Naked Love(82)

“In your name we pray, amen.”

I open my eyes and rip my hand away from Jake. He has the audacity to give me a questioning look like he has no idea why I’m acting like he has the plague.

“Hi,” he says in a soft voice, followed by a kind smile.

No. NO! NO! NO! He doesn’t get to say hi to me like some stranger. He doesn’t get to be kind with his smile. Awful words were said. Hurtful assumptions were made.

Hearts broken.

Dreams shattered.

Jake holds my attention without saying another word. I hate that he has that effect on me and the way everything and everyone else in the room disappears. The moments we shared replay in my head. We had good moments—the best moments.

“Why did it have to be you?” I whisper.

Jake’s smile fades.

The muted voices come to life.

And it’s no longer just the two of us in the room.

The moment … is over.

We are over.

“Have you arranged to get your stuff back?” Sydney asks.

I bite my lips together, laying my napkin across my lap. “Not yet. He refuses to budge on any of it until I agree to have dinner with him.”

“Dinner?” Lautner looks up from across the table. “Tell him to make reservations for four. Sydney and I will go with you.”

Chuckling, I glance over the menu. “Hmm … is this brotherly love or your way of getting me out of your house?”

“Definitely brotherly love.” He smirks. “What’s not to like about a live-in babysitter?”

Everyone laughs as I shoot him a teasing scowl. Well, I don’t think Jake’s laughing.

“No need to worry about furniture until you have a place to put it, which requires a job, which usually requires transportation. We need to tackle one obstacle at a time.” My dad leans forward past Ocean and shoots me a reassuring smile.

Parents have a way of bitch-slapping their kids with a heavy dose of reality under the guise of love. Yep. I definitely don’t need furniture at the moment.

“She needs a job to afford a car, and she won’t take money from us, so …” Sydney eyes me over the top of her menu.

Nope. There’s nothing degrading and completely embarrassing about this conversation. I should be angry with my family for discussing my situation in front of Jake, but he’s seen me naked in every sense of the word. None of this should be a surprise to him.

“I don’t want your money, Sis. I just want your Lexus. I’m certain I could live out of it until I save up for an apartment.”

“You know …” Deedy sets her menu down and rests her hand on my dad’s leg. “You should borrow my car. We’re leaving for another mission trip in six weeks. When I am home, I ride my bike and walk most places. We have Tommy’s car for longer trips and bad weather.”

“Or you could take public transportation,” Lautner murmurs, hiding his grin behind his glass of water. “Have you ever taken public transportation?”

I scratch my chin with my middle finger. “That’s like a limo, right? Yeah, I’ve taken public transportation a lot.”

Sydney shoves her elbow into the ribs of her snarky husband. “Play nice, you two.”

“So, Jake …” My dad clears his throat. “I really do appreciate all you did for Avery.”

Whoa!

Okay, so my dad must not know everything. He missed the newsflash—we hate Jake. He did nothing but break me down. No appreciation needed for that.

Jake takes a long sip of his water, probably sorting out the best response to my dad’s misplaced gratitude.

“You’re welcome.”

I stare at my index finger tapping the end of my fork.

And I wait …

Nothing.

Really? You’re welcome? No elaboration. No “It was my pleasure.” No “Anything for Deedy.” Or “We had a good time.”

“She can be a bit of a handful sometimes.” Dad laughs.

Sydney and Lautner stifle their reactions.

Jake rubs the back of his neck. “A bit.”

I ram the heel of my shoe into his shin.

He grunts, bending forward slightly and fisting his hand at his mouth as if to mask his reaction as a cough.

“Can I get everyone’s drink order?” the waiter asks.

We order drinks and food. The conversation shifts to the wedding, Dad’s and Deedy’s upcoming trip, my niece and nephew, and Jake’s restaurants. I fall off the grid of conversation, which ends in everyone (except me) singing Happy Birthday to Jake.





CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR




Jake


I need to talk to her.

Of course, I have no idea what I can say to undo the things I have done. To say I’m ashamed of the things I said to Avery and the way I said them would be a monumental understatement. It’s like I broke a vase and all I can do is stare at the shattered pieces with no fucking clue how to fix it.

I follow Avery and her family to the restaurant parking lot. A million words sit idle on my tongue. If I don’t say them the right way, it will make things worse. If I don’t say them at all, I will choke on them and die.

“I’m sorry.” I lean down by her ear and whisper as she waits for her niece to wedge her way out of the restaurant’s entrance.