Let It Snow(45)

Jake wanted to say, “It’s your kitchen too. Do whatever you want.” But it wasn’t. He needed to remember that. So instead he nodded as he reached past her and pulled out several pink boxes of donuts. “Sure. I even have some fold-up tables and chairs in the garage we can put out.”

“Perfect,” Sue Ann said cheerily before she yelled over her shoulder, “Ryan, go ahead and bring the food into Jake’s.”

As Jake was turning to bring the donuts inside, he felt Tessa’s slim fingers wrap around his bicep. He turned and she said, “Thank you. You didn’t have to do any of this.”

“Yes I did,” Jake answered honestly. Turning and walking up to the house, Jake realized that she really didn’t get it.

Time. Heartache. Distance. None of that had changed the fact that he would do anything for that girl. His girl.

*

“Thanks again.” Tessa lifted her arms to hug Lauren, who, at five foot six inches, stood a good four inches taller than her. “I don’t know how you do what you do. I am in serious awe of your organizational skills. Because of you, we got more accomplished today than I would have in six months.”

“Well, we had a lot of people helping.” Lauren waved her hand dismissively.

There was no way Tessa was going to let her downplay her role in today’s massive makeover-slash-renovation success. “Even if I had this many people helping me every weekend, it still would have taken me at least a month.”

This morning, Lauren had not only separated everyone into work groups according to their skills and abilities, but she’d also designated a leader of each group. Tessa watched in amazement as every hour she would check in with each of the group leaders and get status updates. Then she would prioritize the next hour accordingly.

She had designated ‘runners’ who would go out to get supplies when needed. Also, she’d assigned four-person lunch and breakfast cleanup-slash-serving crews that had made the mealtime transitions seamless. Lauren Harrison was a force to be reckoned with.

Lauren was scrolling through her iPad when she announced, “I think that we accomplished all of the heavy-lifting jobs that don’t have to be done by professionals. I will get estimates on the roofing and plumbing to you by Monday.”

Tessa wanted to cry. It felt so good to have someone other than herself taking care of details for once. “Lauren, I seriously don’t know whether to kiss your feet or elect you for sainthood.”

A small smile pulled at Lauren’s still perfectly applied lipsticked lips. “Well, I haven’t had a pedicure in a month, and believe me, I am no saint,” she said with a wicked gleam in her eye as Ben and Jake made their way up the driveway.

The guys were coming back from taking a load of flooring they had pulled up from the bathrooms to the dump.

Ben stepped up and pulled Lauren into his arms, planting a kiss on her that would make a porn star blush. Lauren looked a little dazed when he pulled away. Ben leaned close to her, resting his forehead against hers, and said in a low voice, “I’ve been waiting to do that all day.”

“Damn, Ben.” Jake smiled at their friends as he stepped beside Tessa, his hand resting on her lower back, sending all kinds of mixed messages to her brain and lady parts. “You couldn’t have waited ’til you guys got home?”

“No.” Ben shook his head, looking not at all embarrassed about his PDA.

A small blush rose on Lauren’s cheeks. “He likes it when I get organizational.”

“Well, that’s one I haven’t heard before,” Jake laughed. “But you definitely found the right girl if that’s what gets your engine running.”

“Hell yeah I did,” Ben said, and with that, he lifted Lauren over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and slapped her rear end.

Lauren shrieked but she wore a huge smile on her face as her fiancé carried her down the driveway. Lauren lifted her head and waved. “Bye! Call if you need anything!”

“Thanks again,” Tessa called out, “for everything!”

As Jake and Tessa stood at the top of her grandma’s driveway and watched as their friends drove down the street, the energy between them shifted. Like it did every time they were alone.

She was scared to look up at Jake and she was equally as scared not to. Everything between them was so…unsettled. And she had no idea what to do to settle it.

“Have you done a grand inspection?” Jake’s deep voice rumbled beside her as his thumb rubbed in circles around her tailbone.

She shook her head as she braved a look up into the milky chocolate pools of his eyes. “No. I was knee-deep in kitchen cabinets all day. I just came up for air. Lauren was giving me progress updates.”