This Time Forever: Second Chance Romance (Finding Forever Book 3) Read online

  That was the real reason he was here, why he’d moved back home after all this time, to be with the only woman he’d ever truly loved. All he had to do was win her heart one more time, then his life would be perfect.

  He couldn’t tell her any of that, of course. She’d never believe him and he could hardly blame her. When he opened his mouth to answer her question, he wasn’t sure what to say.

  Then she raised one hand, cutting him off before he could begin. “You know what? I don’t want to know. That one is your secret to keep.” She rounded the counter, bending to pick up her shoes before heading toward her bedroom. “Goodnight, Jake.”

  After she closed the door behind her, Jake stood for a long time, staring at the flimsy but impenetrable barrier. After the way he’d treated her the last time they’d been together, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d flat out refused to speak to him. Instead she’d flirted and teased as if delighting in the idea of tying his libido in knots. A quiet smile lifted the corners of his mouth. Two could play at that game and he was playing for keeps. Kelly could claim to be relationship-shy all she liked, but he would find a way back into her life, and her heart, one way or another.

  Chapter 4

  “Can I ask you something?”

  Kelly paused in the act of stirring sugar into her second cappuccino. Trina had her serious face on. This could mean trouble. “Of course,” she said, as she licked the foam from her spoon. “What do you want to know?”

  Trina leaned forward, her arms crossed on the table. “Tell me honestly, are you avoiding Jake?”

  Kelly spluttered for a moment before she managed to spit a word out. “No.”

  “Are you sure?” Her friend stared at her intently, as if trying to gauge the truth of her answer. “It’s not like it would be the first time.”

  She knew Trina was alluding to the night Jake first arrived in town and slept on their couch. After spending an hour getting dressed for her supposed night on the town, Kelly had headed straight for her sister’s house on the other side of the city. Once there, she’d kicked off her heels and spent the evening building block towers with her two-year-old nephew. After he’d been put to bed, she’d watched a couple of movies with her sister before heading home. Not exactly the adventure Jake had envisioned, but she’d been happy for his imagination to fill her evening with whatever escapades it could come up with. Whatever it was had to be better than him knowing she’d turned tail and fled at the prospect of having to spend time in the same room with him. Of course, there’d been no fooling Trina and she’d had to fess up to everything after Jake left the next morning.

  “That was different,” Kelly insisted now. “My fight or flight response kicked in and I didn’t want to beat him up, so I left. It was pure instinct.”

  “And what about the three times he’s been over to our place in the month since then?” Trina smirked. “You’ve been conspicuously absent each and every time.”

  “I’ve been busy with work lately, that’s all.” She took a sip of her coffee, rolling her eyes as if the idea of avoiding Jake was ludicrous. “I’m not avoiding Jake Caine. I promise.”

  Trina’s smile beamed as she sat up straighter in her chair. “Excellent,” she said. “Because he’ll be here any minute.”

  “What?” Kelly almost dropped her cup.

  “Yep, the text I got a minute ago was from Jake. He had a lunch meeting down the road from here so he’s heading up. He says he has big news to share.”

  All the pieces came together then. They’d been finishing their lunch a few minutes earlier when Trina’s phone had buzzed with a text message. Kelly had watched as her friend quickly read and responded to the message before sliding the device back into her handbag. That’s when the interrogation had begun. Oh, she was sneaky!

  “I wanted to make sure you had a chance to leave if you were avoiding him,” Trina added, as if she hadn’t manipulated the situation. “But since you’re not, you can stay and say hello.”

  “Thanks so much for thinking of me,” Kelly forced out from behind gritted teeth.

  “You’re welcome.” Trina threw her head back, giving an enthusiastic laugh. “You should see the look on your face.”

  “I’m glad to see you’re entertained,” she said before bursting out into laughter herself.

  “Good afternoon, ladies.” Looking up, she saw Jake standing beside their table. “How are you both?”

  “Excited to hear your news,” Trina said as she managed to get her amusement under control. She gestured to the empty spot at their table. “Sit and spill.”

  Kelly sucked in a breath as Jake sidled in beside her. The long cushioned seat curved in a semi-circle around the small table so she became effectively trapped between Jake on one side and Trina on the other. The only way to leave the table now would be to climb over someone’s lap. Seeing no other choice, she settled in for the duration and tried to concentrate on what Jake was saying instead of the way his smile made her stomach do little flip-flops.

  “I’ve bought a house,” he said with a grin. “One of those old Victorian cottages. It’s about thirty minutes out of the city, out passed Hawthorn. The paperwork’s all signed, settlement is in a couple of weeks.”

  Trina’s squeal made Kelly jump in her seat. “You’re kidding me,” she cried. “I love those old places, they’re gorgeous.”

  Jake nodded. “I said I was moving home for good. I guess this seals the deal.”

  “Fantastic. I’m so happy for you.”

  Kelly watched the two celebrate, a sense of dread filling her. Jake buying a home meant he really did plan to stay in Melbourne, which meant she would have to see him more often whether she liked it or not. She couldn’t avoid him—while pretending not to avoid him—forever.

  Maybe this was a good thing. Given more time, it was entirely possible the overly enthusiastic pounding her heart did every time he came within five metres of her would fade. It could happen. Yeah, a voice inside her snickered, it could snow in the centre of Melbourne too, but I wouldn’t count on it.

  “A penny for your thoughts?”

  She looked up from her cup to find Jake staring at her. Trina’s seat was vacant. Blinking in confusion, she glanced around the cafe. “Where’d Trina go?”

  “She insisted on buying me a coffee to celebrate my newly acquired mortgage.”

  Kelly probably should have known that. “Oh.”

  There was a long moment of silence before he said, “I haven’t seen much of you since I’ve been back.”

  “I know. It’s such a shame.” She allowed a hint of sarcasm to pervade her words with a sticky sweetness. “But I’ve had actual things to do so…”

  “We could do something about that, you know.”

  Kelly raised her eyebrows in question.

  “You could agree to go out to dinner with me.”

  She stared at him for a long moment, her mouth gaping in shock. “Are you serious?”

  A seductive smile crept over his lips. Oh yeah, he was serious.

  It only took a moment for the laughter to bubble up her throat, bursting out of her mouth with a sharp tang of hysteria. “Are you asking me on a date?”

  “Yes.” Not a moment’s hesitation. Just that one blunt word.

  It killed her hilarity in a way no hedging or evasion could have. “What makes you think I would ever, in a million years, go out with you again?”

  “Because you feel it, same as I do.” He’d lowered his voice so only she could hear. It vibrated with a fervour that sent shivers from the nape of her neck all the way down her spine.

  The enthusiastic heart pounding made a swift return. “Feel what?”

  He leaned a little closer. They were only centimetres apart and his breath warmed her left cheek. “The spark between us. You know it’s still there.”

  Kelly blushed as she remembered the way she’d teased him the first night he’d come back into her life. He’d been so arrogant in his assumption she was the same youn
g girl who’d been smitten with him from the moment they met. She hadn’t been able to resist the urge to bring him down a notch. A little thrill zinged through her as she remembered the way he’d hissed when she touched him. The feel of his muscles, twitching beneath her fingertip as it slid down over his chest and stomach, still haunted her every waking moment. It was the only physical contact they’d had since he’d been back—and she’d been burning ever since.

  If the heat in his eyes was any indication, he burned too.

  “You can’t deny it, Kelly,” he murmured. Everything about him oozed confidence, from the husky voice to the way he invaded her personal space with his hard, muscular body.

  “Oh yes, I can,” she replied loudly, refusing to be caught up in his sensual web a second time. “Watch me.”

  She started to back away but he reached out to capture her hand. She could have pulled away, should have. Instead she sat there, frozen, as he unclenched her fist to bare her palm to his touch.

  “It’s too late, Kelly.” He held her hand up between them, stroking the finger that had played havoc with them both. “You gave the game away the moment you touched me.”

  “Oh, please. That finger has a mind of its own.” She laughed, desperate to dispel the tension that had sprung up between them, but the sound was too low, too breathy, to be convincing.

  “Best not let it loose in public then,” he said, lowering her hand to entwine his fingers with hers. “Who knows what it might do.”

  A few things it could do to him came to mind without any hesitation, public place or otherwise, and Kelly decided it would be prudent to leave before her finger made a scene.

  “I have to go. Say goodbye to Trina for me.” She snatched her hand out of his grasp and did a quick bum shuffle around to the far side of the table where Trina’s absence now allowed her to stand. Not the most elegant form of escape, but it got the job done and for the moment that had to be enough.

  “See you around, Jake,” she muttered before bolting for the door.

  Chapter 5

  Two more weeks passed before Jake showed up again. This time, Kelly walked into her office to find him nestled comfortably against the rich, black leather of her chair. She paused in the doorway, one hand still on the knob, to stare at him in exasperation. “Seriously, you’re going to have to stop lying in wait for me or I’m going to accuse you of stalking.”

  The sexy grin he flashed her never failed to turn her insides into a hot, gooey mess. “Good morning to you too.”

  Striding into the room, Kelly dropped her work bag on the desk, before she crossed her arms and looked down her nose at him. “You’re in my chair, Jake.”

  “So I am.” His body unfolded from the seat with a casual grace until he stood in front of her. Her crossed arms brushed against the front of his suit jacket and her heart tripped a beat. Maybe she should have left him in the chair. “Sorry about that.”

  “How did you get in here?” she asked as he stepped around her.

  “I charmed my way in.” His shrug told her he used this tactic often to get his own way. “I told the receptionist I’m your long lost sweetheart and wanted to surprise you with my arrival back in town.”

  Kelly tutted as she swung the now vacant chair around and sat down. “I’ve used quite a number of words to refer to you over the years, Jake. But I’m pretty sure ‘sweetheart’ wasn’t in the list.”

  “Jean thought it was romantic,” he pointed out, referring to the older woman who normally ran the front office with acute precision—and without sneaking strange men into Kelly’s office when she wasn’t there.

  “I’m sure.” Dismissing him, Kelly read through the small pile of messages Jean had handed to her on her way in. The secret smile the woman had worn at the time suddenly made sense. She’d have to have a word with Jean to make sure nothing like this happened again. Security wasn’t exactly a huge deal for a design firm, but she’d prefer not to have just anyone charming their way in to snoop around her workspace.

  She turned her attention back to Jake. “I’m thrilled to bits to see you again so soon, naturally,” she said dryly, “but what exactly are you doing here?”

  He lowered himself into the chair across from her before answering. “Well, if you check your calendar I’m pretty sure you’ll find I scheduled an appointment.” He grinned, as if about to give the punch line to his favourite joke. “I’m your new client.”

  She frowned. “My client.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re serious.”

  He nodded. “Definitely.”

  She sat back in her chair and steepled her hands in front of her, taking a long moment to absorb this new information. “And what is it you think I’m going to do for you, Mr Caine?”

  Heat flashed in his eyes at the sultry undertone to her words and she felt her own body warm in response. He looked away for a moment and when he returned his gaze to her, the moment was gone. If only her own arousal could be tamed so easily.

  “I am now officially the owner of one run-down, two bedroom cottage,” he started. “I picked up the keys yesterday. Now I have a home, the next thing I need is you?”

  Kelly nearly swallowed her tongue. “For what exactly?” she croaked.

  “The layout is fine the way it is, so I don’t need to change anything there, but otherwise the whole place is in serious need of renovation.” He held his hands out toward her. “That’s where my new interior designer comes in?”

  “You want me to decorate your new bachelor pad?”

  His head tilted sardonically. “I don’t want a bachelor pad, Kelly. I want a home. And I want you to help me create it.”

  A tingly warmth spread through her at his words, at the soft way he said them. She loved doing residential work and there wasn’t much of it going around these days, so the offer was tempting. But, after he’d so recently asked her out on a date, somehow this felt a little too much like an alternate way of getting into her life. She couldn’t imagine why he would go to so much trouble. Maybe the feeling was her own sex-starved psyche hoping for some action.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea, Jake,” she said, shaking her head at the confused mess that was her own train of thought. “Besides, you’re already a creative person. I doubt you need me to help you.”

  “I’m an architect, Kelly. I don’t even know where to start with this place. It’s been lived in by an old couple for the last fifty years and it’s obvious. I’ve just started my new job and I don’t have time to run around town collecting paint samples and searching for the perfect couch.” She sighed, which he seemed to interpret as encouragement if the satisfaction in his smile gave any indication. “If I can pay someone to do it for me, it would be a huge relief.”

  “And you want that someone to be me because…”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been living in Sydney for the last ten years. You’re the only interior designer I know down here, despite what I do for a living.” He lowered his voice, as if about to impart some knowledge of great import. “I’ll have you know I did my research before I came here. The samples I’ve seen of your work are excellent by the way.”

  “Thank you.” Pride swelled in her chest at his compliment. Though she never would have admitted it to him, it felt good—too good. How long would it be before he had her eating out of the palm of his hand like last time? She felt a shudder pass through her at the thought. “I can recommend a number of good designers who would be only too happy to take you on,” she suggested, still searching for a way out of this without being too obvious. “A guy who works here actually—”

  “Kelly,” he interrupted in a quiet tone that still managed to make her stop mid-sentence. “I only want you.”

  Okay, she definitely wasn’t imagining the look in his eyes. She’d seen it before and it spelled trouble for both of them. “Why?”

  He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I remember how passionate you were about your career when you were starting out.
Everything about it excited you. That’s the quality I want.” He tilted his head to one side as he questioned her. “You still have that passion, don’t you?”

  Her whole body erupted with a resounding ‘Hell, yes!’ and she had to fight to keep herself from leaping over the desk and into his arms. It wasn’t hard to remember why she’d fallen for him so quickly. That quiet intensity he had could turn her inside out with one look. And the six-pack abs, a small voice reminded her. Okay, they’d helped too.

  Against her will, her gaze slid down his body. She knew from that first night those mouth-watering abs were still there beneath the expensive business suit. When she managed to drag her eyes back to his face, he was watching her silently, waiting for an answer.

  “I still have it,” she replied, a slow smile turning up the corners of her mouth. “And then some.”

  He leaned back in his chair once more. “Then I’ve come to the right place.”

  Kelly’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure about this? You want me getting my girly fingers all over your new place?”

  “I happen to like your girly fingers,” he told her in a matter of fact fashion. “In fact, you can put them anywhere you’d like.”

  She chuckled. That was the Jake she knew and lov—

  “Not on your life,” she said, cutting off the thought before it could finish forming. It was only a saying anyway. It didn’t mean anything.

  “All right, I promise I’ll be good.” He made a sign of the cross over his heart. Somehow, she doubted the move would hold up as a binding contract. “At least take a look at the place before you decide,” he suggested.

  She paused, her lips pursed in deliberation. The last thing she needed right now was to spend more time with Jake Caine, but she wasn’t in a position to turn away work when it showed up on a silver platter.

  “It was built in the late-1800s, you know,” Jake added in what he probably considered to be a nonchalant manner. “It hasn’t been touched in decades. All it needs is the right—”

  “Okay, okay.” She glared at him. “You fight dirty. But I have a feeling this is something you already know.”