“He doesn’t know. I haven’t had a chance to tell him. I just finalized the details today.”
A grin spread over her face that had absolutely nothing to do with soccer or HotShots whatsoever. SheknewJake was a part of my decision, and it made look away. As much as her acceptance meant, I wasn’t comfortable talking about Jake’s and my relationship because I honestly wasn’t sure we had one. I didn’t know if Jake would bolt once I was settled in here at Reedsport.
We watched Harrison for a while as he showed us a few different moves. I’d finished my beer in the time we waited for Jake, and when he still didn’t return, I began to worry. I glanced at my phone and guessed we only had about a half hour or so before Wyatt would call me to bring Harrison home. Wanting to spend a little more time with him before we left, I stood to go play with him. Katheryn called my name before I reached the last step, and I peered over my shoulder.
“Jake knows a good thing when he sees it. Sometimes it just takes him a little while to accept it.”
I understood her plea to be patient and all I could do was nod. It encouraged me that after only a few hours together, Katheryn could see what Jake and I had was the real deal. Now I just neededhimto see it.
When I turned back to Harris, he was focused on something at the side of the house. I followed his gaze to see Jake wandering slowly back to where we were. His eyes were downcast, steps slow, and he looked torn. No, not torn… focused, maybe.
“I’ll be right back, okay?” I said to Harrison and he nodded.
Jake heard me and glanced up, stopping when he saw me approach. I couldn’t read his face and it made me nervous.
“I was starting to wonder where you went.”
“I thought I saw a net in the shed last time I was back there, so I was going to get it for Harris, but it’s too small.”
A beat of awkward silence passed between us and I took a breath. “I talked to Rome today.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been waiting for a chance to tell you.”
“And? How’d it go?”
“The condensed version is I’ll be buying into his business as soon as we can get the paperwork drawn up.”
Jake’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I’m going to be co-owner.”
“Holy shit, Rey! That’s great. Congratulations!”
I held his gaze as I said, “Which means I’m really not going anywhere.”
This was the moment of truth, when either Jake would say he couldn’t handle being with me long term, or he’d take a leap of faith. I held my breath as I waited.
Jake studied me for a few seconds, shoving his hands into his pockets. The strong, confident man I’d come to know the last couple of months looked unbelievably nervous as he took a step forward. I couldn’t resist putting a hand on his arm, relieved he was moving toward me and not away. I could feel his breath against my skin.
“Okay, truth is I’ve been trying to figure out how to say something without feeling like I’m fourteen,” he said. He was unbelievably cute, all nervous and jittery, and it made me chuckle. I kinda felt like I was fourteen too. “Today in the locker room, all I could think about was getting to you. After a long day, all I wanted was to see you again. So when I thought I’d have to wait to see you because of Harrison, it just… bugged me, I guess. You were the one person I trusted to make today better, and for a second, I thought I wouldn’t be able to.”
I wanted to say the feeling was mutual, that he always made my days better too, but I held back, sensing he wasn’t done.
“I guess what I’m saying is, I want to try to make this work.”
I smiled and pulled him against me. “There’s nothing totry,babe. We’re already doing it. You and I have worked from the moment we met.”
“You want more though,” he said softly, still not meeting my eyes. “You said so on the beach and I can see it every time you look at me.”
“Jake, look at me. You know I don’t have any crazy expectations, right? This is all new to me too, so I have no idea what the future holds. Before you, I barely thought about anything except soccer, but now… it’s all you. Well, and the kids. But mostly you. I just want to be with you. Every day.”
Jake let out a breath and raised one eyebrow. “Just the days?”
“Oh, I think nights are a given,” I said with a laugh. “IknowI haven’t seen even half of your underwear collection.”
Jake laughed, but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “No, not even close.”
