Page 4 of Forever, Finally

“You don’t have to buy this house right now,” he told her. “You could wait.”

She smiled at him. “As usual, you’re reading my mind. But I’m going to keep telling myself to feel the fear and do it anyway. I want this, Jake. I’m done putting my life on hold waiting for Mr. Right to show up. I’ve proven time and time again that I have lousy taste when it comes to men.” She turned the lock.

“Present company excluded.”

“We’re not romantically involved.”

“Exactly. You’re the only decent guy I know and we’ve never gone out. Why is that?”

Before he could answer, she laughed. “Oh, yeah. I remember. Because you only date girls under the age of twenty-five who used to be either cheerleaders or beauty contestants. Mind telling me why?”

“Because they say yes when I ask them out.”

“Gee, how about asking out someone with a brain or a little ambition?”

“Maybe. For a change.”

Someone like her? he wondered. Was that the solution to his problem? To find a woman exactly like Lily? Was that possible? Or would he just spend his time comparing her to Lily and watching her fall short of what he really wanted?

“I’m a mess,” Lily said cheerfully. “A mess whose days of seeing her feet are numbered.”

“But a homeowner,” he reminded her.

“Soon.”

They walked to his truck.

Jake gave her a hand up into the seat and did his best not to react when her fingers closed around his. Heat flashed through him, making him want to pull her close and brush his mouth against hers. Telling himself she was pregnant didn’t seem to decrease his libido, so he settled on the cold hard truth that she wasn’t interested in him. Not that way.

“Did I tell you I had loan approval?” she asked as he slid behind the wheel.

“No. That’s a big step.”

“About the final one. Apparently I’m the first lottery winner the mortgage company has had to deal with.” Humor brightened her green eyes. “If we’d won millions I wouldn’t have needed the loan at all. As it is I had to send them a letter explaining where the down-payment money came from. There were many questions.”

“I’ll bet.”

He put the truck in reverse. As he glanced behind him to check for oncoming traffic, he saw her shoulders slump. He had a feeling he knew the reason.

After years of playing the lottery, Lily, Rachel and Jenna had finally scored a five-hundred-thousand dollar jackpot. It had come on the heels of Lily being left at the altar by that jerk she’d nearly married. The money hadn’t mended her broken heart, but it had provided a distraction. Unfortunately, the three friends had had a falling out and hadn’t spoken in months.

“Rachel and Jenna?” he asked gently.

She swatted his arm. “Stop knowing what I’m thinking.”

“I can’t help it.”

She sighed. “I know. Sorry. Yes, it’s them. I miss them.”

“So call.”

“I want to, it’s just…” she shrugged “…complicated.”

“You miss them. You care about them. Call.”

“Stop making it sound so easy.”

“It is,” he said. “With push-button phones you don’t even have the trouble of dialing anymore.”

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