Rescue My Heart: Park City Firefighter Romance Page 10

  “Are you okay?” Jake asked, his voice soft.

  He had seen her tears. Great.

  “I’m fine,” she said, her tone bright. Then she placed the spoonful of chocolate mousse into her mouth. “This is so creamy, Jake.” And fluffy and chocolatey. She might just lick her dish clean. Imagining the look on his face if she were to do that, she softly chuckled.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I was just wondering what you would think if I licked every bit out of this dish.”

  He barked a laugh. “That would be epic, Lacey.”

  Loving that he approved of her humor, she continued eating.

  “But I have plenty more if you want it.”

  She gave him a sideways glance. “Don’t be surprised if I take you up on that.”

  “I hope you do. Otherwise I’ll eat all of it.” He patted his flat stomach. “That wouldn’t be good for my girlish figure.”

  She laughed. From where she sat, his ‘girlish figure’ looked pretty darn hot. “No, you wouldn’t want to do that.”

  He smiled, and when he looked into her eyes it was like he could see right into her soul.

  She wasn’t ready for him to see into her soul. She wasn’t ready to open her heart that way.

  Not able to break their eye contact at first, with a force of will she tore her gaze from his and turned her attention to eating dessert. Swallowing the final bite, she knew it was time to go home. Things were getting a little too intense.

  He’d missed his chance again.

  While he’d looked into Lacey’s blue eyes, Jake had felt that overwhelming desire to kiss her again, but just as he’d been about to lean toward her, she’d broken their gaze, ending his opportunity.

  He really liked this girl. He felt such a…a connection with her. He looked her way. Lick the bowl clean. He’d like to see that. Actually, he would rather have her mouth on his, not on the dish.

  “This has been a really fun evening,” she said, sending the signal that she was ready to end it. “But I’m getting kind of tired.” Her lips lifted in a small smile. “Would you mind taking me home?”

  Not again. “Are you sure? Maybe another helping of chocolate mousse would give you the energy you need to keep working on the puzzle.”

  Her lips curved into a smile. “I don’t think so.”

  That was too bad. But she would be back the next day. “All right.”

  A short time later, as he stood close to her while helping her into his truck, he was tempted to draw her into his arms and kiss her. But he’d heard her silent message that she wasn’t ready for that.

  He would get his shot. He just had to be patient.

  With Jake standing so close to her as he helped her into his truck, it took a strong sense of self-control to keep Lacey from leaning against him and asking him to wrap his strong arms around her. When she was with him she felt safe, like he would never do anything to hurt her. It was a feeling she’d lacked in her relationship with Eric, and it was a feeling she craved.

  “There you go,” he said as he boosted her into the passenger seat of his truck.

  He was eye level with her as she sat in her seat, and when their eyes met, she reminded herself that it was okay to take it slow, that they were going to get together again the next day.

  With a smile, he closed the door, walked around the truck and climbed behind the wheel, then pulled away from the curb. “Is tomorrow still gonna work for you?”

  She told herself to say yes because she knew she wouldn’t regret it.

  “Yeah.” She smiled. “Maybe after you finish grouting we can work on the puzzle some more.”

  He looked in her direction. “Don’t you mean when we finish grouting? You won’t learn how if you don’t try it.”

  She laughed. “We’ll see.” She paused. “Do you need me to bring anything? Some food maybe?”

  “Sure. That would be great. Do you want me to pick you up, or do you want to drive yourself?”

  If she drove herself she could leave when she wanted to. “I’ll drive myself.”

  “Okay.”

  When they got to her apartment, Lacey let him help her out of his truck, then he walked her to the door. Would he try to kiss her, and if he did, would she let him?

  It was his last chance to kiss her that day. But maybe he should wait. Make her want it first.

  Deciding that was the way to play it, when they reached her door, Jake faced her but didn’t show any sign of wanting to kiss her, although he wanted to. Very badly.

  “I’ll probably start grouting about ten,” he said.

  She smiled. “Okay. I’ll be there.” Her smile turned into a smirk. “It sounds fascinating.”

  Laughing, he said, “Oh, it will be. Believe me.” When his laughter died down, he smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Thank you again for dinner.” Lacey thought of how much fun she’d had doing the puzzle. “And the puzzle.”

  “Which we’ll finish tomorrow,” he said with a grin.

  She liked the promise in his statement. “Yes. Which we’ll finish tomorrow.”

  “Good night, Lacey.”

  “Good night.”

  She watched as he turned and walked away and realized she actually really would have liked a kiss after all.

  There was always the next day.

  Smiling with contentment, she let herself into the apartment with the promise of the next day on her mind.

  Twenty-One

  Lacey parked in front of Jake’s house the next morning, but paused before getting out of her car. Staring at his house, she thought about the evening before and how warm and safe she had felt while she was with him. Anticipation burst through her as she imagined how today would go.

  But it wouldn’t happen as long as she sat in her car. Picking up the basket of food she’d prepared, she smiled as she climbed out of her car and walked to the front door.

  “Just in time for the fun,” Jake said when he opened the door. He was wearing jeans, and a t-shirt that emphasized his ripped biceps and powerful chest.

  Tearing her gaze away from his muscular body—yes, he most definitely worked out—Lacey followed him inside and set the basket on the kitchen counter. “I brought provisions, so we should be all set.”

  Jake began lifting the cover on the basket, but Lacey waved him off. “Nope. You’ll have to wait until lunch to see what I made.”

  He laughed. “A secret surprise lunch. I look forward to it.” Rubbing his stomach, he added, “What if I’m hungry already?”

  “Work first.” Lacey was surprised at how comfortable she felt with him. “Go ahead and get started and I’ll put this in the fridge.”

  He laughed. “Okay. I already mixed the grout, so I need to start now anyway.” He smiled. “I’ll meet you upstairs.”

  She watched him go, then after putting the sandwiches and fruit in the fridge and taking her cell phone out of her purse and putting it in her back pocket, she walked up the stairs and into the bathroom where Jake was standing in the bathtub spreading grout onto the tiles with some sort of tool that was flat and had a handle.

  Lacey leaned against the doorframe. “That doesn’t look too hard. Maybe when my hands are better I’ll give it a try.”

  Jake liked the way Lacey looked standing in the doorway, like she belonged there. He nodded. “I’d be happy to give you the opportunity. I think I’ll be working on this house for a while, and there’s lots more tiling I want to do.” He tilted his head. “Maybe want is the wrong word. More tiling that I need to do.”

  “Did you take any pictures before you started the remodel? I’d love to see the before shots.”

  Why hadn’t he thought of that? “No. I wish I had though.”

  “I guess you’ll have to do that next time.”

  “Yeah. Remind me, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  He had made it sound like she was going to be in his life for a while. What was up with that?

  He scooped
more grout onto the grout float and glanced in her direction and knew that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

  Would she still be around to remind him the next time he tiled?

  Lacey watched Jake as he continued working the grout between the tiles and realized she wanted nothing more than to be part of his future.

  Don’t get ahead of yourself, she thought. Yeah, he seems like a nice guy—so far. But you need to be careful.

  “What do you think?” he asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

  She looked at the one wall he’d finished, but the tiles were covered in grout. “Uh…”

  He laughed. “Just kidding. Now we wipe the grout off of the tiles, which will leave it only in the cracks. It’ll look fantastic.”

  She smiled. “You had me worried for a second there.”

  “You thought I didn’t know what I was doing, huh?”

  Her smile grew. She could tell he knew what he was doing. “Yep. You did say this was your first time tiling.”

  “Yeah, but I watched a lot of Youtube videos, so that makes me an expert.”

  “Obviously.”

  His eyebrows rose. “I think you should try it.”

  She looked at her palms. They were well on their way to being healed, and after her success with using a knife the night before, she wanted to give it a try. She smiled back. “Why not?”

  “Awesome.”

  Thoroughly impressed with her willingness to try—she actually wanted to learn how to grout? How great was that?—Jake motioned for her to step into the bathtub with him.

  Looking uncertain, she crossed the few feet between them, but stopped before stepping into the tub. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for me to do this?” She held her palms out for him to see.

  He didn’t want to do anything that would cause her pain. “It’s up to you, Lacey. If you don’t think you’re up for it, then that’s okay.”

  Her gaze was steady on him. “I want to try.”

  She was amazing. “Okay. Step right up.” He made room for her, then she stepped over the threshold and into the tub.

  Facing the wall that needed grouting, she looked at him over her shoulder. “Now what?”

  Now I’ll decide if you’re ready for me to kiss you, he thought.

  “Uh,” he nearly stammered, “I’ll put some grout on the grout float, and then you can spread it over the tiles.”

  Having him standing so close to her sent waves of desire cascading through her, but she was determined to succeed at this task and not get distracted by him. He handed her the loaded grout float and she began spreading the grout over the tile. There was some discomfort on her palms, but she was going to do this, just to prove to herself that she could.

  “Really press it into the cracks,” he said.

  His warm breath brushed across her cheek, and she had to close her eyes for a moment to regain her equilibrium. “Okay,” she murmured. Doing as he instructed, she used all the grout he’d given her, but by then her palms were starting to protest.

  “I think that’s all I can do for now,” she said as she looked over her work, proud of herself despite only grouting for a few minutes.

  “Great job, Lacey.”

  He was so close to her, she knew if she turned around they would be face to face. Heart pounding, she hesitated and prepared to turn. But at the last moment she chickened out and stepped out of the bathtub instead. Once she was a safe five feet away, she turned around and looked at him—so strong, so sweet, so freaking hot.

  Either she had crazy will power, or she needed to get over herself and let her guard down.

  She knew it was the latter, but that didn’t change the caution she couldn’t seem to get past.

  Needing an excuse to put some distance between them for a minute, she asked, “Do you have some water in the fridge? I can get it.”

  “Yeah,” Jake said, then he watched her walk out of the bathroom. Having her so close and not touching her had been agonizing. He’d given her the chance to show she was ready for more, but when she’d gotten out of the tub without turning to face him, her decision had been clear.

  What was holding her back? What if it never went away? What if she decided it wouldn’t work between them?

  The sharp disappointment he felt at the thought stunned him, and he knew he was well on his way to falling for her.

  Minutes later she returned with two bottles of water. When she handed one to him, their eyes met and he tried to read her. He swore he saw something there. So what was the problem? What was holding her back?

  “Do you want to eat soon?” she asked.

  Just be patient, he told himself. “Yeah.”

  “Me too.”

  The doorbell rang. Jake wiped his hands on his jeans. “Probably a salesperson. I’ll be right back.”

  Lacey nodded and took another drink.

  Annoyed to be interrupted, Jake hurried down the stairs. Pleased with the way his morning was going, Jake smiled as he pulled the door open. But when he saw his old girlfriend standing on the porch, his smile melted away.

  Twenty-Two

  “Robyn.” Astonishment laced his voice. The last he’d heard, she’d hightailed it out of town with the intention of never coming back.

  “Hi, Jake.” Smiling broadly, she looked as beautiful as he remembered. Wearing form-fitting jeans with boots that made her long legs look even longer, a flattering blouse, and with her long blond hair perfectly styled, Robyn was stunning.

  Knocked off-kilter by her unexpected appearance, Jake had no words. Then they came out in a rush. “What are you doing here?”

  Evidently unhappy with Jake’s less-than-thrilled response to seeing her, Robyn wrinkled her brow. “I’m fine, how are you?”

  Now that he had gotten over her he was doing just great. “Are you back, or…?”

  “Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”

  As she stared at him with an undisguised expectation that he would comply—she knew him so well—he stepped back, opened the door wider, and motioned for her to enter.

  She looked him over, and when he looked down he saw bits of grout stuck to his jeans.

  A slight grimace marred the beauty of her face. “I see you’re still working on your house.”

  “Yep.” Her reaction reminded him how much she’d hated the time his DIY tasks took away from her. He couldn’t picture her ever trying to grout. Especially if she had a broken nail, let alone if she had burned her hands as badly as Lacey had.

  Appreciation for Lacey surged through him.

  He needed to see what Robyn wanted and get her on her way. Lacey was waiting.

  Robyn stepped into the living room and looked at the coffee table. “Ah. Still working on puzzles.” She shot a smile in his direction. “And I see you’re working on my favorite.”

  “Your favorite?” Since when? He studied her face. Maybe she was trying to make up for the grimace.

  Lacey leaned over the stair rail and strained to hear the conversation happening below. So far she’d seen a gorgeous woman walk in and say that Jake was working on her favorite puzzle.

  Her favorite? How many times had she been there?

  Feeling like she was Jake’s second choice—had this woman been unavailable for puzzle night? Was that why he had invited her?—she focused on the conversation below.

  The pair stood in the entry, so Lacey was able to hear their conversation clearly.

  “It’s so good to see you, Jake,” Robyn said, and Lacey cringed at the intimate tone of her voice. How well did they know each other? Was he dating her too? Why did he let her come in while Lacey was there? Was she so insignificant that he forgot she had come over?

  The thought sent a zing of self-pity into her chest.

  “It’s, uh, it’s good to see you too.” Jake’s voice sounded slightly strained.

  “I hope you don’t mind me dropping by like this.” She softly chuckled. “You never used to mind, so I kind of thought, you know…” Her words trailed
off, and Lacey’s forehead creased.

  How often did she drop by? How long had it been since she’d been there? Jake had sounded kind of surprised to see her when he’d first answered the door, so maybe it had been a while?

  Pushing aside her questions, Lacey concentrated on the words being spoken downstairs.

  “I’m, uh, I’m kind of busy,” Jake said, which warmed Lacey. Maybe he hadn’t forgotten she was up there.

  “I’m sorry, Jake. I know you have a lot of irons in the fire.” She paused a beat. “The place is looking great, by the way.” Another pause. “Maybe you can show me what you’ve done since I was here last.”

  “Today’s not a good day.” His reply was immediate.

  Yeah, that was because she was upstairs.

  Lacey considered going downstairs and introducing herself, but she was too curious about what the woman wanted to move from her spot at the top of the stairs.

  “All right,” she said. “Maybe another time then.”

  Jake wanted to move things along. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

  What was Lacey thinking right about then?

  “Cut right to the chase, huh? I like that.” She gazed at him a moment. “In answer to your earlier question, yes, I’m back. That job didn’t work out, so I’ve come back to Park City, back to my old job.”

  Not sure how he felt about that, Jake waited to see why she’d come over. When she’d broken up with him four months earlier with the excuse that she had a job opportunity she couldn’t pass up, he’d been disappointed, but not devastated. Yes, he’d cared about her, and his pride had been hurt that she’d picked a job over him, but he’d moved on without too much difficulty. And now that he had the benefit of time, he could see that she wasn’t a good fit for him at all. Especially compared to Lacey, who, the more he got to know, seemed to fit him so well.

  Even so, seeing Robyn in front of him in living color, he couldn’t help but remember the good times they’d had. They’d been together for nearly a year when she’d left, and at that point he’d thought they were reaching a crossroads—get more serious or break up. He’d been torn about which direction he’d wanted to go, so in a way it had been a relief when she’d left. But there was no denying that she still held a place in his heart.