A Little Bit of Déjà Vu (26 page)

Margie released a breath of relief, thankful he’d chosen something other than their relationship to talk about. “I had a friend in grammar school who was a lot like Simon—smart enough to slide by without anyone noticing she couldn’t read.”

She propped her bare feet up on the coffee table and told him how insecure and dumb Jillian had felt. “I read her the articles I’d found on learning disabilities, and once she understood that some kids simply perceive the world more three dimensionally than others, she was a different person. I encouraged her to ask the school for help, and she ended up as Valedictorian of my graduating class. That’s when I knew I wanted to spend my life proving to kids they aren’t stupid.”

Jake stayed for two hours, telling her funny stories from his years of football and teaching. Margie had skipped lunch, so by six-thirty, her stomach began to rumble. When it didn’t look as if Jake would leave anytime soon, she gave up waiting and invited him to share some of the leftovers he’d brought.

Once they finished eating, he wandered back into her living room and parked himself in Dan’s recliner as if he spent every evening there. “
The Green Mile
is on in another hour. How about we watch it together?”

She’d loved Stephen King’s book, and all week, she’d been eagerly anticipating seeing the movie she’d never gotten around to renting. “Actually, I’d planned to do some reading tonight,” she lied.

“Okay.” He shrugged and flipped on the television anyway. “I’ll keep the volume down. You read while I watch.”

She flopped on the sofa and rolled her eyes as she buried her nose in her book. What was the use of arguing? He was like a nasty case of poison ivy. The more she scratched it, the longer it stuck around.

Despite her intention to ignore him, she couldn’t keep her eyes on her book, so she spent the next forty-five minutes trying to beat him to the answers through two game shows.

When the movie finally started, Jake got up and turned off all the lights. Rather than returning to his seat in the recliner, he plopped down next to her on the couch, propped his stockinged feet on the coffee table next to hers, and pulled her into the crook of his shoulder.

Halfway through the movie, he swung his legs around and stretched out on the sofa with his head in Margie’s lap. Her resolve to ignore him crumbled when she caught herself absently threading her fingers through his hair. She yanked her hand back. Less than five minutes later, her hand developed a mind of its own and resumed stroking his head.

Shortly before the final credits rolled on the screen, Jake’s breathing deepened to a slow, heavy rhythm. She gently shook him but got no response other than a few loud snuffles and lot of mumbling about end runs and blocking.

She slipped out from under him, covered him with an afghan, and watched him sleep for several minutes. At one point, she could’ve sworn he moaned her name.

She had to admit she’d had a wonderful time with Jake that evening. It left her longing for the quiet nights she’d spent cuddling with Dan in front of the TV—and dreading her lonely future.

So much for their plan to see as little of each other as possible.

~~~

Jake rolled over on the narrow sofa and caught himself as he almost fell on the floor. He groaned, stretching while he rubbed his aching back. His spinal injury had left him unable to sleep comfortably on anything but an extra firm mattress.

He glanced at his watch. Two a.m. Only a fool would try to drive home so groggy. He hauled himself to his feet and wandered down the hall to Emma’s bedroom. Gazing at the twin bed, he tried to imagine his six-foot-three son sharing it every night with Emma. Alex’s feet had to have hung off. And here Jake had blamed his son’s exhaustion on his nocturnal sexcapades.

Maybe the bed had simply been too damn cramped for Alex. Then again, at twenty-three, a lack of space hadn’t stopped Jake from sharing a bed exactly that size with Maggie.

He rolled his eyes and snorted. “
Youth
.”

Silently, he crept down the hall to Maggie’s room and stripped off his clothes. Her queen-size bed wasn’t as long as his California king, but it was a damn sight better than a twin.

He slid under the sheet with her and pulled her back against his chest, rubbing his face in her silky hair. He breathed in her sweet scent, pressing his arousal to her satin covered behind. Cupping her breast in his palm, he smirked when her nipple instantly popped up under his thumb.

The booze had aroused her, huh? He’d love to see how she would respond to him without most of a bottle of champagne dulling her senses.

~~~

Margie stretched and rolled to the opposite side of the bed. She frowned and sniffed the pillow. She was really losing it. Her dreams of Jake had been so vivid she’d actually imagined his scent.

She flipped back the covers and padded barefoot into the bathroom for a hot shower. Afterward, she tugged on a pair of white denim shorts and a pink tank top. Pulling the covers up on the bed, she gasped as her gaze locked on a couple of short dark hairs lying on the bright white pillowcase, proving she hadn’t
dreamed
him holding her last night. The man took first prize in audacity.

Fuming, she stomped down the hall to the kitchen and flipped through her phone directory. With her fingers poised to punch out his number, she noticed a wax-coated bag sitting on the work island and a note propped against it. She hung up the receiver to read it.

Rosebud,

Thank you for another spectacular evening. I’m sorry I fell asleep last night.

Please don’t be stubborn. Come to dinner tonight to welcome the kids home. They’ll be here by six. I remember how much you love lobster, so I’m buying a bunch of two-pounders. One will have your name on it. I also recall how crazy you are about what’s in the bag.

If you’re really nice to me, I’ll even open your lobster for you again.

Looking forward to seeing you later,

Jake

Inside the bag were two Boston cream doughnuts. Nineteen years ago, he’d bought her one on the way to the airport and laughed at her moans of ecstasy while she’d eaten it.

If she accepted his invitation, she couldn’t tell him she’d been unable to bring herself to eat lobster since the one and only time she’d had it with him.

She took a giant bite from a doughnut and rolled her eyes as the thick sweet custard and the chocolate icing mingled in her mouth. There went the four pounds she’d managed to lose before the wedding.

The man was impossible. Why did he persist in reminding her of why she fell in love with him all those years ago?

She didn’t stand a chance of protecting her heart if, every time he made her furious, he wormed his way back into it by doing something so incredibly endearing.

She licked her fingers and shoved the second doughnut into the fridge to get the custard cold the way she liked it. Since Dan died, all she’d done was stuff her face. If she kept it up, pretty soon she’d be able to rent her butt out as a billboard.

~~~

Margie shifted impatiently from one foot to the other after she rang Jake’s bell at five-thirty. He swung the door open, wearing jeans, a light blue polo, and a smug smile that said he’d been confident she would show up.

She couldn’t see how he could be so sure, seeing as she hadn’t known herself what she would do until she actually turned into his driveway.

“I’m glad you decided to join us.” His gaze swept over her sleeveless turquoise top and down her white shorts to her legs. “Man, you look good enough to—”

“Don’t even think it, or I’ll turn around and leave.”

“Okay. I promise to behave myself.” He jerked his head toward the kitchen. “Come on, I’ll put you to work making a Caesar salad while I husk the corn.”

She followed him to the back of the house. “How’d your workout with Simon go?”

“Good. We jogged five miles and then spent the afternoon in my basement, lifting.”

No wonder Jake still had the body of a Greek god.

“You’re absolutely right about him. His reading problems have left him feeling pretty worthless. Once we build his confidence a little, I think he’ll be more motivated. And the more success he has in his reading, the better he’ll feel about himself.”

She shoved his shoulder. “Sure, push the responsibility back onto his reading teacher. I was counting on you to get his self-esteem up, so he’ll try harder.”

“I’m working on it. It’s not easy for a kid to forget about his classmates chanting Simple Simon on the school bus.”

It never ceased to astound her how cruel children could be to one another.

“Well, if anyone can help him, you can. I’ve seen a big difference in his attitude already.” She tore the romaine into a large bowl and slanted a glance at Jake. “You know, I discovered the strangest thing when I made my bed this morning.”

Closing his eyes, he caught his lip between his teeth.

“I found a few strands of short dark hair on the pillow next to mine. How do you suppose they got there?”

One corner of his mouth curled in amusement. “You sound just like the Mama Bear after Goldilocks visited.” He raised his voice to a higher pitched octave. “Someone has been sleeping in my bed.”

“If that’s the case, this story would have to be called
Ravenlocks and the Three Bears
. However, I’m thinking there might be a slightly different twist to the plot of this one. Why don’t you tell it to me?”

“Okay.” Jake chuckled and pulled a huge kettle out of a lower cabinet. “Once upon a time this fellow, Ravenlocks, went to visit a friend and fell asleep on Papa Bear’s sofa. Unfortunately, he woke up in the middle of the night because it was just
too
soft for his forty-two year-old aching back.”

“So why didn’t Ravenlocks just go home to his own Posturepedic?”

“He knew he was too groggy to make it back through the forest to his own cottage safely. So he thought about trying little Baby Emma Bear’s bed, but it was just
too
short for his six-foot-two body to be comfortable. Then he tiptoed into Mama Bear’s room and saw this gre-eeat big bed with a nice firm mattress—and Mama Bear asleep on it.”

“Exactly. It was already occupied.”

“Right. But that was part of the attraction. Ravenlocks remembered how much he liked sleeping with Mama Bear in his arms two nights before and figured if he was very quiet, Mama Bear might never know he’d been there.” He filled the lobster kettle with water and grumbled, “Of course, Ravenlocks never counted on leaving behind forensic evidence to his trespassing.”

She pursed her lips and nodded. “I thought the story probably went something like that.”

As he turned on the burner under the large pot, the phone rang. He scooped up the receiver and a smile spread across his face. “Rox, Honey, how are you?”

He listened a moment and then said, “Sorry, he’s not home yet. I’ll have him call you.”

Trying not to appear as if she were eavesdropping—which naturally she was—Margie busied herself at the sink.

“Me, too.” He laughed and jotted a string of numbers down on a pad. “I’ve missed you. I know Alex is looking forward to having you around again as much as I am.”

Margie squeezed her eyes shut. Jake had never kept it a secret that he wanted Roxanne back, but had they made a firm commitment to try again at their relationship? Maybe that had been the subject of their cozy little chat at the kids’ reception.

“Let me know if you need any help with your move back here. I’ll have Alex call you when he gets in.”

Were they actually planning a complete reconciliation? Margie’s throat constricted. She couldn’t believe the creep had the gall to climb into bed with her
again
—knowing full well he’d soon be living with Roxanne.

He chuckled at something his ex-wife said. “Okay, let me know. I love you. See you soon.”

When he hung up the phone, he smiled at Margie. “Would you please remind me to tell Alex to call his mom in Japan when he comes in?”

She simply nodded and finished husking the corn without a word.

He slid a bowl containing two sticks of butter in the microwave and closed its door harder than necessary. “Okay, I can tell when I’m gettin’ the silent treatment. What major
faux pas
have I committed now?”

“It’s nothing you would understand.”

“Try me.”

“Don’t you think Roxanne would be upset if she knew you and I slept together again on Saturday night?”

“Why should she when she’s been scratching her own itch with my best friend?”

Margie’s mouth fell open. “And that doesn’t bother you?”

“Hell, yeah. But what right do I have to complain? Besides, believe it or not, she suggested I take you to bed to get you out of my system.”

“You mean you discussed me with her?”

“Why not? Rox and I might have had problems in our marriage, but we never stopped being good friends.”

“Well, it’s nice the two of you can be so open-minded. I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear you’ve satisfied your yen.”

~~~

Jake studied the flush in Maggie’s cheeks as he maneuvered her back against the counter. “Have I?” He grabbed her hand and pressed her palm over the thick hard-on straining his fly. “It seems to me Saturday night simply whetted my appetite for more of you.”

Conflict raged in her eyes as she stared at him and swallowed audibly. She obviously wanted him as much as he wanted her. But her determination not to give in was just as apparent as her desire.

“That’s too bad.” She spun away from him and proceeded to slice lemon wedges.

He waved his hand toward the pantry. “There’s croutons in the closet for the salad and fresh Parmesan in the fridge.”

“Wonderful. So is that the plan now?” She nodded toward the bowl of melted butter. “Fatten me up so you’ll no longer be attracted to me? By the way, I’d thank you for the doughnuts this morning, but you really didn’t do my waistline a favor.”

The image of Maggie with a rounded belly filled his head. He didn’t dare mention she might fatten up for a whole different reason than doughnuts or butter.