been saving it.”
He reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand, running his thumb over her lower lip. Caley closed her eyes and tipped her head back, waiting for his kiss. He held back, if only to prove a point. She wanted him and all he had to do was touch her to make her desire burn. He bent close and brushed his lips across hers.
“See,” he murmured. “I just kiss you and you melt.”
Caley smiled as she looked at him, then ran her hand down his chest to his waist. She brushed her knuckles against the zipper of his jeans. “And what about you?” she asked. “I just touch you and you do the opposite.”
Jake groaned. “All I’ve been thinking about since last night is getting you back in my bed. If I thought I’d have to wait another day to touch you again, I think I’d cut a hole in the ice and jump in the lake.”
“Don’t do that,” Caley teased. “That water is cold and the shrinkage would be horrible.”
He laughed, the sound echoing off the trees. “The way you talk. Do you talk to the other men in your life like this?”
“Right now, you’re the only man in my life. And it’s easy to talk to you.” She paused. “You’re my oldest friend, Jake. I can say anything to you.” She drew a deep breath. “I guess I didn’t realize that until now. We haven’t seen each other in eleven years and it seems as if nothing’s changed. And yet everything has.”
“I know,” he said. “But it’s not all bad.” He kissed her again. “So we’re okay. About last night?”
“I didn’t sleep at all.” Caley leaned back against the hood of the car.
“I didn’t, either. I’m starting to think we’d do a lot better if we slept together.” Jake rested his hands on her waist and stared down into her eyes. “You know you can’t live without me.”
“I know I can’t get my car out of the snow without you,” she countered.
He stepped back and carefully examined the task at hand. But the sound of an approaching car caught their attention and Jake watched as an SUV with police lights stopped on the opposite side of the road. The policeman jumped out of the truck and strolled across the road.
“I thought that was you,” he said. “What’s up, Caley?”
“Hey, Jeff,” Caley called, giving the cop a friendly wave.
“If you tell me this happened while you were talking on your cell phone, you know I’m going to have to arrest you.”
“I’m not used to the snow. I skidded on the curve and next thing I knew, I was in the snowbank.”
“I’ve got a tow chain in the truck. I’ll pull you out.”
Jake watched as Caley gave the guy a dazzling smile. “Could you?” she asked. “That would really be great.”
“I’m here to serve,” he said with a crooked grin. He looked over at Jake and nodded. “Hey, buddy, you can be on your way. I’ll help the lady with her problem.”
Caley turned to Jake. “Well, that saves us both some time. Aren’t we lucky he came along?”
Jake felt a surge of jealousy course through his body. The reaction stunned him. He remembered feeling that way when they’d been younger, when she’d turned her eyes toward other boys. But Jake had assumed he’d outgrown that particular emotion. “You know each other?”
“That’s Jeff Winslow. You remember him. He used to work at the marina. He lived in town. He’s the police chief now.”
“That’s Jeff Winslow?” As a teenager, Winslow considered himself the Casanova of the precollege crowd. He had girls falling at his feet and, according to rumor, he usually picked them up, seduced them and then tossed them aside for new conquests. The guys used to tease him that he’d have to take a second job in order to pay for the condoms he used. “Yeah, I remember him.”
“He stopped me the night I got into town. I was talking on my cell phone. He let me off with a warning.”
“You can’t go out with him,” Jake said.
Caley gasped. “He hasn’t asked me out.”
“He’s planning to. I can tell by the look in his eyes. And you can’t go out with him. He’s a player.”
“You know, you used to tell me who I could and couldn’t date when we were kids and I used to listen to you,” Caley said. “But I’m a big girl now and I can run my own life.”
“That’s because you were too naive to see what guys really wanted.”
“It’s no wonder that I remained a virgin until I got to college. I was seriously beginning to develop a complex.” She paused. “And I know exactly what you want. So see, I have learned a few things.” Caley shook her head. “One moment, you’re trying to talk me into bed and the next, you’re acting like my big brother. No wonder I’m so mixed up.”
“I don’t want to be your big brother,” Jake said.
“Then stop telling me how to run my life.”
God, she could be so stubborn at times. Was she this way with all men or was it just him? “Well, I guess you don’t need me or my advice. Officer Jeff can take care of all your needs. Automotive and otherwise.”
Caley stared at him. “What is this? Are you jealous?”
The accusation stung, even though it was true. Jake trudged back up to the road and Caley trailed after him, stumbling in the deep drift that the plows had pushed aside. He grabbed her waist and helped her through the snow, then brushed off her pant legs when she reached the pavement. “I gotta go try on my tux. I’ll see you later. Good luck with Emma.”
“Jake, I—”
“I’ll talk to you later,” he repeated. He strode back to his truck and hopped inside, then skidded out on the road, heading towards town. There were moments when he wondered what he found so fascinating about Caley Lambert. She seemed to go out of her way to exasperate him. If she thought for even a moment that he was dictating to her, she’d dig in her heels and refuse to move.
No, he didn’t want to act like her older brother! He had far more carnal interests than that. He looked at her as a woman, a beautiful, sexy, desirable woman. And he wanted her to see him as a man, not that guy who used to drive her crazy every summer.
How could he alter the dynamic of a relationship that seemed as if it were carved in stone? How could he make her see that they’d be so good together? He didn’t want her to forget the past. That’s what made things so easy between them. He just wanted her to see that they weren’t kids anymore.
Things had changed. He’d changed. And he was ready to give her all she’d wanted all those years ago. Only this time, he could give her more than just one night of clumsy lovemaking and empty promises. This time, it could be a beginning.
“WHERE’S HE GOING in such a hurry?”
Caley
