Chapter 11 #2
to face him. “Hey, your jacket.” She started to shuck it.
“Keep it,” he called. “I have more jackets. It looks better on you anyway.”
Her stomach quivered as she hugged the jacket to her middle. “See you tomorrow.”
A small grin lit up his face. “I’ll be here.”
“We did it! We got it painted!” Emily sang while dancing around the barn. “It looks amazing. Just plain amazing!” She rushed
over to Jake and gave him a high five.
It was Friday, and Andi and Seth had left for Hickory earlier that day to spend the weekend with family and celebrate Seth’s grandmother’s eightieth birthday.
Jake and Emily had eaten breakfast with his folks before heading to the barn to finish up the last small details.
They’d teased each other and laughed all day long, only stopping to eat a quick lunch and supper.
He couldn’t help but think that he and Emily made a good team—a really good team.
“It looks great in here, Em.”
She rested her hand on his bicep, and his heart skipped a beat. He loved how casually she touched him. It felt so right.
“We’re ready to get the vendors in here,” she said.
“Yeah. That’s next on the agenda.” He linked his fingers with hers and gave her a gentle tug. “I have a surprise for you.”
Her pretty face lit up with a smile. “Oooh. I love surprises.”
“I know.” He towed her toward the barn entrance. “Let’s go.”
“What is it?”
He smirked. “A surprise.” His phone vibrated in his pocket, but he ignored it. Most likely it was Claire, and he had no interest
in talking to her.
She groaned. “I hate it when you keep things from me.”
He laughed. “You’ll like it.”
Jake and Emily strolled through the cool, cloudy day to his garage. He punched in the code, and the door hummed as it made
its journey upward.
“Close your eyes,” he said.
She did as she was told, lids pressed together tightly. He didn’t think she could get any cuter.
His phone vibrated again, but he continued with his plan. After taking her hands in his, he guided her over to the refrigerator.
Bending down, he whispered in her ear, “Stay here, okay?”
He was almost certain she shivered as she nodded. But he must’ve imagined it. Why would he make her shiver?
He filled a cup with cider and then returned to where she stood with her eyes closed. “I’m going to give you something to
drink, but I need you to keep your eyes closed.”
“I will,” she promised.
“Here, put your hands out.” He placed the cold cup in her hands. “Drink this.”
While Emily complied, his phone vibrated again in his pocket, but his eyes were focused on her lips. He tried to dismiss the
rush of heat that moved through his veins, whispering to him over and over that he should cover her lips with his.
As if reading his thoughts, Emily’s golden-brown eyes flew open. “Jake! What did you do to this cider? It’s out of this world!”
She brought the cup to her mouth and took another sip.
“I’ve been working on perfecting it at night, and I realized I needed to ferment it more,” he explained. “I wanted you to
be the first one to drink it. I think it’s ready to be sold now.”
She beamed at him. “For real, are you serious?”
He nodded.
She whooped, pumping her fist in the air. “Fantastic! We can use the label I already created. I’ll get them printed ASAP.”
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
In the distance, Jake could hear a siren begin to wail faintly. His phone started vibrating again. The world may have been
trying to distract him from this woman, but he couldn’t pull himself away from her. He kept his eyes focused on Emily as something
passed over her face. She set down the empty cup on the chest freezer beside her and touched his shoulder.
Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him against her. “I’m so proud of you, Jake. Truly.” She said the words softly next to his ear, sending an avalanche of emotions racing low in his stomach.
He rested his hands on her hips as he inhaled the scent of her perfume, smelling faintly of flowers. Holding her now, like
this, definitely felt different. The familiar yearning that had burrowed into his chest weeks ago awakened once again. He
couldn’t ignore it any longer.
He was attracted to Emily.
And he needed to know if she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
The sirens in the distance grew closer and closer, but he couldn’t really hear them. His attention was set on the beautiful
woman nestled in his arms.
“Emily,” he whispered.
Her golden-brown eyes lifted to his.
He trailed his finger over her cheek, and she trembled while holding on to his shoulders. Yup, there was no mistaking it:
He definitely made her shiver.
“Emily.” He repeated her name, and he watched her eyes grow round.
At that moment, he was certain that they were meant to be more than friends.
Placing two fingers under her chin, he tilted her mouth toward his, and his eyes locked on her luscious pink lips. He wanted
more than anything to kiss her. No, he needed to kiss her as much as he needed air to breathe.
He leaned down toward her, and he could hear her breath catch.
Suddenly, red lights flashed in his peripheral vision and reflected off the garage walls around them. He froze.
The sirens sounded like they were right outside his garage.
Wait. What?
His gaze moved to the entrance, and the hunger that had consumed him faded as the roaring sirens slammed him back to the present.
The flashing lights were moving toward his parents’ house.
My parents’ house.
Oh no!
He released Emily and grabbed his phone from his pocket before examining the screen. There were four missed calls from his
mother.
His insides turned and dropped.
Emily touched his shoulder as her eyes widened. “Jake, what’s wrong?”
“It’s my dad!” he yelled before taking off toward his parents’ house.