A Christmas Affair: A Seaside Cove Romance (Seaside Cove Romance Series Book 1) (12 page)

Rachel woke up feeling like she was somewhere between a dream and a nightmare. The first thing she noticed when she awoke was Jack's arms wrapped around her, his face against her ear. The second thing she noticed was Rachel standing in her doorway whispering her name.

"Molly," Rachel said quietly.

"What?" Molly hissed. She wanted to roll over into Jack's arms. She wanted to wake up looking into his eyes, not into Rachel's eyes.

"Jeremy is downstairs with his dad," Rachel whispered, and Molly quickly sat up. Then remembering she was not wearing any clothes, she pulled the sheet up around her neck. Jack moaned and opened his eyes.

"Why is Rachel in your bedroom? Is Rachel always here?" He asked.

"I have to get dressed, don't let him up here, okay?" Molly groped around the floor looking for the closest clothes she could put on.

"I'm not a
complete
idiot you know," Rachel said walking towards the door. "I told him you weren't feeling well."

As the door shut behind Rachel, Jack tried to pull Molly back into the bed. "No, I have to go down there before they come up here."

"Who?"

"Jeremy and his dad." Molly found a pair of jeans and was pulling them on when she noticed Jack's face. "What? Don't be mad at me, I told you why I have to do this. We aren't really together Jack."

"It's not you I'm mad at," Jack growled. “I’m coming down there, I’m not going to let him touch you. If he hurts you again-"

"What are you
even
talking about?" Molly asked from under the blue sweater as she pulled it over her head.

"Rachel told me what happened," Jack said. Molly froze. The last thing she needed was Jack going downstairs and causing a scene. She was going kill Rachel for telling him.

"Oh, that was nothing," Molly said, then when she saw the look on Jack's face she added, "I mean, if we were staying together it would be something worth killing him over. But, I stopped him, and we broke up. There is nothing to worry about anymore."

“Molly, I don’t like this. I don’t want you near him,” Jack said, and Molly could hear the anger in his voice as it began to mingle with frustration.

“It’s daylight, his dad is down there, and Rachel is there. But, if there is a problem, I
will
yell for you.” Molly bent over and grabbed Jack's face in her hands and landed a kiss on his mouth. "Just stay up here for a few minutes, okay?"

Molly did not wait for him to answer as she bounded down the staircase into the shop. Jeremy was standing out there with his father Alexander. Jeremy was the spitting image of Alexander, looks, attitude, money and all. Molly never liked him, but had never noticed until this moment how much Jeremy was like him.

"Molly." Jeremy walked to her, hands out for a hug. He was always sickeningly sweet to her around his parents. "Your cashier says you aren't feeling well my love, what’s wrong?"

Rachel snorted. Jeremy had known Rachel almost as long as Molly had, but still made a show of reminding Molly that Rachel was an employee. Molly forced a smile on her face. "Just a headache, I'm feeling better now."

"Fantastic," Alexander said. "Let's go upstairs for a brandy."

"I don't actually have any liquor upstairs," Molly said pretending to feel sorry about it. "And it is an absolute wreck up there now, no room to sit."

"Well, we won't keep you then," Alexander said looking around the shop as though he was afraid something was going to reach out and bite him. Molly knew he probably had a flask of brandy in his pocket anyway, he just did not want to be caught standing in a gift shop. "We were in the neighborhood and wanted to stop by and give you this."

The older man extended an envelope to Molly, and she reached out to take it from him. She carefully tore it open, and found an invitation for the family Christmas party.

"We had to move it up to Monday," Jeremy said with a catch in his voice.

"Why?" Molly asked.

"Mother, she isn't doing well at all, and she wants to see everyone as soon as possible," Jeremy said and Molly felt her chest tighten.

She reached out and grabbed Jeremy's wrist gently. "I'm so sorry, she is a wonderful woman."

"She certainly was a looker in her day," Alexander said and Molly felt Jeremy stiffen. They may be two peas in a pod, but where Alexander treated Lucinda as a piece of property, Jeremy loved his mother. "Not as much of a looker as you that is Molly."

Molly felt herself flush, and could not find anything to say. She turned to Jeremy, "I will be there Monday night."

"I’ll pick you up at six, mother wants to come by too, see the shop decorated for Christmas." Jeremy rolled his eyes and then raised a hand as Molly began to protest. Jeremy lowered his voice. "We are expected to show up together."

"Okay, at six then." Molly nodded. She hugged Jeremy goodbye, and accepted Alexander's kiss on her hand. The moment the front door shut, Molly turned to walk back to the storeroom.

"Uh uh!" Rachel called out. "Not until you give me details."

"I don't have time right now," Molly said pointing at the clock. "Santa's Workshop starts in thirty minutes!"

Molly pushed open the storeroom, surprised to find Jack standing there in only a pair of jeans. Her eyes could not help but trace all the hard lines and divots in his body. "What are you doing down here like that?"

"I don't trust him," Jack said, and Molly heard the hint of darkness in his voice.

“Are you going to follow me around for the rest of my life to make sure nothing bad ever happens to me?” Molly asked feeling both irritated and flattered that Jack was acting so protective.

“Molly, don’t start.” He said shaking his head. “There is a difference between me being possessive, and me not wanting you around your asshole of an ex-boyfriend.”

Molly knew she had to change the subject and bring Jack’s attention elsewhere if she did not want him to run out the door after Jeremy. She pulled her sweatshirt over her head, letting her bare breasts spill out in Jack’s view. She almost laughed as the look in his eyes instantly changed.

"We only have thirty minutes to get ready for the Workshop," she said as she ran past him up the stairs. He was her room just a second after she was and threw her down on the bed. Jack pulled her jeans off and began to run his fingers up her legs.

"I only need five minutes to get ready, so as far as I see it," he began to trail kisses down her stomach. "That gives us twenty-five minutes to kill."

###

The weekend flew by fast between Santa's Workshop and Dickens Village during the day, then Jack in Molly's bed all night. They had still not had sex even though at one point late Sunday night she practically begged Jack for it. "We've waited ten years, we can wait a little longer," he said before he brought her over the edge of another wonderful climax.

Before Molly knew it, it was Monday night. The night of Jeremy’s family dinner. Jack had left her shop hours ago to open his bar. As Molly was getting ready upstairs, she saw him from time to time pacing at his front window, pretending like he was not looking over at her shop.

It was almost time for Jeremy to pick her up, and Molly stood in front of the bedroom mirror. She had on a long black backless dress that hugged her body, the tallest heels she could walk in, and a strand of white pearls Jeremy had given her last year for Christmas. If she was going on this date, she was going to fill the part fully. She pulled her dark auburn hair into a side sweeping style, and it trailed down in front of her breasts in loose spirals.

She walked down the stairs, slowly as not to trip from her heels, and gripped onto the rail with all her might. "Rach?"

Rachel popped her head into the storeroom and whistled. "Damn Molly, you are a fox!"

"A wobbly fox maybe," Molly laughed as she stumbled down the last few steps, but then caught herself gracefully on the landing.

"I can't believe you’re wasting your hot self on Jeremy tonight." Rachel shook her head.

"Me either. Believe me- it’s the last thing I want to do."

The bell at the front door chimed and Rachel walked out to tend to the customer. Now on flat ground, Molly was able to walk more confidently in her heels.

"Molly!" Rachel yelled.

"Damnit Jeremy," Molly whispered. Why was he coming through the front? He should have come through the alley like he always did. Jeremy wanted to show her off though, she was sure of it. Walk her outside on Main Street where everyone would see they were still together. She just hoped Jack was busy.

She walked into the front room and came face to face with Jack. He sucked in his breath and slowly trailed his eyes up and down her body, lingering just a moment at her breasts. She could not help but smile. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”

"Looks like I'm catching you at a bad time," he said, his eyes lingering on the pearl necklace.

The anger in Jack’s voice stung Molly. She did not want to have this conversation again. "You know I have Jeremy's family thing tonight."

"Oh yes. Your boyfriend," Jack said his expression slamming into steel.

“I don’t want to do this again,” Molly said. Jack had all but ordered her to stay home this morning before he left.

Jack touched her bare shoulder, and Molly's body shuddered under the touch as she remembered what those fingers could do to her. "I had something, some long speech, to tell you when I got here. But one look at you and it's all gone. My brain is mush. Just, don't go out with him tonight Molly. Just stay here, end that thing. He is toxic for you, even in small doses."

"I wish I didn't have to," she said reaching for his hand. "But I promised."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Jack took her hand and raised it to his mouth. "I don't trust him Mols. Please, if you were serious about this, about us, you wouldn't go."

"I am serious about us, but I have to go. Jack, please understand."

"I can't understand Mols, not when it comes to him." Jack lowered her hand, but did not let go. "I want to be with you Molly, but if you leave here with him tonight, I don't know if I can be. I’ve wait too long to share your heart with someone else."

“This has nothing to do with Jeremy. This is about his family, I’ve grown close to them the past two years, and I love Lucinda,” Molly said.

“Then, if it has nothing to do with Jeremy, let me take you.” Jack said and for a moment Molly felt lost in his shining green eyes.

“I’ll be home before you know it,” Molly promised. She and Rachel had dropped her car off at the country club earlier that day so Molly could make a quick escape without anyone noticing. She planned to go long enough to be seen by everyone. Hopefully she would even get to spend a little one on one time with Lucinda, then she would sneak out.

The bell over the door chimed and Molly jerked her hand away from Jack. Jeremy and his mother walked into the store bringing in sounds from the busy street outside. Molly did her best to ignore the hurt look on Jack's face as the pair approached.

Lucinda Hudson was one of those women who aged very fast. Molly always thought that was due to the stress caused by Jeremy and his brothers. In their teens and early twenties, they raised hell all over town, breaking hearts as they did it- Jeremy's brothers were just as handsome as he was after all. During the past few years when she had fallen ill, she seemed to age faster than ever before.

"Molly, my love," the older woman approached Molly with her hands extended for a hug. "I'm so sorry we haven't been round to call Molly. Frank returned home to us at the end of summer, and we've just been so busy."

"I completely understand." Jeremy's brother Frank separated from the military last year. Rumor had it that he had been running into trouble ever since he got home.

Lucinda looked at Rachel and Jack and nodded, smiling politely. She seemed to be oblivious to the standoff that was happening between Jack and Jeremy. "I was so excited when Jeremy told me we were going to see you and your parents this evening at our family dinner."

Jeremy stood beside Molly and wrapped his arm around her bare shoulders tracing his finger down her upper arm. Jeremy’s touch made her flinch a little, hopefully unnoticed by Lucinda, but Molly’s ease about the evening from earlier was gone. She glanced at Jack from the corner of her eye, and could see his fists as they balled up at his sides.

"Molly has been busy with her little Dickens Village project and doing her little arts and crafts. I guess she has just kind of forgotten about everyone else besides herself." Jeremy said pulling Molly closer.

Molly wished she felt surprised that Jeremy would say something like that. She had a feeling he would be taking jabs at her all evening, that way when they did announce their breakup after Christmas, everyone would say how much better off he was without her.

Molly looked at Jack and saw the anger building in his eyes as he kept watch on Jeremy's hand. Jack had picked up a beautiful hand carved wooden candlestick and was rolling it between his fingers. She just hoped he did not use it to bash Jeremy over the head in front of his mother. She shrugged Jeremy's arm off her shoulder to grab her jacket.