I took a breath, smiled and opened the door.
The instant I did, I was accosted by the exact vision I’d had some days before…almost.
Jake looking handsome (this time in a v-neck sweater and I could see the collar of his t-shirt under it at his neckline). Ethan wearing a hoodie this time, but it also declared his devotion to some sports team. Amber, her makeup a bit less heavy, but her outfit no less inappropriate, looking sullen and standing removed.
Then there was Conner, far more handsome up close, wearing nearly the same garments as his father except his sweater was crewneck. And last, he was surveying me closely.
I swallowed.
“Josie!” Ethan cried, dashed forward and gave my waist a hug.
I put a hand to his shoulder and looked down at the top of his head, which was all I got in before he jumped back and looked up at me.
“Hey!” he greeted.
But he allowed me to say not a word as he dashed by me and into the house.
“Babe,” Jake murmured as he came close and then he came closer.
Putting a hand to my hip, his fingers squeezed as he bent in and I got no kiss on the forehead this time. I was assaulted by his alluring cologne and the onslaught didn’t stop there. He slid his stubbled cheek down mine and brushed his lips right in front of my ear.
With a grave amount of effort, I controlled the shiver that was threatening to shake through me at his touch and simply smiled at him, whispering, “Jake,” when he moved back.
He returned my smile before he shuffled me in.
Amber and Conner came with him and after he closed the door, he again touched my hip with his hand and introduced, “Josie, meet my boy, Conner.”
I looked up at Conner, smiled and offered my hand. “Conner, I’ve heard such good things about you. It’s a pleasure.”
“Seriously?” he asked oddly in return and I blinked.
“Well, um…of course I’m serious,” I answered.
His face spread into a very attractive smile before he moved in and wrapped me in a tight hug.
I stood there, frozen, arms down at my side, not knowing what to do with myself but unable to do anything because he was quite strong, his body cool from the out of doors but still it warmed me and his hug felt more than nice.
Like his younger brother, he showed his affection easily but it was brief.
Thus, he moved back and looked down at me. “Heard a lot about you from Lydie and then Ethan. Really cool to meet you.”
“I…well, yes. Good,” I stammered then drew in breath to pull myself together and I looked at Amber.
“Hello, Amber,” I greeted.
Her shoulders slumped, her eyes moved beyond me and she muttered, “’Lo.”
I continued to look pointedly at her and stated, “If you’ll promise not to mutter, mumble or murmur another word this evening, I’ll show you what Jean-Michel sent me. And, before you decide whether or not to agree to this arrangement, I’ll share that Jean-Michel was rather taken with your image and he went well beyond dashing off a few recommendations.”
Her eyes had cut to me as I spoke.
So I held them and finished, “Well beyond”
“He did?” she whispered.
“Indeed,” I replied.
“He was taken with my image?” She was still whispering.
“How this could be a surprise, I have no idea since I’ve already told you that you’re very attractive.”
She also held my eyes before hers darted to where her father was standing next to me then they darted back to me.
“I guess I can make that deal,” she agreed.
“Excellent,” I replied and started moving toward the kitchen, feeling the eldest members of the Spear family following me. “I’m eager to show you what he’s done,” I went on and entered the kitchen.
“Beer, Dad!” Ethan for some reason shouted even though he was at our side of the butcher block and thus his father was no further than five feet away.
“Thanks, bud,” Jake replied.
“Ethan, after Amber and I go over a few things, I’ll be making hollandaise sauce from scratch. I’d appreciate your assistance,” I said to him and his face lit up.
“I don’t know what hollandaise sauce is but…cool!” he replied.
“Hollandaise sauce is delicious, but it’s also tricky,” I shared. “It’ll need constant vigilance.”
“I don’t know what vigilance is either but I’m up for whatever that is too,” he told me.
“It means you gotta keep an eye on it, Eath,” Jake explained, moving further into the room.
“I can do that,” Ethan told his father.
I looked to Conner and announced, “This will be poured over asparagus. I would find it most gratifying if you’d at least try it.”
His lips quirked for some reason and he replied, “Sure.”
I nodded then moved to the kitchen table, calling, “Amber. Come.”
I felt her following but when I stopped at the table, Amber stopping beside me, I looked to Jake who was drinking from his bottle of beer and standing beside Ethan at the butcher block. I was not surprised to see that Conner had his head in the fridge.
I addressed Jake when he’d finished drinking. “Today, I went to the electronics store and purchased a printer and desktop. I also set it up.”
A slow grin spread on his lips, that grin spreading on me as it did, and I fought the feeling that gave me with great difficulty when Jake teased, “Congratulations, Slick.”
I felt my lips curl up as I shook my head once and continued.
“I also called the cable company. Gran has cable but no internet access. They can switch that on but need access to the house to install outlets.”
“Right,” he prompted, still grinning at me and I was still fighting my reaction when I sallied forth.
“These errands reminded me that I’m paying for a rental car and I decided I should see to that. I’ll need transport while I’m here and I don’t need to pay the exorbitant costs of a rental to have it. I inspected Gran’s car and not only does it not start, it’s not my style. I’ll need to trade it in when I purchase another vehicle but I can’t do that if I can’t get it started.”
Something shifted in his face at my words and I didn’t fully understand it except for the fact that it was good.
“Con and I’ll go out and have a look at the Buick while you and Ethan make hollandaise sauce,” Jake offered.
“I’d appreciate that,” I accepted. “But I must ask another favor as I’ve only once purchased a car and it was an unpleasant experience. It’s my understanding that car salesmen take men more seriously than women and as you’re rather large and known locally as a pugilist, if you would accompany me, I would assume they would not take advantage. I know it’s a good deal to ask, but—”
Jake didn’t let me finish.
“Whenever you’re ready, let me know. I’m there.”
He was there.
It seemed he was always there in ways that mattered.
And I liked that.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
“Whatever you need, Josie,” he replied just as quietly.
I felt my eyes get soft. I also felt something else and thus I looked through the kitchen to see Ethan smiling up at his dad, Conner’s gaze moving between his father and me, his face speculative, and when I finally got to her, Amber was also looking at her father and her face was a mirror of her older brother’s.
This prompted me to turn my attention to her.
“Amber,” I called and she looked to me. “Let’s go over what Jean-Michel did for you.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
I turned to the table and opened the folder where I’d placed what I’d printed out that Jean-Michel had sent me. I’d had to connect my phone to the computer to get the images on paper and this was what sent me to the electronics store.
But when I opened the folder, I heard Amber gasp.
And
it was with delight.
I liked that sound so much more warmth swept through me as I reached out, grabbed her hand and tugged carefully to pull her close.
“As you can see, Jean-Michel sketched your face and also different features so he could focus on them,” I told her quietly, flipping the page over to show her the next image. “On each sketch, he’s written instructions and suggested products and shades.”
I flipped the next page, looking at her to see she was looking down with rapt attention at the images.
“Once your grounding is over, if your father will allow it, we’ll journey to the mall and I’ll purchase some of these products for you,” I offered.
When I did, she tore her gaze from Jean-Michel’s sketch of her eye, shaded beautifully in a matte palette of browns and greens, and she looked at me in wonder.
And I wished I’d had a camera so I could show her how much more attractive she looked with marvel lighting her features rather than petulance.
“Seriously?” she asked (this word, I thought, but did not share at that juncture, being overused by the Spear family).
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“But,” she looked down at the sketch then back to me, “I know those products and they don’t come cheap.”
“A birthday present,” I stated.
“But my birthday was months ago,” she replied.
“A belated one,” I amended.
“I would so love that,” she whispered and her pretty face said this was very true.
“Excellent,” I returned. “However, I’ll tell you now that offer has a caveat and that is that you continue to speak distinctly, no muttering, and you utilize these products as Jean-Michel suggests, not fall back to your flair for the dramatic.”
I had considered getting into her attire with this offer and that was to say requesting that she cease dressing like a budding rather inexpensive escort but I didn’t want to push too hard too soon.
Alas, at my words, her face turned guarded and she asked, “Are you bribing me with makeup?”
“Absolutely,” I confirmed.
She stared at me and did this for some time.
I waited patiently, holding her stare.
Suddenly, she burst out laughing.
I relaxed but did so noting that laughing, she was even prettier.
Her eyes moved to her father and she declared, “You know, Dad, I’d probably be less of a pain in your ass if you bribed me with expensive kickass makeup.”
I looked to Jake, who had a warm expression on his face and his eyes on his daughter.
His lips were turned up when he said, “Noted.”
Although I very much liked the warm look on Jake’s face, I still took that moment to lament that I hadn’t included curtailing the use of swear words in my bribe.
“So, can I go shopping with Josie?” Amber asked her father.
Jake moved our way. “After you’re done being grounded, knock yourselves out.”
I smiled delightedly.
Jake turned his warm look to me.
I kept my smile pinned to my face even as I fought another shiver.
Jake moved and stopped close to me, very close, a familiar, intimate close I liked very much, before he stated, “Need the keys to the Buick, Slick.”
“On the counter by the phone,” I told him.
He didn’t move there. He stayed close, held my gaze and at the look in his eyes, the look I’d seen the first time I had dinner with his family, I fought yet another shiver.
“Got ‘em, Dad,” Conner called.
“Right,” Jake murmured, not tearing his eyes from me.
I began to struggle with my breathing.
This struggle intensified when he leaned in and whispered in my ear, “You’re the shit, Slick.”
These words meant nothing to me except for the way he said them, which I found in that moment meant everything.
“I’m assuming that’s good?” I asked and he pulled back but in a way that his face stayed close.
“You’d assume right.”
At his closeness and what it was doing to my breathing pattern, I had to force my smile, but I managed it.
He smiled back but, alas, he turned and moved away.
“Let’s go,” he said to Conner.
“Can we make the sauce now, Josie?” Ethan asked me. “I’m freaking starved.”
“Of course,” I replied, looked to Amber to see her attention back to the sketches, turning the pages (there were many, Jean-Michel had been very generous with his time and talent), studying them intently. “As you can see,” I started quietly and she turned her eyes to me. “You are very pretty, Amber. Very.” I stressed and that marvel again suffused her face as I carried on in a whisper. “Don’t hide that, lovely girl. Give us a treat and show it to the world.”
Her lips parted and I reached out a hand to touch the back of hers before I decided to leave her be and move to Ethan.
* * * * *
“Stop right there!” I demanded.
It was after dinner and we’d retired to the family room to watch TV.
At dinner, Conner had attempted to eat his asparagus but it was evident by the look on his face whenever he took a bite that he did this to be polite (which I thought was quite nice and said good things about him). However, as he wasn’t enjoying it, I informed him he didn’t have to force it down at the same time making a mental note to try broccoli on him when they were again dining at Lavender House.
Now, Ethan was on the floor at the coffee table doing homework. Amber was sitting in an armchair, having told us (what I thought was suspiciously) that her homework was already done. And Conner was somewhere else in the house having taken a call from one of his “babes” (this, strangely, got him a pointed look from his father to which Conner mouthed, “I know,” before disappearing from the room).
I was sitting next to Jake on the couch, a place he had put me by seating himself and grabbing my hips when I got close in order to use them to plant me beside him.
Although I obviously preferred to select my own seat, there was something about his actions (not to mention my location) that I liked more.
A great deal more.
Amber was in control of the remote and she’d just happened upon a show I much liked.
At my command, she paused it at the same exact time Jake rumbled, “Babe, we are not watchin’ Project Runway.”
“No way!” Ethan put in his vote.
But I’d turned my head to Jake. “But we must. This show is excellent. I’ve seen it several times before and it’s marvelous.”
Jake held my eyes as he replied, “Josie, no reality show is marvelous.”
I felt my brows draw together as I informed him with authority, “It’s not reality. It’s fashion.”
“I so am seeing how Josie being around is gonna be way cool,” Amber stated at this juncture and I looked to her. “Another chick in the mix means reruns of Project Runway and no Monday Night Football.”
Amber’s comment pleased me greatly thus I turned my head back to Jake and smiled, whereupon he declared, “We were gonna miss the beginning so we’re tapin’ the game at home. My boys and me can watch it later. But now, we should watch something we all wanna watch.”
“Yeah,” Ethan agreed.
I had a feeling that the divide between what Amber and I would wish to watch and what Jake and Ethan (and Conner, when he returned from his discourse with his “babe”) would want to watch was such that it would be impossible to traverse.
But, I wasn’t dwelling on this.
I simply wanted to watch Project Runway.
To make this happen, I leaned into Jake and spoke cajolingly.
“Jake, you don’t understand. What they do on this show is remarkable. An artist is inspired by many things but they’re normally free to be inspired by whatever moves them. On this show, they’re given the inspiration they must utilize and it’s most difficult to create under those kinds of conditions. And they
have an impossibly short time to come up with a vision and the period in which they have to create the actual garments is, well…nearly criminal.”
Jakes brows lifted as his full lips quirked and he asked, “Criminal?”
“Indeed,” I answered with the utmost seriousness. “And Tim Gunn is exceptionally talented. He has an eye the likes I’ve never seen and I’ve worked in fashion for twenty-three years. Not to mention, his manner is most appealing and his ability to communicate with emotion, candor and diplomacy is a marvel. He in and of himself is worth watching that show. However, the judges are quite savvy as well and their commentary is most illuminating.”
Jake was losing the fight with his smile and I was hoping losing the will to deprive Amber and me of our program so I leaned closer to him to continue beseeching.
But as I did so, Amber spoke.
“Oh my God,” she breathed and I looked to her. “It just hit me. Do you know Heidi or Zac?”
My head tipped to the side in confusion. “Zac?”
“Zac Posen,” she replied. “He took over for Michael Kors.”
“My goodness,” I whispered with delight. “Zac Posen is on the show now?”
“Yeah. And he rocks,” Amber told me.
This I just had to see.
Therefore, I whipped my head around to Jake and shared, “Zac Posen is immensely talented. This is most intriguing. The loss of Michael Kors is a blow but I’m very interested to see what Posen contributes to the show.”
And in order to fully communicate my point, I leaned in on my “very” and added putting my hand to his chest in entreaty.
When I was done speaking, I saw his eyes had warmed and I sensed I was going to get my way so I felt a variety of places warm on me, including my heart.
He proved me right when he murmured, “We’ll watch your show, baby.”
I smiled big.
Jake’s eyes dropped to my mouth.
Ethan exclaimed in outrage, “Dad!”
Jake looked to his son. “It’s an hour, Eath. You’ll live.”
“It’s an hour and a half,” Amber contradicted.
“Jesus,” Jake muttered, the dread in that one word unmasked and I curiously found this most amusing.