Rose almost laughed. Almost. The look in his eyes stopped her. Jake was serious. “That’s – what?”
“You asked why I’m still single. That’s my answer.”
Her instinct to run, to move, warred against her desire to kiss him. The need to run, to put space between her and Jake was strong. That’s what she did when things were too much, too overwhelming. She needed space. But the other part of herself wanted him. Wanted him to kiss her, to touch her, to keep her still.
The moment he looked like he might do exactly that, Rose jumped up. Adrenaline coursed through every piece of her body.
“I need – I…”
“You can walk laps around the coffee table if you need to.”
She whirled to face him. Jake hadn’t moved a muscle. “What?”
“You need to move, right?”
“Don’t mock me.” Rose was tired of people making fun of her, and her tone was sharp. All she could hear was ‘runaway bride.’
Jake held up his hands. “I’m not mocking you, Rose. It helps you process if you’re moving. You’ve always needed to walk it out. I’m offering a solution, so you don’t go running into the blizzard.”
“Oh,” was the only thing she could say. Jake was the first person, aside from Megan, who noticed her need for movement to help her brain. “You don’t care if I just walk for a few minutes?”
“Not even a little bit. Would you like me to get you some water?”
She nodded. “Please.” Rose waited for Jake to stand and go to the kitchen before she wiped at the tears that sprung up.
Then she walked. At first around the coffee table a few times. Then down the hall. She didn’t understand his confession. Or why he would admit to it so damn quickly. It hadn’t been that long since he saved her from the side of the road, and it had been years since they’d had a real conversation.
Of course, the best thing to do would be to ask for more information. What did he mean nobody compared to her? What qualities was he measuring?
Did he expect her to be the same girl she was when they were teenagers? How disappointed would he be when he discovered she wasn’t?
On one pass, Jake simply handed her a glass of water as she went by and went to sit on the couch.
Rose took a sip and kept her loop.
Up and down the hall. Front door, turn, up the hall. Back wall, spin, down the hall.
Again and again.
Until she heard Daisy moving in the crate. Rose cracked the door open and saw Daisy with her tail wagging. “Hey, pretty girl. You feeling okay?” The water bowl looked almost empty, and the other bowl had been licked clean. “Ready to come out?”
The dog pawed at the door of the crate. Rose laughed and stepped into the room. She bent down and let Daisy sniff her fingers first, and then opened the lock and swung the door open. Daisy immediately tackled Rose and knocked her on her back, and kissed any part of Rose she could.
Rose sputtered and giggled and tried to pet the wiggling dog. “Oh, okay. Yes, I love you, too. Yes, I know. Oh, okay.”
Daisy disappeared, and Rose tilted her head to see Jake. He’d squatted in the doorway and Daisy was on her back, wiggling for belly rubs.
“Sorry. I should have asked before I let her out. She was just too cute.” Rose sat up and brushed herself off and wiped at the stray Daisy hairs.
“Did you hit Rose with the puppy eyes? Oh, yeah?”
It took Rose an extra second to realize the higher pitch of Jake’s voice was aimed at Daisy. She stared at the way he adjusted his entire body to make sure Daisy didn’t feel threatened; his broad shoulders scrunched in an unthreatening way, his voice gentle and soft and just for the dog at his feet. Rose melted.
She could see the look of love in Daisy’s eyes. That dog was a goner, and it was likely that Jake was, too.
“I think she might need to go outside. I can take her.” Rose stood and started to leave the room. That’s when she noticed the room had a massive bed against the far wall. And a dresser across from it, next to the door to the hall. And a closet in the corner, door propped open, and a duffle bag crumpled on the floor.
Not a spare room.
Jake’s bedroom.
Jake stood. “That’s okay. I’ll take her so you don’t have to go out in the cold again. We won’t be long.” Jake smiled at Rose, glanced behind her in the direction of his bed, and then back at her. Her entire body heated under his gaze. “Come on, pretty girl.”
Rose went to take a step when Daisy leapt up and trotted behind Jake.
The dog. ‘Pretty girl’ was the dog.
Rose needed to get a grip. She followed Jake and Daisy down the hall and then waited on the couch for them to come back in.
It didn’t take long before Daisy bounded back into the room and jumped on the couch next to Rose.
“Feel better?” Rose gave Daisy some ear rubs and then belly rubs when the dog flopped onto her back, paws up. Daisy sat up, gave Rose a bunch of kisses, and zoomed around the couch a few times before she ran out of the room. “Okay, bye wild girl!”
Rose was still trying to sort out her reaction to Jake’s confession by the time Jake and Daisy came back in. Daisy claimed the spot next to Rose and curled up, finally worn out. Jake took a seat on the opposite side of the L-shape.
“I’m not sure the blizzard is going to slow down any time soon. We can’t do much else other than hunker down, but we can put a movie on, and I can whip up a quick dinner if you’re hungry.”
It was past the time Rose usually ate but she’d been too distracted by the blizzard, getting stranded and then rescued, and by Jake to notice.
“Food sounds good. But I insist on helping somehow.”
“Okay, if you insist,” Jake laughed. “I have some lasagna leftovers we can heat up.”
Rose followed Jake into the kitchen, and waited at the entryway as he got things together. His movements were intentional and confident as he got their late dinner ready. She’d seen her uncles spend five minutes looking for something they use every day in their own kitchens in their houses that they’d lived in for decades. None of them moved around their kitchens with the level of surety that Jake moved in his.
Jake lived alone, and that could account for his familiarity with his own home. But not everyone who lived alone was comfortable cooking for themselves. She was fairly adept in the kitchen but didn’t move with the same surety that Jake had.
“How can I help?”
“Uh, depends. Do you want to eat in here at the table or in the living room?”
The sound of her mother and Henry’s mother clutching their figurative pearls at the idea of eating somewhere other than a dining table echoed in Rose’s head. “I don’t have a preference.”
“If we eat in the living room, we can watch the weather or a movie.”
Rose recognized the offer of a buffer. “Living room it is.”
Jake smiled. “I have folding trays against the entertainment center under the tv. You can pick our spots. I don’t have a favorite.”
Rose found the tables and got them set up, and Jake brought the plates of food.
“That smells amazing. Did you make it?” Rose’s mouth watered as she eyed the slice of noodles, meat sauce, and cheese on the table in front of her.
“Not this time. This is from Mom. She loaded me up when I was over there a couple of days ago to check on the house ahead of the storm.”
Rose knew it would be delicious. Mrs. Clark had fed Rose a lot over the course of the two years Rose and Jake had been together as teenagers. She tried not to worry what Mrs. Clark might think of her now. Much as the older woman had been kind and welcoming to Rose as a teenager, Rose was sure Mrs. Clark’s opinion of her had changed after the breakup, and probably again more recently still with all of the ‘runaway bride’ gossip that had spread.
“Weather or a movie?”
Rose glanced at Jake and found his gaze fixed on her. He’d always been able to read her mood better than anyone. “Weather check and then a movie, I think.”
“Good deal.” He pulled up the right channel. The forecast for the night and next day were “blizzard, and more blizzard.” The storm had decided to sit right on top of Long Island, a rare occurrence, even in December.
It was unlikely that Rose would get home any time soon, and she was even more grateful she’d packed an emergency backpack for her car. And even happier she’d remembered to grab it when Jake saved her and Daisy.
Her hand froze in midair, fork and all. The bag she’d packed was still in the backseat of Jake’s truck. There was no actual reason for her to have borrowed his clothes.
“Everything okay?”
Her cheeks burned. “Yeah. Just remembering that I have a bag with my own clothes in the back of your truck.”
Jake stared at Rose, silent for a beat and then laughed. “Is that what’s in that bag? I brought it in for you before. It’s by the front door.”
“Really?” Rose whipped her head around to look. Sure enough, tucked against the wall next to the door was her blue emergency backpack. “I feel like an idiot. I walked right by it half a dozen times before!” She sighed.
“It’s been a stressful day. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“I’ll change after we eat and give your clothes back.” She took another bite and tried not to look as embarrassed as she felt.
“No, you won’t.”
Rose glanced up at the command in his voice. “What?”
“There’s no reason to change unless my clothes are uncomfortable.”
“Oh, no. They’re, um…” Rose’s body heated under his gaze. “They’re very comfortable.” She clenched her thighs together when he growled.
“Good. Then no reason for you to change right away. Any requests for a movie?”
Rose shook her head and took another bite. She wasn’t normally one to follow orders, but Rose almost squeaked out a ‘yes, sir,’ at his tone. Jake hadn’t been all that dominant when they were together in high school. Apparently, he’d grown into more than just his physical frame.
When had that happened?
Jake picked an older movie, one he knew she’d already seen. “Something familiar,” was all he said about his choice.
They finished their food in easy quiet, though Rose had to force her eyes from Jake to the tv more than once. He either didn’t notice or pretended not to see her watch him from her perch across from him.
She helped him clean up when they were both finished. Jake gave Daisy a little more food and took her outside again. Rose watched from the back door, arms crossed against the cold air that seeped in. Daisy was definitely a fan of snow. Jake tossed small handfuls into the air, and Daisy jumped and snapped at them, and at the flakes that still fell from the dark sky.
Rose’s heart swelled. Whatever happened between her and Jake, Daisy was safe and would be loved, even if she ended up in a different forever home. The thought made Rose’s heart ache. Daisy and Jake looked like they belonged together. But who was Rose to put that expectation on Jake after spending only a handful of hours together? If Rose thought Daisy would be at all happy in the small above-garage apartment, Rose would keep her. But it wouldn’t be fair to take Daisy away from a yard, and Jake.
Rose gave them space as Jake and Daisy came back into the warmth of the house. Rose snagged Daisy before she could run away and wrapped her in the towel Jake left by the back door. She dried off all four paws and rubbed along Daisy’s belly to get the snow off. Daisy wiggled and foot stomped the entire time. Rose let go and Daisy wiggled away, likely in search of somewhere comfortable and warm.
Jake started to peel off the layers of winter gear. The area by the back door was small, so Rose backed into the kitchen to give him space. Jake lifted the sweatshirt over his head, and Rose caught a glimpse of bare skin and the top of his jeans.
Her body’s reaction to that slip of skin was akin to looking at a feast while starving. Except she didn’t want food. Oh no. That wasn’t the appetite that roared to life in her belly.
Jake dropped the sweatshirt onto the pile by the door and stepped out of the boots. Rose caught every fluid move and memorized it.
She backed up more as he walked into the kitchen. He locked his gaze on hers, and Rose saw the desire in his green eyes. It mirrored her own. He walked her backwards until she bumped into the counter. “Oh.”
Jake stepped so close that her breasts brushed against his chest. He dipped his head until his lips touched her ear. Rose tried not to whimper. “See something you like?”
She went weak at the knees. “Um.” She couldn’t exactly lie because he’d caught her mid-stare-and drool.
Jake chuckled. The sound reverberated through Rose. He pulled away and filled a glass with water. She watched as he drank his fill, the glass lifted against his mouth. Two drops escaped his lips and trailed down his throat as it worked. Rose had to pin her hands behind her to stop herself from reaching for those two little beads of water.
Jake filled another glass of water and left it on the counter next to her. “In case you need a drink, too.”
Rose grabbed Jake by his shirt before he could leave and pulled him close. His mouth crashed against hers, and nothing would be the same ever again.
Rose’s world had been off kilter for years. But the moment Jake’s lips had touched hers, it shifted back into place.
Jake wrapped his arms around her waist and held her against him, as if he were afraid that she’d disappear. Rose wound her arms around his neck and leaned into the kiss. She trailed her nails up the back of his neck and buried her fingers in his hair.
Jake growled and lifted her onto the counter. Rose wrapped her legs around him and pressed herself against him everywhere she could.
Jake pulled away and took a few gulping breaths. “We should – not stop exactly, but slow down.” He relinquished his hold on her and stepped back. She let him.
Why? She wanted to ask but words were beyond her. Lips swollen, she could only nod. He brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face. Rose couldn’t read his expression, but she’d noticed the hardness of his cock through his jeans a few moments ago.
Jake helped her down off the counter and handed her the glass of water. “In case you’re thirsty.” He kissed her forehead and left before she could stop him a second time.
She was in trouble. But Rose wasn’t sure that was a problem.