Leo (A Sign of Love Novel)(39)

"Of course. Shoot!"

"Well, Jake went to San Diego on business Tuesday through Wednesday. We had plans for me to call him Tuesday night and when I did a woman answered and said he was in the shower." I hear her draw in a sharp breath.

"I know, right?" I say. "He called me at six this morning and explained it, but I just, I don't know, I wanted to run it by you to make sure that I'm not being a fool here."

"How'd he explain it?" she asks quietly.

I tell her what he told me this morning.

"Hmmm… well, that doesn't sound far fetched. I guess you just have to ask yourself what your gut feeling is."

"My gut feeling is that he's a really good guy and that he's really into me and that he really cares about me. I guess I also kind of feel like he was lying about the woman."

Nicole's silent for a minute and then says, "I don't know if those two things can both be true, Evie."

I sigh, "I know. I'm confused. My heart is telling me to trust him but… "

"I don't think you can ever go wrong listening to your heart, honey. I always like to think that even if you're wrong in the end, you're not wrong in the end. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. Wise woman that you are," I smile.

"With that being said, I don't ever want to see you hurt. Go with your gut, but if something happens that you question, take some space to do that. Don't let him muddle your brain up with his pheromones."

I laugh, but then I see Jake coming towards the glass door exiting the restaurant. "Oh, hey, he's on his way back. Thank you, Nic. I love you!"

"Love you, Evie!" she whispers back.

Jake slides into the car, handing a brown paper bag to me that smells delicious and he pulls onto the road. It only takes five minutes before we're pulling into his garage.

We walk up to his condo hand in hand and as we enter, I immediately spot a white MacBook open on his dining table, a red bow on top. I look at him and he’s smiling an uncertain smile as he looks between me and the computer.

"Jake, you didn't - " I start to say.

"Evie," he says, putting his hand up in a 'keep quiet' gesture, "Don't say anything until you hear me out. I know your first thought is going to be to say no to accepting this gift but please, just listen."

I put my hands on my hips and raise one eyebrow.

"I want to do this but not because it's just for you but because I think you're amazing and I think that making your dreams come true will spread far and wide and not only affect you, but would affect me, too, and many, many people beyond that. Please let me do this for you, Evie, and all those people out there who will be changed when they read the beautiful words that are in your soul."

My eyes tear up and I take a deep shaky breath. "No pressure, right?" I say to Jake, laughing a little though. I walk over to the computer and start examining it, lifting the top, turning it on and watching the screen light up. Then I look at Jake and say, "You make it really, really hard to say no to you, do you know that Jake Madsen?"

He grins at me and I stare at him for a few seconds before saying simply, "Thank you."

**********

Later, after we've eaten and Jake's made love to me slowly and sweetly in front of the fire in his living room, I get up and turn on my computer to check it out further. I grin over at Jake who has moved to the couch and is watching the news on television. He smiles back and asks, "Checking it out? Ever used a Mac?"

"No, but I've always been pretty good with computers. I'll probably get the hang of it pretty quickly."

I explore it for ten or fifteen minutes as Jake continues to watch the news show that's on. Eventually, I turn on the internet and go to my email (which I rarely ever check). As expected, there's nothing there except some spam. I look over at Jake quickly. He's immersed in the show and so I go to Google and type in his name.

I note quickly that many of the stories are about Jake taking over his company. I don't focus on those though, I focus on the story at the top which is about a dinner benefit that was held in San Diego on Tuesday evening, the night the woman answered his phone. There are pictures of Jake there, talking to several older men, looking casual and gorgeous. I scroll to the last picture in the article and I freeze. It's Jake and Gwen, looking more beautiful than any couple has the right to, looking like they were made to be together. Gwen is laughing and Jake is leaned towards her, smiling and obviously saying something funny and intimate.

I snap my computer closed, and Jake looks over. When he notes the expression on my face, he stands up. "What's wrong, baby?" he asks.

I walk over to the door and start pulling my coat on.

"Evie!" he says, sounding confused and frantic, "What happened? Why are you leaving?"

"That woman in your hotel room was Gwen, wasn't it, Jake?"

"What?" he furrows his brow. "No. Of course it wasn't. Do you think I would invite Gwen to my hotel room for drinks after the way she treated you?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly thinking you brought her to your hotel room for drinks, Jake. All I know is that you sure did look cozy whispering in her ear in the pictures from the benefit you were at Tuesday night."

He looks confused for a minute and then he runs his hand through his hair saying, "Evie, that was a company benefit. Gwen was there with her father. She tried to talk to me several times and I wouldn't have much to do with her. When she cornered me in front of a photographer, I leaned in and told her she was lucky that I wasn't the type to want to aire my dislike for someone on film. She laughed as if I was joking, which I wasn't. That was that. I didn't talk to her again all evening."