Passion Never Dies (15 page)

“Mom,” said Diana urgently as she looked over her shoulder. “Behave. He’s coming up the steps now.”

Diana had been a tad nervous when they had left for her parents’ house that morning, but she had enjoyed Jake’s surprise at seeing how forested Mount Charleston was. He had never been up to the mountain-top community and was impressed with the aspen, juniper, pine and ancient bristlecone trees that were in abundance in the area.

“Oh, my, he’s handsomer than what you described,” Trina teased, making Diana blush as Jake bounded up the steps to her mother’s house and grinned at her mom.

“Hello, Mrs. Vincent,” he said politely, holding out his hand toward her. “Now I know where my Diana gets her beauty.”

Trina gave him a warm smile, beaming at his compliment.

“Charming
and
handsome,” Trina she said to Diana before turning back to Jake. “Welcome to my home, Jake. My daughter has told us so much about you.”

“
Mom
,” said Diana, slightly embarrassed by her mom’s admission. Jake looked down at Diana and grinned. She met his eyes awkwardly, but then he winked, making her feel less chagrined.

“Don’t worry. They’ve all been good things,” Trina said soothingly as Diana and Jake followed her into the living room. Murray sat on a chair and stood up to greet them.

“Well, hello, darlin’,” greeted Murray jovially as he placed a gentle peck on Diana’s cheek. He then turned to Jake and looked at him in an assessing manner before shaking the younger man’s hand firmly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jake,” he said in a friendly tone.

“It’s nice to meet you too, sir,” said Jake as he sat down next to Diana on a dark blue sofa.

“Please, call me Murray. I haven’t been called ‘sir’ since before my retirement.”

Jake smiled and watched Trina sit down next to her husband on the sofa across from him and Diana. Murray held Trina’s hand and smiled at her lovingly.

“You have a beautiful home,” said Jake. “It has a lot of cabin appeal and rustic charm. The views are amazing.”

Murray nodded in appreciation of Jake’s comments.

“Thank you. I built it for Trina when we first moved here and had it custom designed to specifically capture the beauty of the forest environment.”

“You did a great job,” said Jake making Murray beam with pride.

“It’s the mountain home I’ve always dreamed of having. I had a large, wooden deck built with redwood exterior siding and installed interior pine cabinetry.”

“Murray, we mustn’t bore the young man with the details of our home,” admonished Trina gently. “Now, I’ve put a turkey in the oven and it should be done in a few minutes. We also have baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and a plethora of steamed vegetables to choose from.”

Jake laughed as Diana shook her head.

“Mom, that’s a lot of food. You really didn’t have to go to so much trouble for us,” she said.

“Nonsense, it’s not every day we see you and today is special because you’ve brought Jake to meet us,” said Trina causing Diana to blush again. “That’s right, darlin’,” piped up Murray. “Now does anyone want anything to drink? We have a fine selection of wine and spirits.”

“I’ll have some white wine,” said Diana as she stood to help Murray pour the drinks.

“The same for me, please,” said Jake as he watched her interact with her stepfather.

Diana smiled at Murray as he joked with her at the mini-bar in the corner and Trina glanced lovingly at them before turning her attention to Jake.

“So, have you been enjoying Las Vegas?” asked Trina.

Jake grinned. “I sure have and I’m quite amazed at the contrast in landscape between Mount Charleston and Vegas.”

Trina laughed. “Mount Charleston is a haven from the heat and we love it here. We even get a fair amount of snow in the winter.”

Jake looked out the large picture window in the living room and admired the babbling creek outside. Bright orange wild flowers bloomed alongside the creek.

“It’s a beautiful view,” Jake said, “and plenty of trees.”

“We have white firs, ponderosa pines, and cedar trees everywhere.”

“It’s hard to believe that we’re only thirty minutes away from downtown Vegas,” Jake said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Trina nodded. “I thought the same thing when I first arrived. The high elevations of the mountains and canyons here provide a different world and much-needed relief from the desert heat.”

At the mini-bar, Diana looked over her shoulder to watch her mother and Jake chat. She was relieved to see that they were enjoying a conversation and turned back to put more ice cubes in the drinks.

“He’s a handsome fella,” said Murray as he poured a little rum in his drink.

“Yes, he’s a looker,” agreed Diana.

“As long as you’re happy, cutie-pie, your mother and I like him,” Murray said. Diana smiled at her stepfather and reached over to give him a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“What was that for?” he asked in surprise.

“I just love you,” she said simply before turning away with two drinks in her hand.

Jake had seen the kiss Diana had given her stepfather and her gesture had warmed him. He also saw the love that her mother and stepfather had for her and, throughout dinner, could see that she had a very close relationship with her parents.

As he sat with Diana’s parents at their dining table, eating a very delicious turkey meal, he knew it wasn’t going to be easy for her to leave them. He had known since they had left Catalina Island that he had no intention of letting Diana go. He was determined to convince her to leave Las Vegas at the end of the summer and return to Manhattan with him.

However, he had not anticipated how close she was to her parents. His hope was that in the time he had left, he could convince her to leave with him because he couldn’t imagine a future without her. He wasn’t sure if he loved her yet, but he knew that a life without her would be empty and he was going to do everything possible to make sure their romance wasn’t just going to be a summer fling.

~

“Is something wrong?” asked Diana worriedly. She looked at Jake as he drove them back to her apartment a few hours later.

He glanced at her briefly and shook his head.

“No. Why do you ask?”

Diana shrugged. “It’s just that you’ve been quiet since we left my mom’s house.”

“Just a lot on my mind,” he answered distractedly.

Frowning at his statement, Diana decided not to pursue the matter and stared out the windshield. It had been a perfect day, in her opinion. Jake had gotten along well with her mom and Murray, but the minute they had entered his car he had become strangely quiet.

“Do you have a stomachache?” she asked abruptly.

Jake chuckled. “No. The food was perfect.”

“Then what’s wrong?” Diana persisted. She just knew something was bothering him and it was gnawing at her.

“Diana, have you ever thought of moving?” asked Jake abruptly.

Diana’s eyes widened at his unexpected question.

“Well, I don’t know,” she answered slowly, not sure where his question was leading. “I’ve never really considered it.”

Jake sent her a quick probing glance which made her inexplicably nervous.

“You know I have to return to New York at the end of the summer,” he said in a grave voice.

Diana gulped. She knew it and she dreaded it.

“I know,” she said softly. Their relationship was either going to continue or end when he went back and at this moment in time, she didn’t know which way it was going to go.

“I’m not good with long distance relationships, Diana.”

“Neither am I, Jake,” she said trying to hide her disappointment at his statement. She didn’t want him to think that she would cling to him when the time came to separate even though that was what she desperately wanted to do.

“I don’t want to leave you,” Jake said earnestly, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her. She felt her heart squeeze at the tenderness in his eyes.

“I don’t want you to leave either,” she said, feeling depressed at the thought of his impending departure.

Diana glanced at Jake’s profile, waiting for him to say something to ease the ache in her heart, but he remained silent. She noticed that his expression had hardened and she cleared the uncomfortable lump in her throat as the silence between them stretched longer. They were clearly at an impasse and Jake was now obviously lost in his own thoughts. Diana sighed and decided to keep quiet the rest of the ride home. If he didn’t want to talk, she wasn’t going to pressure him, but the silence was so loud in the car on the way home that it broke her heart. As they left the forest landscape of Mount Charleston and drove back into the barren desert, Diana felt as bleak as her surroundings looked.

~

“Jake, I don’t think I’m in the mood,” Diana said as Jake tumbled her into her bed a little under an hour later. She was feeling a bit sour after their silent car ride.

“Don’t worry. I’ll put you in it,” Jake said confidently as he pulled off his shirt and then began peeling her white dress down to her waist.

Diana wore a lacy, pink bra and she saw his nostrils flare as he continued to slip her dress down to reveal her lace, pink thong. She sighed as she watched him bend down and latch onto her thong, peeling it off with his teeth. He growled playfully and tossed the thong away before kissing her thighs.

“You’re so soft and silky here,” he mumbled.

Diana moaned as she felt his lips trace a path to the juncture between her legs. She was already moist for him and she watched him under heavy eyelids as he removed the rest of his clothing. His erection grew under her gaze. Then he bent down again to kiss her between her thighs. She whimpered and arched her back as Jake licked and kissed her in her most sensitive place.

“You taste so good, Diana,” he muttered as he placed his hands underneath her bottom and lifted her up to his mouth.

Diana groaned in ecstasy as he continued to caress her with his tongue and lips.

“Now this is what I call a delicious dessert,” he said, lifting his head briefly to smile at her, his lips glistening with her juices. Diana smiled and clutched at his hair before he bent down to her again.

~

That night, Diana could not fall asleep in Jake’s arms. Her mind kept mulling over their discussion earlier in the car, which made her restless and worried. Jake’s arm wrapped snugly across her waist and his leg flung possessively over hers. She savored his nearness, but as she stared up at the ceiling, listening to Jake’s quiet snores, a sudden realization gripped her mind. Jake was as vital in her life as breathing and she didn’t know what she was going to do when he left.

~

Jake woke up early without needing an alarm clock. He dressed and moved around quietly so as to not wake Diana. Looking down at her sleeping form, he frowned. He had not told her that the reason he had been so quiet last night was because he had overheard Diana say goodbye to her mother after dinner.

Diana’s mom had said, “I love you and I’m so glad you’ve found such a wonderful young man, but he’s from New York and I don’t want you to leave Las Vegas.”

Jake had seen her startled expression and had heard her answer, “Mom, I could never leave you.” Her statement had caught him completely off guard and he turned away before they caught him eavesdropping on their conversation.

Was Diana content to just have a brief fling with him and then end it when he left for New York? Did he even have the right to ask her to leave her family? He shook his head in denial. He wanted her and he didn’t intend to give her up. He also firmly believed that she cared for him, but he just wasn’t sure how strong her feelings were. Giving her one last lingering glance, Jake closed her bedroom door gently and decided that at least he still had the rest of the summer to figure out what to do.

Chapter Seven

“It’s a win-win situation for everyone, Jake,” said Robert, chief operating officer of Jake’s company. “We can’t afford to turn it down.”

Jake shook his head. “I don’t like this buyout situation at all, Robert.”

“Our investors want to pull out and this Middle Eastern company is willing to pay us more than we ever expected. We’re already halfway to completion on the hotel and they want to finish the project, taking it out of our hands. This is a great deal, Jake.”

Jake trusted Robert and knew he had a level head and smart instincts. The offer from the other company had come as a complete surprise, but he also knew the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

He stood staring out his large office window trying to go through what all the ramifications of this buyout would mean. His investors felt that the luxury hotel they were building was becoming too risky a venture, considering Las Vegas’ current depressed economy.

“I understand that our investors would rather sell now and make a hefty profit rather than continue building the hotel, but we’ve already put too much work on this,” Jake said.

Robert stood before him and shook his head.

“If we pull out now, we’ll recoup everything and we’ll also make a huge profit just from the sale.”

“What are the legal ramifications?” Jake asked.

“I have our lawyers looking into it now.”

After a long pause, Jake turned from the window and sat back down at his desk. He looked at Robert’s expectant face and grimly nodded.

“Fine, I’ll meet with our investors as soon as possible.”

“We have to move quickly on this, Jake,” Robert warned.

“I understand,” Jake answered and stared at a picture he had of Diana on his desk. His stay in Las Vegas was going to end sooner than he expected and time was no longer on his side.

~

“It’s gween,” said Nathan, pointing at a picture in a children’s book.

Diana kissed the top of his tousled blond head and said, “Yes, Nathan, that’s correct. The leaves are green.”

Nathan sat on her lap and turned the pages of the book slowly. Tommy and Madison sat on each side of her studying the pictures. Diana kept one eye on Shane and Jacob as they played on the rug with colorful, wooden blocks a few feet away. All the other children had left for the day and she was waiting for the parents to pick up the remaining children in the classroom.