Anonymous(4)

Giggling, I rub his back. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I squeeze his shoulders. “I’m going to head to the back and say hey to everyone.”

I walk around the side of the house to the wooden gate, and when I slip through, Jake is already in the pool, tossing my nieces into the air, while three of my cousins’ little boys are hanging onto Jake’s neck, trying in vain to take him under.

“Ellie!” my mother calls. She waves me over to where she and my sister are sitting at one of the picnic tables.

Everyone says I look just like her, especially since we have the same light brown hair, hazel eyes, and curvy figure. My older sister, Amber, is six years older than me and looks like my father with her blonde hair and brown eyes. I hug my mother and fluff Amber’s ponytail before sitting down across from them.

“Your husband’s a nut.” Amber laughs. “He’s like a big kid trapped in a man’s body.”

I look over at Jake and smile. “Yes, he is.”

When he’s at work, he’s always so serious and professional, but when you get him alone, he’s different. He can be playful in the bed too, but there are times when he just goes for what he wants. I love those nights.

My mother pats my hand, drawing my mind away from my dirty thoughts, and slides a present over to me. “Happy birthday, Ellie.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” Amber gasps, reaching under the table. She pulls out a silver glittery gift bag and hands it to me. “Happy birthday, sis.”

I place a hand lovingly on their arms. “Aww, thank you. You didn’t have to get me anything.” I open the present from my mother and it’s a gorgeous pair of diamond earrings. Since I’m not wearing any, I slip them on. “Mom, they’re beautiful,” I gush. “Thank you.”

She beams. “I knew you’d like them.” I hug her hard and then open my sister’s present. Inside the gift bag are two of my favorite shower gels from Bath and Body Works, along with a Macy’s gift card.

“You are awesome,” I say, squeezing her tight. “Thank you so much.”

Our mother peers down at her watch and jumps up. “Girls, I’ll be back. I have to get the baked beans out of the oven.” She hurries off, leaving me with Amber.

“We still meeting at the gym Monday morning before work?” she asks.

I nod. “Yep. Bright and early. I have a lot to do at the bakery, so the earlier I get there, the better.”

Her gaze lands on Jake. “Have you told him why you don’t run around the neighborhood anymore?”

My heart spikes and I glare at her. “Not so loud. And no, I haven’t said anything. He’ll think I’m being paranoid.” And maybe I am, but there have been several times I’ve felt uneasy running alone down our streets. It’s like someone’s there . . . watching me. I haven’t been able to shake the feeling, so I just stopped running and joined the gym.

She shrugs. “Not necessarily. If you have concerns, you need to tell your husband.”

I shake my head. “We live in a nice neighborhood. Nothing bad has ever happened in it. I’d rather be safe than sorry anyway. Besides, going to the gym with you is much better than running alone.”

“Exactly,” she agrees with a smile. “You’ve always had such a vivid imagination.” Her focus turns to my cake. “It shows with your cakes.” Leaning her head back against the chair, she looks up at the sky. “I need to come watch you in action one day. I’m curious to see how it all works. The girls talk about it all the time.”

Watching my nieces with Jake makes me giggle. “They’ve been such a huge help this summer. Not having them with me all day is going to take some getting used to, when they go back to school next week.”

Jake’s phone rings and he quickly jumps out of the pool to grab it. Every time he gets that focused look on his face, I know it’s work.

“I heard Jake got a nice promotion,” Amber says.

“He did,” I reply, “but not without putting in tons of hours. The money’s nice, but I miss him when he has to go out of town.”

Jake sets his phone down and I can see the turmoil in his gaze when he looks at me. I know what it means, and I know it’s going to be hard to hide my disappointment. Grabbing a towel out of the pool house, I take it over to him. He runs it over his face and sighs. “That was Randy on the phone.”

Randy Barrett is his boss, and the man who works under the owner of McLean Architectural Design, which is one of the biggest firms on the East Coast and will soon be that way out west as well.

Randy is a thirty-eight-year-old divorcee with no kids and a mansion the size of the White House. He’s handsome, but his presence creeps me out. The company gatherings are always at his house, and he makes a point to seek me out when Jake is busy talking to his other co-workers. Maybe it’s the way he always looks at me that makes me uncomfortable.

“I figured that,” I say, keeping my voice low. “What did he want?” Every time Jake has to go out of town, Randy will call to see if I need anything. I guess it’s a sweet gesture; unnecessary, but sweet.

Jake grabs my waist and pulls me close, the water on his chest seeping into my shirt. “He needs me to fly out to Arizona tomorrow. There’s a big project he wants me to run.”