Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
What the hell’s wrong with me?
Jake berated himself as he closed the passenger side door of his Jeep and walked around the front to climb inside with Laurel.
Yes, he wanted her. He’d kill to have her right now, but where the fuck was that supposed to happen? He sure as hell wasn’t going to have sex with her in the back seat of his Jeep. He wasn’t some horny, high school punk, and she was worth more than a quick fuck in a car.
Last night, when he’d decided to steal her away for an impromptu road trip, he’d planned on having her bring a travel bag. He’d originally wanted to take her on an overnight trip, but had changed his mind. The goal was to push her outside her kiddie pool comfort zone and get her to wade into the deep end, not drown her in the ocean. Since an out of the blue, overnight stay with him probably would’ve pulled her under, he’d opted for the day trip instead. Well, that’d just bitten him in the ass.
“Where’re we going?” Laurel asked. She sounded curious, but there was a slight undertone in her voice. A hint of the heat he’d tasted in her kiss.
It made him hard. Well, harder. Being in a constant state of arousal around this woman had become his new norm. But as far as where they were going…
“I have no idea,” he confessed, pissed at himself. The fucking zipper on his jeans was ruthlessly digging into his stiff dick, and he didn’t have a game plan.
Grand had invaded his house without warning, and Laurel’s apartment was in shambles. He literally had nowhere to take her except a hotel, and that felt wrong. At least, it did with her. He’d be damned if he was going to rent a room with the sole purpose of fucking her. She deserved better than that.
He wasn’t expecting Laurel to start laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“Our timing sucks, doesn’t it?” she asked between giggles.
Gnashing his teeth, he practically snarled, “So fucking badly.”
“Well…” She held out her hands, palms up, like she was waiting for ideas to drop into them. “Are you hungry?”
He reached across the center console between their seats and laced his fingers through hers. “Starving.”
He knew she got his meaning because her cheeks pinked, and her gaze dropped to their interlocked hands. There she went again… heating him up past boiling, then reverting to shy when whatever was making her insecure muscled its way back to the forefront. If he ever met whoever had broken her confidence, he was going to rip them a new one.
“I meant for food,” she clarified.
“Didn’t we have breakfast a few hours ago?” Not that he couldn’t eat.
She lifted her shoulders up to her ears before letting them drop. “Does it matter if it’s ice cream?” She pursed her lips. “There’s always room for ice cream.”
Staring at her mouth, Jake knew he was screwed. How the hell was he supposed to watch her lick ice cream when all he wanted to do was lick her?
Fuck me.
“Ice cream it is.”
They’d stuffed themselves with sundaes and were almost back to Britt’s house when Laurel got a text. She clenched her jaw as she read it.
Mom
Did you finish the invitations? I hope they weren’t damaged in the fire.
No, Mom, they weren’t damaged in the fire, but I’m fine. Thanks for asking.
Since she’d known the fire would most likely be on the news last night, Laurel had called her mom to tell her she was okay. She’d gotten voicemail, so had left a message. Her mom had eventually texted, “So glad you’re safe,” but never called, like Skye did. Her mom was probably afraid the conversation would’ve gone on too long and taken time away from planning her precious fundraiser.
Laurel knew her parents loved her, but sometimes she really wished they’d show it more. Even Grand, whom she’d barely met, had fawned over her and made sure she was all right after she’d found out what had happened. Britt had literally started crying; she’d been so relieved Laurel was safe.
“You okay?” Jake asked.
When Laurel looked up and saw the concern in his eyes, she swallowed the emotions churning inside her.
“Fine,” she said.
Jake raised an eyebrow.
“Good,” she corrected, deliberately rolling her eyes for his benefit. Still, she couldn’t stop a grin as she held up her phone. “Just a text from my mom.”
“Checking that you’re okay,” he guessed. “I get it.”
“Something like that,” she said, typing out a quick text.
Laurel
No, they weren’t damaged. And I’m good too.
Mom
Wonderful. Can you bring them by today, sweetheart? I’d like to get them in the mail.
Laurel took a deep breath, then blew it out slowly.
Laurel
Sure. I’ll do it this afternoon.
Better to take them over, than keep getting texts.
Mom
Perfect. See you earlier rather than later.
Subtle, Mom.
Laurel
thumbs up emoji
She pinched the bridge of her nose. Why did conversations with her mom, whether in person or not, always give her a headache?
“You sure you’re all right?” Jake asked.
“Fi—good. I just have to go to my apartment later and grab something for my mom.”
“Can’t it wait? Disaster cleanup won’t be done this early. I’m sure your mom won’t mind.”
“You don’t know my mom,” Laurel mumbled under her breath.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “Just some invitations for a big fundraiser she’s organizing. Won’t take any time to drive over there and grab them.”
“On it,” Jake said. He turned left at the intersection instead of right.
“What’re you doing?” she asked. “Britt’s is the other direction.”
“But your apartment is this way,” he said.
“Jake, you don’t have to drive me.”
He flashed that devastating smile of his. “Too late.”
In truth, it only took about fifteen minutes to get to her apartment from where they were. The invitations were in her bedroom, so hopefully, they didn’t smell like smoke. She really didn’t want to have to deal with her mom if they did.
Disaster cleanup was still there, like Jake predicted. They’d vacuumed up the foam—or whatever they did to get rid of it—and had taken out the burnt stove and all of the destroyed cupboards. Huge fans were pointed at sections of the carpet that had gotten soaked, and the workers were now tearing out the kitchen drywall, since they were going to have to replace it.
Laurel wasn’t expecting to get emotional. It was a low-end rental, for goodness’ sake, but the fact it’d been her home for the last few years, compounded by the knowledge that she’d been the one to cause all the damage, made her tear up.
“Hey.” Jake slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in. “No one was hurt and things are replaceable.”
“I know,” she sniffed. “It’s just?—”
“Unimportant. Shit happens. You move on.” He kissed her forehead. “You’re safe. That’s all that matters to me.”
I matter to him?
“You have everything?” he asked.
Laurel nodded. She’d retrieved the invitations and had also packed a few personal items. She’d already brought clothes to Britt’s last night. Plus, she could always borrow some if she needed. Due to their height difference, pants would be too long, but in shorts and shirts, they wore close to the same size.
Her phone chimed. She closed her eyes with a sigh, making no move to look at it.
“Aren’t you gonna check that?” Jake asked.
“I’m sure it’s just my mom wondering when I’m bringing the invitations.” Since he was watching, she took her phone out of her pocket and glanced at it.
Mom
Are you on your?—
“Yep.” She stuffed it back into her pocket without reading the rest.
“Where does she live?” Jake asked.
“Eagle.” It was a ritzier suburb of Boise.
“That’s on the way,” he said. “We can swing by there before I drop you off at Britt’s.”
“No!” The word came out harsher than she’d intended.
He raised an eyebrow. “It’s no problem, Princess.”
Laurel’s phone chimed. No doubt, her mom again.
“It’s not on the way to Britt’s,” she argued. “It’s past it.”
“They’re both north, aren’t they? So, on the way,” Jake reasoned.
His questionable logic made her bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. “You’d have to backtrack.”
He shrugged. “It’ll save you a trip.”
Her stupid phone chimed again. Definitely had to be her mom, annoyed that she hadn’t immediately responded.
“Jake, really. I can go la?—”
A third chime rang out.
“Oh, my heck! Really?” Her mom was going to drive her crazy.
Jake mimed tipping his invisible hat. “Lockwood limo at your service.”
She did laugh this time. “Okay,” she relented. She’d have Jake stay in the car, run in, run out, and that would be that. There was no way she was going to subject him to her parents.
Fishing her phone out of her pocket, Laurel sent off a quick message before her mom could text again… which she would.