Irresistible Lies (22 page)

Grace
pictured it—Jamie, Jake and a dog. A little family. Was there going to be
room for her there?

She
sighed. “It seems like you handled everything well. Still, I wish you would
have woken me up, so I could be a part of it.”

Jamie
grinned devilishly. “But you were sleeping so peacefully after last night, I
couldn’t stand to wake you.”

The
look in his eyes sent her mind back to the night before and to the pleasure she
had found in his arms. He reached out and pushed a strand of hair behind her
ear, his fingers lingering on the skin of her neck.

“Do
you regret last night?” Grace asked him, needing to know the answer before she
got lost in wanting him all over again.

He
frowned, and a voice cut him off before he could respond.

“Mommy!”
Jake was yelling down at them from the top of the staircase. “You said you were
coming up here!”

They
both stood.

“I’d
better go help him,” Grace said.

“I’ll
take care of it.”

“Really?”

“Yes.
You go get dressed.”

She
hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”
He smiled. “Grace, I want to help. I told you, I’m in this.”

“Right.”

But what did that mean?

She
watched him head up the stairs toward their son, more confused than ever.

Chapter 21

Grace
took a quick shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. It didn’t
take her long at all to dress, but by the time she was finished, Jamie and Jake
had already started in on a jumbo-sized jigsaw puzzle.

They
had spread themselves out on the floor of the living room and were looking for
corner pieces, and Grace couldn’t help but stare at the two of them. She still
couldn’t believe how perfect they were together, and how happy. The smiles on
their faces were real, especially Jamie’s, and she didn’t see a trace of the
Jamie who wasn’t ready to be a father. Watching them, she knew beyond a shadow
of a doubt that she had made a mistake keeping the two of them apart.

“Mommy,
do you want to help with the puzzle?” Jake asked while searching intently for
something that would fit the piece he was holding.

“Yeah,
come help us, Grace,” Jamie said.

He
smiled up at her, and she didn’t need to think twice. She sat down on the floor
next to them and started collecting puzzle pieces, helping Jamie covertly push
toward Jake the ones he was looking for.

Every
time Jamie’s hand brushed hers he would catch her eye and smile at her, until
she was certain he was doing it on purpose.

He
was driving her crazy, and he knew it.

Once
the puzzle was finished, they all went to the grocery store together. Grace had
a short list of things she and Jake needed to get them through the week. Jake
normally hated food shopping, but he was on his best behavior in front of
Jamie. They were in and out of the store in less than half an hour and the
experience was actually enjoyable.

Grace
was able to get all of the things she needed while Jamie pushed Jake in the
shopping cart, keeping him entertained by putting him in charge of the shopping
list. The two of them were having a great time ordering Grace around the
aisles, but she was having so much fun watching them that she didn’t mind. At
the end of it all, Jamie paid for her groceries, giving the cashier his card
before Grace could take hers out of her purse.

“Jamie,
you don’t have to do that,” Grace said, a little embarrassed.

“I
want to.”

“I
can afford my own groceries.”

She
almost said something about how she had fed her son for years on her own, but
she bit her tongue, knowing that would only hurt him.

Jamie
wasn’t interested in her arguments. “And I can afford your groceries, too, so what
does it matter who pays for them?”

“Fine,”
she grumbled, filling up the cart with her bags.

It
did bother her that he paid for them, only because she didn’t want him to feel
like he had to take care of her. He could take care of Jake, that was all good
and well, but one of the reasons she hadn’t told him that she was pregnant in
the first place was because she didn’t want to make him feel responsible for
her or obligated to be with her.

She
didn’t want Jamie to settle for her—she wanted him to want her.

So
did he?

That
was the question that haunted her for the rest of the day. She wanted so badly
to be alone with Jamie so they could talk, but he and Jake could not get enough
of each other. They wouldn’t leave each other’s side, which left Grace sitting on
pins and needles, waiting for the moment when Jamie would let her know what, if
anything, she meant to him.

Jamie
seemed to know she was growing impatient, and he did everything in his power to
make it worse. He found little ways to touch her, holding her hand and putting
his arm around her shoulders. Every time she tried to get him to give a hint as
to what he was thinking, however, he would find a way to backtrack or be
incredibly cryptic.

When
she asked how long he was planning on staying, for example, he shrugged like he
couldn’t care less and said he was still thinking about it.

She
couldn’t stand it much longer.

After
going food shopping, Grace, Jamie and Jake went apple picking, baked an apple
pie, had dinner and watched an animated movie that Jake picked out about
trains. By the time the credits rolled down the screen, Jake had fallen asleep
on Jamie’s shoulder.

“He’s
asleep,” Jamie whispered to Grace.

She
loved her son dearly, but the words were music to her ears.

“We
should bring him up to bed,” Grace said.

“You
stay here, I’ll do it.”

“But
you’ll come back down, won’t you?” she asked a little too eagerly for her own
liking.

Jamie
smiled knowingly. “Of course. Give me a minute.”

The
minute felt like an eternity. When Jamie finally came back down the stairs,
Grace had nearly worked herself into a nervous wreck.

Jamie
sat down next to her on the couch, relaxing into the seat cushions like he
didn’t have a care in the world.

“He’s
a great kid,” he said. “Really great. You did good, Grace.”

“Thanks,
Jamie.”

Silence
fell between them, and Grace couldn’t decide how to break it. She wanted to
come right out and ask him what he was thinking, but she was afraid that she
wouldn’t like his answer.

How
could she ask if he still loved her without risking being hurt again?

Still,
she was the one who had gotten them into this mess, so it was only right that
she break the ice. She took a deep breath, finally ready to pour her heart out.

“Jamie,
I want you to know how sorry I am,” she said. “I should never have kept Jake a
secret from you. It was the wrong thing to do, and I could not regret it more
than I do at this moment. Seeing you two together today made me realize how
incredibly selfish I was, not giving you the chance to be a father and know
your son.”

He
took her hand and held it, giving her the strength to continue on.

“I
was so hurt by our breakup that I used it as an excuse to keep secrets and lie.
I tricked myself into believing that I was doing you a favor. I told myself
that you weren’t ready to be a father, and that if I told you about Jake, you
would be forced into a family you didn’t want.” Her voice broke a little, but
she forged ahead, needing to make him understand how sorry she was. “Now, I can
see that it wasn’t my place to make that decision for you. I wish I could have
seen past the hurt and done the right thing from the start.”

“Grace...”

She
kept her eyes trained on the floor. “I understand if you can’t forgive me. I
know it will take time before you can trust me again.”

“Oh,
sweetheart.” Jamie pulled her into his arms. “Can you ever forgive
me
?”

Grace
looked up at him, her brown eyes shining with tears. “Forgive you? What on
earth do you have to apologize for?”

“For
being the world’s biggest idiot.” He planted a kiss on her neck and burrowed his
head there. “For letting you go.”

“Jamie,
you’ve apologized enough.”

“I’ll
never have apologized enough. I hate that I hurt you. I wish I had been smart
enough in college to realize what I had. You were the best thing that ever
happened to me. You still are the best thing.”

Grace’s
heart filled with joy at his words. She placed her hands on the sides of his
face and gave him a beaming smile.

“What’s
that for?” he asked.

“You
still want me.”

“Of
course.”

“You
don’t hate me?”

“I
could never, ever hate you.”

“Oh,
Jamie.” She pulled him to her, locking his lips in a fervent kiss. He kissed
her deeply and wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him.

“I’m
so glad you walked back into my life,” she whispered against his lips. “I’m the
luckiest girl in the world.”

“Not
exactly.” Jamie pulled back slightly, that devilish glint in his blue eyes.

“What
does that mean?”

“You’re
not the only one who knows how to keep a secret.”

“Explain.”

He
narrowed his eyes. “What if I told you that us finding each other again wasn’t
a coincidence?”

Grace’s
mouth dropped open. “How is that possible?”

Jamie
pulled her closer so that she was sitting on his lap. “See, I tried to track
you down when you didn’t come to graduation and refused to answer my phone
calls.”

Grace
nodded, remembering. “You called my parents. You showed up at the house. They
told me.”

“Well,
they didn’t tell me where you were, and I couldn’t find out. It wasn’t for lack
of trying, either.”

She
frowned. “How long did you look for me?”

“Grace,
I never stopped. I’ve been looking for you for five years. I came to Virginia
for you. It was all for you, not the brewery. You mean more to me than all of
that, and I’d give it all up in a heartbeat if you asked me to.”

Her
breath caught, and she thought it was the most romantic thing she had ever
heard. She kissed him gently on the lips, so much love pouring out of her she
was certain he could see it. “I’m so sorry I ran away, Jamie. I’m sorry I made
everything so difficult.”

“You
have no idea,” he said. “It drove me crazy, not knowing where you were; not being
able to talk to you or touch you or tell you how sorry I was. Not knowing if
you were with another man, if you were married...”

“I
wondered, too,” Grace said. “I hated to think of you with someone else.”

“There
was never anyone who came close to you,” he said. “But you had Charlie...”

“No,
no, Jamie. Charlie and I were never like this. How could I have loved him when
you still had my heart?”

Jamie
smiled ruefully. “Since we’re being honest, I have to tell you, I have never
been so jealous in my life. Every time I was around Charlie, I wanted to start
a fight. I couldn’t even stand it when you said his name.”

“Well,
since we’re being honest,” Grace said, “I may have talked him up around you a
little bit to keep you off the scent of Jake. That night I left your hotel
after we made love? It was Caroline who called, not Charlie. Jake was sick.”

“And
in New York? When you were on the phone and said ‘I love you’?”

“That
was Jake, too.”

Jamie’s
face lit up, and he laughed. “You little liar. You have no idea how crazy that
made me, thinking you loved him. The reason I gave you so much work to do when
I came to Virginia was to keep you busy enough that you wouldn’t get to spend
any time with Charlie.”

“Jamie!”
She swatted playfully at him, but he caught her hand and kissed it. “I was so
pissed at you. I thought you had turned into such a jerk!”

“All’s
fair in love and war, sweetheart.”

Grace
laughed until he stopped the sound with a kiss, gently guiding her to lie down
on the couch. The kiss quickly turned into something more and he moved his
hands over her body, spreading the delicious heat. She pulled him as tightly to
her as she possibly could, desperate for all of him.

He
broke the kiss, his voice thick with desire. “I love you, Grace. I have always
loved you, and I always will.”

“I
love you too, Jamie,” she said. “I was so stupid to think that would ever
change. You’re a part of me, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

She
tried to pull him back into a kiss, but he resisted. “There’s one more thing we
need to get straightened out.”

“What?”
she asked impatiently. “Can’t it wait?”

“Absolutely
not. It’s very important.”

“What
is it?”

“We’re
a family now, you, me and Jake.”

Grace
smiled, loving the way that sounded. “Yes, we are a family.”

“A
family should live together.” His expression grew serious. “I want you and Jake
to come home with me. There’s a place for you at the brewery, if you want it. We
can have more kids. I’d like to be there for all of it this time.” His hand
slid to her stomach. “From the beginning.”

It
was all Grace ever wanted, right there for the taking. She felt her eyes fill
with happy tears. “Of course we’ll move. Of course. I never want to be apart
from you again. I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime.”

“I
was hoping you’d say that. Can you do me a favor and reach into the back pocket
of my jeans?’

Grace
raised a questioning eyebrow at him but did as he asked. There was only one
thing in his pocket, and it was small. It felt like...

“Jamie,
is this...?”

She
was holding a sparkling diamond ring, more beautiful than any she had ever seen,
because it was meant for her.

Jamie
beamed down at her, his blue eyes shining with happiness. “Grace, I can’t
imagine going back to living my life without you, and I never want to try. I
love you, I love our son, and I want us to be a real family. I really don’t
think I can stand to go another day without putting a ring on your finger and
making an honest woman out of you, my sweet little liar.”