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She shuddered at the thought of her mother’s reaction. Altering a few minor details wouldn’t change the story. Quickly she went back and changed Jake’s name to simply J before she continued.
When I was about twelve, I first saw J. He was our neighbor’s gardener’s son and as I mentioned a whole five years older than me. God, I couldn’t stop staring at him. At that age I didn’t know why I’d gotten that soft squishy feeling inside every time I saw him, especially with his shirt off <g>. Anyway, my mother had forbidden me to “fraternize” with him and since I was an obedient daughter in those days I never said a word to him. Only worshiped him from afar. <major sigh>
Today I saw him again. Shirt off, looking extremely buff. Frankly, I’m surprised he still lives around here. Oh, hell, something just occurred to me. I hope he’s not married. Well, better go see if he’s wearing a ring.
Oh, question. How direct should I be? I don’t want to turn him off or anything, but I want to make sure he knows it’s only about sex. No sleeping in late and reading the paper together. No meeting the folks. Just sex. Should I lay it on the line right off the bat? Most men would jump at the chance at no-strings-attached sex, right?
Really anxious to hear from you all. Have to admit I’m a little nervous. Okay, my hands are shaking here. Write to me soon, okay?
Thanks! You guys are the best.
Angel
Tori signed off, closed her laptop and hurried to the window. She couldn’t see him, but an old red truck was parked in the back that had to belong to him.
She stopped at her vanity mirror to check her reflection, added a touch of color to each cheekbone, calculatedly tousled her hair and then headed for the back servants’ stairs that ended up off the pantry. That way she wouldn’t run into her mother. She doubted Marian Whitford had ever even seen the kitchen.
Mission accomplished, Tori got down the stairs and through the kitchen without seeing a soul. But just as she got to the back door, Mallory entered from the dining room.
Her sister gave her a wry smile. “Where are you going?” Her smile widened, her gaze straying out the kitchen window toward the truck. “Let me guess.”
Tori sighed. “Mallory…”
“Hey, if I could I’d go for it.” She opened the pantry door and dug around the canisters of flour and sugar and then pulled out a bottle of gin.
Tori frowned.
“I’m sick of mom getting on my case,” Mallory said, shrugging, as she poured a drink. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
Tori hesitated. She and her sister had just started to get close before Tori had gone off to college. She didn’t want to stir anything up but she couldn’t keep her mouth shut, either. “You do seem to be drinking a lot.”
“You would, too, if you were married to Richard.” Mallory sighed and then took a long sip. “Go find Jake before he leaves.”
Tori’s chest tightened. The resignation in Mallory’s voice and face really got to her. But there wasn’t much more she could say right now. Later, away from the house, they’d have a talk. When Mallory turned away and headed toward the dining room, Tori escaped out the back door.
As soon as she rounded the hydrangea bush, she saw that the truck was gone. She thought she heard an engine and hurried toward the driveway. Jake stood outside the truck’s open door, pulling on his shirt, while the other man loaded shovels and other equipment onto the bed.
Tori’s mouth went dry as she stared at the stretch of taut skin across his belly until he pulled the shirt hem down. Swallowing hard, she moistened her lips and touched her hair. The other man climbed in, and Jake got behind the wheel and started to reverse the truck before she could get her wits about her.
She rushed toward them but apparently he didn’t see her. He stopped briefly and then shifted into Drive and started to roll forward just as she got to the back of the truck. Tongue-tied suddenly, she hesitated. She hadn’t actually spoken to him before. He probably didn’t even know her name. What the hell should she say?
He started to pull away.
“Jake!”
Slowly he turned to her, glancing out of the open window, his dark eyes not at all surprised as if he’d seen her coming, his lips barely curving into a smile. “Hello, Victoria,” he said casually, as if they’d just talked yesterday.
She smiled back.
And then he drove down the driveway and through the double white gates without looking back.
VICTORIA WHITFORD.
Shit, he almost hadn’t recognized her. When had she gotten back?
Another driver blared his horn at Jake as he pulled his father’s old truck onto the highway and narrowly missed the white Honda.
Hector jumped. “You okay, amigo?”
“Yeah. I forgot this relic doesn’t have any guts. My father should’ve gotten rid of it years ago.”
“No way. Not him.” Hector stuck his arm out the window and hit the outside of the passenger’s door. “This is good enough. He doesn’t go any farther than the Whitfords’ or the grocery store these days.”
Jake shook his head. He hated that his father continued to work when he could retire. Why he even wanted to work for people like the Whitfords was a mystery. Yet he’d meticulously tended their garden for over twenty years, and this was the first time he’d so much as missed a day’s work. Even with two slipped discs and a pinched nerve, he probably would have tried to make it if Jake hadn’t caved in and agreed to take over for two weeks.
He could have trusted Hector with the Whitfords’ grounds. Jake often sent him over to help his dad under the pretense that business was slow and Jake needed to give the man work. But if his father got wind of it, the old man would be climbing into his overalls and work boots in seconds flat.
“Amigo?”
Jake glanced at Hector.
“I think you missed the turn.”
“What?” Jake realized he’d just passed his dad’s street and cursed under his breath.
Hector chuckled. “Who was the chica? An old girlfriend, maybe?”
“Who?”
“The one back there that’s made you loco.”
Jake snorted. “Victoria Whitford? I wasn’t even thinking about her,” he said and ignored Hector’s disbelieving grunt.
“I think she wanted you to stop.”
“I doubt it.” Hell, he didn’t think she even knew his name. She and her sister had always been off-limits. Even as kids they’d had no contact.
His father had forbidden him to so much as speak to either of the girls. Not that Jake had anything in common with them. Most of the time they were off at boarding school. He’d been lucky to keep his ass in River Oaks High without getting thrown out.
“Me, I would have stopped.” Hector slicked back his hair and inspected his swarthy, handsome face in the side mirror. “She looked muy fine.”
Jake smiled. Yeah, she looked good all right. But even Hector’s impressive reputation with the ladies at Huey’s Bar and Grill wouldn’t help him get an invite to the Whitfords’ front door.
“I don’t remember seeing her before,” Hector said. “Only the other one, the blonde.”
Jake used the gravel road running around to the back of his father’s cottage. The same small, two-bedroom house Jake and his older sister had practically grown up in after their mother died. The place belonged to the Whitfords. Just like most everything on the block. “I don’t know. And I sure as hell don’t care.”
Hector eyed him curiously as they got out of the truck. “For someone who doesn’t know her, amigo, it sure sounds like you don’t like her.”
Jake didn’t miss the irony of Hector’s observation. The truth was, it felt damn good to walk away from a Whitford. Not kowtow to them like his father had done for the past twenty years. But damn if he wasn’t curious about what Victoria had wanted. And damn if Hector wasn’t right. She looked mighty fine.
2
TORI ERASED THE FIRST sentence to her e-mail buddies. It sounded too whiny and undignified. Pathetic, actually. Kind of like when Melissa Hastings had announced to their sorority house that she’d had the hots for Charles Zimmer III, and he overheard and transferred out of their mutual classes. Everyone had gone overboard pretending they hadn’t noticed the snub.
She adjusted the pillows behind her, pulled the 800-thread-count sheet over her bare legs and then returned her attention to her laptop. First, none of her cohorts knew who she was, and second, this wasn’t the same situation. Jake hadn’t really snubbed her. He simply hadn’t realized she wanted to chat.
They didn’t even know each other. So how the hell was she going to get him in bed?
For reinforcement, she scrolled back to the encouraging e-mail she’d received from Taylor.
To: Angel
From: Taylor@EvesApple.com
Subject: Congratulations!!!
How cool!! I’m so happy for you. Great feeling when you know he’s the one, huh? Reminded me of how excited I was when I first saw Ben again after all those years. Got me all tingly.
Anyway, the thing you have to ask yourself is what do you have to lose. And is it worth it? Obviously, I’d advise being direct and let him know what you want since it worked for me. If for some alien, bonehead reason he turns you down, yes, your pride will sting. And then you’ll get over it. But if you don’t go for it, and he gets away, you’ll kick yourself until the next millennium.
I’d bet anything he’s been as curious about you as YOU ARE about him. Go, girl! Strike while the iron is hot. I can’t wait to hear about what happens! My fingers and toes are crossed for you.
Love and kisses,
Taylor, who’s sending good vibes your way
Smiling at Taylor’s enthusiasm, Tori still wished she’d heard from the other girls, too. Of course Taylor would be enthusiastic after her fairy-tale marriage to Ben. He’d been her first and best sexual experience. She’d wanted to get him out of her system so she could move on with her life. They’d ended up at the altar.
Great for them. But that wasn’t how Tori wanted her chapter to end. She really and truly just wanted a fling. Eventually she’d get married. But Jake wasn’t suitable husband material.
After sending Taylor a personal thank-you, she went back to review her e-mail, and see how it read after having deleted the first sentence.
To: The Gang at Eve’s Apple
From: Angel@EvesApple.com
Subject: Initial Contact
Okay, so this isn’t as easy as it sounded. My first attempt at engaging J in conversation ended up with me running after his truck like a moron. He didn’t stop. Just said hello, and then drove off. It wasn’t as if I had time to piss him off. Besides, I don’t really know the guy.
Oh God, maybe he is married. Of course I’ll back off. But I’ll wallow in self-pity for a week. Maybe even a month. I wish you all could see him. I kid you not when I say he’s to die for.
I know you all are busy, but I need to move fast (I have an appointment calendar that won’t quit) and I’m still floundering a little. Any thoughts?
Wish me luck.
Angel
Tori had just pressed Send when she heard a light knock at her door. Quickly she logged off and closed her computer.
“Victoria? Are you still awake?”
She almost answered her mother but thought better of it and slowly slid beneath the covers. Duty would call soon enough. For now she’d plan her attack and dream about Jake.
“HERE SHE COMES.”
Jake used his shirtsleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow and then looked to see what Hector was talking about.
Holding a glass in each hand, Victoria came down the slope from the house. She had on white shorts and a pink shirt. Her legs sure had gotten long in the past few years.
Hector slicked his hair back and gave a low appreciative whistle. Not loud enough for her to hear. Just loud enough to annoy Jake.
He laid the shovel he’d been using against the flagstone retaining wall and pulled off his gloves. “Get the fertilizer out of the truck, will you?”
“Now?” Hector shot him a peeved look.
“Now.”
The other man sighed, laid down his shovel and muttered something under his breath as he shot Victoria a parting look before heading for the truck parked a good hundred yards away.
As she got closer, Jake had to force his gaze away from her breasts, the way they bounced with each step and strained against the stretchy fabric. Normally he was a leg man, had a real weakness for slim ankles. But the closer she got, the more he realized there wasn’t much about Victoria that didn’t interest him.
“Hi,” she said, smiling. “Jake, right?”
He nodded, curious as hell. What could she possibly want?
“Of course you’ve changed. And we’ve never really formally met…”
“I know who you are, Victoria.”
“Tori.” Her almond-shaped hazel eyes met his. She had one of those sultry looks that could distract a man if he weren’t careful. “That’s what my friends call me. Oh, here.”
He took the lemonade she offered, and decided not to point out that they weren’t friends. “Thanks.”
She tilted her head to the side, her eyes holding his captive. “I think this is the first time we’ve talked, isn’t it?”
He nodded, and took a long cool sip as he waited her out.
She moistened her lips, darted a look toward Hector. “How’s your dad? I haven’t seen him since I’ve been back.”
“He’s laid up with a bad back.”
“Sorry to hear about that.” She smiled. “At least he has you helping him.”
“Right.” He drained his lemonade just as Hector got back and dropped the bag of fertilizer near Jake’s boots.
“For me?” he asked Tori, glancing at the glass she held and giving her one of his lady-killer grins.
