Blue Twilight (5 page)

Chapter 12

At least she got the door shut before the tears fell. Letting her head fall back against the hard wood, she struggled to get control of herself.
Way to be a psycho, Lisa
. The door behind her shook violently as someone beat on it.

Realizing it could only be Jake, she stood. Lisa wiped her eyes with a sniffle as she squared her shoulders and pulled the door open. She knew she should apologize, but damned if her pride would let her. “What? Did you forget something?”

Jake grabbed her around the waist. “Yeah, I forgot this,” he said just before he brought his mouth down on hers.

Lisa didn’t think for a few seconds, she just relished the feeling of being kissed by this gorgeous man.
Boy can he kiss!
And then, just as quickly, common sense came rushing back and she shoved him…hard. Jake went sailing backward and fell off the front step with a thud. “Oh shit! Oh God, I’m sorry!” she exclaimed as she hurried forward to help him up. “Are you hurt?”

“Just my pride,” said Jake, rubbing a sore spot.

Lisa giggled despite herself, but tried to cover it with her hand.

Glaring at her, he asked, “Can I expect that every time I try to kiss you?”

She pretended to debate it as she stuck a finger to her chin. “That depends.”

“On what?” Jake asked cautiously.

Lisa stuck her hands on her hips. “On if you’re going to be a jerk right before you kiss me every time.”

Jake started to argue, but seemed to think better of it. Resting his forehead against hers, he said, “You drive me crazy.”

“Ditto,” Lisa whispered right before he kissed her again.

They eventually moved to the living room and were finishing the bottle of wine they’d opened with dinner. Jake was telling her more about his family. Lisa learned that he had an older sister with two girls and a boy who lived in Florida near his parents.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my nieces and nephew, but I don’t mind only seeing them once or twice a year. They think of me as ‘Uncle Jake, the jungle gym’ and I swear, my back doesn’t go back to normal for weeks after one of their visits.”

Giggling, she took another sip from her glass. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.” At Jake’s look, she wisely changed the subject. Maybe it was the wine, but somehow, the walls she had so carefully constructed around herself were starting to crumble brick by brick. “My father was an asshole.” Jake paused mid-sip, and she saw his eyes widen, but he didn’t push her to continue. Silently thanking him for that, she did anyway. “He left my mom and me when I was six. He never paid child support on time, and when he could be bothered to spend time with me, it was usually to go to some strange relative’s house so he could pawn me off on them for the weekend.” Cringing, she realized how insensitive she sounded. “Don’t get me wrong, Layla was amazing, but she wasn’t my dad. I wanted to spend time with him, but clearly the feeling wasn’t mutual. When I turned twelve, I told my mom I refused to see him anymore. I was old enough to realize when I wasn’t wanted. Mom told him, and he said he was glad to be rid of me.” Taking another sip, she traced patterns on the couch cushion as she waited for Jake’s response.

Jake took her hand. “I’m sorry. No child should have to go through that, Lisa.”

She could tell he had more to say, but the alcohol buzzing through her veins was giving her loose lips. “And then there was Eric. We dated for over two years, and I stupidly thought we were happy. I thought he was ‘the one’. It was almost our anniversary, and he told me he needed to talk to me. I convinced myself that he was going to ask me to marry him. But instead, he told me that I was no longer what he wanted, and that he’d found someone else.” Jake continued to stroke her hand while she drained her glass. She was feeling pleasantly numb now.

“Why are you telling me all of this now, Lisa?”

“Don’t you get it? I’m damaged goods. Officially unlovable; that’s who I am.” She was beginning to slur her words a bit.
God, she was so going to feel this in the morning
. She’d never been able to hold alcohol worth a damn. “So, there you go. That’s who I am, Jake,” Lisa finished with a hiccup.

“I don’t think that’s who you are,” he said. At Lisa’s snort, “I don’t. I think you are incredible. You picked up and moved your entire life without a thought. You’ve overcome some tough blows, but you keep going. That’s commendable, and it doesn’t make you damaged. We all have our…baggage.”

She felt her eyelids growing heavy. “Even you?” Lisa asked sleepily.

***

“Especially me.”

Jake realized the conversation was getting into dangerous territory. He needed to steer it toward a safer subject. “So, who did you submit your songs to before?” When Lisa didn’t answer right away, he looked over and noticed her starting to nod off. Smiling, he slipped off her shoes before gently lifting her. She snuggled into his chest as he made his way upstairs. After a quick check of all the rooms, he figured out which was hers. Reluctant to let her go, he held her tighter for a moment before finally pulling back her covers and laying her down. He made sure to check that her alarm was set—although he was sure she would not be happy when that went off—and kissed her forehead before turning to leave.

“I really like you, Jake,” she said quietly, snuggling deeper into her bed.

Jake smiled. “You know something, angel, I really like you, too.”

“Don’t hurt me,” she whispered before sleep finally claimed her.

He didn’t answer as he crept out of her room and let himself out of her house.

Chapter 13

Sweet Lord, what is that noise?
Gripping her head, Lisa blindly felt for the hellish device that was causing her suffering. She slapped at it until it stopped and fell back asleep until it started all over again. When she finally pried her eyes open, she saw through blurry vision that it was 3:45 am.
Why in the world would I ever want to wake up at 3:45 in the morning?
And then it dawned on her. Work. Throwing back the covers, she jumped out of bed, and quickly realized that was not a good idea. The room spun in front of her, and she came
this close
to face planting. Whimpering, she slowly inched along the wall until she reached the bathroom. She tried the light, but decided showering when you could see was overrated. Lisa took the fastest (and darkest) shower of her life before trying to scrub the dried cotton taste out of her mouth. After brushing most of her hair, she pulled it back into a sloppy pony tail.

The shower helped somewhat, but she knew she’d have a headache from hell. Grabbing some aspirin, she shoved it in her purse and hurried out the door. She stopped short when she saw Jake waiting for her. “What are you doing here?”

“I thought you could use a ride this morning,” he said with a grin as he walked toward her. “And I come bearing gifts.” Lisa almost cried when she spotted the coffee cup he held. “How are you feeling?” he asked with a kiss to her forehead.

Sipping the coffee, she tried to chase some of the residual cobwebs away. “Better than I deserve,” she said before giving his hand a squeeze. “Thank you for this.”

“It’s my pleasure, angel. We’d better get going.”

Lisa stared at his monstrosity of a pickup truck and wondered how she’d manage to pull herself into it. Jake took pity on her and easily lifted her into the passenger seat before getting in. As the scenery passed by her window, she tried to piece together what had happened after dinner. Some things she remembered, but others… “So, what exactly happened last night?” she asked as they made the short drive to the bakery.

Chuckling, Jake glanced at her. “Let’s just call it a little too much liquid courage.”

Suddenly, every facet of their conversation came rushing back in crystal clarity. Covering her face, Lisa willed herself to melt into the seat. “Oh God, I’m so embarrassed.”

After pulling into the parking lot, Jake killed the ignition and turned to face Lisa before tugging her hands away. “Don’t be. I promise you didn’t do anything you’ll regret later.” He cleared his throat before asking, “So, do you remember anything?”

Before she could answer, Lisa noticed Debra standing at the back door staring at them. “I have to go,” she said quietly. “Thanks for the ride. I can walk home later.”

Grabbing her hand, Jake quickly linked his fingers with hers. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll be here at noon to pick you up.”

“I don’t want to be a bother,” she started before noticing Jake’s annoyed expression. “Okay, okay, I’ll see you later then. Thank you.” Before opening her door, she squeezed his hand. “I remember,” she said and kissed his cheek before jumping out of the truck. Strolling past Debra, she said “Good Morning,” before she put her things away and grabbed her apron.

***

Wearing a huge smile, Jake sat in the parking lot until he noticed Debra was still glaring at him. He definitely wanted to avoid that conversation, so he gave her a quick wave before sliding the truck into reverse and heading home. It was four a.m., he was exhausted, but he was happy. Really, truly happy. How crazy was that? It had been a long time since he’d felt this way, and he realized then that he’d do anything to continue feeling it. Lisa was getting under his skin, and he didn’t mind one bit. Catching a glance of his reflection in the rearview mirror, he realized he was still smiling. He drummed his hands on the steering wheel and drove on, wondering what else he could turn his smile into.

***

Lisa felt like she could finally catch her breath once the breakfast rush was over. The combination of coffee, aspirin, and pleasant conversation had chased her headache away, for which she was extremely grateful. Wiping her hands on her apron, she grabbed a rag to clean the counter. “It was busier this morning than yesterday,” she remarked to Debra.

“It’s supposed to be a beautiful day today. A lot of people probably wanted to grab something to eat outside. I think lunchtime is going to be insane,” Deb said as she wrote the lunch specials down.

“Do you want me to hang around a bit longer? I would just have to call Jake to give him a heads-up since he’s my ride.” Lisa couldn’t help but notice the way Debra’s shoulders tensed. In fact, she had seemed preoccupied all morning. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just fine. And no, we can handle the rush, so don’t you worry.” Debra wiped her hands off before putting the chalk away. “So, you and Jake seem to be getting along well,” she tossed over her shoulder.

Blushing, Lisa realized what it must have looked like when Jake dropped her off this morning. “He’s sweet,” she finally said. “I had a bit too much to drink last night, so he came back this morning to drive me to work.” Embarrassed, she continued in a rush, “I’m so sorry, I almost never drink, and I certainly would never show up to work drunk…”

Debra laughed. “Oh, honey, I was young once. I understand, and just the look on your face tells me that you are not the type of person who does this on a regular basis. I just wanted to make sure Jake was treating you right.”

Lisa smiled as she thought back to the previous evening. He hadn’t run screaming for the hills when she’d told him about her past. And that kiss…

Waving a hand in front of her face, Debra said, “Earth to Lisa…”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry,” she blushed again. “Yes, he’s treating me right.”

Debra nodded before turning to place the chalkboard by the register. “All done. Okay, let’s get started on my Reuben sandwiches.”

Lisa threw another glance toward the clock before turning her thoughts back to work.

The rest of the morning flew by, and the lunch rush started earlier than usual. Debra was right, the nice weather was bringing people out in droves. Jake arrived as Lisa was still dealing with a line of people five deep. Giving him a small smile, she gestured that she’d still be another few minutes.

***

Jake recognized a few people and stopped to chat before heading in back to find Debra. He found her stirring a large pot of sauerkraut as she gave instructions to her afternoon staff. Sneaking up behind her, he covered her eyes. “Hey, good lookin’,” he said with a kiss to her cheek.

“Hey yourself,” she said wiping her hands on her apron before turning and smacking him on the back of the head.

“Ow! Hey, what the hell was that for?” he asked, rubbing the sore spot.

“That girl has been walking around all morning with stars in her eyes,” she fumed.

“Really?” he asked with a wistful smile. He couldn’t help it, his male pride swelled.

“Oh Good Lord, you’re half gone too!” Lowering her voice, Debra continued. “What did I tell you, Jake?”

He gestured with his hands as he responded. “I know, Deb, but she’s different. I can’t explain it. There’s just something about her…”

Debra cut him off with a glare. “Yeah, and I’ve heard that before.”

Jake’s eyes darkened. “This is different. Lisa is
different
.”

She squeezed his arm. “I believe you, honey, I really do. But for your sake as well as hers, you know it can’t go on like this.”

Running his hands through his hair, he took a deep breath. “I know.”

The rest of their conversation was cut short as Lisa appeared in the backroom. “Hey, Debra, Ginny just took over on the register and… Is everything okay back here?”

“Right as rain,” said Debra with a bright smile. “Now you get on out of here and enjoy this beautiful day. Grab some lunch, if you like, my treat.” And with that, she hurried out to the front.