Kate really wasn’t sure she could suffer through another tragic and heart-wrenching fall from cloud nine.
And that’s when she made up her mind.
Standing, she said, “I need to find Jake. I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Kate,” Maggi called after her. “Come on. Don’t do anything rash here!”
But it was too late. She was already out the door
* * *
She found Jake across the courtyard, only he wasn’t working the site this morning. Instead, he held an iPad in one hand as he spoke with a man Kate assumed was the foreman for the job. He glanced up as Kate approached and the slow, easy grin that curved his lips made her stomach flutter. As usual. There was no immunity to the man.
He really was magnificent. And whether he was dressed in nice pants and a button-down shirt or jeans and a tank top or a towel or nothing at all, he was by far the most gorgeous man she would ever know.
And the memory of her weekend with him would never fade from her mind.
In fact, Kate had a feeling she’d play it over and over in her head, keeping the mental images fresh so she could savor them always.
Her one decadent, wicked weekend with a hot construction worker.
That’s how she’d compartmentalize this encounter.
Jake stepped away from the foreman as she drew closer. He met her on the cobblestone pathway, his grin widening as he eyed her from head to toe.
“You look damn sexy,” he said.
She’d never considered her business suits sexy. Smart and sophisticated, yes. But sexy?
Yet the twinkle in Jake’s electric-blue eyes told her he found her attractive. Sensual. Sexy.
But Kate had made her decision and she’d stand her ground. Even when his gaze was so heated it could thaw Antarctica. His head bent to hers and he planted a soft kiss on her cheek. When he went for her lips, she took a step back, out of his reach.
“We need to talk,” she said without preamble, though every fiber of her being desperately wanted to fall into his arms and give herself over to the riotous sensations he incited.
Jake said, “Sure, babe. Let me wrap up things here. Can you take an early lunch? We can go someplace quiet and talk.” Though the shimmer in his eyes told her he had more in mind than just talking.
For a moment, Kate forgot her convictions, forgot what it was that was holding her back from this relationship. Because no sane woman would pass up this kind of opportunity.
No sane woman would toss this fish back into the sea.
So, she wasn’t sane. She was borderline certifiable. Because Kate was too scared not to toss him back.
“Look,” she said, suddenly feeling nervous and…something else. Something indefinable. She ignored the tension mounting within her, though, and continued on. “I won’t take up much of your time. I just wanted to thank you for the flowers. They’re stunning. Really. Like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” Extravagant beyond her wildest imagination, as a matter of fact.
Jake smiled again. “I’m glad you like them. I have to confess, I had to get Janie to help pick them out. I told her they had to be extra special.”
“Janie? As in…your sister? You told her about…?”
“You,” he said with a nod. “Yes.”
“Oh.” The word spilled from her lips on a rush of air. They’d parted company around ten o’clock last night, and he’d already told his sister about her? About them?
Christ. Ken had always given her the runaround when it came to meeting his family. To the point that Kate had begun to think it’d be at the wedding when they were finally all introduced. If his parents had even intended to make it to the wedding.
In the year she’d been with Ken, he hadn’t let her in nearly as far as Jake had in one weekend. Everything about her whirlwind relationship and too-quick engagement with Ken had been…fluff. Surface stuff that, in the grand scheme of things, really hadn’t meant jack.
And she’d let him get away with holding her at arm’s length.