Page 39 of Laying His Claim
Melanie swallowed her bite of macaron and then stared down at the piece left in her hand, looking sad and contemplative. “Not so good these days. My cook got head-hunted by a restaurant in San Francisco. Upped sticks and left without so much as giving notice. And she’d been with me from the beginning!”
No cook? Jalissa felt bad for Melanie, but her heart leaped, nonetheless. What if…? Could she? Should she? “I can help you, if you want!” she blurted eagerly.
Melanie gave her a surprised look. “Help me? Are you sure?”
Now that the bee was in her bonnet, she refused to let it escape. “Yes! I’m an excellent cook! I even trained formally!” True, she still didn’t remember taking the classes, but she had the certification to prove it, and she was sure that the knowledge was still buried in her head, just waiting to be accessed. Hadn’t she been cooking for Justin almost all month?
“Give me a chance,” she pleaded. “Let’s set something up. A trial. I can come to your restaurant and prepare three courses. If you like it, you can take me on for a month.”
She waited on Melanie’s answer, hoping that her eagerness didn’t show on her face. But inside, a voice was saying,please-please-please.
Melanie finished her macaron in a single bite, relishing it, and then handed over her business card with a smile. “Honey, if your main courses are anything like your macarons, I’ll be lucky to have you.”
The Mommy and Me session wrapped up, and Jalissa returned home with Seb, eager to share her news with Justin. In the days since that dreadful encounter with Lorena, he had been extra accommodating to her, as if he was deeply ashamed of not believing her, and wanted to make it up to her.
Justin had hired a large cleaning crew for the daunting cleanup operation, which included replacing the carpet and some furniture in Seb’s room. It took a couple of days, thus sparing them the nightmare of prolonged disaster recovery, which meant they’d spent a week in the two-bedroom condo apartment Kalilah had leased when she’d first returned to Montreal for a divorce from Finn.
Of course, Jalissa had forgiven him and they’d sealed the deal during that first night in the condo with a long, slow, sweet session of lovemaking that had lasted well into the early hours. She had begun to crave his touch so intensely that when he left the house for work, she felt as if the very marrow in her bones was missing. One day while they both played with Seb on the floor of the condo, she’d asked him about how he’d spent the eighteen months she was in the coma.
“Just come right out and ask what you want to know,” he said with a sigh.
He was right. They shared a bed, a baby and were engaged so she had a right to know if he slept with anyone while she was in the coma.
“Did you have sex with anyone while I was comatose? It was a long time to be celibate.” She didn’t know how she would feel if he said yes. On one hand she was close to death but on the other…
“Jalissa,” he began, and before he could say anything else, Seb began to wail. Jalissa gathered her son in her arms and rocked him. When Seb finally fell asleep and Justin carried him to the crib in the spare bedroom Justin came up behind her in the kitchen and pinned her against the counter.
His masculine scent and power surrounded her like a warm blanket, causing goosebumps against her flesh. He nibbled on her ear and warmth pooled within her center.
“It’s easy to be celibate when the one person you care for is fighting for her life. When that person is carrying your baby and the doctors aren’t sure that either will survive, sex is the last thing on your mind. The only thing on your mind is their health and recovery.” He paused to kiss down her neck, and she moaned. When he stopped the tingling trail and returned to her ear, she opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. “For nine months I prayed for the health of our baby and the strength of his mother to survive his birth.
I moved from Ottawa to Montreal and bought the house that, before your accident, you’d stare at while we drove and tell me it only needed some love and it would be perfect for a family. I spent more than ten hours a day renovating and reading building designs for our house. The other hours I spent at your bedside, talking to you and watching our growing son move within you. When the miracle of Seb’s birth happened, I spent the next nine months caring for our son so that when you woke up, everything would be perfect for you.”
He turned her around to face him now. His grey eyes were now glossy. “No, I didn’t have time to have sex with anyone else. I was too busy planning our future, praying for your recovery, and pestering Kaiya and your doctors. I haven’t looked at another woman since I saw you two years ago.”
“Justin…” before Jalissa could finish what she was about to say, he claimed her full lips and lifted her unto the counter. What followed was wild, heated and intense.
The following days at the condo were spent playing with their son, barbecuing, cooking together and playing board games. At night, after putting their son to bed, they discussed varied topics like politics, climate change and even their relationship before her accident. Justin only answered what she asked concerning their relationship and added in nothing more, which made her wonder about their past relationship. Jalissa learned more about the man she was engaged to like the fact that he had wanted a daughter instead of a son and he was more of a pig person verses having a cat or a dog. She also learned that the condo where they were currently staying might have been where their son was conceived.
They were in a good place now, and she’d do anything not to disrupt that.
When they finally returned home, it was almost as if nothing had ever happened.
Even though the past week felt like it had been heaven, Jalissa knew it was time for the next step. Somehow she needed to find a way to make use of her talents, especially after having been cooped up for so long.
As soon as they got home, Jalissa burst into Justin’s home office with Seb in her arms, crackling with electric excitement. “Justin!” She realized he was on the phone and had to cool her heels in anguish for another two minutes before he concluded his business and hung up.
He gave her an indulgent, welcoming smile. “That must have been some Mommy and Me class.”
“You haven’t heard the half of it!” Jalissa proceeded to spill out all the details, about how well she and Melanie had been getting along, about the problems at the restaurant, and how excited she was at the possibility of working there. “I could be getting a job, Justin. A real job!”
His face was impassive, and she wasn’t sure that was altogether a good thing.
“Do youwanta job?” he finally asked her.
“Yes, of course. What do you—”
“We have more than enough money for you to stay home and care for our son for as long as you want.”
