Page 5 of Forever, Finally

“Oh, sure. But you’re assuming I’m ready to act maturely.”

“You are.”

She reached across the bench seat and grabbed his hand. “Thanks, Jake. You’re the best. You know that, right?”

“Of course.”

He laced his fingers with hers and knew he couldn’t read anything into the act. To Lily, they were best friends. He’d been the one to change the rules without telling her. He’d been the one to wake up one morning and realize he’d loved her for years. Unfortunately, the revelation had come about six months too late. She’d already been in love with Michael Carson. When the guy had proposed and Lily had accepted, Jake had vowed to keep his feelings to himself forever.

Then Michael hadn’t bothered showing up at the church. He’d sent a note telling Lily that he’d never intended for things to get this far. Worse, he’d lied about getting a divorce and was still married. Lily had been heartbroken, and Jake had been there to lend a shoulder to cry on.

He’d known there was no point in telling her about his feelings. Not until she’d gotten over Michael. Talk about timing. He’d planned a casual dinner at his house, complete with wine, candlelight and a confession of love on his part. Two days before their scheduled rendezvous, Lily had called to tell him she was pregnant.

The good news had been there wasn’t a guy involved. Lily had used artificial insemination and a sperm donor. But her announcement had put a crimp in his confession plans. If he told her he loved her after she had told him she was pregnant, would she think he was simply reacting to the baby? Would she assume that his feelings were merely concern?

He didn’t have a good answer to any of his questions and until he did, he kept his emotions to himself. It made life hell, but he’d learned to endure that a lot in the past few months. Besides, there was no guarantee Lily wanted to change things between them. As far as he could tell, she was happy just being friends.

“Are you all packed for the move?” he asked.

“Pretty much. I left the books like you made me promise.”

“Good. I’ll be by in a couple of days to finish things up.”

She glanced at him. “I could box up my books just fine, you know. I can move a few at a time. All the extra walking back and forth would be good exercise for me.”

“No way. I know you, Lil. You’ll get a box all loaded then decide you don’t like where it is. The next thing you know you’ll be moving it by yourself and straining something. Leave the books for me.”

“Okay, but I have to tell you, you’re getting kind of bossy.”

“You like being told what to do.”

“Actually I don’t.” She smiled. “But I like letting you think you’re in charge.”

“I am in charge.”

She squeezed his hand. “Sure you are, big guy.”

* * *

“Am I really doing this?” Lily asked as the burly men continued to load her belongings into the truck. “Is it too late to change my mind?”

Jake set down the box he’d been carrying and looked at her. “Do you really want an answer?”

“I’m serious.” Panic overwhelmed her. “What was I thinking? This was a huge mistake.” She covered her face with her hands. “I can’t believe I bought a house.”

“Hell of a time to be having buyer’s remorse,” Jake told her, then put his arm around her and gave her a hug. He was warm and strong and big and she decided to lean on him for the next sixty seconds or until her breathing returned to normal. Whichever came first.

“You’re not making a mistake.”

She dropped her hands to her side and sighed. “You’re just saying that because you don’t want me to burst into tears.”

“That’s part of it, but I’m telling the truth, too.”

“How do you figure?”

He wrapped his other arm around her and stared into her eyes. They weren’t exactly body-to-body, not with her belly jutting out between them, but the almost-contact still felt nice and safe. Plus he was really easy to look at.

“You have a job,” he said.

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