Page 50 of From the Moment We Met

Chapter Ten

Jacob

Jacob pulled up to the entrance of the shelter and watched Lilly walk out. She stopped to tie her shoe, gifting him with a fantastic view of her ass and legs when she bent over. He hopped out of the car and opened her door.

Lilly slid in, the surprise on her face was undeniable. “Wow, thank you, most guys don’t do that anymore.”

Jacob returned to the driver’s, grabbing her hand and kissing her inner wrist. “I’m not most men.”

With a radiant smile, she ran her hand along the dash. “It’s a beautiful machine. She’s got more than five hundred horses under the hood, right?”

Jacob chuckled. “563, to be exact. Why do I suspect you know more about it than I do?”

“I’ve always been a tomboy, more interested in cars than dolls.”

He came to the on-ramp for the highway and headed north, garnering a look of confusion from Lilly.

“I’m no expert with London roads, but I think my cottage is that way.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder, pointing southward.

Jacob nodded his eyes on the road. “I know.”

Lilly licked her lips and Jacob fought the urge to park the car, pull her into his seat and kiss her until neither of them could see straight.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going or is this when you drive me into the woods to murder me?”

Jacob smiled. “I’ll keep you alive a little longer.”

“Gee, thanks.”

He chuckled. “I wanted to stop by my house if that’s okay with you.”

“Do I have a choice?” Lilly grinned.

“Not really.”

A lilting song about love lost came over the speakers, and Jacob saw Lilly’s face light up with recognition.

“We played this at my father’s funeral; a reminder of the sunshine when the skies were cloudy.”

Jacob turned up the volume as Lilly’s eyes focused somewhere past the window. The song was hauntingly beautiful, a memorial to days and people long gone. Jacob realized all Lilly had left of her family were memories. She looked so fragile in the passenger seat, and he felt an inherent desire to protect her from all harm in this world.

The song ended, and Lilly sighed, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. “Thank you.”

He looped his fingers through hers. “You are ridiculously easy to please.”

Lilly gazed out the windshield, her mind still replaying memories. “I guess that’s how it is when you’re not heaped in expectations. I appreciate the little things because that's what you remember down the road. You forget the fights and remember the laughter instead.”

Jacob couldn’t comprehend her pain. He kept people and emotions at arms’ length, focusing solely on his career. He could play the role of the brokenhearted, downtrodden man, but he never experienced the loss that Lilly endured.

“Do you miss them?”

Lilly nodded, continuing to gaze out the windshield. “Every day. But I know they’re somewhere beautiful.” When she looked at him, a tear slipped down her cheek. “And I have the memories, so many memories.”

Jacob wiped his thumb across her cheek, keeping one eye on the road, his heart tightening at the sight of her tears.

Lilly looked down, embarrassed. “You must think I’m so silly, all this from a song. Me and my damn music.” She rubbed her eyes and rolled her shoulders, composing herself.

“Don’t do that.”

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