Page 21 of With This Wish

I hear my mom sniffle. “He sounds lovely. I’m sure we will.”

“Of course we will. He’s our grandson,” my father says gruffly. A loaded silence hangs over the phone as I wait for my dad to give me the green light on my idea. “I can tell this means a lot to you, and in no way do I want to keep you from your son, but as much as I want to just say yes to what you’re asking, Jacob, I can’t make a business decision based on emotion or nepotism. You may have changed, but I certainly haven’t. I don’t feel right saying yes to this without going through proper procedure.”

I nod even though I am alone in the room and exhale the breath I’d been holding while I waited for his decision. “Okay. I’ll put together a formal business plan and come back into the city to present it to you and Anton. I’ll schedule with Heather as soon as I have a date worked out.” I’m already mentally starting to put things together, but there’s one last thing I need to mention before I get off the phone. “Oh, and Dad, thanks for the opportunity.”

My father scoffs, offended at my thinking he wouldn’t hear me out, even though we both know that has happened in the past. “You don’t need to thank me. Just work on that plan because as much as I feel like I’m going to end up losing money on it, I really want to say yes.” He pauses for a moment, a heavy breath coming through the line. “I want you to be able to take care of our grandbaby.”

“So do I,” I tell them. After promising to send lots of pictures and give plenty of details about JJ to them over the coming days, I hang up the phone. About two minutes later, my mother texts, telling me to ask Maya when they can come for a visit. I laugh at that because as much as my parents were all about schedules and routines for me, I have the feeling they are going to be a lot looser when it comes to my kid. Spontaneous trips to the mountains to come see him, late bedtimes, unlimited sugar, and buying him whatever he wants are just a few of the things I can already imagine them doing.

With that call out of the way, I decide that taking the next few hours to work on my business plan is probably the best use of my time. I would try to work at Hodgepodge, but with both Maya and JJ there, I will get next to nothing accomplished. I shoot off a quick text, letting Maya know I’ll be there for lunch and set my phone aside, wanting all my focus to be on this plan. The future I want to create with Maya depends on it.

Chapter Seventeen

Maya

Sundays are always the best, and not just because I don’t have to go into the store for work. Sunday is my favorite day of the week because I get to spend the whole day with my son, and now Jake too. Jake came early this morning, bringing a box of donuts from the small place down the street and a stuffed dragon for JJ. It’s green, of course, and our little guy took to it immediately, snuggling it tightly and thanking Jake with the biggest hug yet. Breaking the news to JJ that Jake is his dad is something that has been on my to-do list for the past day or so, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to Jake about our future together yet. We had planned to last night, but JJ was having a difficult time sleeping and wouldn’t stay in his bed unless I stayed there with him. Jake said he understood and went back to his rental, and while every part of me wanted to beg him to stay, I let him go, sticking to the routine we’ve become accustomed to just to keep things simple.

It’s kind of funny, how our roles have reversed a bit. Now it’s me talking about getting upstairs for naps and eating dinner around the same time while Jake has totally embraced the unpredictability that comes with any toddler. No matter what our son’s mood, Jake just rolls with it, trying to comfort him if he’s upset or make him laugh when he’s happy. He also seems to be fine with the times we’ve almost kissed and gotten interrupted by our kid while I am going crazy with the need to just make it happen. It’s roughly thirty degrees outside every day, but I might as well be walking around in a bikini for all the cold I feel. My skin is hot and itchy, my palms sweat with nerves, and my hands twitch with the need to explore his body. More than all that, though, there is such an ache in my lower belly from how my body craves to be with him that the number of times I’ve had to excuse myself to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face would be hilarious if it weren’t so damned frustrating.

Even now as Jake slices veggies up for JJ to snack on while Carter makes dinner, I’m leaning against the counter, drooling at the sight of the sturdy forearms poking out from beneath the sleeves of his sweater. When he bends over to pick up a carrot that rolled off the ledge, I bite down on my lower lip to keep from whimpering at the sight of that tight rear end, perfectly encased in a pair of dark-wash jeans that look good on him but would look even better on the floor of my bedroom. Damn it. The man has me so twisted up I’m even thinking cheesy pick-up lines in my head.

“Mommy uppy?” JJ asks from beside me. Grateful for the thought interruption, I smile and pick him up while willing myself to calm down. JJ is a nice reminder to keep it in my pants, metaphorically and physically. Until we have the future squared away, there’s no use in me lusting after a man who may never be mine.

Carter pops into view as he drains the pasta over the sink, ending my lustful thoughts once and for all. My brother has been supportive of the time I’m spending with Jake, but he’s warned me not to get caught up in the magic like I did last time, at least not until I know what the plan is. “Dinner should be ready in a few. Sue texted me about ten minutes ago saying she would be a little late and to not wait on her to start eating.”

I snort. “Yeah, okay, Sue,” I say sarcastically. Bouncing JJ on my hip as Jake offers him a toddler-sized bite of carrot, I roll my eyes at my honorary aunt’s words. Sue may be the one of the most helpful people on the planet, and she has helped Carter and I through our grief as best she could while not living in the same town, but she is a stickler for certain things.

“Why do you sound like she’ll be mad if we eat before she gets here?” Jake asks, popping a small bit of carrot into his mouth. As I am momentarily distracted by the sight of Jake’s full lips moving together like I want them to be doing all over me, Carter chimes in for me.

“Even though she is the one running late, Sue would consider it the height of impropriety if we were to dine without her,” Carter says in a haughty accent. “Probably something she picked up from all those Regency romance novels she reads.” Carter dumps the drained pasta into the sauce and gives it a stir.

“I read those too and you won’t see me holding anyone up from their meal, especially not a two-year-old.” I tweak JJ’s nose, earning a small giggle from my baby. “It’s a good thing Daddy is cutting up some samples for you, huh?” I say. The realization of what just came out of my mouth hits only when I see both Carter and Jake staring at me. My breath quickens and my heart races. I hadn’t planned on just blurting it out like that, but maybe this will be a good thing.

“Here you go, bud. I got a little cucumber for you,” Jake says, saving me from my panic spiral. When our eyes meet, he nods and smiles, telling me with one look that the slip-up was okay and he won’t hold me to what I said. My heartbeat slows, but my mind doesn’t. Don’t I want him to hold me to it? JJ needs his daddy, and that’s what Jake is. It’s what our son should call him.

Twenty minutes later, Sue has arrived and the five of us sit at the table to enjoy our meal, the “Daddy” incident forgotten for the time being. “So, Jake,” Sue starts. From her expression, it seems she’s ready to begin another round of asking Jake as many questions as she possibly can. “You’re a business consultant, right? What would you recommend I do to drum up more business for my medical equipment company?”

Jake wipes his mouth with a cloth napkin and takes a sip of water before answering her. After narrowing his gaze slightly, his eyes flicker to me for a moment before they move back to her. “Well, not knowing your business very much, I would assume it’s absolutely perfect and doesn’t need one single change,” he tells her with a smile.

Sue barks and laugh and slaps her hand on the table. “Okay. Now tell me how you really feel because as much as I would like to, I’m not falling for that baloney.” Sue has always been a sassy lady, and I know her heart is in the right place, but it feels like she’s testing Jake when I’m trying to make things easier so he’ll stay.

“Very well,” Jake tells her, leaning forward in his chair slightly. “As I mentioned, I don’t know anything about your business specifically, but if you really want to make more sales you could look at the social media accounts. As much as it might pain some people to hear it, that kind of marketing is a necessary part of doing business these days, even with something as crucial as medical equipment.”

“You mean I have to start filming myself dancing around like some crazy person on plip-plop, or clock stop, or whatever you kids call it?” Hearing Sue refer to two thirty-year-olds and a twenty-six-year-old as kids is funny. I use social media for the store, but even I’m not brave enough to do any of those viral dance crazes just to get more traffic.

Jake shakes his head and grabs a slice of garlic bread from the basket on the table. “I don’t think you need to go that far, though I’m sure these three would get a kick out of it,” he says, waving the bread around the table. “What I mean is, posting pictures or videos of your supplies in use. Maybe get some testimonials about just how helpful it can be. Let people get to know what goes on after the sale. Why not use that to your advantage and sell them a story that will warm their hearts at the same time it opens their wallets?”

Sue nods thoughtfully before grabbing some garlic bread for herself. “Not a bad idea, Mister.” She bites into the slice and chews heavily. “If I do that and see enough increase in business, I’ll even name our bestselling bedpan after you.”

Jake chuckles and holds up a hand. “Thank you, but there’s no need for that. I enjoy helping people grow their business. It’s part of why I went into consulting.” He looks over at me and smiles sweetly. “Besides. You’re important to Maya, so you doing well is important to me.”

I blush under his and everyone else’s attention. Grabbing JJ’s plate, I make a beeline for the kitchen and busy myself with restocking his supply of cut veggies even though I’m sure he’s done for the night.

My body stiffens as I feel a presence at my back. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Jake whispers from behind me. His hand rests on the small of my back like it has been over the last week. It’s a comforting gesture and I feel myself sinking into it. It’s also a possessive one and I am enjoying feeling like I belong to him more than I should, especially since we haven’t talked yet.

My body turns to face him like it always does, finding its true north and wanting to stay pointed there always. “You didn’t,” I admit, biting my lower lip for a moment. “We need to talk. Will you stay? Even if JJ takes forever to go to sleep, even if I have to lay in there for an hour with him, will you stay so we can figure things out?”

Jake nods and rubs his hands up and down my arms. “Of course I’ll stay.” I wish it was the answer to the question I’m afraid to ask, but that will have to wait at least until we get our little boy settled for the night.

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