A Reclusive Heart
Page 56
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“It will have anything you want in it, sweetheart.”
She reached up and cupped his face. “What if I want you? Can I have you?”
“You already have me, Jamie,” he swore, turning his head to press a kiss against her palm.
“In that case I’ll take a double shot of hot fudge in it,” she said, grinning impishly up at him.
He chuckled as he leaned down and kissed her. “I guess it’s too bad that I lied then, huh?”
“I really do hate you,” she said, sighing against his lips as she kissed him back.
“Too late, Jamie. I already know that you love me.”
“Do you love me?” she asked, shyly.
He moved back just enough to look into her beautiful caramel eyes. “So much that it hurts, Jamie. You’re my world.”
“I think you should prove it with chocolate.”
“I just bet that you do,” he said, chuckling as he leaned in to cut off her protests with a kiss that probably wasn’t appropriate for a hospital room, but he couldn’t help himself. The little recluse set him on fire and holy hell did he burn for her.
Chapter 32
Three months later………
Ten miles outside of Hershey, Pennsylvania
“Is my surprise a visit to heaven on earth?” Jamie asked, trying not to sound too eager and failed. All she knew was that he better not have brought her this close to the Hershey factory without any intention of bringing her there.
Nick’s deep chuckle relaxed her somewhat as he picked up their entwined hands and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. She noticed that he did that a lot, kissing her that is. He couldn’t seem to be around her without touching her or kissing her. It made her happy and helped ease the anxious part of her that waited everyday for him to break her heart when he decided that he couldn’t handle being with her any longer.
After three months they were still going strong. It surprised her how well they were doing. Even more surprising was the fact that they seemed to be living together. It wasn’t something that they discussed. It just kind of sort of happened.
When they finally released her from the hospital she’d been too weak to go through the hassle of searching for a new home and moving. Thankfully Nick told her that there wasn’t a rush and that she could wait until she was fully recovered.
When her doctor announced that she was able to return to work, well, go to the office instead of just working from Nick’s bed, he didn’t say anything and neither did she. They just kind of fell into a routine of making love in the morning, having breakfast together, driving to work separately because of the different schedule demands they each had. Some nights they managed to have dinner together and other nights she ignored the cute little post-it notes he taped to the cabinets and refrigerator imploring her to have a normal meal and usually indulged in her love for sweets. No matter what they did or where they traveled they always ended the night making love.
Life right now was perfect and she wasn’t going to wreck it by wondering about tomorrow. She was going to live each day to its fullest and enjoy her time with Nick. If it ended tomorrow she would be devastated, but she was thankful for the memories they’d created together.
“Do you really think I’d bring you this close to the motherland and not take you? You’d try to smother me in my sleep if I did that,” he said, smiling in that way that drove her crazy and made her consider asking him to pull over so that she could double check a certain item off her list, again.
“Then what are we doing here? I heard you telling Rick that you had to schedule a stopover during this tour so I’m guessing this is the stopover. What is it?” she asked, turning in her seat to look at him.
He let out an exasperated sigh that she wasn’t buying for a minute before answering her. “It’s a surprise, my little eavesdropper.”
She shrugged off his teasing. “Is it a good surprise or a bad surprise?”
“I’m hoping that it’s a good surprise, Jamie,” he said, turning all serious on her.
“Should I be worried?” she asked, wondering what kind of surprise would require them to take a few days off during their tour to come to Pennsylvania.
Maybe he was bringing her to a Hershey’s outlet store and was going to let her fill the trunk and backseat with chocolate. She could hope at least.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” he said, pressing another kiss to her hand as he pulled into the parking lot of a 50’s era dinner with a sign that boasted to having the largest dessert menu on the east coast, something the sugar addict in her was more than willing to look into.
“Why don’t we grab lunch?” Nick suggested as he parked their rental car.
“That sounds like a good idea,” she said, wondering if he was going to count that donut she snuck earlier against her. The man was so damn stubborn when it came to her sugar intake, but in a sweet cranky sort of way that actually made her smile.
That is when he wasn’t coming between her and sugar.
She watched him loosen his tie as he walked around the front of the car and nearly sighed. The man was a sight to behold. He was handsome, hot, masculine and so damn sexy that sometimes it was a struggle, like now, not to tackle him to the ground and have her dirty little way with him. By the time he made it around the car to open her door she was focused back on what was important, a huge dessert menu calling her name.
He leaned down and brushed his lips teasingly over hers as he took her hand in his before they headed towards the front doors. The scent of home cooking hit her before they made it to the doors, making her stomach growl viciously. Perhaps she’d eat lunch before hitting the dessert menu, she decided as they walked into the dinner and nearly tripped over her own feet.
The dinner was large, homey, and filled with a large crowd. Instead of the 50’s memorabilia that she expected it had old fashioned dessert and candy pictures everywhere, but that’s not what took her by surprise. Not even close. It was framed pictures, magazine covers and article newspapers of J.L. Lewis books placed among the yummy looking photos. At the front counter where a smiling woman stood near the cashier there were even J.L. Lewis books on sale among the homemade candies and treats being sold.
“What is this?” she asked distractedly as she ran her eyes over everything once again, sure that she was just seeing things.
“How many?” the smiling woman behind the counter asked, her smile slipping a little as she looked Jamie over. “You look very familiar, Miss. Have you been here before?”
“No,” Jamie said weakly, feeling a little overwhelmed. She didn’t like attention, but she normally was able to deal with it. She wasn’t so sure she’d be able to do that in a place that was set up as a living shrine to her. It was a little unnerving.
“It’s our first time here. Who’s the big J.L. Lewis fan?” Nick asked, gesturing lazily to the large stack of books on sale behind the cashier.
The woman’s smile returned full force. “That would be Aubrey. She’s the owner and the nicest woman you could ever meet,” the woman said warmly.
“Is she here?” Nick asked and Jamie just barely fought back the urge to give his shin a good solid kick. What in the heck was he thinking? He knew how nervous overexcited fans made her. If the promise of a large dessert menu didn’t intrigue her she would so be out of here, but it did so she was staying. She was also having more than one dessert because of this and if he didn’t like it then that was too bad for him.
“She’ll be here soon,” the woman said, picking up two menus as she stepped around the counter to show them to their seats.
“When she comes here could you give her my card,” Nick asked, pulling a business card out of his pocket and handing it to the woman, “and tell her that I would love to meet her.”
She took the card as she gestured them towards an oversized booth near the jukebox. “I sure will.”
“What was all that about?” Jamie asked once the woman walked away.
Nick shrugged as he looked down at his menu. “Just curious to meet her that’s all,” he said, but she wasn’t buying it. If her eyes hadn’t landed on the most enticing appetizer menu that she’d ever seen she would have questioned him further.
She reached up and cupped his face. “What if I want you? Can I have you?”
“You already have me, Jamie,” he swore, turning his head to press a kiss against her palm.
“In that case I’ll take a double shot of hot fudge in it,” she said, grinning impishly up at him.
He chuckled as he leaned down and kissed her. “I guess it’s too bad that I lied then, huh?”
“I really do hate you,” she said, sighing against his lips as she kissed him back.
“Too late, Jamie. I already know that you love me.”
“Do you love me?” she asked, shyly.
He moved back just enough to look into her beautiful caramel eyes. “So much that it hurts, Jamie. You’re my world.”
“I think you should prove it with chocolate.”
“I just bet that you do,” he said, chuckling as he leaned in to cut off her protests with a kiss that probably wasn’t appropriate for a hospital room, but he couldn’t help himself. The little recluse set him on fire and holy hell did he burn for her.
Chapter 32
Three months later………
Ten miles outside of Hershey, Pennsylvania
“Is my surprise a visit to heaven on earth?” Jamie asked, trying not to sound too eager and failed. All she knew was that he better not have brought her this close to the Hershey factory without any intention of bringing her there.
Nick’s deep chuckle relaxed her somewhat as he picked up their entwined hands and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. She noticed that he did that a lot, kissing her that is. He couldn’t seem to be around her without touching her or kissing her. It made her happy and helped ease the anxious part of her that waited everyday for him to break her heart when he decided that he couldn’t handle being with her any longer.
After three months they were still going strong. It surprised her how well they were doing. Even more surprising was the fact that they seemed to be living together. It wasn’t something that they discussed. It just kind of sort of happened.
When they finally released her from the hospital she’d been too weak to go through the hassle of searching for a new home and moving. Thankfully Nick told her that there wasn’t a rush and that she could wait until she was fully recovered.
When her doctor announced that she was able to return to work, well, go to the office instead of just working from Nick’s bed, he didn’t say anything and neither did she. They just kind of fell into a routine of making love in the morning, having breakfast together, driving to work separately because of the different schedule demands they each had. Some nights they managed to have dinner together and other nights she ignored the cute little post-it notes he taped to the cabinets and refrigerator imploring her to have a normal meal and usually indulged in her love for sweets. No matter what they did or where they traveled they always ended the night making love.
Life right now was perfect and she wasn’t going to wreck it by wondering about tomorrow. She was going to live each day to its fullest and enjoy her time with Nick. If it ended tomorrow she would be devastated, but she was thankful for the memories they’d created together.
“Do you really think I’d bring you this close to the motherland and not take you? You’d try to smother me in my sleep if I did that,” he said, smiling in that way that drove her crazy and made her consider asking him to pull over so that she could double check a certain item off her list, again.
“Then what are we doing here? I heard you telling Rick that you had to schedule a stopover during this tour so I’m guessing this is the stopover. What is it?” she asked, turning in her seat to look at him.
He let out an exasperated sigh that she wasn’t buying for a minute before answering her. “It’s a surprise, my little eavesdropper.”
She shrugged off his teasing. “Is it a good surprise or a bad surprise?”
“I’m hoping that it’s a good surprise, Jamie,” he said, turning all serious on her.
“Should I be worried?” she asked, wondering what kind of surprise would require them to take a few days off during their tour to come to Pennsylvania.
Maybe he was bringing her to a Hershey’s outlet store and was going to let her fill the trunk and backseat with chocolate. She could hope at least.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” he said, pressing another kiss to her hand as he pulled into the parking lot of a 50’s era dinner with a sign that boasted to having the largest dessert menu on the east coast, something the sugar addict in her was more than willing to look into.
“Why don’t we grab lunch?” Nick suggested as he parked their rental car.
“That sounds like a good idea,” she said, wondering if he was going to count that donut she snuck earlier against her. The man was so damn stubborn when it came to her sugar intake, but in a sweet cranky sort of way that actually made her smile.
That is when he wasn’t coming between her and sugar.
She watched him loosen his tie as he walked around the front of the car and nearly sighed. The man was a sight to behold. He was handsome, hot, masculine and so damn sexy that sometimes it was a struggle, like now, not to tackle him to the ground and have her dirty little way with him. By the time he made it around the car to open her door she was focused back on what was important, a huge dessert menu calling her name.
He leaned down and brushed his lips teasingly over hers as he took her hand in his before they headed towards the front doors. The scent of home cooking hit her before they made it to the doors, making her stomach growl viciously. Perhaps she’d eat lunch before hitting the dessert menu, she decided as they walked into the dinner and nearly tripped over her own feet.
The dinner was large, homey, and filled with a large crowd. Instead of the 50’s memorabilia that she expected it had old fashioned dessert and candy pictures everywhere, but that’s not what took her by surprise. Not even close. It was framed pictures, magazine covers and article newspapers of J.L. Lewis books placed among the yummy looking photos. At the front counter where a smiling woman stood near the cashier there were even J.L. Lewis books on sale among the homemade candies and treats being sold.
“What is this?” she asked distractedly as she ran her eyes over everything once again, sure that she was just seeing things.
“How many?” the smiling woman behind the counter asked, her smile slipping a little as she looked Jamie over. “You look very familiar, Miss. Have you been here before?”
“No,” Jamie said weakly, feeling a little overwhelmed. She didn’t like attention, but she normally was able to deal with it. She wasn’t so sure she’d be able to do that in a place that was set up as a living shrine to her. It was a little unnerving.
“It’s our first time here. Who’s the big J.L. Lewis fan?” Nick asked, gesturing lazily to the large stack of books on sale behind the cashier.
The woman’s smile returned full force. “That would be Aubrey. She’s the owner and the nicest woman you could ever meet,” the woman said warmly.
“Is she here?” Nick asked and Jamie just barely fought back the urge to give his shin a good solid kick. What in the heck was he thinking? He knew how nervous overexcited fans made her. If the promise of a large dessert menu didn’t intrigue her she would so be out of here, but it did so she was staying. She was also having more than one dessert because of this and if he didn’t like it then that was too bad for him.
“She’ll be here soon,” the woman said, picking up two menus as she stepped around the counter to show them to their seats.
“When she comes here could you give her my card,” Nick asked, pulling a business card out of his pocket and handing it to the woman, “and tell her that I would love to meet her.”
She took the card as she gestured them towards an oversized booth near the jukebox. “I sure will.”
“What was all that about?” Jamie asked once the woman walked away.
Nick shrugged as he looked down at his menu. “Just curious to meet her that’s all,” he said, but she wasn’t buying it. If her eyes hadn’t landed on the most enticing appetizer menu that she’d ever seen she would have questioned him further.
