Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Laurel woke the next morning and, for a moment, didn’t remember where she was. Until she heard a motorboat next to her head, that is. Shifting to the right on her pillow, she came face to butt with Britt’s cat, Maisie. Unlike the devil incarnate, Eugene, Maisie was a total sweetheart. Britt had adopted her from the shelter, so she had no idea what breed she was, but her long, gray fur and silver eyes made her strikingly beautiful. She was also the cuddliest cat Laurel had ever met, and as soon as she realized she was awake, the purr machine sidled over to rest a leg across Laurel’s face.
“ Pfft. Good morning to you too, but I really don’t need hair in my mouth this early.” She picked up the cat and laid her on her chest. Two strokes of her hand along Maisie’s back and the purring shifted into warp speed.
“Goooood moooorning!” Britt’s annoyingly peppy, sing-song greeting preceded her entrance to the bedroom. “Hey, sleepy head. I brought you some coffee.”
Laurel scooched up to lean against the headboard, so she could take the cup of liquid eye-opener. “Thanks.” Maisie rolled down Laurel’s chest to land in her lap, never missing a purr beat. “How can you be so awake this early? It’s unnatural, especially with your hours.”
Britt usually didn’t get home from the restaurant until around eleven p.m. On the weekends, it was at least midnight by the time they’d shut down the kitchen and cleaned up.
“It’s nine-thirty, sweetie. That’s hardly early.”
“Nine-thirty?” Wow, that was late for a teacher who was used to getting up at five-thirty every morning to get ready for school. The stress of the fire and practically acting out a porn show in front of Jake’s grandmother must’ve really taken it out of her.
“Soooo,” Britt drawled. “Tell me about last night.”
“I already told you,” Laurel evaded. “I torched my apartment with chicken.”
“That’s boring. I want the exciting stuff.”
“Setting my apartment on fire isn’t exciting?”
Britt held out her hand and rocked it side to side. “I think that man of yours is way more exciting than a little kitchen fire, don’t you?”
“Little? It destroyed an entire wall.”
“Stop stalling and dish.”
Knowing Britt wouldn’t back off until she got what she wanted, Laurel relayed the evening. Well, the PG version. She wasn’t going to get into graphic details of what all transpired, so she may have censored it a bit.
“Aside from his granny tossing iced tea on the situation, and the fact I know you’re holding out on me, that’s still hot. And then he made you dinner…” Britt placed a hand over her heart and made an aww face.
“From scratch,” Laurel pointed out. “Homemade spinach and cheese ravioli. He even made the pasta. And it was good!”
“Sugar, you hit the jackpot. A man who looks like that and cooks? That’s yummy any way you slice it. I’d love a man to cook for me and actually have it be edible.”
“That definitely describes him.”
“What was that?” Britt raised an eyebrow.
Laurel caught the side of her lip with her teeth. “Did I say that out loud?”
“You most certainly did, and I one-thousand percent agree. That man is totally edible, lickable, fu?—”
“Okay! I get the picture.”
Britt launched herself at Laurel, who barely had enough time to move her coffee out of the way before she was wearing it.
“Hey! Watch it!”
Ignoring her protests, Britt captured her in a big bear hug. Maisie took being squished in stride and crawled out from underneath her mom to reposition herself across Laurel’s legs. Eugene would’ve gutted them both.
“I’m so happy for you! Wait till Skye hears!”
Ugh. Skye would never let her get away with the PG version. She’d definitely have to brush up on diversionary tactics for that conversation.
Laurel disengaged herself from the refrigerator magnet cleverly disguised as a Southern belle that was currently stuck to her. “You’re jumping the gun. It’s not like we’re a couple.” Though, she wouldn’t mind if they were. Jake kept surprising her in more ways than one, and, so far, all of them had been good.
“Uh-huh.” Britt patted Laurel’s free hand. “Keep telling yourself that. Now, go take a shower, and I’ll cook you breakfast. I’m not making pasta from scratch, but I’ll make your favorite.”
Puffed strawberry French toast. Yum!
Britt’s French toast was the dish Laurel always teased she’d request for her last meal if she were ever on death row. But, after tasting Jake’s homemade ravioli, she wasn’t too sure anymore.
Thirty minutes later, Laurel’s still-damp hair was pulled back in a French braid. Since the weather was going to be in the seventies, she’d put on a pair of capri leggings and a baby blue T-shirt that had a graphic on the front of sparkly rainbow-colored unicorn kittens in a basket. It’d been a gift from a student. The child’s mother had said her daughter had picked it out herself as a Teacher’s Day present. It had been an unexpected gesture that touched Laurel’s heart, and every time she wore it, she thought of the bright smile on the little girl’s face when she’d given it to her. That was one of Laurel’s favorite memories. Plus, the shirt was really cute.
She was tying up the bottom of the T-shirt—they always seemed to be too long for her—when she rounded the corner to find Jake sitting at the kitchen island. She was shocked there wasn’t screeching, she stopped so abruptly.
“Jake?”
He swiveled around on the stool, a cocky grin on his can-I-please-stare-at-you-all-day-because-you’re-that-flipping-gorgeous face.
“Hey, Princess.” His gaze dipped. “Nice shirt.”
Laurel looked down at the sparkles twinkling on her chest. Of course, she had to be wearing something a grade-schooler would wear. First a princess baseball hat and now a six-year-old girl’s dream attire. He probably thought she shopped in the kiddie section.
His gaze lingered a little too long on her chest, and her nipples hardened from the attention. She quickly crossed her arms over her breasts, both embarrassed and turned on, which was unsettling as bells.
Fudgidy fudge.
“I have to say…” he licked his lips as his gaze dropped lower, “I’ve become a big fan of kittens.”
Was he thinking about her “sex kitten” underwear? Or maybe about taking them off?
Her core tingled when she realized how close she’d actually come to sleeping with him last night. She was lucky Grand had interrupted them, even though she was having a really hard time remembering exactly why that was lucky.
When Jake looked up, there was a mischievous gleam in those translucent blue eyes of his. “Big fan.”
“You should meet Maisie, then,” Britt told him, oblivious to the double entendre. “She’s a love bug.”
“What’re you doing here?” Laurel asked, squeezing her pelvic muscles against the sensations he’d conjured with merely a sweep of his eyes and a few words.
“Eating French toast.” Jake motioned to the plate of cinnamony strawberry goodness on the counter behind him.
“I can see that, but?—”
“Number two,” he said, simply.
“What?”
“Number two,” he repeated. “‘Impromptu road trip.’ I’m kidnapping you. Eat up, so we can get going.”
Britt flashed a way-too-proud-of-herself smile and fanned her hands out on either side of her body, like jazz hands… minus the jazz. “Surprise!”
“Wait, you knew about this?” Laurel asked.
Britt’s smile was so wide, you’d think she’d just won another pageant title.
Jake motioned to the stool next to him. Laurel automatically sat down as Britt pushed a plate of French toast in front of her.
“How did?—?”
“It’s not hard to google the number of a restaurant,” Jake explained, laying a napkin across her lap.
Britt was the only person Laurel knew who owned, and actually still used, cloth napkins.
“He called the restaurant, asked for me, and the rest is history,” Britt said.
“ She didn’t have any problem giving me her address,” Jake added. “Unlike somebody.”
Laurel rolled her eyes. She’d actually driven herself to Britt’s last night, since they’d gone to Jake’s house in her car. “When did you call her?”
Jake put a fork in Laurel’s hand and gestured toward her plate. After she’d dutifully taken a bite, he said, “Last night.”
“Last might?” she mumbled around a bite of French toast. She put a hand in front of her mouth and tried to enunciate. “Last night?”
Jake moved a glass of milk closer to her plate and motioned to it with his chin.
She gave him a pointed look, but took a drink anyway, since he wouldn’t continue until she had.
“I figured it was perfect timing,” he said once she’d set the glass back down. “I’m off, and you don’t have anywhere to be.”
That was pretty presumptuous of him. “How do you know I don’t have anywhere to be?” She didn’t, but?—
“You said you were planning to be a house blob today, take it easy, and read,” Britt said, parroting exactly what Laurel had told her last night. “And I told him.”
Laurel widened her eyes at Britt, who merely smiled.
“Where’re we going?” Laurel asked him.
“Kinda defeats the impromptu part if I tell you,” he said.
“How? It’s not a ‘secret trip,’ it’s ‘impromptu.’ You do know the meaning of the word ‘impromptu,’ don’t you?”
“Ouch.” Jake put a hand on his chest. “The kitten has claws. Who knew grade school teachers were so mean? I’m telling the principal.” He tapped her plate. “Eat, or you’ll never find out.”
An hour and a half later, Laurel was buckled into the passenger side of Jake’s Jeep. The top was off, so there was some wind. Little wisps of hair had pulled from her braid and were whipping around her makeup-free face. Instead of complaining, like the women Jake typically dated would have, she simply kept pushing them behind her ears like it was no big deal. And he could tell that to her, it wasn’t a big deal, which in his dating experience was unfathomable. He could get used to her riding shotgun.
They’d crossed the Snake River about twenty minutes ago and had just reached a simple little town tucked in amongst rolling hills and acres of farmland. The area was beautiful, but not as beautiful as what they’d find at their destination… or his passenger.
“You brought me to Murphy?” Laurel asked.
Jake made the sound of a game show “time’s up” buzzer. “Wrong answer. Guess again.”
“This is the only town around here for miles. Are you taking me into the middle of nowhere to get rid of my soon-to-be lifeless body?” she teased.
He laughed. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“Honestly, where’re we going?”
He could tell the secrecy was driving her crazy, but no matter how much she whined, he wasn’t going to tell her. He wanted to watch her reaction when she saw what he was hoping they’d actually see. It was never guaranteed, but it was the right time of year, so he had his fingers crossed.
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
“ When will we get there?”
“Damn, you’re impatient.”
“I don’t like surprises.”
“Too bad.”
After another ten minutes, he turned right into a field and started driving up the hill. Luckily, his Jeep was great for off-roading because—well—there wasn’t a road. Being able to do things like this was one of the main reasons he’d bought it.
“Aren’t we supposed to stay on the road?” Laurel asked.
“What’s the fun in that?”
“No, Jake, really. Won’t we get in trouble?”
“Not if we don’t get caught.”
“Jake—”
“Bad boy, remember?” He looked over to find her gripping the hand hold as they bumped along, a worried expression clouding her face. “It’s okay to break the rules sometimes, Princess. And this’ll be worth it. I promise.”
After a few twists and turns around trees and some small rock formations, they reached the summit. Jake turned off the ignition and set the parking brake. “We’re here.”
Laurel took in their surroundings. “There’s nothing here.”
“Ah, but you’re wrong.” He hopped out of the Jeep, trotted around to the passenger side, and opened her door. He offered Laurel his hand and helped her down. Even for him, the vehicle was tall, but at almost a foot shorter, Laurel had struggled to get in. He still couldn’t get over how petite she was.
“Okay, bad boy.” She planted her hands on her slim hips. “Why did you drag me all the way out here? To look at weeds? They’re lovely.”
“Smart ass.” He smacked her ass, eliciting a squeak of surprise. He took her hand and led her to the edge of their perch by a cluster of trees. From this vantage point, they could see the entire valley below. There were a few trees, lots of sage brush, and wild grass, but so far, what he’d hoped to find wasn’t there.
“It really is pretty,” Laurel marveled, scanning the area.
He could tell she meant it. He’d basically brought her out into the middle of nowhere, and she wasn’t mad. In fact, she seemed happy taking in the area and simple sounds of nature. They were far enough from the road, they couldn’t hear the meager traffic below. It was only the two of them in the peaceful, untouched land. None of the women he’d gone out with before would’ve been okay coming here, doing nothing but enjoying being outside in the fresh air. They’d have complained the entire way, thrown a fit, and refused to get out of the Jeep. But not Laurel.
He tilted her chin upward with a finger and stole a kiss. Her lips were soft and willing, parting without prompting, allowing him entrance. He kissed her slowly, thoroughly, relishing the feel of her mouth under his. He wasn’t expecting the rush of emotions when she lifted her hand and curled her dainty fingers around his wrist. And he damned sure wasn’t prepared for the tightness in his chest, or the singular thought taking up residence in his brain.
Laurel broke the kiss first, which was probably a good thing because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to any time soon.
“What was that?” she asked.
Jake’s lips curled into a grin when he heard the faint sound. It grew stronger the longer he listened.
“That,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her around to face the valley, “is your surprise.”