rid of me.”
I smiled. “No?”
He shook his head for emphasis. “No. Pissing you off is too much fun.”
I playfully swatted at him, but he caught my hands and pinned them behind my back. Now that we’d voiced our heartfelt feelings, it seemed more-physical desires were going to claim priority. I was ready. I wanted him more than ever.
Jason’s kisses turned aggressive and I pressed my body against him, loving the feel of my breasts being crushed against his hard chest. But suddenly he broke away.
“What’s wrong?” I asked breathlessly, ready to start tearing clothes off and get wild.
Jason released my wrists and looked around the tidy, if understated, living room. “This isn’t exactly a downtown penthouse suite.”
“I like it,” I said, nibbling on his neck and wondering when he was going to get back to business. Jason was never one to hold back when it came to sex.
He plucked at the right strap of my dress and slowly eased it over my shoulder. “Do you really?”
I ran my hands all over his chest. “Yes. It’s a nice house. Quiet neighborhood.” I pulled the hem of his shirt up, admiring the smooth, tanned expanse of his muscled belly. I smiled when he sucked in a sharp breath as I moved lower, toying with his belt. “And most important,” I continued, loosening the leather strap, “you’re here.”
“Do you think you’d want to be here too?”
I stopped messing with his belt and looked at him. “What?”
Jason’s smile was somewhat shy. “You mentioned your apartment lease is up at the end of the summer.”
I vaguely recalled telling him that I needed to find a new apartment soon because my apartment complex was converting to condos next year. I didn’t like the place enough to make a permanent investment. But since there were still several months left of my lease term, I hadn’t made any plans.
“That’s true,” I said.
Jason slid the left strap of my dress down. “I’d love to have a roommate,” he said, and gently kissed the top of each breast. “If you wouldn’t mind living out in the stucco suburbs and commuting on the freeway in rush hour traffic.”
I hadn’t expected Jason to ask me to move in with him. But it took less than five seconds of consideration before I had an answer.
“We could commute together,” I suggested, returning to the job of getting his belt out of the way.
“And make better time using the carpool lane,” Jason agreed.
He let out a small groan when my fingers triumphed over the belt and began working on his zipper.
“Jason, I’d love to live here with you.”
His face lit up and I loved knowing I was the reason. We were in love. We made each other happy. There might not be any such thing as perfect when it comes to relationships, but I was determined to keep working at it. This kind of work was the real success in life. The things we did in exchange for a paycheck could never measure up.
After we kissed tenderly for a few minutes, Jason was delighted to discover that I wasn’t wearing panties beneath my dress. As he lifted me in his arms and carried me to bed, I told him the same thing I’d already told him. There was no such thing as saying it too much.
“I love you.”