Rosie barked, then ran across the room and climbed into her bed, turning around and around until she found her comfortable spot and curled up with her back to Beth. She couldn’t even garner any sympathy from her dog.
Putting her cold grilled cheese sandwich on the side table, she gazed around her living room. She felt empty, cold and lost. Is this what her life would feel like without Jake in it?
No more of his stealing her pillow, no more of his good morning kisses causing him to be late to work, no more back rubs.
Rich man, poor man, it doesn’t matter if you don’t let him in your life.
Carla’s words haunted her.
“Damn.” Beth glanced at Rosie who was now staring at her. “Well, Rosie it looks like I’m not going to be dining on grilled cheese, instead I’m going to be eating crow.”
She picked up her phone and dialed before she lost her nerve.
****
Jake glanced at the clock and groaned. Rubbing his eyes, he turned his attention back to the computer screen in front of him.
He wanted to finish up this last bit of software for another new game. The images blurred again. Damn. He stood and stretched. Muscles protested at being stuck in one position for so long. Dragging his feet, he went down the hallway to brew a fresh cup of coffee.
Starting the pot, Jake leaned against the wall, eyes closed, waiting. The phone rang. He snatched up the receiver before it could ring a second time.
“Were you waiting for my call?” said an amused male voice.
“What’s up, Greg?” The coffee pot gurgled and Jake poured himself a cup and leaned back against the counter.
“I see I didn’t wake you, even though it’s only five in the morning.”
“I’m working on Castle Magic Three. We can add it to our Christmas lineup.”
“Well we’ve got a bigger problem than our Christmas line up.”
“What’s happened?”
“You get to fly to Seattle this morning.”
“Seattle?” He set the now empty coffee cup onto the counter and carried the phone down the hallway to his office. “Give me the run down. When did Maguire call?”
Greg outlined the problems at the Seattle plant and what Maguire had told him.
“Great, what a mess,” he muttered.
“Hey we’ve had worse weeks,” said Greg. “What’s got you down? Take Beth with you. There’s nothing like having a woman waiting for you in your hotel room.”
Jake inhaled. “There is no Beth.” Eight days without seeing her, eight days of total silence.
“I see.”
“I’m glad one of us does.” Scrubbing his hand over his face, Jake realized he hadn’t shaved. When had he last shaved? Hell, when had he last left his apartment? “Never mind me, have Lisa email me all the particulars about the flight.”
“Jake?”
“Yeah.”
“When you get back, buddy, let’s go out for a beer. You sound like you could use a guy’s night out.”
“Sure.” Hitting the off button, he dropped the receiver onto his desk. Nothing like a work crisis to wake a man up. Sauntering down the hallway to his bedroom, he barely glanced at the neatly made bed.
Damn it, why did Beth have to be so stubborn? He slammed the bathroom door. Stripping off his sweats and T-shirt, he stepped into the shower. Turning the taps on full, he ducked his head under the spray, but it did little to alleviate the tension thrumming through his body.
Greg’s casual mention of her name made his heart shudder. For days now he’d focused on nothing but work. Eating when he had to, taking cat naps at his desk, anything to take his mind off of Beth. But nothing worked.
He ached to be with her and it wasn’t just for sex. He missed Beth. She was intelligent, funny and most of all perfect for him. He liked how she could discuss any topic and her ability to challenge him on any level.
Shutting the water off, he stepped from the shower and grabbed a towel. But Beth had to make the first move. She had to want to be with him. But he honestly didn’t know how much longer he could hold out, without at least talking to her. These past days had shown him that he wanted what his adoptive parents had. A marriage based on trust and love. He wouldn’t, couldn’t, settle for anything less.
His thoughts pulled him up short. Marriage? When had he started thinking about marriage to Beth? On the trip to Carmel and then later as he studied her working, he wanted her in his life, but she had to take the first step in reconciliation.
Grabbing a clean suit from his closet, he began dressing. The biggest problem was Beth’s total silence. She hadn’t even attempted to contact him.
What was the old saying? If you let something go and it came back to you it was meant to be. If it didn’t…the problem was he couldn’t let her go. But right at this time he had no choice. He had a labor crisis to fix.
After he finished dressing, he threw clothes into his suitcase and then went back into his office, printed out his boarding pass, then grabbed his laptop. He sprinted out of his apartment and down to the lobby. He didn’t have much time to make his flight.
****
Beth barely made it in the door of Calabria’s when Carla pounced on her.
“Well?”
“Well, what?” Beth took a deep breath and let it out. She strode into the back room, removed her jacket and hung it up, then began taking inventory.
“Are you still being stubborn or have you found the guts to call the man?”
Beth threw her head back and stared at the ceiling praying for patience before answering. “Thank you for your vote of confidence. He hasn’t returned any of the calls I made three days ago. I appreciate your sympathy in this matter. Remind me next time not to take your advice.”
Each night she returned to her apartment to find a sulky dog and no messages on her answering machine. The least he could do was call and tell her he’d received her messages and he wasn’t interested. No, instead he was giving her the silent treatment. Payback for her giving it to him, maybe, but right now she didn’t care. Her heart was bruised enough.
“Oh, honey.” Carla touched her shoulder. “Are you sure he got the messages?”
“I’m not calling again.” Several times already she’d dialed his number but when his voice mail answered she hung up. Hell she’d even called his cell and work phones, only to get voice mail. She’d taken the first step, as he requested, now it was his turn.
“I can’t believe I was wrong about him.”
“We all were.” She allowed herself to give in to Carla’s comforting touch for another minute, before moving away and starting to count wine bottles.
“I’m not ready to write Jake off. He’s too crazy about you.”
Beth shook her head. Carla didn’t get it. Jake wasn’t that crazy about her, otherwise he would have called her by now.
“Wait, I bet he’s out of town. I read something about a strike at his plant in Seattle.”
“How do you know that?” She spun around to glare at her best friend. If he was, it’s possible he couldn’t answer his cell, or it was out of range. Hope flared inside her belly at the logical explanation for his silence.
“I read the society pages, you know. Miss Suzie said one of San Francisco’s most eligible bachelors is now flirting it up in Seattle, and will a lucky Seattle girl spend the night on the town with him, but went on to say probably not because there’s no time in light of his current labor crisis.”
“You don’t know if she means Jake.” Her shoulders slumped. “It could be anyone.”
“Jake was the one who told me he has to travel a lot, and besides she said the city’s most eligible bachelor, and that’s Jake, especially since the magazine article named him that.”
Beth rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know, Carla.”
“I do.” Carla took her by the arm. “I’ve told you before, the whole world can be found in the society pages. You just need to take time to read them.”
“Where are you dragging me to?” A grin tugged at her lips. Carla loved her society pages.
“Out to get today’s evening edition. Miss Suzie will give us the scoop on Jake’s Seattle adventure.”
“She doesn’t know everything.” She barely got her apron off and thrown onto the bar before Carla dragged her out of the restaurant.
“Miss Suzie has spies everywhere and I know her latest column will tell us more about Jake.”
“I don’t think this is a good idea.” She stopped at the corner, tugging Carla to a halt.
“Of course it is. I dare you.”
****
The light turned green and Beth crossed the street with Rosie trotting happily at her side on her leash, oblivious to her owner’s inner turmoil. Darn, Carla and her dares. And why couldn’t she stop accepting them?
This last dare had her on her way to Jake’s apartment. What if he’s not home yet? Oh, God, what if he is? Will he even talk to her? Or just slam the door in her face? Of course, that’s assuming she even made it up to his apartment.
Doubts and fears clouded her mind. Her footsteps faltered as she started up the steps to his building. She shook her head. Time to face Jake, good or bad. She needed to get her life settled.
She picked up Rosie then passed through the glass double doors. Oh, good, Sal was on duty, at least he knew her.
“Evening, Miss Grant.”
“Evening, Sal.” Swallowing, she forced the next words past the constriction in her throat. “I know Jake will be home from his trip soon.”
“Actually he walked in just about thirty minutes ago.”
Her heart leapt in her chest. “Great, I was hoping to surprise him.” She forced a smile to her lips. “Would you mind letting me go up without announcing me?”
Sal stared at her, then smiled. “Only this one time. You’ll need to remind Jake to give you a key card.” He moseyed over to the elevator with her and allowed her to step inside, then he swiped his card and pressed the button.
“Thank you so much, Sal,” she said when he stepped back.
Sal waved his hand. She slumped against the elevator wall the second the doors shut, her stomach fluttering. “Oh, Rosie, I hope I’m doing the right thing.”
Rosie barked and Beth set her on the carpeted floor of the elevator. “I only hope he can forgive me,” she said out loud, staring at the numbers click off as the elevator rose. Rosie barked again. “I hope you’re right, Rosie. I’ve been so lonely without him. It’s like he’d taken all the sunshine out of my life. No man has ever done that before.”
Another bark. “Yeah, I know. He said to come and see him when I was ready.” She inhaled trying to calm her racing heart. “And it isn’t sex, even though he’s a fantastic lover. I like being with him, sitting on the sofa with him while reading a book or watching TV. I’m comfortable with him and I’ve never been comfortable with a man. Is it a bad thing?”
Rosie jumped up against Beth’s leg. She knelt down and scratched her dog behind the ears. “Jake is different. He’s gentle with me, and so understanding. He rubs my sore feet at night, gives me back massages and never gets upset when I fall asleep on him. He accepts me for who I am.”
The elevator slid to a stop and her heart moved to her feet. “Please let him be willing to listen,” she whispered before lifting her head, straightening her back and stepping into the hallway.
She marched over to Jake’s door and knocked. Would he answer? Or would he look out the peephole and ignore her? The dead bolt slid open causing her to jump. Swallowing hard, she waited until the door opened.
Her breath caught in her throat. He looked…well, not happy. Her gaze drank in his mussed raven hair, the tiredness around his eyes and his lips pressed together in a thin line.
“Hi.”
“Beth.” He inclined his head.
Rosie barked and began jumping on his leg, her tail wagging so much her little butt moved with it.
“Hey, Miss Rosie.” He bent down and lifted the bundle of wiggling fur into his arms. Rosie’s pink tongue darted out and licked his cheek.
“She misses you.”
“So I see.” He playfully pushed the dog’s muzzle away from his face.
Beth waited but he stayed silent, only staring at her.
“Umm…Can we come in?”
He stepped back and waved his arm.
Trying to ease the dryness in her throat, Beth swallowed. Rosie squirmed in Jake’s arms as he closed the door.
“Living room?” He was dressed in what he called his comfort clothes. A soft worn Stanford sweatshirt and grey sweats.
“Sure, why not.” He motioned her toward the living room, but the tone of his voice wasn’t encouraging.
Once in the living room, she didn’t know what to say or do. Her fingers tangled together. Ignoring the magnificent view of the city, she faced him. “Umm…how was your trip?”
“Fine.”
Her gaze lowered to the hardwood floor.
Be brave.
Her chin lifted. “Did you get the labor dispute straightened out?”
His eyebrows rose. “How did you know about that?”
“Miss Suzie’s gossip column.” At least he was talking to her, her breathing eased.
“My labor dispute was in a gossip column?” Some of the coolness in his eyes retreated.
“Well, sort of. You see, Miss Suzie was talking about San Francisco’s most eligible bachelor, and everyone knows that’s you,” she took a breath before continuing. “And you being in Seattle and according to Carla, Miss Suzie knows everything.”
“Carla reads gossip columns?”
“Yeah. Carla was the one who told me you were out of town. I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure you were back but…” She stopped and shrugged. She was rambling on and on, and he was only staring at her.
Rosie wiggled in his arms. Jake set her on the floor. “I guess I should keep an eye on that column.”
She shifted from one foot to the other. Why were they standing there trying to talk and not in each other’s arms? Because it wasn’t about sex, it was about understanding, about communication. “You’re not making this easy for me.”
“You didn’t make it easy for me.”
“That’s convenient for you.” Annoyance crawled through her veins. A little help from him would have been nice, but then she was the one who told him to get out of her life. The onus was on her.
She hadn’t expected him to be so cold, so unfeeling. But he had the right to be that way with her, she was the one who’d screwed up and now it was up to her to fix it.
“Can we please sit down?” His silence unnerved her.