The Will(174)

On those words he left with a low wave and closed the door behind him.

“What’s the private news?” Jake asked the minute the door clicked.

I turned to him then I got closer to him and when I did, I shared what I learned about Donna.

This news was clearly not welcome and I knew it when Jake’s eyes heated with anger and the room heated right along with them.

“The bitch is gonna take off?”

“We don’t know that for certain, darling. This is beauty salon news. We probably shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

It was like he didn’t hear me.

“My boy Ethan’s bitch of a mom took off. Calls him whenever somethin’ reminds her to feel guilty she left his ass, which isn’t often. Sends birthday cards with a shitload of money in them, expensive presents for Christmas, neither replacing him not havin’ a f*ckin’ mom. Makes plans she doesn’t intend to keep for me to send him down there in the summer and on spring break and then breaks them. Now my other kids’ bitch of a mom is gonna hightail her ass outta town?”

I said nothing.

“I don’t believe this shit,” he clipped.

It was on that I went to him and put both hands on his chest. “Jake, we don’t know she’s leaving for certain.”

“She’ll leave. She’s finally clued into the fact that everyone in town thinks she’s a joke, she’ll clue in she’s dug a hole she’s gonna find it hard to dig out of. And unfortunately, she’s not the kind of woman who understands that it’s worth scratchin’ and clawin’ your way out of the pits of hell if it means takin’ care of your kids.”

I pressed my lips together even if I liked very much that that was how he felt about his children.

“She’s a bitch,” he bit out.

I pressed in at his chest and moved closer. “Would you like me to contact her?”

“No,” he clipped. “I’ll get a hold of her ass.”

“Uh…just to note, darling, that the last time you got a hold of her ass led to this reaction. Perhaps I can be more diplomatic.”

He clenched his jaw.

“Let’s think on this,” I suggested gently. “Give it some time and see what she does. There’s no reason to react, spending that emotion and maybe creating more bad blood if she eventually changes her mind.”

Jake moved his hands to curl his fingers around my hips as he agreed curtly, “Right, Slick. We’ll do that.”

I slid my hands up to curl them around the sides of his neck, pressing closer as I said, “I’m sorry that I upset you.”

“You didn’t pick her, I did,” he replied. “Fuck,” he ground out. “Thank f*ck I finally f*ckin’ picked right the last time.”

My stomach dipped, my body melted into his and my hands clenched into the muscles at his neck.

When the latter two happened, he focused on me.

“I’m glad you think that,” I said softly.

“Don’t think it. Know it,” he said firmly and that got another stomach dip, bigger than the last and much better.

However, even feeling it, I advised, “Please stop being hard on yourself. You were in love, and the man I know, I trust there were reasons for that. What these women are doing is their choice, their responsibility and in the end, Jake, they’re missing out on great beauty and that’s their consequence. You’re not. You sacrificed for your children and you give them everything you can. They’re going to understand that one day and feel deep gratitude for it, if they don’t already.”

“Love your words, baby, but hard not to kick myself in the ass for the choices I made.”

“Well…” I rolled up on my toes and finished firmly on a squeeze of his neck, “Try.”

He looked into my eyes for some time and finally his lips quirked as his hands moved so he could wrap his arms around me.

“Smartass and bossy, what got into you today?” he asked.

“I’m just handling my man,” I answered.

His lip quirk turned into a full-blown laugh as his arms convulsed around me and he roared with his amusement.

I watched, nestling in and enjoying it.

I enjoyed it more when he noticed me doing it, dipped his head and kept doing it but with his mouth on mine.

Oh yes.

I enjoyed that more.

A great deal more.

And I showed him how much by sliding my arms around his neck.

At that, Jake got serious and I let him.

I enjoyed that even more.

So in the end, not only Amond but his crew and several of the members of Jake’s club got a good view through Jake’s office windows of just how much he liked my mouth.

And I didn’t care.

Not one bit.

*

“Okay, beautiful, this is what I see and what I see I’m gonna tell you and you gotta work some freakin’ magic or I’d say in about a week, a month or, from the way of Jake’s boy, a day, you’re gonna face Armageddon.”

This was whispered to me from Amond who’d leaned into me from his place at my side at the big rectangular table we were all sitting around in the function room at The Eaves.

I looked to him and raised my brows. “Pardon?”

“Right, you got a lot goin’ on so I’ll break this down. See your girl’s girl, she shows at your place, all tricked out and I mean tricked out, lookin’ good like she wants someone’s attention. But your man’s boy treats her probably like he’s treated her since they were kids seein’ as he’s probably grown up with her.”