Falling for Jillian (11 page)

“I’ll see you soon, Seth. I think I’m going to head home.”

“Okay. Thanks for playing with me.”

“I had fun,” I say and smile widely, meaning every word.

Seth and Thor walk into the living room and within seconds we hear the game resume.

“I’ll walk you out. I don’t want you to get stuck driving on icy roads.”

“I don’t want that either,” I reply while Zack helps me with my jacket. He follows me out to my car, waits for me to throw my purse inside and start the engine, then pulls me into his arms. He tucks me against his chest and rocks me slowly back and forth. His heart is beating steadily against my cheek and he smells so delicious, I just want to climb him.

“I had the best weekend I’ve had in a long, long time. Thank you for that.” His words are softly spoken against my head. He presses a kiss to the crown of my head and leans back to look into my face.

“I enjoyed it too. Thank you for everything.”

“I’m not quite ready to let you go home.”

I chuckle and push my fingers through his brown hair. “It’ll be okay. Go spend some time with your boy. You obviously missed him.”

He nods and kisses my forehead. “I’ll call you tonight to check in. I want to see you this week.”

“Yes, sir.” I offer him a mock salute and then smile softly. “I’d like that too.”

He kisses me sweetly, then holds my door open for me.

“Text me when you get home. I’ll worry.”

I nod and wave before putting my new car in gear and pulling away from Zack’s house, knowing full well that everything has changed.

I’m falling for those two men.

It’s been three days since I spoke to Zack. I called when I arrived home from the ranch Sunday night to let him know I was safe, we spoke for a few minutes, and that’s been it.

My phone isn’t malfunctioning. I called my cell carrier to check.

Pathetic.

On my way home from my last home showing of the day, I call Cara.

“Hello?”

“Hey, please tell me you’re still in town.”

“I’m just leaving the school now. What’s up?”

“Wanna come over to my place for coffee? I have information that I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy.” I pull into my driveway and bite my lip. I’m going nuts. It’s time to bring in the girlfriends to yank me back from the ledge.

“Sure. Should I pick Lo up on my way?”

“Sounds good. I’ll put the coffee on now.”

“See you in a few.”

I tromp through the freshly fallen snow and into the house. Thank God it’s warm in here. Whatever magic the furnace guy used has worked.

I set the coffee on, change out of my work clothes into jeans and an old sweatshirt, and pile my hair into a knot just as my doorbell rings.

“We’re here!” Cara calls.

“And we brought brownies!” Lauren says in a singsong, making me grin.

“You’re lifesavers,” I assure them and lead them into the kitchen. I pour us all a cup of coffee, set cream and sugar on the table, and we dig into the brownies without plates or forks. They won’t survive long enough for that.

“So, what’s going on?” Lo asks around a large bite of chocolaty goodness.

“I’m being a girl.”

Cara rolls her eyes and sips her coffee. “Oh good. ’Cause you
are
a girl.”

I sit back in my chair and lick chocolate off my lip. “I sort of have news.”

My friends share a glance and then both lean in closer to me.

“Spill,” Lo commands.

“I slept with Zack.”

They blink at me for a moment before breaking out in wide grins.

“You owe me twenty,” Cara tells Lo. “I told you it would happen before Christmas.”

“You had a fucking
bet
going on whether or not I’d bang Zack?”

“Of course. The sexual chemistry between you two is off the charts. It was just a matter of time.” Lo shakes her head.

“When did you say it would happen?” I ask her.

“I thought you’d hold out until New Year’s.”

I laugh and then shrug, already feeling better. “Well, it happened.”

“When?” Cara asks and dives back into the pan of brownies.

“Last weekend. Seth spent the weekend at a friend’s house, so I went to the ranch.”

“Hold up.” Cara holds up a hand and then shoves it through her hair. “You were at the ranch all weekend and I never saw you once?”

“It’s a big ranch, Cara.”

“Okay, so get to the good stuff,” Lauren interrupts. “Tell us everything.”

“Well, at first I wasn’t going to sleep with him. We were just going to hang out.”

“Yeah, I tried that with Josh,” Cara says. “It obviously didn’t work for me either. The King boys are just too hot for that.”

“Yeah, and then the roads got too icy for me to drive back to town, and then one thing led to another, and then next thing I knew it was Sunday and Seth was home and we were snowmobiling and
playing video games and having dinner.” I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around my legs.

“So it didn’t suck,” Cara says.

“No, it was fun.”

“What’s the problem?” Lo asks.

“Well, I spoke with Zack that night after I got home, but haven’t heard a word from him since then. I’ve texted him a couple of times, but nothing.” I shrug in exasperation.

“It’s only been three days,” Cara says with a frown.

“He said he wanted to see me this week and would call.” I sound ridiculous. “Am I becoming one of those girls who checks her phone every three seconds and stalks his social media?”

“Zack doesn’t do any social media,” Cara replies with a grin.

“I know, I checked—and that makes me a tiny bit psycho.”

Lauren laughs. “Did you drive past his house? Call his mom? Hire a PI?”

“Of course not.”

“Then I’d say you’re good.”

“Why didn’t you just call one of us to talk it out?” Cara asks. “I live on the same property. I have the inside scoop, you know.”

“What do you know?” I lower my legs and help myself to a brownie.

“Well, he probably didn’t call because he’s been in the barn with a sick horse for the best part of the
last few days.” Cara sips her coffee and I feel like the biggest idiot on the face of the earth.

“I’m a moron,” I whisper.

“No, you’re just a woman who wants attention from the man she’s currently sleeping with,” Lauren replies and pats my shoulder. “That’s understandable.”

“He said he’d call, and when he didn’t, it pissed me off. Most men promise the world and then typically end up disappointing you.”

“Not always. You’ve just had shitty luck with men.” Cara crosses to the coffeepot to refill our cups. “He’ll call. He and Josh have been out with the vet and that horse almost nonstop. The poor thing.”

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He could have at least returned my texts.”

“Zack’s famous for forgetting his phone in the house. It’s not yet habit to grab it—he spent too many years in the field and they didn’t have cell phones out there.”

I nod thoughtfully. She’s right. Of course he was too busy being worried about getting blown up by a roadside bomb to think about carrying a cell phone.

And I’m acting like a lovesick teenager. “I need to get a grip,” I mutter in disgust.

“I think it’s great.” Lauren stirs her coffee and then props her elbows on the table and takes a sip. “I hope it works out.”

“We’re just getting to know each other better.”

“Yeah, while nekkid,” Cara says with a giggle.

“That’s the best part,” Lo agrees. “What about Seth?”

“What about him?”

“How is he reacting to it?”

“Good question,” Cara agrees.

“He doesn’t know that we’re seeing each other. We all hung out together on Sunday and it went really well.” I shrug and smile. “Zack’s a great dad. They’re adorable together. I don’t know who’s more endearing: Zack, Seth, or that sweet dog of theirs.”

“So you’re cool with hanging out with Seth. It’s not just about the sex with his dad.” Lauren is watching me calmly and Cara tips her head to the side, waiting for my answer.

“I don’t know what this is yet, but it’s not just sex,” I admit softly. “If that was the case, I wouldn’t have stayed around after Seth got home. The sex is great, but so is just being with them. I like them.”

“Awesome.” Cara grins as Lo yawns.

“I’m sorry,” Lo says and blinks rapidly. “I’m not sure why, but I get so tired around this time of day.”

“Late nights with Ty?” Cara asks with a knowing smile.

“That must be it.”

“Ew.” I wrinkle my nose and shudder. “I do not want to hear about my brother and late nights.”

“It’s not just late at night,” Lo adds with an evil grin.

“Yuck.” I cover my ears with my hands and laugh. “Stop talking.”

“Okay, okay, since you’ve had a rough week, I’ll go easy on you.” Lo laughs and then claps her hands. “Oh! The torchlight parade up at the Whitetail Mountain ski resort is happening next weekend! We’re all going, right?”

“Absolutely,” Cara replies immediately as I nod. “Grace and Jacob invited us all to join them at the lodge for the best seats up there.”

“I love it when we know the right people.” I sigh happily and sip the last of my coffee. “How are they, anyway? I haven’t talked to Grace in a while.”

“They seem to be having fun,” Cara says. Grace was a college classmate of Cara’s and they’ve been good friends ever since. After we all gave Grace lessons at the ski resort last month, Grace fell in love with the owner of the resort, Jacob Baxter.

“They make such a cute couple,” Lo says with a sigh. “I love a sweet love story.”

“Of course you do. You write them,” I remind her. Lauren is a successful author. We couldn’t be more proud of her.

“I wouldn’t say I write
sweet
love stories.”

“You write sexy love stories,” Cara agrees. “And we appreciate them.”

As the conversation segues to Lo’s current project, I sit back and nibble a brownie, thankful for these two women and their amazing friendship.

Men may come and go, but my friends will be a part of my life forever, and that is the best thing I could ever ask for.

The girls have just left and I pop the last bite of brownie in my mouth just as my phone rings. I grin when I see Zack’s name.

“Hello?”

“Fuck, it’s good to hear your voice,” he replies. His voice is rough and low, and my thighs immediately clench.

“How are you?” I ask and bite my lip as I lower myself onto my couch.

“It’s been a shitty few days. I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your texts, sugar.”

“Is everything okay now?” I ask, trying to keep my voice level.

“We had a very sick horse on our hands, but it looks like she’s out of the woods now.” He sighs deeply and I can hear the fatigue in his voice. “I just woke up from a few hours’ sleep, and I’d like to come to town and take you out to dinner.”

“I can hear how exhausted you are, Zack,” I say softly. “You should rest.”

“The only thing I need right now is food and you.”

“What about Seth?” I ask tentatively. “I don’t want to take you away from time with him.”

“He’s been staying with Mom and Dad for the past few days because I’ve been in and out so sporadically. He’s happy as can be, getting spoiled by my mom and decorating his bedroom over there.”

“They gave him his own room?”

“He’s the only grandchild. Of course they did.” He chuckles softly. “So, Seth is fine, and I want to spend some time with you.”

“I’d like that,” I admit quietly. “I just have to change my clothes and I’ll be ready to go.”

“I’m on my way.” Just as I think he’s going to hang up, he says, “And Jilly? Don’t bother with panties. You won’t need them.”

The line goes dead and I stare at my phone for several seconds before laughing and rushing to the bathroom to take a very quick shower. I touch up my makeup and brush out my hair, then dress in a tight pair of jeans and a black low-cut blouse with a push-up bra that shows the girls off to their fullest potential.

I slip on a pair of boots with four-inch heels and take a twirl in front of the mirror.

Not bad, if I do say so myself.

I walk into the living room just as the doorbell rings.

“Hey, handsome.” I grin and step back as Zack’s jaw drops and his eyes roam from the top of my head down to the heels on my feet.

“Fuck me, you’re beautiful, Jilly.” He pulls me into his arms and kisses me, urgently. “I missed you this week.”

“I missed you too. I thought maybe you weren’t going to call.”

“Fuck,” he whispers and leans his forehead on mine. “I’m sorry. The days just got away from
me, and I was in the barn more than I was at the house.”

“It’s okay.” I shake my head and push my fingers through his soft, dark hair. “I hope the horse is better now?”

“So far, yeah.” He nods and then grins down at me before gently brushing his lips over mine one more time. “Are you really going to try to walk through the snow in these fuck-me boots?”

“I’ll be fine,” I insist. “I was going for sexy.”

“You’ve achieved it. I can’t get much harder.” I cock a brow and boldly glide my hand down his chest to cup his hard-on in my hand. “I stand corrected. That did it.”