Passion Never Dies (9 page)

“Jake Redmond, as I live and breathe! What in the world are you doing here?!” said a high-pitched, excited voice.

Both Diana and Jake turned to see two very attractive women facing them. The one who spoke was a beautiful blonde wearing a figure-hugging, white dress. Diana blinked in surprise as Jake laughed and smiled at the vision in white.

“Portia? Wow, I haven’t seen you in years. How are you?”

The blonde beauty tossed her waist-length, curly hair and giggled, her blue eyes eyeing Jake from head to toe.

“I’m great and you haven’t changed a bit. Still a stud, I see,” she said teasingly.

Diana stiffened next to Jake. He kept one arm around her waist as he introduced her.

“Portia, this is Diana.”

Portia smiled dimly as she inspected Diana’s face and figure.

“Nice to meet you,” Portia said, but Diana highly doubted that she was sincere. “I used to date Jake a few years ago.”

Diana picked up on the possessive tone in Portia’s statement and knew that given the opportunity, the other woman would leap at the chance to date Jake again.

“This is my friend Alexis,” Portia said offhandedly. It was almost as if she had momentarily forgotten about her friend. The beautiful brunette in a tight, blue dress standing next to Portia smiled at Jake, but completely ignored Diana.

“I can’t believe I bumped into you,” said Portia. “I know you’re currently living in New York.”

“Keeping tabs on me, Portia?” Jake asked. Diana was far from amused as she noticed that both women were eyeing Jake with avid interest.

“Hardly, baby,” drawled Portia flirtatiously causing Diana to stiffen next to Jake in annoyance. “But, you know, it’s a small world. Now that you’re back here, why don’t we have a reunion? I know that the old crowd would love to see you again.”

“Thanks, but I’m living in Vegas for the summer and we’re flying back immediately. I just brought Diana here to see my old stomping grounds.”

“Oh...I see,” said Portia, in a disappointed voice. Diana noticed that Alexis didn’t look too happy either.

“Well, the next time you’re in town give me a ring. I believe your sister Lana still has my number,” said Portia breezily. She barely glanced at Diana before saying, “Nice meeting you.”

She smiled at Jake and said, “You look great, Jake.”

Jake said, “Thanks. Take care.”

Portia sauntered away with her gorgeous friend, turning male heads as they walked past.

“Sorry about that,” Jake apologized. “Portia is actually one of my sister’s friends, but we used to hang out years ago.”

“I thought she said you dated,” Diana said, eyebrow raised.

“We did for a while, but it didn’t work out,” he said as he took her hand and led her back up the pathway toward the car. With his other hand, he took out his iPhone from his pocket and made a selection.

As Jake spoke to the driver, Diana mulled over the encounter with Portia and frowned. She had always possessed what she considered to be a healthy dose of self-esteem and had never considered herself to be unattractive, but seeing those beautiful women made her feel like an ugly duckling. Was that the type of women Jake was used to dating? If so, what was he doing with her?

“They looked like models,” Diana said.

She was aware that she sounded slightly petulant, but she couldn’t help herself. As she and Jake reached the car, he looked down at her with a grin and tugged her close to him. She willingly allowed him to draw him into his strong arms and savored the feel of his hard chest.

“I believe that Portia did some lingerie modeling for magazines,” he said, “but that was years ago. Who knows what she’s doing now?”

“Probably the same,” muttered Diana under her breath. Great, he had dated a lingerie model. That made her even more insecure and just a little jealous.

“Hey, she isn’t as beautiful as you,” Jake said, kissing the top of her head.

Diana let out a mirthless laugh. “That’s sweet, Jake, but I’m no lingerie model.”

“You’re sexier, Diana,” he said and then bent his head and kissed her with passionate fervor. It was a soul-stirring kiss and it filled her with reassurance. She placed her hands on his chest as he deepened the kiss, opening her mouth wider and angling her head so that he could delve deeper.

They heard a cough as the driver interrupted them.

“Excuse me, sir,” he said sheepishly.

Diana and Jake broke apart abruptly and once again, Diana was embarrassed at being caught kissing Jake in public.

“Come on, let’s do some sightseeing,” said Jake with a husky laugh.

~

“It’s so beautiful here,” Diana said as she took in the panoramic view of San Diego and the Pacific. The light wind and warm sun heightened her pleasure as she surveyed the landscape before her.

“It is breathtaking,” agreed Jake as he placed his arm around her slim waist.

Jake had asked the driver to take them to the tip of Point Loma peninsula. They had passed a naval base and a graveyard and had finally arrived to see the Cabrillo National monument.

Diana turned to look at the monument and read the plaque.

“This monument was erected in honor of Captain Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the first European to set foot on the west coast.”

She turned to Jake and smiled.

“There’s a lot of history here.”

Jake nodded. “When I was a kid, my family used to come here often to hike and have picnics near the tide pools. We also came in the evenings. At night, when San Diego is lit up, the views of the city and the bay below are spectacular.”

“I can imagine,” murmured Diana. “You must have had a wonderful childhood growing up here.”

Jake held her hand as they began to walk up the pathway leading to the Point Loma Lighthouse.

“It had its ups and downs, but mostly ups,” he answered quietly.

“What were the downs?” asked Diana curiously.

Jake paused before answering.

“My dad was and still is a very driven man. He founded a construction company and expanded it to what it is now, a very profitable business. He expected a lot from me and sometimes I think I didn’t exactly meet his high expectations.”

Diana looked at Jake carefully, catching his resigned expression.

“It seems to me that fathers often have high expectations of their offspring,” Diana said, thinking of her own father and of the high academic standard he had placed upon her during her school years.

“I’m his son and he always expected me to take over the reigns of his company - whether I liked it or not.”

Diana was slightly surprised to hear a bitter note of resentment in his voice.

“Are you not happy with what you’re doing?” she asked carefully.

Jake paused before stopping in the middle of the pathway. He sighed and brushed his blond hair back before answering her.

“When I was a freshman in college, my dad told me that I had to major in business when what I really wanted to do was major in liberal arts. After college, I wanted to backpack across Europe and see the world, but my dad told me I had to start working in his company right away,” Jake paused. “I no longer mind working at the company and as president, I relish the challenges I face, but it took me a while to embrace his corporate ideals. I now realize I’m exactly where I want to be in life and Dad did know best in the end.”

“But still, you weren’t able to explore other opportunities or options,” Diana said, a bit upset that Jake had been practically forced to work for the family company. “He sort of railroaded you into working for him.”

Jake sighed again. “I don’t believe in looking back and wondering ‘what could have been.’ Besides, now that I’m president of the corporation, I can pretty much travel wherever I want and I don’t need to backpack.”

He smiled and placed his hand on her cheek, rubbing it gently with his thumb.

“And if I had been the starving artist that I had aspired to be in my teens, I would have never worked for my dad, gone to Vegas, and met you...again.”

Diana felt her cheeks flush under his warm, steady gaze and tender gesture.

“I guess your dad and mine have one thing in common,” Diana said, smiling.

“What’s that?”

“They’re both stubborn as mules.”

Jake laughed and took her hand, leading her back up the pathway again.

“I love my dad and I respect him greatly, but one day, when I have a son, I’m giving my son the free will to make decisions regarding his career.”

Diana swallowed the sudden lump in her throat as she took in his statement. For a split second, she wondered whom he would eventually choose to be the mother of his future son but she quickly suppressed her runaway thoughts. She couldn’t possibly entertain the remote possibility that he would one day choose her. She bit her lower lip and shook her head. She wanted to enjoy the day with him, nothing more.

“Fortunately,” Jake continued, “my dad has mellowed out in his old age and now it seems that all he wants to do is play golf and spend time with Nathan. That’s partly why my parents moved back to San Diego, so that they could play the doting grandparents.”

Jake shook his head in mild bafflement.

“He and my mom indulge Nathan so much that Lana and her husband are afraid they’re spoiling him. It’s quite different from the way my dad treated me.”

Diana smiled. “Once parents become grandparents, discipline goes out the door,” she said. “They’re no longer responsible for the upbringing, so they just want to spoil them. Believe me, I’ve seen a lot of grandparents melt just by seeing their grandkids.”

She found herself standing in front of the Point Loma Lighthouse and admiring the historical landmark.

“This lighthouse was built in 1854 and was restored with a museum inside. Do you want to go in?” asked Jake.

Diana nodded and they toured the building, looking at the artifacts belonging to the last family who lived in the lighthouse.

The rest of the day passed in a joyful blur as she and Jake walked over to the tide pools on the western side of Point Loma. The late afternoon sun had them both craving ice cream, so Jake instructed the driver to take them to Seaport Village.

“Hey, that’s not fair. Why do you get two scoops of ice cream and I only have one?” asked Diana in mock anger.

They were sitting on a park bench facing the duck pond at Seaport Village. Jake had laid his arm behind her and she loved feeling him sit so closely next to her. His thigh touched hers and the heat of his body warmed hers. It was enough to make her ice cream melt right then and there.

“Because I’m twice as big as you,” he laughed before taking a long lick of his vanilla ice cream.

Diana had to subdue a groan as she watched his tongue lick his ice cream. He was seducing her without even knowing it.

“Well, if I eat my ice cream faster than you do, can I have another scoop?” she asked playfully.

“Is that a challenge?” he teased.

Diana nodded and began to lick her chocolate ice cream fast and furiously. She heard him chuckle and watched him do the same with his. Unfortunately, he finished before she did, but he surprised her by bending down to her cone and helping her eat the rest of her ice cream.

Diana giggled as they both slurped up the rest of her treat.

“It’s a tie,” he said, gently wiping her mouth with a napkin. She reached up to wipe his mouth as well and watched his eyes darken.

Jake bent down and kissed her softly, his tongue delving between her lips. She sighed and tasted the vanilla in his mouth before he regretfully lifted his head from hers.

“Unfortunately, we’re in a family-friendly place, Diana. Otherwise, I’d prolong our kiss indefinitely.”

Diana read the suppressed passion in his eyes and was slightly shaken at what she saw there. She had never wanted anyone as badly as she wanted Jake. For a minute there, she had even completely forgotten that she was in a public place. Jake stood and linked his hands with hers.

“Thanks for playing tour guide today,” Diana said appreciatively.

Jake lifted their linked hands and kissed her knuckles.

“You’re welcome,” he said, smiling.

“I feel like a tourist even though I grew up only about a little over an hour’s drive from here.”

“You didn’t come down to San Diego when you lived in Huntington Beach?” Jake asked curiously.

Diana shook her head. “Not really. My parents often drove to L.A., but on occasion, my mom would take me to the museums at Balboa Park and we’d stay at the Hotel del Coronado.”

“You didn’t go to Sea World or the zoo?”

“No, my dad wasn’t into amusement parks, but my mom enjoyed museums, so she and I would go together while he stayed home.”

“Sounds like your dad and mine had one more thing in common,” commented Jake.

“What’s that?”

“They were both party poopers.”

Diana laughed and said, “That’s quite an apt statement.”

“It’s getting late. Let’s go home,” he said, his eyes twinkling.

The way Jake said “home” accelerated Diana’s hopes and as she looked into his warm, green eyes, she knew that something fundamentally inside her had changed. Jake had entered her life like no other man before him had and she didn’t think her life would ever be the same again.

~

“I’m pregnant.”

“What?” yelped Diana in excitement.

Natalie nodded and grinned. Diana leaped up from her chair and hugged Natalie tightly. She couldn’t have been happier for her best friend. Natalie had called her the morning after she had returned from San Diego and asked if they could have lunch together during Diana’s lunch break.

“Max must be over the moon,” said Diana.

“He is and he’s driving me crazy with his list of what not to do and what not to eat. I understand he wants me to be careful during my pregnancy, but how can I avoid sushi? I love that stuff,” said Natalie in a disgruntled voice.

“He’s just being protective,” Diana said, smiling.

Natalie patted her still-flat stomach gently and grinned.

“I’m just so happy to have this baby, Diana.”

“I’m going to be an aunt!” Diana said happily.

“Now I’m just going to live vicariously through you. How did your San Diego trip go with Jake? You look like you’re glowing, by the way,” Natalie said teasingly.