The Summer of Jake (19 page)
Read The Summer of Jake Online
Authors: Rachel Bailey
I took a deep breath—and a leap of faith. “My feelings for you have been growing since I was a teenager. There’s nothing either one of us can do to stop them. I know, I’ve tried.”
Gently, he brushed the hair away from my face. “Then imagine what they’d be if I was encouraging them instead of pushing them away?”
I heard my mother’s voice in my head,
If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
“You want to encourage them?”
“I want more than that. I want
you
. I love you, Annalise. I can’t imagine my future without you. I want you as my lover. I want you as my friend. I know I’ve been hurting you for years, most of the time without realizing it and lately by being an idiot, but I’ve come up with a way to make it up to you.”
“You have?” This squeaking was getting ridiculous.
“A designing artist should have inspiring places to see and adventures to feed her imagination. Come with me.”
It finally sank in. He wanted me.
He wanted me!
Had I thought I was emotionally empty not so long ago? I was so full of emotions, I felt like a balloon ready to burst. “You know, inspiration is a funny thing. What if I’m too distracted by you to be inspired?” God, was that me, comfortable enough to tease?
He grinned that killer grin. “I’m sure we’ll have time for everything.” He hesitated, picking up my hand. “But would you be happy moving somewhere else? Because I’m prepared to negotiate on that if you don’t like the idea.”
I laughed. “Jake, I’d live in a chocolate-free country if that’s where you were.”
His eyes widened fractionally. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
“A yes, you could be happy traveling around?” He dipped his head, searching my face.
Tears pricked the back of my eyes. “Yes to everything. Everything you’ve asked.”
Another boat came in to dock, setting off several small waves, and Jake moved closer to steady me against the gentle rocking of his boat. He seemed to do it unconsciously, not hesitating with his question. “Are you sure, because—”
I didn’t wait to hear the end of the sentence; I tossed the roses on the bench seat, flung my arms around Jake and hugged him as tight as I could. And as I did, I felt a tremor run through his body.
“Jake?” I leaned back to look at him.
“I’m just relieved. I was so worried I’d messed everything up when I finally knew what I wanted.” He leaned his face into my hair and kissed it.
I snorted. “My feelings aren’t that delicate. They’ve survived everything both of us have thrown at them.”
“Everything we threw at them?” He raised one eyebrow in his movie star way.
The knee weakness returned—or maybe had never left—so I tugged his hand as I sat down on the bench seat beside the roses, and he followed, sitting close enough for me to smell his edible surf-spray-Jake scent. “When you were away surfing, I thought I’d get over you. I thought it’d be out-of-sight, out-of-mind.”
“And did it work?” His smile made my heart melt.
“To a degree. I stopped obsessing about you, but you were always there in the background, putting obstacles in my relationships.”
His smile turned into a grin. “I like that.”
“Hmph. Fine for you, but I ended up thinking I couldn’t make a relationship work. All along, I was simply in love with you.”
He raised a brow again. “Even when you were with the guy you took to Kelly’s wedding? You two looked pretty close.”
I rolled my eyes and looked down at my feet. “Especially with Thomas. I broke up with him after dancing with you at the reception. Do you remember that night?”
“Remember it? Every second.” He pulled me into his lap. “If you hadn’t come with that guy, and I hadn’t taken a date, I would’ve kissed you right there on the dance floor.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Really?”
“Really. Like this.” He lowered his lips to mine and moved a hand up to cup the back of my head. His kiss was sweet and tender, and, for the first time, I kissed him without reserve, without fear of letting it go too far or of betraying too much.
“Yes,” I said as we pulled apart, “I think these feelings are definitely here to stay.”
“Good, because so are mine. Do you know what ninety-nine roses mean?”
“No idea.” I plucked a rose from the enormous bunch on the seat beside us. Deep red and fragrant, just like all the others today.
“They mean, ‘I will love you all the days of my life’. And I will, Annalise.” He brushed his lips across mine, and I felt myself melting inside.
Oh, God, was this really happening? I needed one more reality check. “No more, ‘I don’t do long term’?”
He pulled me tightly against his chest, and I relaxed there, swaying together when the boat rocked. “Actually, it wasn’t as silly as it sounded. I honestly don’t think I could before. I had to accept and make peace with myself before I could be happy.”
“And you’ve done that now?” I dropped the rose back with the others.
“I have. I’m finally free. Happy enough in myself that I’ve now got room to love someone else properly. And I choose you.” He kissed the tip of my nose.
“I choose you, too.” I allowed myself the luxury of running a finger down his cheek, and he turned his head to kiss my palm tenderly.
Tears began to well in my eyes. The enormity of what had just happened was beginning to hit me. Jake, this man I’d loved for years, was now mine.
I couldn’t speak at all for a minute. Then I remembered Mindy. “Jake, I don’t know what to say about Mindy. I’m so grateful you saved her.”
“Yep, I got her a complete makeover, inside and out.” He grinned. “And you’re most welcome.” He squeezed me so tight, I had trouble breathing—and I didn’t care.
I was no longer an almost-bursting balloon—I was overfull, and emotions started leaking from the corners of my eyes.
“So, want to run away with me?”
I tried to get the planning function of my brain to operate—a Herculean task given Jake was pressed against me. “Love to. But first we should tell the other two people who’ll be over the moon.”
“Mum and Kelly. They’ll be almost as happy as we are.” He pressed his face into the base of my throat, and I sighed.
“I don’t think anyone could be as happy as I am.”
A serious look came over his face. “Then you don’t know how happy I feel. I love you, Annalise, and I’m going to try to always keep you this happy.”
I snuggled into his embrace. “As long as we’re together, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”
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Acknowledgments
So many people were involved in supporting Jake and Annalise’s creation that I can’t even list you all here, but I appreciate each and every one of you! Especially, thank you to Kari Olson for finding this book in the submission pile and believing in it, and then helping to shape it, and to Heather Howland for her superb editing guidance. Also thanks to Barbara DeLeo, Sharon Archer, Lisa Chaplin, Cathy Bay, Amanda Ashby, Robyn Grady and the Romance Writers of Australia. And, as always, John.
About the Author
Rachel Bailey developed a serious book addiction at a young age (via Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck) and has never recovered. Just how she likes it. She went on to gain degrees in psychology and social work, but is now living her dream—writing romance for a living. Her books have hit the USA TODAY bestseller list, are published in over twenty-six countries, and have been translated into more than sixteen languages. She lives on a piece of paradise on Australia’s east coast with her hero and their dog pack, and loves to hear from readers.
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