Until Jake

Kate’s gaze snapped up and locked with Maggi’s. “Let’s not call him that. And, Mags, he’s not even a construction worker. At least, not usually. He’s Jake Mosley and he owns the company that’s erecting commercial and residential buildings around Liberty Station. In fact, Mosely Construction put up this building. The only reason he’s working on the one across from us is because he’s got a guy whose wife just had surgery and he needs to be home with her. Jake didn’t hire a replacement because the man has worked for the company for nearly twenty years and Jake didn’t want his loyal employee to fear he wouldn’t have a job to come back to. So Jake’s filling in for him.”

“Ohhh,” Maggi said on a long breath. “Double wow.” She seemed to mull all this over, then added, “I’m liking him more and more.”

“Now you know my dilemma.”

“Your fantasy fuck has turned out to be…Prince Charming.”

“Yeah.” Kate dropped the card on her desk. “That’s the whole problem. I mean, I wasn’t looking for someone I could start a relationship with and yet… I can totally see myself with Jake. I think the world of him, Maggi, and I don’t even know everything there is to know about him. Just that he’s the sexiest man I’ve ever met and beyond generous in the bedroom. Not to mention smart and ambitious and wholly dedicated to his family. He’s a good guy, Mags. A genuine guy.”

“One of the last few, if you ask me.”

Kate rolled her eyes at her predicament. The impasse she’d reached. “Thing is, I’m just not ready for this—I still have all kinds of stupid Ken shit in my head. All I wanted to do with Jake was clear away some cobwebs. One night was all I’d planned. Not…romance and flowers and dating and—”

“Love?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s like finding the perfect shoes,” Maggi contended. “When you’re desperate to match them to an outfit, you can never find the right shade. But when you just pop into Neiman Marcus on a whim, there they are! In your size, half off and just waiting to go home with you.”

“Exactly.” Kate crossed her arms over her chest. “What am I going to do? I can’t seriously date this guy.”

“Why not?”

“I told you. I’m not ready for this. And let’s not forget the whole age thing.”

“Kate,” Maggi said as she came out of her chair, planted her palms on the desk and pinned Kate with a grave look. “Fabulous men are not falling from the sky, girlfriend. They don’t grow on trees. They’re not a dime a dozen—see what I’m getting at here? They’re rare and finding one is…special. A man like Jake Mosley isn’t disposable. He’s a keeper.”

“Yeah, but—”

“He’s not Ken.”

Tears instantly sprang to Kate’s eyes.

They’d chosen a wedding venue. Had picked a china pattern. Were going to honeymoon in Fiji.

And then she’d walked in on him having sex with his boyfriend.

God, was she scarred for life because of that one incredibly mortifying, excruciatingly agonizing experience?

Only if you let yourself be…

She stared at Maggi, wanting so much to be as optimistic as her friend was about this unexpected treasure she’d discovered.

&nbsp

; But Kate was still terrified.

“I don’t think I can go through that again,” she said, honestly.

“I’m not saying it wasn’t brutal, Kate. But if you keep your head buried in the sand, you just might miss the best thing to happen to you.”

Fat drops tumbled down Kate’s cheeks. Maggi went to the credenza for tissues.

A part of Kate liked keeping her head buried in the sand. The other part recalled how wonderful it’d been to have Jake in her house, in her bed.

But she was still so afraid of getting hurt. Her weekend with Jake had healed her damaged psyche, had given her libido and her ego some much-needed CPR, yes. Yet she was still cautious.

Once bitten and all that.