Rescued by Love(27)

“I know my boys.” Andrea kissed Ned, then smiled at Addy. “It’s all in the eyes. My boys think they can hide their emotions behind muscles and gruffness, but”—she pointed to her eyes—“it’s all right here.”

“Christ,” Jake mumbled.

Addy tilted her head up, studying the softening of his face. That’s it. That’s the look I saw in the picture of you and your mom. Her fight for space washed away like the rumbling tide.

He caught her staring and lowered his mouth beside her ear, whispering, “Even she knows we’re a thing. Get used to it. The cat’s so far out of the bag, it’ll never find its way back in.”

A thrill raced through her. She was in a relationship with the man she had hoped to forget. How could she have been so shortsighted? She could have missed out on all his goodness.

Ned opened the picnic basket and set out two plates and muffins. He split each muffin in half and handed one plate to Jake. Andrea poured two mugs of coffee from a thermos and gave one to them.

“Thank you,” Addy said, accepting the mug and offering it to Jake.

“You first, sexy girl,” he whispered in her ear, one arm still locked around her.

Sexy girl. Was he trying to make her even more nervous by pulling out all of his seductive techniques? It took two to tango, and she was always up for a good game of secret seduction.

Cupping the mug between both hands, she inhaled deeply and licked her lips.

“Mm. It smells heavenly.” She sipped the coffee, closing her eyes as the warm liquid slid down her throat, emitting a pleasure-filled sound. Turning a sultry gaze up for Jake’s eyes only, she licked her lips again, slowly and sensually, capturing his rapt attention. “Pure nirvana. Would you like some?” She batted her lashes innocently.

Jake repositioned his hips and took the mug. A quick glance south told her she’d had the desired effect on him. Score one for me!

The sunrise graced the sky with gorgeous golden and crimson hues. They made small talk as they ate breakfast. It was nice to be with Jake’s parents without the jokes and chaos of the entire family. And having this relaxed time with Jake was even nicer.

“I’ll never forget our first sunrise,” Ned said to Andrea.

“We were camping,” she said with a thoughtful expression. “Ned dragged me from the tent at the crack of dawn to climb to the highest point. Talk about waking up fast. The mountains are cold in the mornings, even in the summer.”

“Speaking of,” Ned said. “Tell us about this trip you’re going on. Ten days of solo mountaineering?” He lifted serious eyes to Jake before returning a softer gaze to Addy. “Are you prepared for that? Have you had proper training?”

“Training?” Hiking 101? Put one foot in front of another. Addy pictured a circle of girls standing and mulling over directions for putting up a tent. She’d bought the easy-erecting type. Put the nylon flooring down, hammer in a few spikes to hold it down, pop open the tent, hook it to the spike heads, and poof! A tent. The guy at the outdoors store assured her it was perfect for her trip. “No, but I’ve read online about what to bring and what to expect. And I bought extra clothes, new hiking boots, a compass. All the things I need. I should be okay.”

His father and Jake exchanged a worried look, but it was the heaviness of the vibe between them that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

“Addy,” Ned said. “Nighttime in the mountains is no day in the park. There are serious dangers.”

Geez, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Jake and his father would have to learn that she was a hands-on, do-it-herself kind of girl. She didn’t need men telling her the ways of the world. She could handle this, and nothing would stop her from taking this solo trip.

“We’re going to talk about that.” Jake nudged her. “Right, Ad?”

Not that I was aware of. “Um, sure. Right. But really, Mr. Ryder—”

“Honey, how many times have I told you to call me Ned? Don’t give me more gray before my time.” He rubbed his goatee, which was more silver than brown.

“Ned,” she said. “I’m not a pampered princess. I assure you, I can handle myself.”

“I never considered you overly pampered, sweetheart. But the wilderness is a beast in and of itself. Even the most skilled hikers can run into trouble.” The look he and Jake had shared earlier made a repeat appearance.

“Oh, Ned, stop. You’re going to frighten her,” Andrea said, alleviating some of Addy’s tension. “You can take the man off the mountain, but you can’t take the SAR out of the man. Where are you camping?”

“In the Silver Mountains, not too far from the city. My friend Logan has a cabin there, so if I run into problems, I can always go there. Not that I anticipate having trouble.” She felt Jake tense up again, and when she looked up, the green-eyed monster was baring down on her.



JAKE LOVED HIS parents, but come on. First they watched the sunrise with him and Addy, then they walked back to the resort together, and now everyone else was awake and milling about, preparing for Trish and Boone’s wedding. The girls were running in and out of the bedrooms talking about dresses and shoes, and they’d absconded with Addy the second they’d arrived back at the resort. Boone’s mother, Raine, and her boyfriend, Patrick, had disappeared with his mother, and Boone and his brothers were looking around as confused by the commotion as Jake was. At this rate he’d never get a moment alone with Addy, and he was so tightly wound over this Logan dude, he was sure he’d grown horns. How could he have gone thirty years without knowing he had a jealous bone in his body? That realization sucked, but it was what it was, and if he didn’t get her alone and find out just how well she knew this guy and why the hell she hadn’t mentioned him before, he might just explode. A cabin in the mountains. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know how she knew about that.

“Hey, while you’re chewing on nails over here, can you please hold Seth?” Cash handed Jake his little boy. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I have to go help Duke and Blue get something from the kitchen.” Cash gave Seth a quick kiss, then lightly smacked Jake on the cheek. “Whatever it is, get over it,” Cash said. “Trish needs your head in the game, and so does my boy.”

Jake ground his teeth together and glanced down at his nephew, who blinked soundlessly up at him. Seth was only two months old, and holding him was a little like holding a squishy football. A football who looked a heck of a lot like Cash, from his light brown hair to his serious eyes. It was hard to stay pissed off with that cute little muffin in his arms. He lowered his face and kissed Seth’s cheek.

“Let me tell you something, buddy.” Seth’s eyes widened at the sound of Jake’s voice. “One day you’re going to meet a woman who blows your mind, and she’ll make you want to hold her and run from her at once.” Seth’s lower lip pushed out in a pout. “Yeah, it kind of sucks, but it’s also pretty freaking cool. Unless, of course, this guy with the cabin in the woods is someone she’s hooked up with. Then it’s not cool at all. Then it bites. Then—”

Seth’s face scrunched up tight, and he let out a high-pitched wail.

“Oh shit.” Jake lifted the baby to his shoulder and patted his back, pacing the hallway. “It’s okay. It’s not like that. I’m sure it’s not. She wouldn’t have offered it up so casually.” Why was he explaining this to a baby?

“Dude, need a little help?” Boone asked.

“Yeah, but not with the kid.” Seth quieted, but Jake continued pacing, hoping to work out some of his frustration.

“With your girl?” Lucky asked. “Because I can help you out. Take her off your hands, give her a little thrill.”

“Lucky!” Boone glared at him. “Ignore him.”

“What?” Lucky stretched, eyeing Cage, who smacked him on the back of the head and told him to behave. “Whatever. I’m heading up to the villa to start carrying shit down to the beach.”

“Watch your language,” Boone called after him. “Sorry, man. He’s still got some growing up to do.”

“No big deal.” Jake hadn’t been so different from that cocky kid when he was his age. Hell, he wasn’t so different a week ago. He paced, patting Seth on the back and listening to Boone and Cage talk about Lucky, and he realized that a few months ago he’d been proud of being the player who hooked up with a different girl every week. Now he wasn’t sure he even knew who that guy was.

A gentle, familiar touch on his back pulled him from his thoughts. He turned, and Addy’s eyes dropped to the baby in his arms.

She covered her mouth with her hand, eyes wide. “I think my ovaries just exploded.”

He felt a smile tugging at his lips despite the jealousy gnawing at his gut. “He’s pretty cute.”

She shook her head. “Not just him, although he’s a cutie pie, all right.” She gave Seth’s foot a playful shake. Seth smiled and kicked his legs with delight. Then her hand was on Jake’s arm and her gaze turned dreamy. “Seeing you with a baby in your arms, that’s what got me. It’s like seeing a lion carrying a baby kitten by the scruff of its neck.”