Flirting with Disaster (Jackson: Girls' Night Out 2)

“Stop telling me what you’re not, Lauren. I know what you are, dammit. Right now. Here. With me.”

Turning her head toward the pillow, she desperately tried to hide her tears, but Jake pulled her close and kissed them away. She hated this. It was too much. She couldn’t do it. It was...

She took a deep breath. It was nice. So damn nice.

“Whatever you want,” she said back to him. “I’m willing to try. With you.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

LAUREN SLIPPED ON her sunglasses and settled onto the metal bench that sat a few feet from the back door of the library. She didn’t exactly need the glasses, as the little clump of aspen at the edge of the parking lot shaded her, but she had other reasons. Other sweaty, bare-chested reasons.

Jake was out there on the basketball court again, mixing it up with the young guys. And God, he looked good doing it.

The scratch marks she’d left on his back the week before must have healed, or he’d never have taken off his shirt. The other firefighters would’ve razzed him for years about that. Still, Lauren couldn’t manage to feel sorry at the idea. She’d liked marking him. And she liked the way he still seemed stunned that she’d want to.

Lauren pulled an apple from her lunch bag and took a bite just as Jake paused to down a bottle of water. He glanced over then, squinting against the sunlight. When he finally realized who was watching, he smiled. Lauren smiled back. Then she caught a drop of apple juice that had slipped down her chin and licked it off her finger.

Even from across the lot, she could see the way his cheeks went red at that. Hopefully he was remembering two nights ago when she’d licked him just that way. Hopefully he was thinking she’d do the same tonight.

She laughed and wiped her chin.

“Hi, Mrs. Foster.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Lauren yelped, jumping two inches out of her seat as her head jerked toward Annabelle. The girl had an uncanny ability to find Lauren at her least dignified and most perverted.

“Sorry!” Annabelle smiled. “I was just here to see Kevin.” She gestured toward the station, seemingly unperturbed by her dad’s new girlfriend mouthing obscene gestures in his direction. Hopefully all she’d seen was a woman eating an apple.

But this was the first time Lauren had seen her since two weeks before, when Sophie had caught her in flagrante. Lauren’s face was on fire.

“Annabelle,” she finally started, then had to swallow and try again. “I feel like I should apologize about that night. I can’t imagine what you must think of me. It was...unfortunate. I’m so sorry.”

“Mrs. Foster—”

Lauren cut her off, shuddering. “Call me Lauren. Please.”

“Lauren,” Annabelle corrected herself with a smile. “I’m pleased you’re hitting it off so well with my dad.”

Lauren tried not to cringe in guilt. She and Jake had been purposefully spending the night at Lauren’s house, because Annabelle was still livin

g with him, but it wasn’t as if it was that discreet. Annabelle knew full well when her father wasn’t home and what that meant.

Taking a deep breath, Lauren told herself they were both middle-aged adults and there was no reason to be embarrassed. But she’d been to this little girl’s tenth birthday party. And watched her blow out the candles with her mom’s help.

“Thank you, Annabelle,” she finally said. “I’m sorry this is all so strange.”

“It’s not so strange,” she said, shaking her head as if Lauren were being silly. “And I was hoping I’d run into you. Here.” She handed Lauren an envelope. “An official invitation to the wedding. I’m sure you were going to be my dad’s plus-one, but I wanted you to know that I’m looking forward to you being there.”

“Oh.” Lauren lowered her hand slowly, staring at the linen-textured paper in shock. “Thank you. That’s so kind, but...” Jake’s whole family would be there. His in-laws. Friends who’d only known him with Ruth. People who would know Lauren wasn’t anything like his late wife, wasn’t close to good enough.

Somehow, Lauren hadn’t really considered that she might be there with him. With him. Being introduced as...what?

She was too old to be some man’s girlfriend. And she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to be a wife. She stared at Jake, back in the game now and rushing past one of his guys to toss the ball at the basket.

“He’s been so happy,” Annabelle said softly.

Lauren turned to see that she was watching Jake, too.

“Really happy, Lauren.” She smiled toward her father. “Ever since that night he brought you home. I mean... He whistles while he’s cooking. I hadn’t even realized he’d stopped, but as soon as I heard it again, it was so obvious that the house had been quiet. So thank you. I mean it. And I hope I’ll see you at the wedding.”