Love Required (15 page)

With a soft nod and a shaky voice, she said, “Yes, I’m off Friday.”

“Can I see you then? Go out again?” he asked, continuing to stroke his thumb over her cheek.

Without hesitation, Tori answered, “I’d like that very much.”

He let out a breath and smiled big. Did he think she’d say no to him? After that kiss? She realized that he also seemed to be treading in new territory because for the confident man he was, he was reserved when it came to asking her questions. It was humbling to know he felt that way.

Jason leaned forward a little, appearing cautious as he waited for her to respond, but silently asking for another kiss. Meeting him halfway, she answered his request. It only took him a second before his hand found her hair, cradling her head. At the touch of his lips to hers, she sighed. Their tongues reached for the other, and she was quickly swept up in their heat.

Too quickly, his firm touch retreated as he slowly pulled away from her. Dazed, she opened her eyes to find him staring at her. His face was a few inches from hers, and his breath, slightly labored, whispered across her skin. “I could get lost in your lips for hours.”

She licked her lips, tasting him before saying, “I know exactly what you mean.”

He smiled and pressed another chaste kiss against her lips. “Until Friday, Tori.”

“Friday.”

The loss of his touch was felt immediately, desire left in its place. She watched him turn and open the door. With a smile and wink, he left her standing there full of anticipation for Friday.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

JASON had just finished loading his equipment in the back of the truck when his phone rang. He smirked when he saw it was his brother calling, from his honeymoon. Again.

“Why do you even have your phone with you on your honeymoon?” he asked, completely forgoing a greeting.

Jake laughed on the other end before answering, “Because we have kids, idiot. Do you honestly think I could get Gillian to leave California without the security of being called if one of the kids needed her?”

“Good point, but I don’t have any of your kids, so why are you calling me?” He jumped in his truck and started it. The Bluetooth kicked in, so he only picked up the tail end of Jake’s response. “Hey, say that again, I started the truck and lost part of it.”

Making the turn onto the freeway, he was relieved to see he’d beat the Friday afternoon traffic. The area they were working in was notorious for it, but he’d finished early today.

“I said, Gilly and I fly home tomorrow, and she was hoping everyone could come over on Sunday for a barbeque—to say thank you for helping with the kids while we were gone.”

Jason laughed. “Yeah, I know you come back tomorrow. I’m picking you two up, remember? And like Gillian needs a reason to have everyone over. Or that everyone needs a reason to come by.”

“Don’t I know it. That was the oddest part of being here this week. There weren’t people constantly around. It was refreshing, yet slightly unsettling after a few days.”

“I can only imagine. Tell Gillian I’ll be there.” Jason was about to say goodbye so he could focus on his evening ahead when he thought to ask, “Hey, Jake, can I bring someone?”

A moment of silence passed before Jake asked, “And by
someone
, I assume you mean the caterer from my wedding?”

Jason shook his head as he changed lanes and headed for his exit. “You know what they say about people who assume …”

“Wait, so that’s not who you want to bring?” Jake asked, a hint of regret in his voice.

“Yes, Tori is who I want to bring. I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to imply you were an ass.”

“Okay, good. I can handle you calling me an ass, but I didn’t want to tell Gillian it wasn’t going to be Tori.”

“Totally whipped, the whole lot of you men.”

“Seriously, dude, we both know that my beautiful wife could have you eating dirt out of the palm of her hand if she wanted,” Jake said with confidence. And it was true, Jason would do anything for Gillian. And Allie or Morgan for that matter. But it was different for him since he wasn’t scared they’d take away the goods. He laughed and said, “True, but I don’t sound like a pussy when I do it.”

“Whatever, your day will come,” Jake said with certainty. Truth of the matter was, Jason was looking forward to it. As much as he gave Jake and Mike crap over it, he would welcome the day he acted like them. Tori’s face, smiling up at him as he held her close to him came to mind. He smiled at the thought of her. Maybe that day was coming sooner than he realized.

“Anyway, just let me know the time on Sunday, and I’ll be there. But I won’t be answering my phone tonight, so just text me.”

“Oh, I see how it is. Call me whipped then ignore everyone while out with a lady,” Jake teased.

“That’s right. Now get off the phone and enjoy the last of the quiet time with your wife before coming home. Text me when you land; I’ll be there.”

“Thanks Jay, good luck on your date.” Jason could hear Jake laughing as he disconnected the call. The guy was in love with a woman for more than seventeen years before making his move, and he had the nerve to tease him? Shaking his head, Jason double-checked the time. Relaxing when he saw he was on schedule, he made the first stop he needed to before heading home to shower.

TORI turned off the blow dryer in time to hear her cell phone ring. Grabbing it, she saw a missed call from Tessa. Calling her back, she put the speakerphone on and continued to work on her hair.

“Hey girl, you’re going to be mad at me, but I got called in to work,” Tessa said immediately upon answering.

“Seriously?” Tori questioned, surprised that work actually called Tessa.

“Yeah, some idiot called in sick. I was next on the rotation, and since I declined covering the last two times … I was
told
to come in, not asked.” The remorse in Tessa’s voice was unusual for her. She really did feel bad, so it wasn’t like Tori could be mad at her or tease her about it, because it seemed so out of character for her.

“Don’t worry, Tessa. I can cancel, it’s not a problem. We can make plans for another day.” She tried to hide the disappointment she was feeling, but it was still there.

“I’m so pissed, I really wanted you to get better aquatinted with Captain Orgasm. When I find out who called in, I am
totally
kicking their ass,” Tessa said with determination.

Tori just laughed. “Calm down, tiger; it’s not that big a deal. I’ll call Jason and reschedule.”

“But I had a motivational speech prepared for you and everything,” Tessa whined.

“I can only imagine what you were going to say. Now get to work before you get written up.”

“Okay,” she relented. “I’ll go, but I won’t like it. I was looking forward to hanging with Lexi, too. Call me tomorrow.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Tori confirmed before hanging up.

Her eyes found her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was tamed, but she hadn’t put any make up on yet, so at least she wouldn’t be sitting at home totally done up with nowhere to go. She sighed with resolve as she picked up her phone and dialed Jason. She hoped that he didn’t think she was blowing him off. In reality, she’d been looking forward to seeing him since watching him leave two nights ago.

When his sexy voice came across the line, she fought the need to stomp her foot in frustration. And not all of the frustration was sexual.

“Well, hello there,” he said.

“Hi,” she said back in a voice that even she thought sounded pathetic.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Good, she obviously did sound pathetic.

“Well, I have to cancel our date tonight. I’m sorry.” Unsure of the best way to cancel a date with a man who could have any chick he wanted and wouldn’t bother with the likes of her after cancelling on him, she sighed again.

“Why? Are you okay?” His voice came across as anxious, instilling her need to reassure him.

“I’m fine, it’s nothing to worry about. Tessa got called into work so I don’t have a babysitter now.”

She heard him exhale … in relief? Well, that might not be a good thing, she thought, frowning.

“That’s the only reason you’re cancelling then?” he asked.

“Yeah. Tess just called me so I’m sorry it’s last minute. I hope I didn’t ruin your evening completely.”

He laughed lightly into the phone this time, and she once again sulked. Why was he laughing?

“Sweet Tori, the only thing that could ruin my evening is not seeing you. Would you be willing to go out still if we brought Lexi with us?” he asked.

“You want to take me on a date with my daughter?” she asked incredulously.

He laughed again. “I love how surprised you sound. Why not? I mean, she’s portable, right? And babies are notorious for sleeping in strange places like car seats, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll just change things up a bit. Does six-thirty still work for you?”

Surprised at his response and alternate suggestions, she found herself nodding. A moment later he said, “Tori, you there?”

“Oh, yes, I’m here. Yes … six-thirty is fine.”

She could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “Great! See you soon.”

Caught in a daze of disbelief, she stared at the phone as the call was disconnected. Excitement began to bubble up inside as she realized she was still going out with Jason. And that Lexi would get to come, too. She had to tell Tessa.

Tori: Jason still wants to take me out … with Lexi … how cool is that!

Tessa: OMG, make sure to tell him you’re open for business and accepting donations! If you know what I mean.

Tori: Subtle, Tess. I think everyone would know what you mean by that. Was that the motivational speech?

Tessa: Yep! It’s good advice. You should totally take it.

Tori: I’ll keep that in mind … now get to work. Talk to you tomorrow. ;-)

Tessa: I expect details, girl!

Setting down the phone, she glanced at the clock and set about getting both herself and Lexi ready for their date.

JASON pulled in Tori’s driveway with minutes to spare. The last minute addition of Lexi to the date had him changing things up. He knew she was a great baby so it wasn’t hard to come up with an alternate plan—just required a vehicle change and visit to his brother’s house, and he was ready to go. Hopping out of his truck, fresh from the carwash, he made his way to Tori’s door.

As he passed the front house, he noticed an older man, he assumed was Tori’s landlord, sitting on the back porch. The man appeared to be sizing him up. It was almost funny considering Jason had at least a foot and four decades of youth on the man. But he knew Tori was close to him so Jason understood. Raising his hand, he offered him a hello. Receiving only a nod in response, he smiled and finished the path to Tori’s door.

After knocking, it was only a moment later when she answered with a big smile on her face. “Hi there, come on in.” Stepping away from the door, she moved about the small room grabbing a few things here and there and stuffing them into the diaper bag he remembered from the weekend before. When she bent forward to pick the baby up from the playpen, Jason was treated to an unhindered view of her ass—shaped perfectly—in the snug black pants she was wearing.

His gaze traveled down the length of her legs, taking in the curve of her muscles shown off by the tight fabric. His sudden appreciation for those exact pants was evident in his own. Clearing his throat as he tried to mentally distract himself, he adjusted his pants. “Is there anything I can help with?”

Standing back up, she swung her long hair around and over her shoulder. It was an erotic vision and didn’t help his current problem. Even when she turned around and smiled, wrestling some of her hair out of Lexi’s grip. He imagined running his hands through it—almost jealous of Lexi being so close to Tori. When she looked over at him, he made sure to smile back, praying she wouldn’t notice his current state of arousal.

“No, I think we’re ready. Are you sure you don’t mind if Lexi comes along? We could always do it another night. Or maybe we could stay in? I know that sounds lame, but I feel bad.”

Walking toward her, he put his hands out for Lexi, and she willingly went to him. He smiled at the baby before turning to Tori. “Did you know you ramble when you’re nervous?”

She smirked as she put her hands on her hips. “Picked up on that, did you? How nice of you to point it out.”

He wasn’t sure if she was trying to scold him or be sarcastic, but he went with the latter and couldn’t help but laugh. “I couldn’t resist seeing if I could make you blush again, but I guess I missed my mark. I’ll have to up my game tonight.”

She shook her head and let out a giggle as she picked up the diaper bag. “Great, a man with a mission.”

Together they walked to the door, and with Lexi in one arm, he reached for her car seat with the other. He paused for her to lock the door before walking to his car. The old man was still sitting on the porch, just as Jason expected he would be. Tori smiled and walked up to the railing near where he was sitting. The man’s face lit up, further confirming the reason for the “sizing up” he got a few minutes before.

Tori introduced Jason to her landlord, Hal. Jason took note of the condition of Hal’s hands and understood why Tori helped him around the house. “Nice to meet you sir. Jason Michaels.”

Jason received a small glare, which might have worked back in the man’s day, but Jason still respected it. “You taking the girls out tonight? Make sure you take good care of them. I made sure to write down your truck information in case you don’t.”

Tori giggled, and Jason only smiled, not wanting to be rude. He admired the protectiveness. It was similar to something Jason would’ve said and done. “Absolutely, sir. I’ll take care of them as if they were my own.”