The Storm Inside (9 page)

He shrugged as if my refusal didn’t bother him, and finished off the pizza. “Hot pink toes?”

His question annoyed me and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why he was in my bedroom. “It’s summer, I thought it would be fun.”

I watched as he looked around my room. When he’d lived here with me it had been one of four tiny identical upstairs rooms. When I renovated (and since I was single for the foreseeable future) I’d turned those four bedrooms into two: Jennie’s was directly in front of the stairwell, mine directly behind.

I absolutely loved my bedroom. There was an enormous overstuffed chair in an alcove with a window that overlooked the backyard. A large bookcase held more of my favorite books and pictures. But my bed was my favorite. I’d spent a stupid amount of money on it. It was enormous considering I slept alone. A king-sized dark wood antique headboard, intricately carved with vines and filigree, and a dark-blue bedding set made of the softest fabric I could find. I don’t even remember how much it cost because I’d had to block out the total. Otherwise I wouldn’t have handed over my credit card. But it was worth it. I could get lost in my bed and I could sleep naked any time I wanted. It was like being held in the caress of a cloud.

“I love what you’ve done with the house. It really looks incredible.”

I swelled with content pride. “Thank you.”

He continued his uninvited tour of my room and I let him. For some reason seeing him in my intimate space had me paralyzed. It was like the past and the present were colliding in front of my eyes. The new Jake in my new room. It was so different: the suit, the swagger, the confidence… and it wasn’t like I had cheap posters decorating my ratty walls anymore. He paused in front of a picture of all of us, the whole gang.

“I’m kind of impressed you didn’t cut me out of this picture.”

I smirked, “That’s the replacement. You should have seen what I did to the original.”

He turned to look back at me, his hands back in his pockets, his eyes unmistakably seductive. “We’re all grown up now. What are your plans for your life?”

His question confused me. I
was
living my life. But then again, it hadn’t taken me until this year to figure myself out. “What I’m doing right now. I work, hang out with the gang, visit my family… what else is there?”

He was burning a hole right through me. “That’s not what I meant. No boyfriends? You planning on settling down with Mr. Right and having kids?” He was so different. He was demanding, almost angry. His questions seemed more like an accusation than anything else.

Something flipped inside me. An anger erupted out of nowhere. “Jake that is none of your damn business.”

He grimaced, “I think it is. Why aren’t you married, Eve? You are beautiful and smart. There are a million men lined up at your door… but you’re here alone. So, I’ll ask you again. What are your plans, Eve?”

I stood up very slowly, attempting to control the eruption taking place inside me, walked out into the hallway, and growled, “Get. Out.”

“No.” he replied just as firmly, not leaving my room. In fact, I was pretty sure I heard him sit on my bed.

“Get. Out.” I repeated through my clenched teeth.

“Get. Back. In. Here.” he growled back.

I rolled my eyes. Jake had definitely changed. He never, ever would have stood up to me, let alone ordered me to do anything.

Suddenly he was in front of me and glaring down from above, “Please, just talk to me for few minutes. I promise I won’t bite.”

“I’m more worried about a kiss,” I said before I could stop myself.

Jake’s eyebrows shot up, “I’m not going to kiss you, darlin’.”

A part of me was pretty disappointed at that piece of information. “Fine.” I replied, stomping back into my room.

Jake strolled in behind me, sighing, “I just want to make sure I haven’t completely fucked up the rest of your life, Eve. Why aren’t you married?”

Because I’ve never met anyone as good as you? There hasn’t been a man since you who has made me weak in the knees or throbbing for his touch.

“I haven’t met anyone worth marrying, Jake. You don’t just put your name in a bowl and hope to be picked.”

He eyed me, gauging my reaction, looking for the lie. “Alright. As long as it isn’t because of me.”

It is absolutely because of you.

“You think you ruined men for me, Jake?”

He grinned his cocky half-smile I used to love so much. I loved it because it was one of the few times his dimple showed. My dimple. I couldn’t help it, my eyes were drawn right to it, and he saw. I’m pretty sure he stopped breathing, his eyes burning into me.

“Eve…” he murmured.

My heart stopped; there was an explosive combination of lust, passion, and longing circulating around my bedroom. Anything would set us off.

“Do you need help with the things Jennie asked you to get?” I asked, trying to deflect what was coming.

He shook his head, “Just show me what to take.” He didn’t take his eyes off me. I didn’t take my eyes off him. There was a running stream of ‘
He’ll ruin you, don’t do this, get out of here!’
going through the back of my mind. I was half listening to it. The other half wondering if maybe all my fears were unfounded. That maybe Jake and I had gone through all our bad already. That if we did get back together, we’d be fine.

But could I really take that chance?

“Then let me show you…” I quickly left the room and practically threw myself down the stairs. I hadn’t missed the disappointed look on Jake’s face as I ran.

I could hear his heavy footfalls behind me. “Why are you running?” he asked. His voice was deep and full of emotion.

I spun around to find he was right behind me. “You know why.”

“No I don’t.”

My barefooted view was of his chest. His wide, strong chest. The suit looked so good on him. Growing up suited him. He grabbed my chin and tilted it up so that I was looking at him. “Why are you running away from me?”

I wanted to tell him how I was feeling, but I knew if he believed we had a chance, he’d take it. So I lied. “You’re just too much, Jake. You fill up the room. You say you just want to make sure I know what I want. Even if it’s not you… but I can see you want more. I can’t give you more, Jake.”

He dropped his hand away. “I’m sorry.”

I turned as fast as I could and scurried out the front and around to the garage. Jennie had put two boxes aside. I had no idea what was in them. Just like I didn’t know she’d asked Jake to pick them up. I was starting to suspect Jennie had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Jake picked them up silently and placed them in the back of the Bronco. I didn’t know what to say to him after that, and neither did he, apparently. It had been an assault to the senses on all fronts. He had just turned to me with his ruffled hair and confused eyes when Jennie pulled up, followed by another car I didn’t know. I was guessing Andrew had come back for a drink.

Jennie hopped out of her car holding up my dessert. “Here you go!” she hurried to my side. “Dinner was amazing! He came to meet you!”

She was glowing, absolutely glowing. I had never, ever seen her like this. “Wow, you brought him home already? That’s a good thing, right?”

Andrew stepped out of his cool, black sports car and my jaw dropped. Jennie was right. Andrew was
hot
. He was clean cut, perfect black suit and red tie, a head of dark hair to die for, piercing brown eyes, but what was truly magnificent about Andrew was his smile. It was earth shattering, make your knees weak, movie star quality. He even had
me
swooning and he wasn’t anything close to my type.

“Shit, Jennie. He’s gorgeous.”

She giggled, “I told you. And he’s wonderful. I’m telling you, I like this guy, Eve.”

He and Jake shook hands. I noticed the way Jake was giving him a careful once over, and the easy way Andrew introduced himself. He had an air about him that exuded confidence, but not in an arrogant way. He just genuinely seemed to know who he was, and didn’t care what anyone else thought.

“I brought dessert for everyone,” Jennie said. “I was hoping you’d still be here, Jake.” She had that mischievous glint to her eyes that told me she was in full matchmaker mode. She wasn’t going to let the idea of Jake and I getting back together go.

I gave her a look that told her I knew what she was up to. But she just smiled sweetly, holding up the bag of dessert, and prancing into the house.

“Didn’t feel like dancing?” I asked as I closed the door.

Andrew turned, “I wanted to meet you all. Jennie couldn’t stop talking about you.”

That was when I realized Jennie was beaming and Andrew was looking pretty dreamy himself; he was obviously taken with my girl. Maybe Andrew was going to be around longer than a month after all. Maybe Mis en Place for their first date wasn’t peaking on the first date… maybe it was starting off on the right foot. I liked the way they looked together. But it also made me sad. I’d looked at Jake like that once upon a time.

“How long have the two of you been together?” Andrew asked looking at Jake and me. It was an innocent question, but so completely wrong.

I cleared my throat and pulled out my chocolate pie, letting Jake take the question.

“We’re not together any more. We dated back in college.”

Andrew looked surprised. “Oh, I suppose that’s why you look so comfortable together. Did you all go to USF?”

Jennie was still smiling like a fool, “Oh yes. And most of the gang you’ll meet tomorrow.” She turned toward me. “He’s coming with us, if that’s ok with you…”

That had me completely shocked. One date and Andrew was coming with us for the weekend? “Of course. There’s plenty of room.”

“Jennie said you guys were planning on heading out right after lunch, correct?”

I stuck a spoon full of ice cream in my mouth, “That’s the plan.” I mumbled, pulling the spoon out. “That way we can take the boats out before dinner.” My parent’s lived on Captiva Island, a good two and half hour drive south. If we really left at noon by the time we all got settled in, we’d have just enough time to take the boats out.

“The girls love the water,” Jake chimed in with a wink at Jennie.

“I’ve been to Captiva before. And Sanibel a few times. It’s a great place. You must have loved growing up out there, Eve.”

I had. It was an amazing life, as long as I didn’t think about how often my dad was gone. But we’d made it work. His spring training with the Twins was down there in Fort Myers, and most of baseball season fell over summer so that we could travel with the team when we wanted. But for large chunks of time, I was fatherless. But it was probably the only thing I could justifiably complain about.

Otherwise, I’d grown up in a privileged paradise, with beaches and boats at my fingertips. “My grandparents moved there and built the house before my dad was born, back when almost no one lived out there. No causeway, no access to the mainland without a boat.”

“You don’t hear many stories like that,” he replied.

“Eve is old Florida on both sides of her family.” Jennie explained for me. “This house was her mother’s.”

His eyebrows shot up, “Very, very rare indeed. My family moved here in the nineties from New York. Seems most of the people I meet are like me, not the two of you.” He was beaming at Jennie again. They really did have it bad.

“Where did you go to school, Andrew? Stetson?”

He smiled politely; even that basic smile was swoon-worthy. “For law school, yes. Florida Southern before that.”

He had a good, solid background and all local. He was sounding more and more like Jennie’s perfect match.

“Alright, well, I have to get up early so I can escape work on time…” I mumbled in a vain attempt to exit the room with as little drama as possible.

It didn’t work.

Jennie perked up again, pulling herself from Andrew’s enormous, gorgeous grin. “I’m riding with Andrew, Eve. Maybe you should hitch a ride with Jake. That way we won’t have an extra car.” She might as well have just handcuffed me to Jake and thrown away the key. It would have been easier, and probably subtler.

“Fine.” I grumbled, dropping my spoon in the sink and shoving my box in the trash.

When I turned around Jake was behind me again. It was becoming a habit of his. “Walk me out?” he asked softly.

I shrugged, the fight going completely out of me. I was tired of fighting. Fighting Jake, fighting Jennie’s secret schemes. For the rest of tonight I was going with the flow. Grumpily and with a bad attitude, but with the flow.

I don’t think Jennie or Andrew noticed as we left, he was whispering in her ear and she was giggling. The feeling they were perfect for each other hit me again.

At the door Jake stopped and looked down at me, “You don’t have to ride with me if I’m going to make you this uncomfortable. In fact, I don’t have to go at all.”

Something about the idea of him not going made me feel queasy. And I still liked the idea that it would be intense, that by the end of the weekend I would have more answers than questions. He needed to go. I needed to work Jake Spencer out of my system by overdosing. “It’s fine. I miss the Bronco, it’ll be fun to take her for a spin again.”