Page 10 of Forever, Finally

“I’m a friend who expects you to cook me dinner while you’re living with me.”

She gave a strangled laugh that was perilously close to a sob. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. She settled against him, liking how strong he felt. Jake was solid—physically and emotionally. He always had been.

She pressed her nose against his shirt and inhaled the scent of his body. He smelled sexy and male. Her mood lifted as she thought about how horrified he would be if he knew she’d thought of him as sexy. Jake saw her as a sister—currently a very pregnant sister.

“Come on,” he said, leading the way up the stairs. “I’ll help you pack.”

In less than an hour, she was tucked into his guest-room bed with a cup of hot chocolate on the nightstand. Despite what had happened, she felt safe, comfortable and optimistic. And guilty for dragging Jake out in the middle of the night.

“Better?” he asked from the doorway.

She nodded. “I know the house is going to be okay, once it’s dry. My big worry is that I’m taking advantage of you. First you helped me with the painting and tile, then the move, now this.”

He crossed to the bed and sat down next to her. His dark hair fell across his forehead and his eyes crinkled as he smiled.

“Who goes with me every year to help me buy birthday presents for my sisters and my mom?”

She dismissed the question with a wave. “But that’s shopping. I like to shop.”

“Uh-huh. And who taught me how to cook the best chili in the firehouse?”

Lily thought about all the compliments Jake’s fellow firefighters had given her and grinned. “That was pretty special.”

“And who picked out my living-room furniture and helped me when I tore out the backyard to put in the big patio?”

“That would be me.”

He shrugged. “That’s what we do for each other. We’re there at crunch time.”

“I know, but things have felt inequitable since the whole Michael disaster. I don’t want you to feel I’m taking advantage of you.”

“I don’t.”

He probably didn’t, she thought fondly. Jake was that kind of man. The good kind.

“You’re very special,” she said as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “One of these days you’re going to meet someone amazing, get married and forget I even exist.”

“That will never happen.”

“Want to bet?”

He studied her face. “I’ll never forget you, Lil. You know that.”

Her throat got all tight and something unexpected quivered in her stomach. This wasn’t the baby—she’d grown used to those fluttery feelings. This was something else. Something…erotic.

Horrified, Lily sank back against the pillow. What was wrong with her? Was this a hormonal reaction to her pregnancy? She hadn’t had any serious food cravings. Couldn’t she just want cookie dough ice cream or pound cake? Did she have to get the nibbles for Jake?

“I know,” she said, going for cheerful and having a bad feeling the words came out kind of squished. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He nodded and rose, then headed for the bedroom door. She watched him go.

When she was alone, she reached for the hot chocolate and considered the problem. Whatever was wrong with her, she had to get it fixed and pronto. Maybe she was just reacting to the whole rescue thing. Jake had experienced women wanting to go out with him after he’d saved them from a burning building. He was a fire fighter, which meant he had built-in hero potential.

Her water heater had committed suicide and he’d been there in a flash. Of course she was feeling stuff.

But what that “stuff” might be and what it could mean was better left unexplored. She and Jake had been friends forever. She didn’t want anything to mess that up.

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