All the Waters of the Earth (Giving You... #3)(4)

He stepped forward, towering over me, and put the other arm against the wall next to me. Then he leaned in and I knew he was going to kiss me. I closed my eyes, and . . .

I felt a peck on my cheek.

My belly dropped to my toes, which wasn't a long journey. I let out a breath. Ugh. I was so disappointed.

"Thank you," he said, and turned to go into his unit.

No. This was not the way he was supposed to act. He was supposed to kiss me and sweep me away. He was not supposed to give me some cheesy, chaste kiss and leave. I needed to fix this.

"Wait," I burst out.

He stopped and looked at me, his brows raised in silent question. Oh, he was so fine.

"That's not the way to kiss me," I whispered, turning my face toward him.

Jake smiled, a dazzling smile that made me want to buy his brand of toothpaste. "No, I suppose it isn't." He ran his finger under my chin and I went up on my tiptoes and looked him straight in his dark blue eyes. He leaned down and kissed me on the mouth, this time for real. A lovely kiss, his mouth heated and wet, his tongue velvety, his strong hand behind my neck, holding me to him. 

Now that was the proper kiss that I'd wanted from him ever since I laid eyes on him a week ago. And now that I had it, I knew that I wanted more.

I invited him into my mouth, loving this, loving kissing my hot neighbor. I wrapped my hands around his neck and felt the back of his soft, thick hair. He smelled clean, like he was just out of the shower. Yum, yum, yummy, yum, yum.

He took his time with this kiss but it was still too soon when he broke apart. He ran his finger down my nose and I melted a little more. The way he looked at me was analytical. He seemed to be taking me all in, studying my face like he was memorizing it as if there would be a test later and he'd have to recreate it. It didn't make me feel uncomfortable.

It made me feel wanted.

And, seemingly satisfied with what he saw, his jaw ticked and then he asked, "Can I take you for a drink, Lucy?"

"Yeah, that would be good," I answered a little breathlessly, attempting to be nonchalant, but still feeling his lips on mine, his finger on my nose, his taste in my mouth.

"When? Tonight?"

I loved that he was eager. It was goddamn awesome. But I couldn't do it.

"No, I can't. I can go next Saturday night, though," I said, thinking about Rob's custody schedule. Carlos would have him next weekend and I was free to go out. I had a new art class to model for, though, so I wouldn't be done until about three o'clock. That was still plenty of time.

"Saturday night it is," he responded. He looked me up and down, in my high heels and my white capris and pretty pink fluttery top. "You like to dress up?"

"Of course."

"Then dress up, honey. I'll take you someplace nice." And he smiled his glorious smile again and leaned in, and it looked like he was going to kiss me again.

"Okay," I whispered, and as he leaned down, his goddamned cell phone sounded, and he looked at me apologetically, straightening up again.

"We'll set it up," he said, and then answered his phone. "Jake Slausen." He walked back into his duplex, giving me a little wave this time as he shut the door.





I didn't see Jake the rest of the weekend. What I did do, however, was clean my house, take my kid to the park, and shop for Christmas presents. Normal mom stuff. I tried not to think too much about my next door neighbor. I failed. He was always there, just below my thoughts.

Hmm. What was going on? He was more than just a research project.

It was easy not to see him, though, because he was gone the entire weekend, probably working. Right?

First thing Monday morning, still pissed about Carlos and his legal papers, I called my attorney and made an appointment to see her at the earliest time I could get, which was in a week. Great. One more week to worry and get pissed. After calling, I spent the morning and early afternoon writing. I liked most of what I wrote. I especially liked the kisses between my characters, for some reason. Then I picked up Rob from school-again, normal mom stuff. He did his homework, we ate dinner, and I cleaned up. After dinner, at about eight o'clock, there was a knock at my door.

Would it be a hunk or a process server? I was seriously hoping for the former. The latter never needed to come again.

When I opened the door, I found Jake, rumpled in his suit, his tie undone slightly and his hair roguish. One exhausted businessman.

"Hey," he said, those sapphire eyes regarding me. God, he smelled good. Even tired, he gave off an energy, pheromones. All I wanted to do was touch him.



       
         
       
        

"Hi. Are you just finishing up work?"

"Yeah," he said, resting an arm against the doorjamb over my head, making me react with a throb in my heart and other places. He gave me a crooked smile. "I worked all weekend too. I wanted to bring you this, one of my clients makes it." And he handed me a jar of salsa, a very good local brand.

"Thank you. I love this brand, it's delicious." He'd thought of me. Nice.

"I'm glad." He looked at me, then glanced over at his door and let out a breath. "Well, I don't want to keep you. It was a long day." He looked like he wanted to say more.

Who took care of this guy? It didn't seem like he had anyone looking out for him. "Did you get dinner?"

"I picked up something at work. My usual. There's takeout next door."

"No, no, no." Eating out all the time wasn't healthy. "You need to start eating good food, home cooked, you know."

"It's hard when I work so late all the time. I loved your tamales, Lucy."

Yay. The effort was worth it if it nourished him. I had to sass him, though.

"You should try my chile relleno casserole. It's a recipe from the Dairy Council of America, but it's the shit."

"MOM!" yelled Rob.

"Sorry, mijo," I called back.

"Don't swear, Mom," he called back.

I ignored him and looked at Jake who had been observing me with amusement. Then I took the next step, the one I normally avoided. "You want to meet my son?" I'd never kept it from people I dated, but it definitely was a damper on relationships. The test to see if a guy could handle me.

But right now I didn't hesitate or feel weird introducing Jake to my son or vice versa. We were neighbors. He was bound to find out that I had a son.

Love me, love my son. That's the way it worked.

But also with Jake, well, I wanted to get to know him and I wanted him to know me. So I hoped he'd say yes.

Jake nodded. I let out a breath. So far, he passed. "Sure. Can I come in?" I stepped back and let him come in my home for the first time, his elegant but athletic frame dominating the front area.

"Roberto, come here and meet Mister Jake, our new neighbor."

Rob came skidding up in his socks and slid right in front of Jake. Skinny, with bony knees and gangling arms, he hadn't yet grown into himself. He had cheeks meant to pinch and dark brown eyes like his father. I ruffled his short, spiky hair. "Whoa," he said, when he looked up to Jake's height.

"How do you do?" Jake asked formally, extending his hand.

"Uh, fine," said Rob, shaking his hand limply. Then he looked at me, big-eyed, panicking as to what to do next. 

I laughed. "Okay, enough torture. Go back to the television." Rob slid off in his socks and Jake's eyes followed him, then returned to me. He whispered.

"Good-looking kid. Polite, too."

Now the way to melt the heart of a mama is to compliment her kid.

"Thanks" was all that I managed in response.

"I'd better get in," he said. "I'm beat. See you tomorrow?"

I nodded. "I hope so. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Looking around to see if Rob was watching, he bent over and kissed me, not slowly, not quickly, but enough to matter. I again felt the pulse through my body. Then he kissed my nose and opened my door and left.

What was I going to do with my neighbor?

The following evening, after Rob went to bed, I sat outside on my porch in the dark, looking at the lights making the pool water dance and drinking a Skinny Girl margarita. Early winter in California meant a slight chill in the air, but I'd wrapped up in a sweater and enjoyed the peaceful evening. When I'd almost finished my drink, Jake's sliding glass door opened and he came out, holding a bottle of 805 beer and wearing a tight, dark gray t-shirt and plaid pajama pants, barefoot. Even his feet were attractive. He headed to the edge of the patio to look at the pool, not noticing me.

"Hey, neighbor," I called out quietly.

"Lucy," he responded, and walked over to me. He glanced at my drink, said "Cheers," and leaned over the low wall that separated our patios, clinking his bottle with my margarita glass. "How was your day?"

"I got a lot of work done." I had and it felt so satisfying.

"Me too," he said. "But now I need to unwind. You go in the pool, right?" I nodded, secretly laughing, thinking of how I'd met him in my bikini. "How's the water?"

"It's great. They heat it so you can swim all year long. You should try it."

He looked at me. "Only if you come in with me."

Okay.

"Now?"

"Sure," he answered. "That is, if you want. It's a nice night, you know?" Even better with him. "We should take advantage of the fact that we live in Santa Barbara." He looked at me like there was more that he wished he could take advantage of than just the amenities of the complex.