designs.”
“Interesting.” She drew in a sharp breath, impatient with the idle chitchat. “What are you doing home? Why would you want to come to my parents’ anniversary party?”
A slow realization dawned. Emma hadn’t told her what was going on. Jake wondered if he ought to be the one to break the happy news or if she should hear it over the breakfast table. For now, it might prove a distraction from what had just happened. “This isn’t an anniversary party,” Jake said. “It’s Emma and Sam.”
She frowned at the mention of Jake’s youngest brother. “Emma and Sam?”
“They’re getting married.”
At first she gasped, then regarded him with disbelief. This was the Caley he remembered. She always found a way to disagree with him, even if he was only claiming the sun rose in the east and set in the west. “Not funny.”
“It’s the truth,” Jake said. “That’s why we’re all here. It’s going to be a small wedding at the Episcopal Church in town on Valentine’s evening. She’s got the dress and they’ve got the license.”
“They aren’t even dating,” Caley said.
“I guess they have been. They’ve been secretly seeing each other for the past three summers. They didn’t want anyone to know. You know how our mothers are and how they’ve dreamed about making a match between the Lamberts and the Burtons. They got engaged on New Year’s and decided to get married right away, before Fran and Jean could plan a big event.”
“But they’re only twenty-one,” Caley said. “That’s too young. What do they know about marriage?” She drew a ragged breath and stared at him, as if she were taking a moment to digest the news. Then, her eyes slowly dropped, first to his chest and then his legs. She pulled the comforter up beneath her chin. “Do you think maybe you could get dressed and—”
The door to the bedroom swung open and Caley’s youngest brother, Teddy, stuck his head inside. “Hey, Jake. Are you going to want some—” His words died in his throat as he took in the scene in front of him. “Hey, Caley. You’re home.” He glanced over at Jake, then forced a smile. “Yeah, okay. Breakfast,” he murmured as he closed the door.
“Oh, no,” Caley moaned, scrambling to her feet. “No, no, no. Now he’s going to go downstairs and this is going to be the subject of breakfast conversation. The two of us, in our underwear, in the same bedroom.”
“And in the same bed,” he said. “We could always crawl back under the covers and really mess with their heads,” Jake offered. She sent him a withering look and he held up his hands in mock surrender. “Bad joke. Sorry.”
With a low growl, Caley scrambled to her feet and tossed the comforter aside. “You haven’t changed at all, Jake Burton. Everything is always a joke to you. You never take anything seriously.”
Jake watched as she searched for her pants. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’ll explain the mistake. Although I’m not going to give them all the details.”
“The state of my panties is none of your business. And I don’t remember any of the details. Why? Because I was asleep.”
Jake laughed. To think he’d dreaded seeing her again, knowing how uncomfortable it might be. But they’d slipped right back into their normal dynamic. Jake swung his legs over the side of the bed, fighting the urge to grab her arm and pull her back on top of him, to remind her of her reaction to his kiss.
There had always been a heat between them, an attraction that he’d been reluctant to act upon. She’d always been too young, too naive. And he’d known she was in love with him, so it could only end badly. He’d thought he’d done the honorable thing that night so long ago, the night she’d offered up her virginity for his taking.
His rejection obviously still stung. If not that, what else could she possibly be angry about? “If you’re still angry about—”
Caley gasped, then threw a shoe at him. “I’m not angry about that. Just forget about that. I was young and stupid and I’ve slept with plenty of men since then and all of them much better lovers than you could have possibly been. Some women might find you attractive, but not me.”
Her phone rang for a fourth time. Jake jumped off the bed and caught her arm, then pulled her against him. Without a second thought, he brought his mouth down on hers and kissed her, deeply and thoroughly. He felt her soften in his arms and when her knees buckled, Jake grabbed her waist to steady her.
When he finally drew back, her face was flushed and her eyes closed. He felt his own reaction in his boxers, the desire returning immediately. This was going to be one helluva week if this was how they were starting, he mused. There had always been a sexual curiosity between them. Maybe it was time to satisfy it.
“Are you going to answer that?” he asked.
“It can wait,” Caley replied breathlessly.
“Yeah,” he murmured, “that’s what I thought.” Nothing had changed. He wanted her just as much as he always had.
Caley opened her eyes and stared at him, a sigh slipping from her lips. “I-I’d better get dressed. Everyone is going to be expecting us at breakfast.” She quickly grabbed her overnight bag and rushed to the adjoining bathroom, then slammed the door behind her.
Jake sat down on the bed and smiled. This was a start and maybe that was all he could hope for. He glanced around the room, grabbed his jeans from the bedpost and tugged them on. He found a clean T-shirt in his duffel and pulled it over his head. He’d find a way to continue what they’d begun later in the day.
When he got downstairs, the huge kitchen was filled with people. Caley’s mother, Jean, was busy at the stove, preparing pancakes for her family. Her eldest, Evan, was just a year older than Jake, but already had a wife and three children. After Caley came Adam and Emma, followed by Teddy, who would graduate from high school in June. Evan was reading the sports section and discussing the Bulls game with Jake’s younger brother Brett.
“Good morning, everyone,” Jake said, taking the first empty spot at the huge table.
“Sausage or bacon, dear?” Jean called.
“Bacon,” Jake said. A moment later, a plate was dropped in front of him. He reached out for the lazy Susan, which held utensils, napkins, butter and syrup.
The Lambert house was so much like his own that he felt at home at their table. He couldn’t remember the number of meals that he’d eaten in their kitchen, usually with several of his siblings. Jean and Jake’s mother, Fran, never bothered to sort out their respective children at mealtime. Whoever was sitting at the table at the beginning of a meal got fed, no matter which family they belonged to.
Jake had just dug into his pancakes when Teddy walked in the back door, covered in snow and carrying an armload of firewood. He sent Jake a knowing smile, then dropped the wood next to the door. “Morning, Jake. How’d you sleep?”
“Teddy, I want you to take some firewood over to Ellis and Fran’s house,” Jean said. “Load a bunch in the back of your truck. We have plenty. Jake can help you load it.”
Teddy grinned. “Oh, I think he might be too tired to load firewood, Ma. So didja get much sleep last night, Jake?”
