She shook her head, her eyes locked with his. He nodded with a small smile. He glanced down at her lips, the lips he couldn’t seem to ever get enough of. His stomach tightened as her eyes dropped to his lips and her mouth opened slightly.
“What things?” she whispered.
He felt like she was peering into his soul and for a half second he entertained telling her, but how could he tell her something no one in the world knew, not even his brothers? And how could someone who’d always done everything by the book understand some of the choices he’d made? But this wasn’t about him. This was about Claire.
“It doesn’t matter right now. You have to believe me when I tell you no one has ever even come close to you. I have never cared about anyone as much as I care about you. And I know it looks like I’ve been with a lot of women, but there really haven’t been that many. I didn’t go to bed with each of those women you saw me with, and I don’t want you to ever compare yourself to anyone.”
She shook her head. A hint of a smile touched her lips and Jake felt a jolt in his stomach. It was like a light switch; she smiled and he lit up.
“I think you’re trying to be nice to me because I’m going to be the mother of your child. Do you remember the night at Ella’s first birthday party? You barely even looked at me.”
“Red dress, stopped at your knees, clung to every sweet curve you own. And I thought the dress should have had a slit in it, but the cleavage more than made up for it,” he said gruffly, satisfied when her mouth dropped open and her face turned beet red. “I ignored you because I knew you had feelings for me.”
“I didn’t have feelings for you. It was a sort of attraction.”
“Fine, whatever. But if you want to know the truth, I didn’t think your father would approve,” he said, watching her face grow serious.
“My father? My father likes you.”
Jake shrugged. “Sure, but not as the man for his daughter.”
“So then why did you—”
“So then I had too much to drink at the wedding too, and I’d never held you in my arms before so it had been easier to resist you until then. But that night, there was no way I couldn’t touch you or make love to you.”
“I think that’s an excuse.”
“Why would I make an excuse?”
“Because I think the real reason is I’m not the type of woman you’re used to dating.”
He really needed some sort of map to follow Claire’s train of thought. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She pursed her lips. “For one thing, I go to parties fully dressed.”
He stifled his grin. This was getting interesting. “Well, you know, no one is obligating you to go fully dressed. I, for one, would be more than happy to see you half-naked.”
She rolled her eyes. “Secondly, when I was in kindergarten I learned we keep our hands to ourselves.”
She was referring to Amanda. “Believe me, I’d love for you to ignore that lesson…when it comes to me, of course.”
“Every woman you’ve ever dated has been some walking Barbie doll.”
“That’s who’s come on to me.”
“What, you had no choice?”
“I was never looking for a relationship. You would rather believe I’m this shallow, superficial guy than to think I can appreciate a woman for more than the way she looks.”
“You don’t have a good track record, buddy.”
“I spend five minutes, okay, ten minutes tops getting ready in the morning, and that includes showering. I never really gave a damn about how I looked. I’m fit because I have to be for my line of work.”
He looked at her until he was sure he’d erased even the slightest doubt. “Did I ever tell you that you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen?”
“They’re brown, Jake,” she whispered with a heartbreaking attempt at a wry smile.
“Yeah, like warm, dark chocolate, the kind of chocolate you want to sip and drink and drown in. I want to touch you and hold you until you have no memory of high school. I want you to know you are the only woman who has ever turned me on with just a smile, and I think you’re drop-dead sexy and smart as hell. Right now I want to be inside you, the only place I’ve ever felt whole,” he whispered, as he watched tears fill her eyes.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Right now he didn’t care about anything other than making Claire feel good. He reached out and cupped her face with his hands, feeling her tremble beneath him. Leaning forward, he met Claire’s lips, sensing her need for him, for comfort, for security. Her hands clutched the back of his neck, drawing him in. A ripple of awareness shook him to the core at the knowledge that she had just become the most important person in his life.