Twice in a Lifetime (Love Found) (40 page)

His fingers traced a pattern over her collarbone, making her shiver. “Very secretive.”

She grabbed one of his hands and lifted it to kiss his fingertips. “There’s not much you haven’t seen already. The dress will be a surprise.”

“Fair point.” He looked out the window, into the darkening sky. “I should go look at your truck before it gets any later. Trey can come with me.”

“Trey’s here?”

“Yeah, in his room.”

She got up and knocked on the closed bedroom door. Trey was leaned back against the pillows on his bed, talking on his cell phone. He put his hand over the receiver when she walked in.

“Hi, Mom. I’ll be done in a minute.”

“Jake needs you to go with him to look at my car. It wouldn’t start.”

“No problem. I’ll be right there.” She closed the door and went into the kitchen, getting out ingredients to put together pizza.

Jake wandered in while she chopped vegetables. Reached around her and snitched a slice of pepperoni. “If the car won’t start, I’ll call a tow truck and have them come get it. Then we’ll go to my place and get the bed too, as long as Trey’s with me.”

She smiled and nodded. “Our bed.” Then pressed a goodbye kiss on his lips. “See you later, then.”

The two pizzas were in pans and set aside until it was time to pop them into the oven. She had time on her hands and the caffeine-laden soda had worked its magic so she wandered into her room. She stripped the sheets from her bed, shoving them into the hamper. Tonight her old bed would be gone, replaced with their new bed. The way her old life was about to be replaced with their new life together. A new life she would build with Jake. This would be the final step to putting the past behind her.

With renewed energy she moved to the closet. Ben’s clothing was removed long ago, but it was ridiculous how she’d managed to take over that space. She moved her wardrobe back where it was when she shared the closet in the past, restoring order and removing items she no longer wore. Her glance skimmed over Jake’s bags tucked against the wall. Sliding open one long zipper, she unpacked shirts and slacks, smoothing wrinkles from each item as it was hung. His jeans, showing the wear and tear of work, were removed and placed on hangers as well. She took the second bag to an antique dresser in the bedroom, its empty drawers gliding open smoothly as if happy to be of use again. Pulling out the wads of gym shorts, undershirts, boxer briefs and mismatched socks that were shoved unceremoniously into the bag, she neatly stacked them in their new homes. In the bottom of the bag were his shoes. She walked them back into the closet, placing them on the floor shelf, dress shoes and work boots lined up neatly beside running shoes and heels.

There was one last thing. Removing his shaving kit, she returned to the vanity. His toothbrush went in the holder with hers, personal items into the medicine cabinet. She stood back and soaked it in. Starting tonight they would each be part of
them
, never again alone. She turned off the light as she left the room, smiling.

The phone rang as she slid the pizzas in to cook. She closed the oven door and picked up the receiver. “Hi babe, how’s my truck?”

“Down for the count, I’m afraid. I had to call for a tow.”

Her heart sank. “Darn! I have a few things to take care of tomorrow.”

“That’ll still work. When we’re done loading the mattress I’ll have Trey bring my car over for you.”

What?
“You mean you’ll let Trey drive your ‘Vette? Your shiny
new
Corvette that I've ridden in exactly once?"

“Um. Yes?”

She could only laugh in astonishment. He was a very brave man. "That will certainly make you his idol for life.” As if he wasn’t already.

There was a smile in his voice when he spoke. “I’ve waited half a lifetime to finally say you’re mine, Allie. I’m feeling generous.”

A quiet sigh slipped out. He took such good care of them. She let her voice go sultry. “Then hurry home so I can thank you properly.”

There was an endless pause before he broke the silence, his words caressing her heart in a voice that was exceptionally deep and more than a little strained. “Babe. It’s you. It’s always been you.” He paused again to clear his throat. “You’re all the thanks I need.”

Her heart fluttered. Oh, my.

The air was spicy with the aroma of pepperoni as the front door slammed and Trey trailed Jake in, the mattress they wrestled between them more awkward and unwieldy than a full-grown crocodile. “Here. Set it down… now,” he said, and let go. Jesus, it was a good thing Trey was there to help. No way could he have managed the cumbersome bed alone. He stretched the stiffness out of his fingers and headed toward the master bedroom. “The old bed comes out first, remember? Let’s carry it into the garage.”

Jake tugged the replacement mattress into place, Trey helping him push at it until it was installed on the black iron frame. Allie stood nearby, offering suggestions, she called it. He grinned. He called it acting like a wife.

But as a reward, he got fresh hot pizza with his woman and her kid. What beat that? By the time Allie had the dishwasher loaded she was yawning. She disappeared while he flipped channels in the living room, but came back minutes later wearing pajamas, her breath minty fresh when she leaned into him.

“I can’t keep my eyes open a moment longer. I really need to go to bed now.”

He anchored his hand around her neck and let his lips skim along the softness of hers, parting them with gentle pressure. Trey was in the bathroom preparing to leave, meeting friends for a late movie and he was sprawled on the sofa with his eyelids drooping. The sexy soft scent of Allie’s skin buzzed his senses. He stood and clicked the TV off. Might as well tag along.

Jake was relaxed from a warm, soothing shower. With a towel tied to his hips he entered the darkened bedroom.
“Ow! Dammit!”
A little light would be good here. He nursed the toe that had stumbled into the oversized nightstand and patted the tabletop blindly. Ah ha, the lamp. He flicked it on and checked the bed. She was still asleep, good. Now, where were his clothes?

The upper drawer held a mother lode of lace and satin; he remembered that drawer. He tried the next drawer down. Running shorts and stretchy tops. “Where the hell’d she hide my clothes?” He finally found them in the other dresser, all neatly folded. He glanced at Allie again, sleeping soundly on his side of the bed. “Thanks, babe.” He stepped into underwear and joined her under the covers, tucking her up against his still-damp skin.

Jake was gone when she awoke the next morning. He left a note on the bathroom counter, along with keys.

Allie—Will get truck repaired today. Have fun with Reese. Courthouse at 4? Love you, Jake

Short and sweet. She missed him already. She tucked the note into her vanity drawer and stepped under the steaming hot shower.

Allie stood in the center of the living room, arms crossed. She’d already had a busy morning selecting flowers with Reese, but there was still so much to do. First off, what to do with the Christmas tree? She checked the clock. If she retrieved the storage boxes from the garage it would take an hour or so to have everything packed away. Forty minutes later she had a stack of bulging containers, her treasured memories safe and snug in their tissue wrappers, ready for the next year.

When Trey returned from work she’d enlist him to haul away the dry tree for recycling. She inspected the surrounding carpet. It wouldn’t do any good to vacuum up pine needles until the tree was gone. She plopped on the sofa, turned the television on to a cable music channel and picked up her novel from the side table.

Jake counted the persistent rings of the telephone until Allie answered. She had so much on her plate this week he’d bet anything she lost track of time.

“Hello?”

Oh, sweet Christ!
He jerked the steering wheel. Caught in heavy traffic with the phone pressed to his ear, he nearly swerved into a minivan. Apparently she’d been asleep. That deep, throaty voice was pure sex and cut straight to his gut. “Babe. Are you ready?”

He waited through the pause. “Sure. Just walking out the door.”

The little liar. She’d definitely been sleeping. He let a smile creep into his voice. “Okay, then. I’ll meet you inside the courthouse.”

Walking through the smudged glass door, Jake scanned the room and sought Allie out while shrugging out of his flannel-lined jacket. There she was, perched on a chair in the waiting area with her coat neatly buttoned, a magazine propped open on her lap. When she looked up, found him, her smile was sweet and welcoming.

He had to pause, soak in the emotions flooding through every fiber of his being. Anticipation stood front and center, combined with the desperate desire she ignited with no more than a glance. And if he read it right, the jitters he’d had all morning indicated a little nervousness. But he was okay with that—
husband
was a new role for him.

There were so many other feelings poking around his brain and his heart—peace, contentment. Relief. But above all else he was blissfully happy.

If he were a poet he’d tell her that her smile was as radiant as rays of sunshine reflecting off the sparkling lake in July. That the vastness of his love for her would overflow the depths of the Grand Canyon. But those words would sound corny if he spoke them, so instead he sat beside her and dropped a tender kiss on her curved, sweet lips.

“I love you.” He let the emotion in his eyes convey all he meant.

Her sweet smile changed, became impudent. “I should hope so. Because we went through quite a bit to get here, you know.” She stretched toward him and grazed his cheek with her knuckles, stroked his temples. “So, are we going to do this?”

He rose and took her hand, then rushed her to the clerk’s counter. He’d do whatever it took to make her his wife.

Jake’s week rushed by with the swiftness of a cheetah on speed. The lull of activity and the lack of office staff during the holiday season normally had him on edge. But it was Thursday and today his nerves screamed and his insides were twisted like the roots beneath Allie’s favorite rose bush.

The shrill ring of the office phone went unanswered for what must be the fourteenth time. “Dammit!” He had to get out of there. The piles on his desk weren’t going anywhere. He stomped through the entrance door and locked it behind him, his mood both as edgy and as capricious as the skies above.

Tomorrow. By this time tomorrow he would be a married man. Lawfully wedded. Something he definitely looked forward to, so why was he nervous? He climbed into his truck and started it up, then turned the knob for the wipers, removing the moisture that remained from an earlier thundershower.

Allie trusted him, trusted he would never betray her, never hurt her. She had no doubts. And he didn’t have a single doubt about her, either. On the contrary, she was the answer to his whispered prayers. He was eager, giddier than the grand prize winner on a daytime game show. Suddenly his irritability evaporated. His eyes danced as he steered his vehicle toward the dry cleaners. Him, a nervous bridegroom? He never would have guessed.