Page 26 of Forever, Finally

When he’d kissed her and touched her, she’d felt as if she were on fire. His hands had been pure magic. Everything about being near him, touching him, feeling him touch her had made her realize that she’d probably wanted Jake for a really long time. Somehow she’d managed to miss the cues.

She remembered what Jake’s mother had said. That where there was such strong friendship there had to be love. Was that true? Did she love Jake? And if she did, was that the reason she’d blurted out her proposal?

Love. The concept was both thrilling and just a little bit scary. She rolled onto her back and felt the baby move.

“Talk about taking on a lot,” she murmured. “First a wife and then in three months, a baby.” A baby that wasn’t even his.

Why had Jake said yes to marriage? Why hadn’t he run off in the opposite direction?

She didn’t have an answer, nor did she know how to find out. What if he’d done it out of pity? She shivered. That would be too horrible for words.

No, there had to be another reason and she was going to have to figure it out. Which meant there was one more thing on her to-do list.

“I’m a married woman,” she told herself as she lay in the dark. “It’s time to get things in order and start acting like a grown-up.”

She’d let the situation with Rachel and Jenna fester too long. She was going to fix that and figure out what Jake was thinking as well. If he cared about her, even a little, she was going to nurture that feeling into something lasting. While she was busy doing that, she was going to look into her own heart and make sure she was clear on her feelings as well.

“All this, with a full-time job and a baby on the way,” she said as she pulled up the covers. “At least my life isn’t boring.”

CHAPTER 5

Neither she nor Jake had to work the next morning. Lily hadn’t slept much and had been awake since five, so it was easy for her to get up early and start breakfast. She’d just finished whipping eggs for French toast when he walked into the kitchen.

She looked at him and tried to smile, but their last very awkward conversation hung between them. He seemed to feel equally uncomfortable as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. The only sound was the faint ticking of the clock over the stove.

“I made breakfast.”

“I’m heading over to my mom’s.”

They spoke at the same time.

“You first,” she told him.

He shoved his hands into his jeans pocket. “I promised my mom I’d change the oil in her car.”

“This morning?”

He shrugged.

Lily nodded as if it didn’t matter. As if she didn’t mind him ducking out on her the first chance he got. If last night had gone the way she’d wanted, right now they would still be lying in bed together. But it hadn’t. Somehow everything had gone terribly wrong, and now she didn’t know what to say.

“I’m going to go check on the house later,” she said. “If you want to come.”

“I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

Right. Because changing a car’s oil took hours. She drew in a deep breath and tried to be calm.

“Will you be home for dinner?” she asked.

“You don’t have to cook for me.”

“I was cooking before the wedding,” she said as her temper began to slip. “Why would that change?”

“You don’t work for me, Lil. You don’t have to take care of that kind of thing.”

“I want to.”

She tried not to sound plaintive or pathetic. They were married—didn’t he want to spend time with her at all?

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