My eyes tear up and I take a deep shaky breath. "No pressure, right?" I say to Jake, laughing a little though. I walk over to the computer and start examining it, lifting the top, turning it on and watching the screen light up. Then I look at Jake and say, "You make it really, really hard to say no to you, do you know that Jake Madsen?"
He grins at me and I stare at him for a few seconds before saying simply, "Thank you."
**********
Later, after we've eaten and Jake's made love to me slowly and sweetly in front of the fire in his living room, I get up and turn on my computer to check it out further. I grin over at Jake who has moved to the couch and is watching the news on television. He smiles back and asks, "Checking it out? Ever used a Mac?"
"No, but I've always been pretty good with computers. I'll probably get the hang of it pretty quickly."
I explore it for ten or fifteen minutes as Jake continues to watch the news show that's on. Eventually, I turn on the internet and go to my email (which I rarely ever check). As expected, there's nothing there except some spam. I look over at Jake quickly. He's immersed in the show and so I go to Google and type in his name.
I note quickly that many of the stories are about Jake taking over his company. I don't focus on those though, I focus on the story at the top which is about a dinner benefit that was held in San Diego on Tuesday evening, the night the woman answered his phone. There are pictures of Jake there, talking to several older men, looking casual and gorgeous. I scroll to the last picture in the article and I freeze. It's Jake and Gwen, looking more beautiful than any couple has the right to, looking like they were made to be together. Gwen is laughing and Jake is leaned towards her, smiling and obviously saying something funny and intimate.
I snap my computer closed, and Jake looks over. When he notes the expression on my face, he stands up. "What's wrong, baby?" he asks.
I walk over to the door and start pulling my coat on.
"Evie!" he says, sounding confused and frantic, "What happened? Why are you leaving?"
"That woman in your hotel room was Gwen, wasn't it, Jake?"
"What?" he furrows his brow. "No. Of course it wasn't. Do you think I would invite Gwen to my hotel room for drinks after the way she treated you?"
"Well, I wasn't exactly thinking you brought her to your hotel room for drinks, Jake. All I know is that you sure did look cozy whispering in her ear in the pictures from the benefit you were at Tuesday night."
He looks confused for a minute and then he runs his hand through his hair saying, "Evie, that was a company benefit. Gwen was there with her father. She tried to talk to me several times and I wouldn't have much to do with her. When she cornered me in front of a photographer, I leaned in and told her she was lucky that I wasn't the type to want to aire my dislike for someone on film. She laughed as if I was joking, which I wasn't. That was that. I didn't talk to her again all evening."
I stare at him, my jacket half on and half off. I take a deep breath. "I want to believe you, Jake, I just… I don't want to… "
"Evie, listen, God, if you only knew… " He trails off, laughing a humorless laugh.
"If I only knew what?"
"If you only knew how ridiculous it is for you to think that I would ever betray you, much less with Gwen. Really, if you could get inside my brain, you'd be laughing, too."
"Jake - "
"Please, just trust me, please don't go."
I look at him closely to judge his sincerity and I sense that he's telling the truth. So I let him lead me away from his foyer area, taking off my coat and throwing it back on the bench near his door, following Jake and following my heart once again. But hoping deep inside, that that doesn’t make me a fool.
CHAPTER 20
I work another catering job on Thursday, returning home late. I'm exhausted as I crawl into bed but the money is good, and I appreciate the feeling of safety being ahead financially makes.
On Friday, Jake asks me to stay with him and when I walk into his condo at seven thirty, having been dropped off by a co-worker since Jake had an errand to run, he scoops me up and kisses me and says, "I'm running a bath for you so you can get a second wind because I'm taking you out dancing tonight."
"Dancing?" I sputter. "I don't know how to dance."
"Yes you do. You just don't know it. Have you ever been to a nightclub?"
"No, I've been to bars, but - "
"It's not right that a 22 year old girl has never been out dancing. I want to be the first to take you. I want to have as many firsts with you as possible." He grins at me.