Damning herself for showing weakness the one time in her life she needed to be the strongest, Lily could only simply close her eyes and nod.
Before she knew what was happening, Jake had swept her up into his arms and was carrying her out of the stables.
“Don’t,” she protested, but even to her own ears the plea sounded feeble. “I just need water. I’ll be fine.”
Ignoring her completely, Jake reached the back door to his house and squatted down far enough to turn the knob. Once inside where the cool air-conditioning hit her, Lily was already feeling as if the world had stopped tilting so much.
Jake closed the door with his foot and took her straight to the living area where he laid her on the oversize leather sofa.
“Jake, is everything all right?”
Lily didn’t open her eyes, but she recognized the female voice from the lady who had answered the front door. Tossing her arm over her eyes, Lily wished she would’ve just phoned Jake instead of coming there. She’d wanted to show him she was just fine without him, wanted to prove she could get along alone.
And here she was, flat on her back, depending on him and now his girlfriend/maid was taking part in Lily’s humiliation.
“Could you get a bottle of water, please, Liz?”
“Of course.”
The cushion next to her dipped and Jake’s hand covered her stomach, then his fingertips were at the base of her throat. She missed those hands, missed how they could go from showing strength caring for horses to dominating her body in the bedroom.
“Your pulse is out of control.”
“I just got hot,” she defended, ignoring her betraying hormones. “Once I get some water and sit for a minute, I’ll be fine.”
“What have you eaten today?”
Shifting her arm to behind her head, Lily glanced up at him. “I had some orange juice and toast a couple hours ago.”
His eyes narrowed. “Lily—”
“Mom said you wanted some water.”
Lily jerked her attention just beyond Jake’s shoulder and saw a young boy with honey-wheat hair tousled by the wind or just the lack of a comb. He came closer, extending the bottle to Jake.
“Thanks, buddy.”
The boy smiled, showcasing a couple of missing teeth. “Hi,” he told her. “I’m Tyler.”
Lily couldn’t help but smile back. The boy had no clue who she was and that was just fine with her. He was adorable, but Lily couldn’t help but wonder who he was to Jake. The boy looked nothing at all like Jake, but he didn’t resemble the lady he’d referred to as mom, either.
“Tyler is Liz’s son,” Jake informed her as if sensing where her thoughts had gone.
“Hi, Tyler. I’m Lily.” She took the water from Jake and sat up a little higher as she uncapped the bottle. “Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome.”
He turned and ran toward the back of the house, obviously finding nothing exciting with the new arrival.