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This was their second week of dating and Eden couldn’t be happier. A fierce attraction flamed between them that only got hotter with each kiss. Jacob seemed to have no problem with taking it slow. Most of their dates were with him cooking for them at his house, but Eden didn’t mind in the least.
While getting dressed up and going out on the town was a treat now and then, it was perfect for her to hang out at his house, eat a nice dinner, watch a movie, and relax with each other. There was much more to be learned that way instead of purging information across the table at a restaurant. She recalled the very first date right after they met at the speakeasy while she drove the now familiar route.
“Okay, I’m going to a cute guy’s house,” Eden murmured. “Let’s see what the evening brings.”
She maneuvered her car through the sultry Texas night to the swanky residential area of Dallas where Jacob lived. All of the houses in Westlake started at five hundred thousand and went up from there. There were no kids playing outside or a bike in a driveway. Her apartment was in a decent area of town but Jesus, her little Prius looked like a pauper’s car going up a street with all the BMWs and Lexus model cars and trucks in the driveways.
Eden found the house number, thank God. She’d felt like she would get lost on one of the streets in the neighborhood. Jacob’s house was the beige brick one that graced the center of a cul-de-sac. The house was massive, lights that highlighted manicured lawns and shrubbery. She parked her small car right next to his matte black Escalade truck and got out, feeling as usual, like she should leave instead of walking up to the door.
She was just about to do that when the front door opened, and Jacob stepped out. “Hi, you’re here, I was beginning to worry,” he said with an inviting smile.
Was it possible that he was even sexier than before? His blue t-shirt was stretched across his chest and biceps.
“I don’t think anyone could miss this house,” Eden teased, not letting him know she was almost freaked out about being lost. “It’s the largest one on this street.”
“It’s just a house,” he said and extended his arm in invitation to the inside.
“I don’t usually accept dinner invitations to men’s houses,” Eden found herself saying. “My friend Lisa has your address in case I need help.”
Jacob grinned. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, but we talked like three times before this.”
“True, but I don’t know what’s in your head.” Eden stepped into a foyer that featured granite tile floors and a high ceiling with a crystal chandelier in the center. “Wow, just wow, only a house huh?” she teased.
“I sleep here, so yeah,” Jacob said. “It’s a home when you have a family in it and you fill it with love.”
“And that’s what you want?” Eden asked.
“Eventually.” Jacob led her toward the kitchen and backyard. “This is where my sanctuary is. I love to cook, and I love my backyard.”
“I can see why.” Eden looked through the back door to the pool and the rock feature that spilled like a waterfall into the lighted water. He had a huge swing made in the shape of a ship with a dragon mast. Then an outside brick grill, and fireplace combo thing with chairs set around it for at least ten guests.
“Wine or beer, coffee or tea?” Jacob asked.
“Wine please,” Eden said turning back to the kitchen and seeing how extensive it truly was. “Are you sure this is a kitchen or the set from one of those food competitions channels?”
“I need space to spread out,” he answered with a smile. “You won’t be complaining when you taste my seared scallops, jasmine rice and hot spinach salad.”
“I’m not complaining now,” Eden said. “I’m letting you know though, I am truly a basic cook. If I can put it in the oven on three seventy-five for an hour, I’m good.”
“Please sit.” His laugh was rich and deep as he poured the wine. “Duly noted. In Asian culture, we favor warm foods to warm the body. People say it’s just Chinese medicine, but I like ginger, chilies and other spices in my cooking.”
“Color me intrigued, so I get to watch you cook too.” She took a sip of the wine and tasted the subtle flavors on her tongue. “I will take mental notes but more than likely, will never use them.”
“That’s okay, it means I can cook for you all the more,” Jacob said with a smile.
“So, I know about your job and kinda met your friends.” Eden met his gaze. “Tell me why you decided you wanted to ask me out?” She watched his hands as he deftly grated ginger and added spices to a sauté pan.
Jacob spoke as he worked, “Honestly, you looked as out of place there as I felt.”
“So, you picked the wallflower from the garden of roses?” Eden asked.
He looked up at her. “No, I picked the flower that stood out from the rest of the roses. You didn’t look like you were trying to catch a single guy’s eye. You were there having fun with your friend and it wasn’t about the people or the place. It was you relaxing and enjoying yourself.”
“Lisa spotted you guys right away,” Eden admitted. “I, on the other hand was told not to swivel my head around like a fan.”
This made Jacob chuckle and the night only got better. When it came time to leave after his amazing scallop dinner, the kiss they shared almost made her kick off her shoes and ask to stay the night. The man was a master at kissing, teasing her mouth with languid lips and then taking it deeper until all she could feel was his firm chest pressing hard against her body.
He kissed her once more before saying, “A little taste until next time.”
There definitely was more than once because in the last few weeks, she’d spent four out seven days at his house and was loving every minute of it. Jacob was unlike the guys she usually met who wanted to send dick pics and ask what she was wearing to rub one out, via text or phone call. He was intelligent and fun with a sense of humor that had her laughing.
Jacob was strong and sexy as hell. He even tried to teach her some self-defense moves that made them both laugh until tears, because Eden was not light on her feet. But it wasn’t like he was laughing at her. In his eyes, she saw real affection and patience which she didn’t usually get a feel for around the men she dated. It made it easy to make tonight the night she gave into what they were both feeling.
In the passenger seat was her spend the night bag. So, if the night went where they both wanted it... Eden would not be going home until the weekend was over. She loved how each time she arrived, he would be waiting for her at the front door. She’d pull her little blue Prius alongside his vehicle and he was at the door to help her out.
“Hey,” Eden said, as she always felt a little breathless and excited around him.
“Hi, my moon.”
His voice felt like warm caramel across her skin when he said the term of endearment.
His full name was Jacob Kosuke Sato and his middle name meant ‘rising sun.’ Knowing that he thought of her as a star in the sky only made her decision much easier. After dinner and helping him clean up the kitchen, it was time for them. He poured them both another glass of wine and Eden instinctively slipped her arms around his waist.
He turned pulled her into his arms for a hug that lifted her off her feet. Jacob nuzzled her neck. “You don’t know how much I missed you.”
A husky laugh escaped her. “You saw me yesterday.”
He pulled away with a smile. “True, but I missed you nonetheless.”
“I’m glad because I miss you too when we’re apart,” Eden admitted.
“Then that makes it easy,” Jacob said holding her hand. “Stay the weekend with me, no pressure as there are seven bedrooms you could stay in.”
“Or, I could stay in yours,” she hinted.
His eyes darkened. “I like that idea better.”
She could feel the arousal radiating off him.
They sat in the sunken living room watching TV. “I was completely afraid to date you,” Eden admitted suddenly. “The cultural differences, especially with me being African American.”
“I was born and raised here, while my mother would love for me to follow the usual Japanese tradition. I do my own thing to a point,” Jacob answered. “I have to go to Japan to set up our overseas offices in a month or two.”
Disappointment filled her. “How long will you be gone?”
“It will take about a year to set up, but in that time, you can come to Japan and I will be coming home as well,” Jacob replied.
“I thought that meant there was a shelf life on our relationship,” Eden said.
He cupped her cheek, and his voice was husky. “Never that.”
Their lips met in a kiss and Eden closed her eyes falling into the bliss of his lips against hers. It built in heat until a low groan seemed to rumble through him and he pulled her closer as he lay back on the wide soft brown sofa. Her body against his, made Eden tremble. Jacob’s hands roamed her body greedily and Eden could feel the hardness of his erection through her clothes. He made her want and to show her need, she undulated her hips against him until he groaned and pulled away.
“I had this whole thing planned, great dinner, cuddling on the sofa while we watched some movie with everything blowing up.” Jacob’s voice was hoarse with desire.
“So, any Jerry Bruckheimer film?” Eden teased and nipped at his bottom lip.
“Exactly.” He chuckled. “But if you keep moving against me like that, I’m going to forget to tempt you with tomorrow’s dinner as a bribe to stay.”
“What is your dinner plan?” Eden kissed her way down his neck.
“Beef tips and asparagus tossed with linguini pasta...” he groaned when she kept up her teasing of the sensitive skin of his neck. “Capers are in there... somewhere.”
“Capers you say, that’s my safe word,” Eden teased and moved to get off him.
“Get back here.” Jacob pulled her back against him and kissed her until her laughter became whimpers of need.
“Wanna see my bedroom?” Jacob answered.
“I’ve seen it in the tour, now I want to be naked in your bed,” Eden said brazenly.
“God, yes.”
Eden didn’t know how strong he was until he lifted her and him directly off the sofa and then set her on her feet. Hand in hand, they walked up the stairs and turned left to the master suite. She had seen it before decorated in reds and teal colors, along with the tapestries that depicted his heritage. Red blossoms on trees branches over a mountain scape.
The colors matched with his décor and she saw other items that were beautiful additions to his sanctuary and to honor his heritage. She knew this was important to him, as he’d managed to fuse the American and Japanese culture throughout the house. Right now, her focus was on the bed that was neatly made and the soft lighting that enhanced the rich brown coverlet with gold trimmings.
Jacob pulled her into his arms and in the midst of their heated kiss, he muttered against her lips, “I was taking it slow but man, it was killing me not to strip you naked and make love to you over and over again.”
“By all means, let’s to do that,” Eden gasped while he rained kisses down her neck and suckled the sensitive skin at her neck.
His hands cupped her full breasts through the cotton shirt dress she wore before he flicked the belt off from her waist easily. “God, you’re so beautiful,” he groaned. He moved his hands to the button-down shirt dress she wore and worked at the buttons with nimble fingers. While he slipped the fabric from her shoulders, he kissed her languidly, stoking the fire. Jacob slipped his hand between her skin and the cotton of her panties.
Eden gasped when he found her clit between the soft lips of her sex and gently grazed the sensitive nub. She trembled against him and spread her legs wider to give Jacob more access to her sex. Taking it slow? Well, that went out the window, because the fire burned hot within her making her ache. The kisses they shared became hot and wild. She heard the soft whimpers she made against his mouth and it only seemed to fuel his need.
Jacob stopped long enough to push her panties down her legs and when he touched her again, Eden writhed against his hand. She stroked his cock through the fabric of his pants and felt his engorged length straining against the fabric.
She worked at his belt, unbuckling it with an urgency just to touch him. “Can I touch you? Wrap my fingers around your cock and feel the velvet over steel,” she said breathless.
“Yes baby, do it.” His voice was harsh with desire. At her touch, Jacob fisted his hand in her thick hair and devastated her mouth with his kiss. His hips jerked and he thrust against her hand while she stroked him. The kiss didn’t stop, while he worked his pants and boxer briefs down his corded legs, he slipped his tongue past her teeth. He penetrated her mouth, a promise of the pleasure to come and Eden was ready for all of it.
He moved long enough to whip his shirt off and bring her back against is chest. With a deft move, Eden had her bra off and her breasts pressing against him. Jacob made her want, and the need was so palpable she ached.
Their lips were inches apart when he pinned her with his gaze. “I want to fuck you right now.”
Eden licked her lips. “Yes.” One simple word and she knew it would be a night she’d never forget. “Should we go to the bed?” she asked.
“Not quite yet.”
The dark wicked look in his eyes made Eden’s breath catch. It seemed that she had awakened something in him and that was enticing has hell. He wanted her and only her.
To Eden that was as heady as any drug. She trembled in anticipation when Jacob teased between the slit of her sex with deft fingers once again. While she stood there, her eyes became heavy with desire at his touch.
Jacob never stopped watching her face. “I love how you melt, I can’t wait to taste you,” his whisper was harsh against her ear.
“Put me down for that,” she gasped.
While he plundered her mouth, Jacob’s large hands cupped her breasts and teased her nipples until they were puckered tight.
Eden buried her hand in his hair, holding him to her. She bit her lip, trying to smother her cry from the pleasure that speared through her core.
“I want to hear you moan for me,” he said roughly. “You fucking make me want to lick every inch of your soft skin, then bury myself so damn deep inside you.”
Eden gasped at his words before pleading, “I want to feel everything.”
He played with her breasts, once more laving one nipple and then the other while her knees felt weak.
The carnal sounds Jacob made, primal and filled with a gut-wrenching need went straight to her core. Her hands roamed over his back and muscular shoulders, hoping that it would entice him to take her to the bed and fulfill the gratification she needed. “Jacob, I’ve never felt like this before.” Eden nipped at his shoulder.
“Oh, I’m not done,” Jacob murmured as he walked her back to the wall.
She felt the cool surface at her back as his lips were kissing all the way down her body. Jacob came to the apex of her thighs touching until she was anticipating his next move breathlessly. “You’re...making me... crazy,” she begged.
With gruff hand, he pushed her legs apart and titled her hips towards him before placing a kiss on the mound of her sex. Jacob probed between the delicate lips and sweet flesh with his tongue.
Eden felt her knees gave way and buckle under the onslaught.
“Be a very good girl, you can’t move until you come for me,” Jacob’s words were a soft demand.
“Please, please,” she whispered. Eden had never been taken like this, demands made of her body that made her bite her lips. She liked it, dear god, she loved it and waited in breathless anticipation.
He took, he sampled and teased, driving her higher and higher until with every breath, a whimper escaped. Eden used his shoulders as an anchor and when Jacob sucked on the bud of her clit, her body turned to wax.
Wasn’t that enough? The thought rushed through her mind but there was more that Jacob sought. Eden felt his fingers slip inside her, along with his lips and she cried out his name.
A guttural grunt came from between her legs, as Jacob was sitting now, to get more of a taste of her, arching her fully over his mouth.
The combination of his digits and lips drew the bow tighter within her. “I’m going to come,” her words sounded like a wail to her own ears. The constant pressure of his fingers sliding in and out of her pussy combined with his tongue on her clit sent Eden over the edge. A scream escaped her and she felt the slick sexual fluid leak from her core. The primal sounds of approval he made at her release filled her ears. Feeling brazen, when he got up, she pushed him against the wall and pressed hot kisses on his chest. On her knees, she took his cock in her hand and licked the smooth tip. She watched Jacob arch towards her mouth and proceeded to take him length deep in her mouth.
“Ah...fucking hell,” he said through gritted teeth and his hands were fisted at his sides as he strove for control.
She licked and used her mouth to please him until the pleasurable agonized groans escaped him. It thrilled Eden knowing she could make him feel this way and drive him as crazy as he’d made her.
He pulled her up quickly and kissed her with such hunger Eden was consumed by the heat.
“I’m going to take you,” he said simply.
Eden moved to the bed eagerly and Jacob bent her over the footboard. Pulling her hips back against him and kicking her legs apart with his own, Eden felt him run his finger up and down her slit until she trembled. The sense of satisfaction that filled her when Jacob finally sank his cock deep inside her couldn’t be explained in words.
His groan mingled with the cry that left her lips as he withdrew only to thrust slowly within her once more. “Eden,” he said her name reverently. With his hand on her hips, he pounded into her with a slow rhythm that caused heat to cascade over her body.
Her pussy clenched around him and she heard a harsh Fuck, escape Jacobs’s lips. The pace increased with neither of them willing to take it slow anymore. Jacob drove into her, taking them both higher to the peak of pure ecstasy. Every nerve ending in her body was alive, as she’d never been sent this high in sexual pleasure in her life. It consumed her while he took her hard, their bodies slapping together making an erotic playlist to their erotic acts.
“Jacob, I can’t hold back,” she gasped. “I can’t!”
“Ah shit yes.” Jacob pumped into her body, deeper and harder with every thrust. He was pushing them toward a blinding orgasm. He made claim to her body and she felt this connection, that she’d never felt before in her life. He laced his fingers with hers on the footboard. To Eden that connection was just an intimate as the connection of their bodies. She whispered his name as her orgasm took hold and her pussy clenched around his cock.
Jacob whispered something she couldn’t understand but it sounded almost like a poem or prayer. His release rolled through him with deep shudders as his thrusts sent his hot seed deep into her wet depths. More than few minutes went by before they could even move and then it was him cherishing her body as they got cleaned up in the bathroom.
Back in his bed, Jacob said her name gently before kissing her with infinite sweetness like she was the most cherished person in his life. After reaching the summit and falling back to earth languidly, now he pulled her close, protectively.
Eden felt safe in his arms. No words needed to be said, she snuggled against him while he covered them both with the thick down comforter in the cool air-conditioned room. She felt complete in Jacob’s arms. For the first time in a long time, Eden had hope about actually having a future with someone.
* * * *
The weekend locked away from the world with Eden was just what Jacob needed. The stress of his job and taking it international, along with family commitments had been taking its toll and he felt himself starting to fray at the edges. Jordan practically pushing him to go out that night to the Peridot was the luckiest thing that ever happened to him. He had been dead-set on staying home with a cold beer in peace and quiet.
Instead, he met Eden and his life felt fuller than it had in a long time. Jacob kept his personal life personal, even from his friends most of the time. But being with Eden made him want to share his happiness with someone. Monday morning came much too soon after a weekend of perfection. They had breakfast in bed, played outside in his pool in bathing suits and in the nude. Jacob was pretty sure they’d made love in every room in his house.
“I don’t want to go back to the doldrums of my life,” Eden moaned as they walked to the front door with an arm wrapped around each other’s waist.
“Once we open the door, this wonderful bubble pops and the world filters in,” he answered.
“Don’t open the door,” she said with a smile.
Jacob sucked in a breath as for some reason. his heart just fell fuller looking at her.
She then laughed. “Fine open it, I need to go to work.”
When the heavy door swung open, he certainly didn’t expect to see his mother standing there. If there was anyone who could pop the bubble, it would be her and she was a very big pin.
Ichika Sato was formidable even with a petite body in a business suit. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun while over her forearm was her green and gold purse that of course, matched her clothes. Her eyes widened in surprise then narrowed as she looked from her son to Eden. “Ko?” She used his nickname with an accent that was filled with of course...disapproval.
“Mother.” Jacob inclined his head. “Why are you here?”
“You did not answer your phone for the last few days,” she replied. “I came to make sure you weren’t dead.”
“As you can see, I am very much alive.” His voice was cool.
Eden looked from him to his mother curiously and with worry on her face.
Jacob sighed, as he knew Eden was confused by this stiff conversation.
“Care to introduce me to your...friend?” his mother said.
“Eden, this is my mother, Ichika Sato, mother this is Eden,” Jacob said. “And she is leaving for work.”
“Really? What do you do, Eden?”
His mother’s voice was sweet, but he knew her well enough to know that was far from the disposition she was feeling.
“I’m a paralegal and I am in law school,” Eden said with a smile, she held out her hand. “It is very nice to meet you, Mrs. Sato.”
The hand was not taken in return.
Eden looked uncomfortable as she smoothed her hands down her slacks. “I guess I will see you later, Jacob.”
Jacob bent his head to kiss her softly before saying in a firm voice, “Yes, you will.” He watched her get into her little blue car and drive away before turning to go back inside, knowing his mother would follow without invitation.
The heels of her shoes clicked on the granite tiles of his wide foyer as she followed him into the kitchen. “Really Ko?” she said, as disdain dripped from her words.
“What mother?” He started his Keurig and put one of the coffee pods into the stainless-steel coffee maker.
“I’ve been calling you and you avoid your mother for a woman?” She placed her bag on the counter. “And a—”
“What?” He whirled on her, feeling anger rise in his chest.
“She is not of our culture, African American no less,” she made a tsking sound. “Why do this, when you know your role in this family?”
“You presume, mother,” Jacob said coolly, mixing his morning caffeine fix. “Dad was the patriarch of this family and now he’s gone. I will not fall into the role to take care of you or my siblings. We were all given equal shares of his estate to do with as we please. Nothing was stated that I must become a head of household and make decisions for you or anyone else. You are the only one holding on to this notion.”
“Arrangements have been made for you to marry a very respectable girl in Japan and join our two families, making it stronger,” Ichika Sato stated. “Our family depends on it.”
“No, that’s you, mother,” Jacob answered. “You want to return to Japan and be part of some kind of hierarchy of fame and power that I want no part of.”
“When you go back, you will see and your thoughts will change,” she stated.
“No mother, they will not,” he said.
“So, this girl, this Eden is more than an infatuation?” his mother asked with a frown. “Diluting our heritage with some African American woman—”
Jacob slammed his hand down on the table. “Enough! I keep repeating myself, to you over and over again. I have not, nor will not be trapped in some loveless marriage with some woman I don’t know. One without a brain obviously, if she thinks she has to bow to her families wishes and marry a stranger in 2020, for god’s sake. I am going to Japan to work, nothing more nothing less. I agreed to help you relocate back to your home and again, no more than that. Don’t make me regret my choices, Mother.”
She nodded stiffly. “Very well, Ko... my son. I will abide by your wishes. I have to go; I have a meeting.”
“Enjoy your day.” Jacob took his coffee cup and left the kitchen as he spoke, “See yourself out.”
His mother acquiesced much too easily and he know at some point she would try to broach the conversation again. Luckily, she knew nothing about Eden because he and his siblings had dealt with her meddling before. His mother wanted to preserve a part of their culture that was forever changing while she refused to. Jacob wasn’t about to let her pull him back into the past because his father had died and she thought she knew best. With the elder male Sato gone, his mother had gotten worse and worse.
Jacob wondered if it was a bad thing that he felt a sense of relief that she was going back to Japan to take up residence. He decided no, that it wasn’t as he went into the bedroom and pulled out clothes to head in to work. The room still had Eden’s scent in the air, a mix of melon and cucumber from the bodywash and lotion she used. He saw something beautiful in her, a future that he wanted to build on. There was no way he would be able to do that with Ichika Sato in the same area, she would never accept Eden.
Chapter Three
The fuller breasts, the weird cravings for food and the weird intense sexual dreams. Eden thought it was all just hormones and a sign that she was happy and being well fed. After six weeks of being romanced and in a relationship with Jacob, she thought it was just all part of being blissfully in love.
Her co-workers even noticed her glow and commented on how happy she was.
Then she found out it was much more than that and it knocked her for a loop when she looked at the test in her hand. Eden closed her eyes and opened them again. Nope, the two lines didn’t change while she sat on her toilet seat. Pregnant. The word a red blinking flashing light in her mind. Holy shit! That was when she started to panic, her life was definitely not in order for a child, she still had school and... Jacob!
His name made her dizzy and she put her head between her knees. What would he think, hell what would he say? They were in no way near careful and maybe he’d think she was trying to trap him. Hell, she was a woman of contemporary time and she should have taken condoms or maybe got on birth control with all the sexing they’d been having. She would have to tell him, figure out if he was happy or sad. Oh, God! When did having great sex with an amazing guy get so complicated?
Eden was trying to get accustomed to the idea of being the mother of anything other than a dead succulent in a pot on her windowsill. How the hell she killed a cactus, she had no damn clue.
If she was—ok, when she became a mommy, she would have to step her game up that’s for sure. Ugh... this was drinking type of news except she couldn’t because yeah...baby. He would be leaving for his first three months in Japan soon, so she would have to tell him tonight.
The door buzzer on her apartment door rang. Being on the bottom floor of her complex sometimes people rang her doorbell by mistake. Except it wasn’t a mistake, when she opened the door it wasn’t a postal worker or UPS guy.
It was Ichika Sato dressed to the nines in a soft royal blue business suit and of course, matching purse. Her pearl earrings probably cost more than Eden’s entire salary for a year.
When Ichika flicked a glance at her pajamas and head tie, Eden felt the disapproval roll off Mrs. Sato in waves. Well, get over it, this is my damn place, Eden thought the words but didn’t voice them. “Mrs. Sato?” Eden said the name hesitantly. “Would you like to come in?”
Mrs. Sato cast a glance past her and frowned. “No, this will not take long.”
“Okay,” Eden said slowly.
“You will not be seeing my son anymore,” Mrs. Sato stated bluntly.
“Shouldn’t that be his choice?” Eden asked flatly.
“As the oldest male in our household, he is who we lean on,” Mrs. Sato went on. “When he leaves here for Japan, he will be marrying the daughter of another family and we become joined. This is how it’s done within our culture.”
Eden’s heart broke when she heard the words, but she stared defiantly at Mrs. Sato. “Shouldn’t Jacob be telling me this?”
“He is much too busy to deal with his dalliances on his own.” Mrs. Sato’s voice sounded smug. “Oh, you thought it was more, you are one of the many flavors my son has tried and as a man, he is allowed to do so. But in the end, he knows is duties as the eldest Sato and where his loyalties lie. He has known of this engagement and marriage all this time you were in his bed. Ko will tell you a sweet goodbye and then you will never hear from him again. I at least, wanted to spare you such suffering.”
“Because this is so much better,” Eden heard the hurt in her own voice. God, she wanted to cry but wouldn’t allow the woman in front of her to see such weakness.
“I am a woman, who speaks the truth in all things, I am sorry this hurts you—”
Eden laughed. “Oh, I’m sure you’re not.”
Mrs. Sato’s smile was cold. “How astute of you.”
“I guess that’s all you need to say,” Eden said. “Goodbye.” Eden had the greatest satisfaction of closing the door in the smug woman’s face before she broke down. Then she sat down, and tears slipped down her cheeks. It had been all too good to be true. She should’ve known, and she felt foolish because she always listened to her instincts. He was a coward to send his mother and that was a new low for any man.
Except now she was pregnant and if he showed up, she would tell him the truth. He had the money and his mother had the power to take the baby away from her. Eden’s protective instincts kicked in and she pressed her hand against her belly. This was her baby, no one else’s, and no one would be taking it from her. Acting on hurt and instinct, Eden went to her bedroom. Worry about her dead plant and the apartment was no longer a concern. She packed a bag hurriedly and would think about the rest of it later.
Right now, she had to run and the rest would be dealt with when he was gone. Back to Japan and his new family and marriage. A laugh mixed with a sob escaped her lips, as there was only one place to go. And that was home. It seemed the only flight she could get was the next day in the afternoon, instead of staying home she got a room in the hotel close by. It was late evening, well past when she and Jacob were to see each other. He kept calling, texting and calling again, but she wouldn’t answer.
Finally, Lisa called and that was the only called she answered.
“Chick, where the hell are you?” Lisa’s voice was frantic. “Jacob has been calling you and then he called Jordan and thus, me.”
“I’m good, I don’t need to talk to Jacob enough was said,” Eden answered.
“He went by your place and you wouldn’t answer or you’re not there,” Lisa said. “What the hell happened, Eden?”
Eden wanted to share her misery, but Lisa was a direct line to Jacob through his friend, Jordan. She had to keep her secret and get out of Texas until he left before any more decisions were made. “It just isn’t working, and I had to leave,” Eden said. “I needed to get away and clear my head. I’ll call him, so he’s not running all over Texas, looking for me.”
“Eden, I know you and this isn’t you, tell me please?” Lisa begged. “What’s wrong, did he hurt you... is that why you’re hiding? I will cut his balls off if he did.”
“I’m hurt but not like you think.” Eden sighed. “I promise I will tell you everything when I can. Please, please let me do this my way.”
Lisa sighed. “Okay babe, but keep in touch with me okay? Let me know you didn’t fall into a ditch or end up in the Amazon living with pigmies.”
Eden smiled. “I promise I will call in a few weeks. “
“Okay, love you, please be okay,” Lisa said.
Eden could tell she was about to cry. “I will,” she whispered. “Talk soon, love you.” She hung up and looked at the multiple texts from Jacob.
Eden, are you okay?
My Moon, where are you, I’m fucking worried sick!
EDEN ANSWER ME...PLEASE
She sighed and texted back the words.
I’m fine, we’re over, live your life and be happy with your choices. You are a coward and I’m never going to forgive you for it.
A few seconds later, her phone dinged.
What the hell does that mean? Eden, come on where are you, talk to me! Damn it, talk to me!
Goodbye, Jacob. She turned off her phone after that and before she left, she would disconnect this line and change her number. This was what love brought you and believing in someone you truly didn’t know. She would be strong and she would rock this mommy thing, even if she was alone.
* * * *
How did he lose someone so perfect and he didn’t even know why? Jacob thought he was seeing Eden that night. Instead, he ended up frantically calling everyone and getting a goodbye text. His choices, her words made him confused as he tried to keep calling texting. But Eden wouldn’t answer and then her phone was disconnected, and her friend Lisa was a tomb. That was a good friend but damn... it frustrated Jacob to no end. He left Texas with his heart broken and went to Japan, thinking it would only be three months, but instead he was there for over a year.
Not by choice, his mother got sick and as the oldest, it was his job to care for her. So, his life became his work and caring for his mother.
“Ko,” she said weakly from her bed.
“Yes, mother?” He sat on the side of the bed. “Are you hungry, does the nurse need to come in?”
“A bit thirsty,’ she said with a small smile. “I’m always so tired now.”
“Take a sip,” he said gently and held the straw to her lips. The water was filled with ice which she drank more often than not, his mother wouldn’t even take warm soup.
“Thank you, my son,” she said and lay her head back on the pillow. “You are so kind to me after all I have done.”
“It’s fine, Mother.” He’d heard her many sins as she got weaker.
“Eden was proud even as I lied...” She sighed and closed her eyes.
His heart stopped in his chest. “Mom—mother, what did you say?”
She opened her eyes weakly. “I could see you cared for her, and she cared for you. I destroyed that. I told her that you were coming to Japan to marry, told her you sent me to tell her goodbye.”
“What?” Jacob couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Mrs. Sato continued on, like she didn’t hear his son. “Dalliances, I told Eden she was one of the many women that came through your life. That as a Japanese man it was your right. She closed the door in my face.” His mother gave a husky laugh. “Her defiance was admirable.”
There was fury within him, Jacob wanted to rage and shake her until her teeth rattled. Instead, he paced the room. He had to push that turmoil aside, because on the bed was his dying mother and he needed to make sure she died in peace, not with his anger in her ears. This was what Eden meant by his choices, she thought he chose an unknown stranger over her. Even after a year, Lisa would give him no information, hell he even tried to buy it from her, and Lisa threatened to skin him alive. It was all a cascade of realization he should’ve seen sooner but he was dealing with his own broken heart.
“Ko... Ko...,” she said and held out her hand to him.
Jacob took a deep breath and sat beside her, taking her hand.
“Forgive me, Ko, forgive me for all of this and being such a hard mother.” Tears leaked from behind her closed lids. “I would change it all if I could.”
“It’s okay mother, you rest, you are forgiven for all things,” Jacob said. So many secrets and lies because she didn’t want to die with it on her conscience. It wasn’t because his mother had any guilt but because she thought it would help her go to Takamagahara which in their culture, was heaven. But from the way she had manipulated his father, then chasing away the perspective mates of him and his siblings, Jacob didn’t think heaven was anywhere in her afterlife. If she wasn’t dying, his mother would still be up to her same old tricks.
In his mind, he was thinking of Eden, it had been a year. Was she in another relationship where she was? He didn’t know but he had to find her, had to tell her that he hadn’t known what his mother had done and that his love never waned. Even if she were happy and at peace in her new life, Jacob had to let her know the truth.
A few days later, his mother died and she was buried, as per the traditions she loved. It took another four months before he could go back to the United States.
By that time, an investigator he’d hired found Eden’s address in Arizona and she had started a new life there. This was what Lisa didn’t want to tell him, maybe she had a new man in her life, and he was the last thing on her mind.
Jacob now sat in a rental SUV outside a small Spanish style ranch house on the opposite side of the street. The neighborhood was comprised of cookie cutter duplicates of each dwelling down both sides of the street, though it seemed nice.
Children played outside in a balmy seventy degrees and the sky was blue without a cloud. The house where Eden now lived had a small front yard with a garden and a little bird feeder that made him smile. It suited her and with a deep breath, Jacob got out the rental and crossed the street. Nervousness clenched at his gut when he rang the doorbell, a light chiming sound that again made him smile.
“Mom, you just left, how many grandma kisses do you—” Eden’s words froze in her throat when she saw him.
Then Jacob saw fear in her eyes.
In her arms, she carried a baby dressed in a pink onsie with chubby little legs kicking. Tiny feet wore little pink socks with butterflies on them and the baby smiled around a fist she was eating. She was beautiful, but her eyes, it was like looking into a mirror, down to the dark brown pupils. Jacob reached out hesitantly.
Eden stepped back, pulling the baby away from his touch. “What are you doing here?” Her tone was crisp.
“Is she...is the baby mine?” Jacob asked.
“No,” Eden said firmly. “Goodbye, Jacob.”
“It doesn’t work like that Eden,’ Jacob said firmly. “She looks to be around six, or seven months old and I’ve been gone for fourteen months. The timeline fits, tell me the truth.”
“Why? So you can try to take her from me,” Eden demanded to know. “You and that vile woman you call a mother?”
“I would never do that,” Jacob denied. “I know what she said to you, the things that made you run away. I can see you’re afraid, but I swear I would never try to take our child from you.”
“You said a lot of things, Jacob.” Eden’s eyes turned cold. “I would fight you to my last breath if you ever dared tried.”
“My mother died, four months ago and it took me that long to close out business there and to find you,” Jacob said. ‘She told me what she did on her deathbed.”
Eden gave short laugh. “Wow, it took you that long to figure out she was the deceptive one.”
“I was dealing with a broken heart and not thinking clearly,” Jacob admitted. “Eden, talking from the front door with me on the outside looking in is not helping. Can I please come in? I can see she’s mine, God.... my soul can feel her pulling at me because I’m her father.”
Eden sighed and stepped back. “Come in.”
Inside the house was comfortably decorated and had lots of open space for a baby to grow and learn to walk. It was cool as the sunlight poured in over the cream covered sofa and the yellow throw across it.
“I like your home,” Jacob said with a smile.
“Thank you, it’s not your sense of opulence but its home to us.” Eden moved into the living room. “You can sit wherever you want.”
Jacob chose the single chair and couldn’t take his eyes off the baby. “What’s her name?”
“Seraphina... Sera,” Eden answered and added quickly. “Kinsley.”
“Did you give her a middle name?” Jacob said huskily.
“Akira,” she answered hesitantly.
“It means ‘bright and clear’ in Japanese.” Jacob felt pride fill his chest. “You are my sky, I am the sun and together, we created a beautiful baby girl.”
“I’m not your anything, Jacob,” Eden said bluntly. “Finding out what your mother did doesn’t change the fact that we made a life here and without you.”
Jacob frowned. “If my mother hadn’t deceived you, we would be married right now, raising our daughter.”
“Or you would’ve denied us to the bitter end, and we’d be here anyway,” she pointed out. “All it showed me is that I can’t trust anything you say.”
“That is not true and you know it,” Jacob said helplessly. “I tried to reach out to you, if you had just told me. We wouldn’t have lost over a year together and I would have been in my daughter’s life from the day she was born.”
“You’re kidding me, right?” Eden said incredulously. “I was to tell an honorable Japanese son and man, that his mother came to my home and spewed the most hateful shit and he would believe me?”
“Yes, I would, because I knew her nature,” he answered with a sigh.
“But did I know your relationship with her?” Eden asked. “I met her once and then a few weeks later, she showed up at my door, the very same day I found out I was pregnant. So yes, I ran because as you can see, I cannot afford to fight you or her for my baby.”
“May I hold her?” Jacob asked. There would be more time to hash this out but at this point, his arms ached to hold his child. He saw Eden’s arms tighten protectively and he implored, “Please, Eden.”
She met his gaze and with a sigh, she stood and placed his daughter in his arms.
Jacob had never held a child before because his sisters did not have children as yet. But somehow, he knew how to hold the squirming six-month-old that didn’t want to lay in his arms but to stand on little legs and stare into his face. Jacob was instantly in love. His heart was filled with it for both Eden and his daughter.
“Well, hello there,” Jacob said gently. “Aren’t you the prettiest baby in the world? Are you Sera, is that your name?” It delighted him to see her smile and make babbling sounds at him. Sera drooled, there was a lot of it, and he wiped her lips gently, so it wouldn’t get on her clothes.
“She’s teething, they are giving her a hard time, so the drool is because of that,” Eden explained standing close by as if expecting him to run with the baby.
“You moved home to have help with her, didn’t you?” Jacob asked bouncing the baby and listening to her happy coos.
“My parents live close by. They babysit when I have to go into work.... I’m not moving back to Texas, Jacob. Don’t even ask because our life is here now, you took care of you and yours for a more than a year. I took care of us and this is our home, and she loves it here, close to her grandparents. I’m not running away but I’m not going to be forced to leave either.”
“I wouldn’t expect that...’ Jacob sighed. “I don’t know what I expect, but I want to be in her life and yours.”
“I won’t stop you from being a father and the logistics will more than likely be you flying back here to see her.” Eden met his gaze as she took the baby. “But there is no us, Jacob not anymore, we share a child and that’s how it will be.”
He stood. “For now, but know this, Eden. I never stopped loving you and I never will. I will work my ass off to have you and my daughter in my life. I won’t be giving up easily, just because you try to send me away.”
“Jacob don’t, please don’t make this any harder,” Eden pleaded. “I had to rebuild my heart for her, let me keep it that way.”
Jacob searched her face and even as she tried to hide it, he could still see the love in her eyes. He would take it slow, but his intentions would never change. “This is going to be her first Christmas,” Jacob said thinking about the time of the year it was. “I’m glad I didn’t miss it.”
Eden sighed. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
Jacob smiled. “Not in the least. I will have my bright and clear sky and my moon in my life.” He leaned over to kiss the baby’s head and inhaled the soft scent of baby lotion and powder. “I’ll see you both again, soon.”
“Oh Jacob, what are you planning?” she asked helplessly.
“My life with the people I love,” he answered.
When he left, he saw her standing at the door holding the baby and it took everything in him not to rush back in and take them both in his arms. Instead, he gave a small wave and drove off while his mind worked and formed a solid plan and a way to proceed. It seems Texas wasn’t going to be home anymore. Arizona had the two most important people in his life, living within the state. And Jacob was going to be exactly where they were. He would pull out all the stops to make Eden his again and by Christmas, they would be together... holding little Sera under the tree.