Intercepted (21 page)

“Hmmm,” he moans in appreciation, then pulls me into his arms and kisses
me. I can taste the sweetness in his mouth. “I am the luckiest bastard on
earth.”

I smile, because he always says that.

We eat dinner on the floor, propped against the couch. Jake says he loves
everything and we take turns feeding each other bites. When we are done, he
refills our wine glasses and sits the plate with pastries between us. He closes
his eyes every time he eats one and it makes me smile.

“You have to make me these for my birthday, babe. I don
’
t even want a cake. I just want a box full of
these.”

“I love that you like my food, Jake.” I grin.

“I never had a woman cook for me before.” He pops another cookie in his mouth.
I frown.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.” He nods and takes a sip of wine. He looks uncomfortable.

“Your mom didn
’
t cook?
”

He stills, then takes another sip of wine. I have never asked Jake about
his mom and whenever he talks about his family he never mentions her. “No,” he
mutters, then puts his wine down and pulls me onto his lap to kiss me. “Thank
you, babe. This was amazing.”

“You are welcome.” I look into his eyes and want to tell him the words
that want to burst out of me whenever we are like this.

I
’
m falling for you, Jake
.

Jake pulls me into a kiss, distracting me. I give in, but Charlie
’
s words come back to me and I know that he
’
s right. After Marc and I broke up it was all an
avalanche. I need to think of what I want. Maybe what I need is to be alone for
a while and figure things out.

And as Jake kisses me, a new ticking sound pulses inside me.

***

Dani and Zack finally come to visit me. I am thrilled to see them. Dillon
will come down from San Francisco for the weekend, too.

Chef Pierre gives me an extra day off when I tell him I have friends
visiting from Buenos Aires. It is unusual, but he knows how hard I work and I
promise to make it up the following week.

My internship ends in a month and so does my visa. If I am not offered a
job at that time I will have to go back to Buenos Aires. This causes my anxiety
level to fly off the charts. Sydney tells me to apply to all the restaurants in
town as a backup and assures me I will find a job easily.

I am not so sure.

Dani and Zack are stretched out opposite to each other on the only couch
in my living room while I make cocktails and tell them about having to find a
job soon.

“You could marry Jake,” Dani says, yawning at the ceiling.

I drop the ice in the glasses and peak around the door.

“Dani. That
’
s
illegal
.”

“So? Lots of people do it.”

I laugh. “Can you imagine? Jake would have a stroke.”

“If after all this time he still can
’
t man-up he can fuck off, Nati,” Zack says from
his end of the couch. Dani nods. She knows about Jake
’
s other job, but Zack doesn
’
t. If he did I know for a fact he
’
d find Jake and beat the shit out of him. Zack
may not be six four, but he can win a fist fight against pretty much anyone. I
have actually witnessed it a few times. He is absolutely fearless.

So what are you going to do?” Dani asks.

“Seriously guys, can you quit dumping on me? You just got here.”

Zack rubs his forehead. “
I just don’
t get why you insist on dating American guys. They all have fucked up
morals, or commitment shit.”

I carry their drinks to them and Zack smiles. He loves it when the tables
are turned and I make drinks for him.

“Dani, how are things with Dillon?”

She grins. “
Amazing
. I
’
m madly in love.” She laughs and Zack and I look
at each other. “I know… I sound like one of those high school brats. But seriously.
I never thought I
’
d fall this hard for a guy. He
’
s come to Buenos Aires twice since we left Aspen.
I
’
m worried he
’
ll be broke soon.”

I sit on the floor with my back against the couch and my legs stretched
in front of me. I take a sip of my mojito, wishing Jake was a little bit like
Dillon.

“Let
’
s go out tonight,” Zack says.

I look up at him.
Yeah
. Let
’
s go out
tonight.

Chapter 28:
Jake

There
’
s a knock on the door as I get
out of the shower. I throw on jeans and swing it open. Dillon grins as he looks
me up and down.

“Man, I hope I interrupted something good.”

I roll my eyes. “Nice to see you, asshole.”

He drops his bag by the door and goes straight to the fridge to grab a
beer, then tosses me one. He wasn
’
t
supposed to show up till tomorrow, but he said he wanted to surprise Dani.

“So tell me about this girl. You
’
ve flown
to Buenos Aires twice already. Is she the real thing?”

He takes a swig of his beer and sucks his lips in. “Yup. Think so”

I watch him while I drink mine. This whole thing with Dani is so out of
character for Dillon. I
’
ve never seen
him like this about a woman.

“You
’
re starting to freak me out,
Dillon.” I laugh. “Are you going to marry her and shit?”

A corner of his mouth curves up. “Possibly. Who knows. I have a surprise
for her tonight.”

My chest tightens and I take a long swig of beer. “Shit, man. Don
’
t tell me you
’
re proposing ‘cause I
’
ll have to beat some sense into you.”

Dillon laughs.
“Nope. Not that. Not yet, at least.”

Immediate relief washes through me. I grill Dillon further, but whatever
his surprise is, he
’
s tight
lipped. I agree to come with him to Natalia
’
s where Dani is staying.

We knock on Natalia
’
s door at
past nine, but the place is silent. I text her and she tells me they are at a
bar downtown. Dillon and I finally make our way there. It is a bitch to find
parking and I have to be up early to do inventory. I am glad he drove his
rental, so I give him a key to my place and tell him I
’
ll probably leave the bar early.

We find the girls at a table with their other friend, Zack. He gives me a
guarded look as I shake his hand. I don
’
t think
he likes me. Dani jumps at the sight of Dillon. He scoops her in his arms and
gives her a deep kiss in front of everyone. We all whistle at their explicit
show.

I buy the next round of drinks and Natalia tells me she
’
s already on her third, but it
’
s okay because she doesn
’
t have to work tomorrow. She looks tipsy, but for
the first time in a while she also seems relaxed.

We order food and keep the drinks coming. Dani is on Dillon
’
s lap and they have not spent a single moment
apart. Poor asshole, he
’
s whipped.
The waitress is clearing the food off our table when Dillon stands up. I
’
m thinking he
’
s heading to the bathroom, but he pulls on Dani
’
s hand and tugs her away toward a patio at the
back of the restaurant. I follow them with my eyes and see Dillon wrapping her
into his arms as he says something to her ear. Whatever he says to her makes
her squeal out loud and she jumps back into his arms and kisses him. What the
fuck. I hope he didn
’
t just
propose. That would make me an even bigger asshole in front of Natalia.
Nice,
Jake. Always the selfish fuck, aren
’
t you
.

They come back to the table and tell us they have an announcement. My
palms are fucking sweating because this sounds a hell of a lot like a proposal.
I want to punch Dillon for not giving me a heads up. But then he announces he
will spend the next year in Argentina with Dani. He will look for a job and
then they
’
ll see where things go from
there. Dani can
’
t stop crying. You
’
d think she just won the lottery.
Maybe Dillon
is
her lottery
. Huh. My eyes lock with Dillon
’
s as he slides into the seat across from me. I
shake my head and he smirks.

“Sorry. I needed to tell her first.”

I dismiss him with a nod. Dillon is fucking crazier than I thought. “
Good luck, man,
” I mutter. I turn to Natalia and she is looking
at Dani with something like longing. Her eyes are wet and I can tell she
’
s trying not to cry. I hold her hand under the
table.

“Want to dance?”

She doesn
’
t look
at me, but nods and slides out of the booth. I wrap her in my arms and when I
look down at her she quickly wipes her eyes. I feel like the biggest shit in
the world because I know I am somehow responsible for those tears. I brush her
hair to the side so I can kiss her neck. She melts, the way she always does
when we are this close and I take a long breath of my favorite smell.

“Are you okay?” I whisper.

She nods, then closes her eyes and the tears spill again. I wipe them
with my thumbs. “Please don
’
t. I hate to
see you sad, Nati.” For some reason this makes her cry harder. She presses her
face against my chest to hide her eyes and I tighten my arms around her.

“Do you want to go?” I ask her and she says yes.

I give her a few minutes to dry her eyes, then she says goodbye to Dani
and gives a key to Zack in case she
’
s asleep
when he comes back to her place.

In the car she
’
s quiet. I
rake my brain for something to lift her mood, but come out empty. When we reach
her apartment door I kiss her.

“Do you want me to stay?”

She looks at me for a long moment. “This doesn
’
t work for me anymore, Jake.”

A claw of panic grips my chest.

“What?”

“Our arrangement. I thought I could do this, but I can
’
t.” She turns to unlock the door.

“What are you saying?” My heart is kicking the shit out of my ribcage. I
pull her into the apartment and turn on the lights, then pace around. The walls
close in on me.
Fuck
. This can
’
t be
happening. “Natalia. Everything was fine until tonight. What the hell
happened?”

“I
’
m in love with you, Jake. I
have been for a while, and I can
’
t hold
all this in anymore. It
’
s killing
me.”

I run both hands through my hair as the panic rises to my throat. This
feels like a fucking nightmare, the moment I
’
ve been dreading since I decided to give this a
shot.

“Natalia. What the fuck. We had an agreement.”

“Why?” she snaps. “What the hell happened to you that you
’
ve chosen to live your entire life without
mustering a single feeling?”

“I
’
ve never lied to you. I told
you from the start I don
’
t get
involved in relationships that way. You knew this about me. You said you were
okay with it.” Now it
’
s me who
’
s shouting. I have to close my hands into fists
to stop the shaking. Her eyes narrow.

“How can I be okay knowing every time you leave you fuck other women for
money? What the hell does that say about me? I must be more screwed up than
you. I
’m
sorry, Jake. I just can’
t keep this
going.”

“The women,” I mutter. “They
’
re over. I don
’
t do
that anymore. I
’
m retired.”

 
She walks around me and
searches my eyes. “What did you say?”

“I
’
m retired.” I look down at her
and her eyes are etched in confusion.

“Since when?”

I close my eyes for a moment. I know exactly where this is going, but I
have promised not to lie to her and I need to keep that promise.

“A few months ago.”

Her eyes lock on mine in an incredulous stare as her mouth falls open.

“A few
months
? Why didn
’
t you
tell me, Jake?”

“I didn
’
t want you to think I was ready
for something different between us.”

“Oh my God. Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?”

The tears filling her eyes spill as she blinks.

“I
’
m sorry, Natalia.”

“
You are?
Sorry?
You selfish son of a bitch. What the hell is
wrong with you? Do you know what it
’
s been
like to wake up every morning knowing you may be fucking someone else later
on?”

“Natalia—”

“It fucking
killed
me.
Every. Fucking. Day. You are so incredibly selfish that you kept it from me
because God forbid the great Jake Harper articulates a goddamn feeling for
once.” Her fist is pounding on my chest, but I don
’
t defend myself. I let her run out of air. Then
she lets her arms drop. She is sobbing so hard her whole body is shaking. I
wrap my arms around her and hug her for a long time. She doesn
’
t hug me back, but she has no energy left to
fight me. I slide us to the floor and pull her onto my lap, closing my arms
around her. She doesn
’
t say
anything. She just cries against my chest until her sobs are barely audible. I
lean my cheek on her head and we stay like that for a long time. Then she pulls
away and looks into my eyes.

“I want more, Jake.” Her eyes are pure, crystal green. Panic unfurls
inside me.

“I can
’
t,” I mutter. “I
’
m sorry, Natalia. I can
’
t.”

Her palms press against my chest and she pushes me away.

“Then go.” Those blazing green eyes meet mine and narrow.

“You don
’
t mean that.”

“I do. I need you to go and let me live my own life. Do not come back,
Jake. If you are half the man I thought you were you
’
ll respect my decision and stay away from me.”

“This is what you want?” My heart is banging in my chest. I know if I
leave here tonight I won
’
t have
another chance with her.

“Yes.” He expression is calm. She stands up and turns, then disappears
into her bedroom. I expect her to slam the door, but she doesn
’
t. I stand up in automated motion and close the
front door behind me.

And as I make my way to my car all hell breaks loose inside of me.

***

I drive around for hours, at a complete loss of what to do next. In my
mind, parting ways with Natalia has always been a possibility. What I didn
’
t factor in was
her
breaking up with
me
.
Of course, Jake. That would have meant your overinflated ego needed a
checkup.

I pull over by the landing, now deserted. Clutching the steering wheel, I
press my forehead to my hands as what feels a hell of a lot like a panic attack
claws at my chest from the inside.

You
’
re an idiot, Jake.
Yes. I am an idiot. And an egotistic fuck for
thinking she would never leave me.

I walk to the shore and sit on the sand with my head in my hands. The
furious roar of the ocean is deafening, and all at once the memories from my
past flood my mind. I squeeze my eyes shut, but there is no stopping the
tornado as it thrashes through my head. I fist my hair to stop the trembling in
my hands. The darkness is unleashed and it is so loud inside my head my brain
is pulsing. Two decades of unshed tears scald my eyes. I cry out loud as a
tidal wave of sealed emotions scourges its way though me. I can
’
t hold back and break down in a convulsion of
sobs.

And the day my mother left comes back like it was yesterday.

I am eight. Our life at the ranch in Santa Barbara is simple, but we are
happy, my brother Jamie, Mom, Dad, and me. Jamie has just turned four and we
had a party for him.

In the evening Mom comes to my room and sits down on my bed. I tell her I
can
’
t wait to start swim camp the next day. She looks
at me for a long time, then tells me she is leaving that night and won
’
t live with us anymore. She says she has to leave
because the love she once felt for my dad is gone. I don
’
t understand. We are happy. I don
’
t want to be like those kids at school with just
one parent. I start crying and beg her not to go. She caresses my hair and lets
me cry. She says she will always love Jamie and me and that she is sorry she
can
’
t be a better mother. She says I have to be
strong for Jamie and for Dad. Jagged pain rakes my chest.