The Match: An EXTENDED edition rom-com from the author of the TikTok sensation THE CHEAT SHEET! (It

Chapter 38

Jake’s house at night is my favorite place in the world. He has the kind of lighting that can be dimmed in every room of the house, so right now the house is blanketed in a soft, warm glow. A candle is lit on his coffee table, filling the air with my favorite vanilla and teakwood scent, and everything is peaceful and still.

Jake tugs me toward his couch and then, without dropping my hand, dives onto it, landing on his back and pulling me down on top of him. We both laugh as we settle into a comfortable position, where our feet are intertwined and I’m lying half on the couch, half on Jake. He has one hand cradling mine and is kissing every single one of my fingers, as his other hand lightly brushes circles on my back.

It’s so romantic, I’m aching.

“Jake,” I say, somewhere between breathlessness and a reprimand. “We need to talk. . . .” I try not to smile as he pulls me up a little closer so that we’re face-to-face. He tucks his hand into my hair, and his gaze lands on my mouth. He gives me a half smirk and mumbles against my lips, “I don’t want to talk.”

I know that look. Sexy haze. The man is half-drugged on the feel of my body, and I know that if I have any hope of figuring out what’s happening in our relationship, I need to drop a tray of ice cubes down his shirt. Or maybe his pants . . .

He leans up just enough to take my bottom lip between his. Okay, so I guess I need some ice cubes too. “Jake!” I give the worst protest anyone has ever heard and halfheartedly pull away. He tugs me back, and his grin nearly undoes me.

“All right, let’s talk,” he says as he’s kissing the spot right under my ear. “What do you want to talk about?” He laces kisses down my jaw, and . . . poof. There goes my desire to talk too. I give in and press my hand to his chest to give me better leverage.

Fire lights his eyes, and I dip down, slanting my mouth over his. Our lips dance for only a minute before Jake breaks the kiss and sits up abruptly, sliding all the way to the opposite end of the couch.

He’s all mussed and rumpled when he looks at me. “We really do need to talk. I owe you explanations. And apologies. But I can’t do that with you on top of me.”

“Can I at least sit next to you? I don’t want to have a serious conversation over walkie-talkies.”

“Are you going to behave, Miss Jones?”

“Maybe . . . maybe not.”

His grin tilts and he pats the seat beside him. “I’ll take my chances.”

I slide over and there’s no way to do it without it looking suggestive. Jake watches me, barely containing his laugh. “Okay, I’m here.”

“You’re here.” He takes my hand and laces our fingers together.

“Who was the woman I found at your door this morning?” I ask, because I’ve decided we’re just going to cannonball right on in. We were going to talk about it in the truck on the way here, but Jake’s dad called to make sure his mom had gotten ahold of him, then Jo called me with a question from one of the vendors. Our conversation had to wait.

He nods firmly. Down to business. “That was Natalie.”

My shoulders droop. “Natalie? As in, Sam’s mom and your actress ex-wife Natalie? The lady with the body like a goddess?” Images of Natalie and her absolutely incredible boobs assault my memory. Without really thinking, my gaze drops to my own flat-chested self, and all of my insecurities I like to pretend don’t exist bubble to the surface.

“Hey,” Jake says, touching under my chin to tip my gaze back up to his face. “You’re perfect, Evie Jones. Don’t second-guess that for even a second.”

“But . . . she’s so—”

“It doesn’t matter what she is—she isn’t anything to me anymore. I don’t have any feelings or lingering attraction to her. And please know that I would never ever sleep with someone else when I told you I wouldn’t. That’s not how I operate.”

“I didn’t think you would. . . . That’s why I was so shocked to see her. Why was she here?”

He runs his thumb over my knuckles. “When I got home last night, she was on my porch. I didn’t know she was coming or else I would have told you. But we talked for a few minutes, and she said she wanted to be a family again. I obviously have no interest in that, so I went to my parents’ place for the night. The end.”

I angle a little more toward him. “She wants to be a family again? How do you feel about that?”

Jake must hear the shrill tone of my voice because he laughs and scoots closer to put his arms around me, completely wrapping me up. “Evie, Natalie and I are over. Her telling me that made me feel nothing but angry. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s said it, and she didn’t mean it the last time either.”

“And if she did mean it?”

“I would like for her to step up and be a mom for Sam, but that’s it. We’ll never be a family again. I don’t want that. And sadly, I don’t have high hopes of her becoming a good mom for Sam either. In fact, I told her that before she could see Sam again, she had to stay in town for one week and call every day.”

“What did she say to that?” For Sam’s sake, I hope she agreed. That little girl deserves a good mom in her life.

“Well, she texted me during the gala saying she was sorry but she heard back about an audition and would be flying to Hollywood in the morning.”

“I’m so sorry, Jake. I know that’s going to be hard to tell Sam.”

He scrunches his eyes shut like he hadn’t even thought of that yet. “So damn hard.” He breathes deeply and I angle up to kiss his cheek.

“I hope for Sam and Natalie’s sake that one day she really will get her act together. But until then, I’m not going to let her hurt Sam any more than she already has.”

I touch his jaw and feel his five o’clock shadow beneath my palm. “You’re a good man, Jacob Broaden. Sam is lucky to have you.”

He looks down at me, and his gaze pins me in place. “Evie. Let me be perfectly clear with you now. I don’t want something casual anymore and I’m done with going slow.” He adjusts himself to face me, and his big hand raises to cradle my face, making my hand drop to his shoulder. “I want Jake and Evie. Stupid kissing profile pictures. Cute nicknames for each other. I want serious. Exclusive. Us. I don’t want anything less than planning months out for a vacation and obnoxious Christmas cards that have you, me, Sam, and the dogs on the front. Can you handle that?”

My skin is tingling, and my heart is racing. It’s trying to leap out of my chest and jump into Jake’s lap. In fact, yeah, it turns out it wasn’t my heart doing that—it was my body. I scoot up onto Jake’s lap and wrap my arms around his neck, smiling down into his face.

I hover an inch from his mouth and then narrow my eyes. “Do we have to wear matching robes?”

A rumbling laugh breaks from his chest, and his head tilts back as he squeezes me a little tighter. He doesn’t answer my question, because with his head tilted back like that, it gives me a perfect shot at his neck. His skin is warm against my lips as I place kiss after kiss along the long column of his throat.

I make it up to his mouth, and his gaze is sultry, and passionate, and full of . . . “I think I love you, Evie. Is that okay?”

There’s no way to keep from smiling wide as I touch the corner of his mouth with my thumb. “More than okay. Because I think I love you too, Jake.” I dip my head, and his lips caress mine for a luxurious, top-of-the-line, special-edition kiss.

Just as it’s heating up again, we both hear a soft little voice on the stairs. “Ew. Are you guys kissing?”

Jake and I break apart and both wipe at our mouths in case my lipstick is everywhere it shouldn’t be. “No . . . We were just . . . just . . .” He looks at me, but what in the heck is he thinking I’m going to do to help this? He’s been a parent for ten years, and I’ve only been a mom to a golden retriever.

“Just looking for something in my eye!” Nice one, Evie.

“Through your mouth?” Okay, maybe not so great after all.

I can see Jake trying so hard to contain his laughter. He rubs his hand firmly across his face and mouth and looks back up at Sam. “We’ll stop kissing. Are you feeling better, kiddo?”

I scoot off his lap, and Jake stands and walks to Sam.

“A little,” she says, coming down the stairs with Jake’s help. Daisy is right behind her.

Jake brings her over to the couch, and without hesitating even a second, Sam sits down beside me and curls her little body up next to mine. I wrap my arms around her and hug her close. I don’t know who is benefiting from this connection the most in this moment. I feel like my heart is physically expanding. It’s making room to accommodate all of this new love.

Jake disappears into the kitchen for a minute and then comes back out with a bowl of popcorn. He sits beside me, sets the bowl in my lap, and drapes his arm behind me to rest over my shoulders and let his fingers dangle over Sam’s, effectively snuggling both of us at the same time. Charlie and Daisy both come over to hunker down at the foot of the couch, draping over our feet. Jake turns on a movie, and we spend the rest of the night just like that. Snuggling, laughing, stealing kisses when Sam isn’t watching, and eating popcorn.

I hope with all my heart that this is what every day of the rest of my life will look like. And later, after Sam falls asleep and Jake carries her back up to bed, I wait for him by the door.

As he walks down the stairs, the sight of him with his rolled-up shirtsleeves and suit pants honestly takes my breath away. He has stepped right out of GQ magazine to stop just in front of me. He takes my hand. “Are you leaving?”