Mrs. McLean, her brown hair swept up in a bun showing off her elegant, almost regal neck, nodded in agreement. “We're so proud of you, dear.”
The McLeans didn't stay long at the celebration and, within a few minutes after they left, Brett joined the fun. With the adult supervision now gone, the party quickly became a drink fest. Which was exactly what she needed. She deserved at least one night of not thinking about her scary endeavor, because Monday morning, there was no turning back.
“So, Liv.” Patti waved her hand to catch everyone's attention at the table. “What was it you were saying about the important people in your life? That we were all gathered here for you?”
“Hey, I wasn't here.” Brett shot Liv a look of disappointment.
“I know, Brett. You were included in spirit. Besides, you're here now.” His face lit up, a stark contrast to the dark ink that adorned his collarbone.
Brett's tattoos were beautiful, unique, and Liv knew for a fact they were one of the reasons why Patti was so attracted to him. At least, at first.
“Stop whining, Brett.” Patti waved off her boyfriend's interruption. “Besides whiny over here, I think you did forget someone when you gave your little toast.”
“Really? Who?” She followed Patti's finger as she pointed toward the bar. Her breath caught at the sight of Jake standing there, beer in his hand.
“Liv's lover boy is here.” Austin grinned. “I give him five minutes and he'll be over here.”
“I'll take that bet. I say three minutes.” Patti and Austin shook hands over the table.
Over the pair of arms shaking across the table, Liv saw the confusion on Brett's face. “Who are we talking about?” Poor guy. He was always behind in the gossip.
“We're talking about that sexy hunk of a man standing at the bar with a bottle of beer,” Patti explained.
Brett scanned the crowd. “A little more descriptive, please. My definition of sexy hunk might be lacking.”
The three of them chuckled. Brett had learned to loosen up when it came to talking about men. Despite being totally straight and a guy's guy, he'd warmed up to Austin pretty quickly. Lucky for him, because no guy would have ever lasted for Patti if he didn't get along with Austin. That was a deal breaker. Liv would have the same rule, but the men she went for never lasted long enough for her to find out. Which left her wondering if Jake would get along with Austin.
“More descriptive?” Patti tapped her chin with her finger. “Okay, that sexy hunk of a man standing at the bar with a bottle of beer wearing the lavender dress shirt and black pants.”
“Purple shirt? Got it.” Brett made himself more comfortable in his chair, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, exposing his heavily inked forearms. “Sexy hunk at eleven o'clock. What makes him so special?”
Liv wasn't embarrassed at Brett's inquisition. There were no secrets between her tight group of friends. “He's…I don't even know what he is.” Liv sighed. If she had the ability to kick herself she would for being disappointed at the fact that Jake hadn't even glanced in her direction.
“So what do we know about this guy?” Brett fell into protective mode. A role he took on quite naturally since he'd started dating Patti. “Actually, he looks familiar. What's his name?”
“Jake Miller,” Austin answered. “You should see the way he looks at our girl.”
“He doesn't look at me any differently than any other man.” Liv knew deep down that there was something different about him. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she didn't care. Jake made her feel sexy, interesting and alive, and safe. For the first time in her life, she felt safe with a man.
“Don't listen to her. She doesn't know what she's talking about.” Austin gave her a hard look then turned his head back to Brett. “Liv's had her blinders on for so many years that she doesn't even know when a guy is really interested.”
“I don't have blinders on. I even suggested that we spend two weeks getting our business in order.” Their two-week deal was officially over, and she had promised she'd revisit the invitation to the book launch. Even though deep down she knew he wanted more than that. And she had steered clear of more for her entire adult life. But with Jake, she just couldn't control herself. It was more than just sexual urges, and that scared her to death. “And to make you feel better, Brett,” Liv continued, “he works down the street at a PR company. He has lots of friends from what I can tell and…” And he made her melt into a puddle with a single glance. But she'd never say that out loud.
“When is the two weeks up?” Patti asked.
She hesitated a moment, knowing that the truth would send her friends into hook-up mode. “Yesterday.”
They all grinned like Cheshire cats.
Brett sat back in his chair. “He's only looked over here about twenty times since you've been ranting.”
“We aren't exaggerating,” Patti said. “He is so into you.” She was a romantic. Deep down, so was Liv, but she was also realistic. A happily ever after just wasn't in the cards for her.
“And it begins!” Patti squealed as she raised her fists in the air with excitement. “Who's been keeping time, because here he comes.”
Liv watched Jake walk down the two steps onto the dining room floor. His dark hair was messy. His tie was loose around his neck. His lavender shirt made his already exquisite green eyes even more mesmerizing. She couldn't help but run her eyes down the length of his body. Everything about him screamed sex; he was all that was elementally male. Just the sight of him made her tingle from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
She tried to convince herself that what she was feeling were just hormones. He was just another hot guy and there was nothing special about him. The fact the he called her gorgeous, that he took the time to get to know her, that he stirred feelings inside her she planned on keeping buried forever, had nothing to do with the throbbing sensation between her legs.
In the background, she heard Austin and Patti arguing over who won the bet.
“Didn't anyone keep time?” Patti put on a sad face.
“Sorry, honey.” Brett caressed her arm. “I was too distracted by the sexy hunk of a man at the bar.”
“We're all equals here, Patti,” Austin said. “Brett doesn't get an automatic Patti vote. Besides, I won. It has clearly been more than three minutes.”
Liv was ripped from her daze by Patti's call. “Hey! Earth to Liv. Before he gets here, you may want to wipe up the drool on your chin.” She reached over to swipe at Liv's chin. “Just a thought.”
Swatting away Patti's hand, Liv tried to compose herself, but she did make a quick swipe of her chin. Just to make sure.
“Hi, Liv.” Jake approached the table, his tall, lean body casting a shadow over the four of them.
“Hi, Jake. How are you doing?” She tried her best to be light and breezy.
“Great.” It seemed he was doing the same thing. “What are you doing here?”
“We're celebrating,” Austin piped in.
“Jake, these are my friends Austin, Patti, and Brett.”
Austin and Patti said hello with a sweet little wave of their fingers. Brett stood to shake his hand, testing the firmness of his handshake, no doubt.
“Hello, everyone.” Jake held his bottle of beer in front of this chest. He pivoted from one foot to the other. Was he nervous? “So, what are you celebrating?”
“All the renos are complete,” Liv answered. “Just a few loose ends to tie up.”
“That definitely deserves a celebration.”
She glanced awkwardly from her friends to Jake. Everyone was hesitant, uncertain of how to proceed. Except for Austin, of course.
“Jake, why don't you join us?” Austin pulled out the seat beside him. “We're drinking on McLean's dime. I'm sure Brett could use more testosterone at the table.”
“Austin,” Patti called. “Do you always have to make people aware that you're gay?”
Jake gave Liv a wide-eyed stare. She always thought it was so obvious that Austin was gay. Apparently not for everyone. She chuckled to herself.
“You're just jealous, Patti, because I'm more of a lady than you'll ever be.”
“Yeah, a lady with a five o'clock shadow.”
Oh. God.
The two of them were already going at each other and Jake hadn't even been at the table for two minutes. She glanced in his direction expecting a horrified look, but he was smiling.
Austin waved off Patti's comment and patted his hand on the seat of the chair. “Sit down, handsome. We'll get you another beer.”
“So, Jake…” Brett's intention was clear. It was interrogation time. “What do you do for a living?”
“I'm Senior Executive at Weston Communications.”
“Your office is just down the street, right?” Patti asked.
“It is. That's how I ended up here a couple of weeks ago. I was meeting some friends for drinks after work.” Jake took another pull on his beer. It didn't seem like the inquisition was bothering him at all.
“Is that what you're doing tonight? Are you meeting some friends here?” Austin leaned in closer.
They were giving him the third degree. And Liv couldn't help but smile. He deserved it after being so nosy with her.
“I did have drinks with friends. They just left.” Jake settled into his chair. He looked comfortable, as if he had no intention of bolting for cover any time soon. “I saw you sitting at the table…” he looked toward Liv “…and I thought I would come by and say hello.”
As if Jake had just announced the cure for cancer, Patti, Austin and Brett beamed with excitement, glancing furiously at one another. If their intention was to be subtle, they were doing a bad job.
“How long have you worked at Weston, Jake? Where did you go to college?” Brett assaulted Jake with question after question. “What about your family? Where are you from?”
“Do you have a girlfriend, Jake?” Austin's question was a little more personal—intrusive, actually.
Jake stared at the group with a slight curve on his lips. “Ten years, Queens, father, mother, two sisters and a nephew who lives in London, and no, no girlfriend.” She recognized that smirk. And it was not the look he used when he was answering questions during an interrogation. It was the expression he gave her when it looked like he was thinking of nothing other than the dirty, sweaty things they could get done in a refrigerator.
Liv shivered. “All right, children. Show and tell is over.” Obviously, she didn't need her friends to embarrass her. She could do that all on her own. “I'm sure Jake didn't come here to be interrogated. Let's move on to more interesting topics.”
Crap!
“I mean, not that you're not interesting. I just…other things would be more appropriate to talk about.”
“It's okay, Liv. I'll answer whatever questions you have for me.” He hesitated. “No secrets here.”
If he did have secrets, she didn't want to know. That would make it okay for him to know her secrets.
“Good to know, handsome.” Austin gripped Jake's shoulder. “This group has boundary issues. If you're going to hang with us, you better be ready to give full disclosure.”
Full disclosure. It was a tit for tat thing. And it scared Liv to death. The more he hung around, the more opportunity he had to slink behind her boundaries.
The only question was whether Liv was willing to show him her tat.
Chapter Nine
A couple of hours and a lot of drinks later, Liv was stunned to see how well Jake had fully immersed himself in the party. And she couldn't help but notice that…he belonged. Now her friends were practically walking them down the aisle. A surefire way to make him run the other way. Even though everything in her told her the longer he stayed at this table the harder it would be to let him go, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if Jake were her boyfriend.
Austin drained the last of his drink and slammed the glass on the table. “I don't know about anyone else, but I'm officially drunk.”
“Oz, I think you were officially drunk a couple of hours ago,” Patti said.
Austin always had a problem with moderation. And it was much too easy to overindulge when the alcohol was free.
“It is getting a little late,” Liv said to Jake. “We didn't mean to keep you so long.”
He needed to leave. And not just because he made her nervous, but because she'd had to go to the bathroom for the last hour but was afraid to leave the table for fear of what her friends would say while she was away.
“We've enjoyed your company immensely, handsome,” Austin slurred.
“Agreed. It was nice to have someone else to talk about sports with,” Brett added.
“I talk about sports,” Austin interrupted.
Brett groaned. “You talk about sports clothing and how men look in said clothing.”
“It's not my fault that the football uniform was the single greatest fashion creation of the twentieth century.”
“I'm partial to baseball myself. All those strong thighs and tight butts.” Patti squeezed her hands in the air in front of her.
Jake laughed. “What's your favorite uniform, Liv?”
That was a no-brainer. But it wasn't exactly a uniform. And it was funny that Jake fit the profile. “Hockey players in their suits before and after the games.”
There was a beat of silence at the table while everyone focused on Jake's suit, then Austin asked, “Jake, did you by chance play hockey?”
“I'm from London. Of course I played hockey.” He winked, and Liv's insides fluttered.
“I think I'm going to call it a night. Just going to run to the bathroom first.” She stumbled back and her chair screeched across the wood floor as she retreated.
She gripped the sink and stared at the coward in the mirror. Why did this man make her so afraid to go after what she wanted? Why did he make her forget everything else she needed to get done? She had a million things to think about this weekend before she opened the doors of Cupcake! on Monday—more like a million minutes of worrying to do until Monday—but all she could think of was stripping off his clothes and having her way with him.
But this had to be the last time she gave herself permission to think about Jake Miller. Tonight she would go home, use his beautiful body one more time in her dreams, and leave him in the past. A conquest never conquered. A desire never achieved. A man too hard to attain.
Liv had hoped he'd already be gone when she returned to the table. But when she stepped through the bathroom door, that thought was crushed. Jake leaned against the wall, one leg at a ninety-degree angle, his arms folded across his chest. His chiseled muscles bulged through his dress shirt. He smiled at her with such enthusiasm, like it had been years since they last saw each other. Not two minutes ago, when they were secretly stealing glances across the table.
Stunned by his presence, she forgot to walk the full way through the doorway, leaving the heavy wood to smack her on the ass. She vaulted forward, right into his arms.
“You're a clumsy one.” He laughed as he held her awkwardly. He pulled her up onto her feet and steadied her in front of him.
“Thanks. I think it's all the alcohol.” Not really. She could barely get the liquid down because of her nervous stomach. “What are you doing, standing all by yourself?”
He reclaimed his position against the wall. His eyes roamed her body. “I was just waiting for someone.”
“Oh.” She could see the slight pull in the front of his pants. She could barely put a sentence together. “Me?”
He grunted, a caveman-like sound, and when he lunged she jumped.
He rested his hands on her hips, moving her back, away from the door, trapping her against the wall with his pelvis. She could hear her friends laughing in the background. Did they know what he was up to?
He had the same clean scent. His intentions were clear. The intensity of his stare said it all. So did the stiff bulge pressing against her stomach.
His hands tightened against her hips. They were both panting, skin moist from the contact of their heated bodies. She hoped he couldn't feel her heart pounding. Everything about his body language told her that he was going to kiss her, and when he slid one finger under her chin, her stomach fluttered with excitement.
His eyes met hers. “Do you think I would have spent hours sitting with you if I wasn't interested in you?” His breath was like liquid heat caressing her sensitive skin.
The rest of the world fell away. There was no bar, no loud classic rock playing in the background, no pine scent wafting from the swing of the bathroom door. Just the sound of his low rasp sending her into oblivion.
His lips skimmed the contours of her face. Lucky she was near the wall, or she would have slumped to the ground the minute his hands touched her. She let the strength of his body take control.
“Maybe I'm just clueless.” She let out a small giggle. “Clumsy and clueless.”
“And a comedian.” He pressed his lips flush against her neck. She couldn't stop the low groan that escaped. It was primal. Hungry. If he asked her to strip right at this moment, she would. She would do anything to satisfy the urges that had taken over her body.
“Our two weeks is up,” he whispered. “And you need to take me home with you tonight.”
Hell yes!
“I do?”
“Yes.” His lips made their way down her neck toward her collarbone. “You do.”
Then take me home.
“And why would I do that?”
His grip tightened around her hips and he leveled her with a hungry stare. “Because from the moment I touched your hand on the street, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you.” He moved his head so his mouth was right up against her ear. “I think about the sounds you make when I touch you.” His fingers dug into her hips. “I think about how your body would fit perfectly under mine.” His whole body was now pressing firmly against her. “I think about how beautiful your face would be when you come.”
“God…” Her head fell back and her core ached. Surely he knew he was breaking her down.
“But most of all I think about how your eyes are dim, but sometimes, for a brief moment, you let me behind that wall and I can see them sparkle. Those brief moments make me want to know everything about you.”
She gripped the wall with both hands to keep from toppling over. He really did see through her.
His thumb brushed against her bottom lip. “I know you're not looking for a commitment. We can just take it slow.”
Slow? Commitment? These words were so foreign. He might as well have been speaking Spanish. But those well thought out words of seduction had achieved their intention. All he had to do was tug on her hand and she'd follow him to the ends of the earth if he asked it of her.
Taking her head in both hands, he steadied her face to look him directly in the eye. “I think it's about time we gave in to this chemistry between us, don't you?”
She couldn't form any words. She just nodded as his lips came down on hers.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed when they finally returned to the table. Liv felt the redness in her cheeks when she approached and saw the grins of her friends. Jake sauntered up to the table beside her, a devious smirk on his face.
Austin gave her a knowing glance. “What do you say the three of us head home?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Patti stood, pushing in her chair.
“I think we're leaving Liv in capable hands,” Brett said as he followed the two toward the front door.
Watching her friends leave the bar, Liv was conflicted. She wanted desperately for them to force her to go home alone. It would be the easy way out. But the closer they got to the front door, the more her insides burned with desire at the thought of Jake in her home, on her bed, whispering for her to fall over the edge. She locked eyes with him and he motioned to the door with a tilt of his head.
Tonight was the night. She was finally getting what she wanted.