Forever Wishes (Montana Brides Book 4) (8 page)

It was just a pity that her vision got a little blurry the further down the ‘S’ her eyes traveled. She yanked her gaze up, determined to at least give the impression that she was a grown woman and not a sex-starved jelly fish.
 

“The magic words I’m thinking about have nothing to do with Aladdin. Try again.”
 

Her gaze landed squarely on laughing blue eyes. So much for keeping a professional distance between them. Standing behind her desk and shooing him out the door would have been a lot safer, but then she would have missed the devilish glint in his eyes. And the sexy dimple creasing his cheek.
 

He waited, leaning toward her. “Do you want me to whisper it in your ear?”
 

Every bone in her body melted. If Superman ever returned to the library he’d come with a health warning and a strict ‘parental supervision required’ notice for all attendees.
 

They should have chosen Captain Carrot as their superhero. Erin tried to imagine Jake dressed like a muscle-bound rabbit. With a disgusted sigh she realized that he’d still look like sex on wheels and probably convert half the librarians into vegetarians.

Jake looked as though he’d quite happily stand in her doorway all day. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Okay. Tell me the magic words. But make it quick, the kids are waiting.”

He leaned forward, whispering the password in her ear.
 

The blush that had skimmed her body earlier was nothing compared to the hot and heady wave of heat slamming into the pit of her stomach. He’d been as subtle as a bright pink bus on the highway. And to make matters worse, she now knew what Superman had in mind for Saturday night.

At the end of story-time, Erin hustled Superman into her office. “I feel like the manager of a rock star, except I don’t know whether I’m protecting you from the kids or their moms.”
 

A mini-stampede of pintsized superhero worshippers had ambushed Jake before he’d opened the first page of his book. The kids had been agog at the fact that Superman had landed in the library parking lot on a downwind from Metropolis. One of them even insisted their mom had sewn kryptonite into his shirt to protect him from Superman’s powers.
 

“The moms I could handle, but Kryptonite-kid just about dropped me to the ground with his karate chop.” Jake unhooked his cape from around his neck. “He must have been an evil Lex Luthor clone in disguise. There were some pretty serious behavior issues going on inside that kid’s head.”

Erin took the cape he passed over, hoping like crazy he wouldn’t strip anything else off in her office. He yanked at one of his boots, leaving it on the chair in front of her desk.
 

“What have you got planned for next week?” he asked.

The other boot joined its partner. Erin’s gaze locked on the blue bodysuit. He wouldn’t take if off in her office. She knew he wouldn’t. She licked her lips. But maybe if she slipped the costume into her bag on Saturday night, she might get to see if Superman lived up to his public relations spiel.
 

“Earth to Erin? Are you listening?”

She blinked, trying to figure out what he’d asked her.

“Next week…who’s reading the kids a story?”
 

Her expression must have looked as blank as her brain.

“Story-time?”

“Oh…Spiderman.” She cleared her throat. “We got a good price on the costume hire if we ordered two at once.” Erin mentally whacked herself on the head. As if he really cared about how much the costumes had cost. She clutched the red cape in her hands, holding on tight. “I know lunch couldn’t top what just happened in the library, but do you want to go to the café next door?”

“Why, Miss Reynolds, I didn’t know you cared.”

Heat washed across her cheeks as his eyes laughed at her. He knew she cared, and right at this moment she was worried that she might care too much.
 

He unbuckled his yellow belt. “Are we flying or walking?”
 

Grabbing his work suit off the back of her door, she pushed it into his hands. “Definitely walking, otherwise you’ll cause a riot.”

“Spoilsport. I hope you’ve got that costume booked for a few more days, Lois.”

Erin felt a blush streak across her face. The man could read her mind faster than a speeding bullet. She smiled sweetly at him. “You won’t need a costume for what I’ve got in mind, Superman.”

It was his turn to look a little hot and steamy under the collar. He sent a wicked glance her way before disappearing down the corridor.
 

Erin gazed at the door for a few minutes after he left, wondering what she’d gotten herself into. Dreaming about a certain male wasn’t going to get the stack of invoices on her desk approved for payment, or the latest budget re-forecast finished before three o’clock.
 

Sitting down, she opened her accounts folder and began to tap away on her keyboard, putting Superman and his itsy-bitsy costume out of her mind.
 

“That’s what I like to see - a woman who knows her way around an accounting system.”

She glanced up, her mind still racing over payment codes. Jake stood in her doorway, one hip leaning against the side of the frame. Heat washed through her body at the warm invitation coming from his eyes. Logging her computer off, she grabbed her purse. “I don’t know what’s more dangerous. Superman or the real man.”

“You’ll get a chance to find out on Saturday.” He laughed as she sidestepped past him and into the library.

The rich aroma of roasted coffee beans wafted out the door of the café. After they’d started eating, Erin discovered that taking Jake out to lunch hadn’t been such a great idea. Word must have circulated that Superman needed a refueling break. Every female in the building just happened to need a muffin or sandwich, right at that very moment. And of course, they just happened to bump into Erin entertaining the man of steel. She’d never been so popular.

Jake grinned as another woman left their table. “How about we finish lunch beside the river?”

Erin looked warily at him, then at the crowd in the café. There was definitely safety in numbers, especially to a woman who’d already seen firsthand how distracting he could be. Even with a constant stream of introductions, the café suited her just fine.

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her reply.

Glancing at her watch, she tried to figure out how much time they had left before he needed to leave. “You’ll get grass stains on your suit.”

Jake gave her a bland look. He knew what she was up to. Holding out his hand, he smiled. And waited.

Erin hesitated. She didn’t want to look like a scaredy-cat, and she most definitely didn’t want him to know how much he rattled her nerves. With a sigh of defeat, she knew there was only one option. Sucking a mouthful of air into her lungs, she took his hand and headed outside.
 

They found a quiet spot on the grassy bank and sat down. Cradling a cup of hot chocolate in her hands, Erin looked over at Jake. “You were great with the kids today,” she said, trying to fill the silence between them with something close to intelligent conversation.
 

That wasn’t the only group he’d impressed. Every female in the library had looked stunned as Superman made his grand entrance. The man of steel had sent estrogen levels soaring. “The parents will be booking for a repeat performance even if their kids don’t. Any chance you’d come back next month as your alter ego?”

He choked on his coffee. “Nope. Not going to happen.”
 

“What if we change the costume? How does Batman sound?”

Jake leaned back on his elbow, his blue eyes laughing at her. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you wear a Catwoman suit, then I’ll dress up as Batman.”

 
Erin tried not to smile at the hopeful expression on his face. “It doesn’t fit with the professional image I’ve developed.”

“You don’t have to wear it to work,” he grinned. “It could be a little after hours outfit.”

Heat scorched Erin’s face. They’d gotten into enough trouble with a perfectly half-decent satin dress and a pair of red high heels. Lord knew what would happen if she wore tight black leather pants, a whip and pointy black ears.
 

“I’ll take your silence as a definite maybe.”

Erin knew he’d take anything she said or did as a definite maybe. Especially if it involved getting naked. She took another sip of chocolate. Thinking about getting naked brought up a whole lot of other issues she needed to sort out.
 

She looked down at her drink, swirling the last dregs of her hot chocolate into a mini whirlpool. “How do you feel about kids?” She hoped that didn’t sound as crazy as she thought it did. She should have softened the beginning, made it sound more discreet, more of something that it wasn’t.

Jake smiled at a family of ducks splashing in the water. “Great when they belong to someone else, but not for me.”

“Oh.”
 

His head turned in her direction. After a few seconds he quietly asked, “What do you think about kids?”
 

A heavy sinking feeling lodged in the pit of Erin’s stomach. Putting her cup on the grass, she rested her arms on her bent knees. “Last year I got engaged. A few weeks before the wedding I found out my fiancé didn’t want children. We broke up. That was nearly a year ago.” She glanced at Jake. He kept his eyes on the river.

Another few minutes of silence went by before he asked, “Why do you want kids so much?”

This time around she wasn’t going to careful. She wouldn’t gloss over the one thing that had always been important to her. Jake needed to know the truth and if that made him run a mile, then he wasn’t the man for her.
 

“I’m an only child. When I was growing up I always wanted to be a mom and have a house full of kids. I’m all grown up now, and I don’t have children. When my parents died it made me realize how short our lives are. The whole circle of life thing kept me awake at night.”
 

She pulled her knees against her chest. “I need to start trying for a baby pretty soon or the chances of ever getting pregnant will be zilch.”

Jake frowned. “You’re not that old. What’s the rush?”

She could have sworn she heard a loose screw flicking around inside his brain. “I’m twenty-eight-years-old. Unlike the males of the species, I don’t have the luxury of time on my side. If I want to have children it’s going to have to happen soon.” Staring at his blank expression didn’t do a lot for her confidence. He was either good at hiding his feelings, or didn’t care about what she’d told him.

He put his coffee down and held her hand. The heat from his fingers melted the ice running through her veins. His eyes were serious, his mouth set in a grim line.
 

She took a deep breath, dreading what might come next.
 

“I don’t want children. Not now and not in the future.”

“Why not?” Tears pricked the back of her eyes. She couldn’t believe how disappointed she felt.
 

He let go of her hand and stared moodily at the slow moving water. “I was ten-years-old when my brother was born. I got over the whole baby thing really fast, watching what my parents went through with Scott. I don’t want to risk the same thing happening to me.”
 

A glimmer of hope warmed her heart. “But there are tests the doctors can do to see if the baby has Down syndrome.”

Shaking his head, he said softly, “I don’t need to worry about that because I don’t want children.”
 

She didn’t know what to say.
 

“I’m sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear. I really enjoyed Saturday night and I want to see you again. I know this could be a deal breaker for us, but I hope it isn’t.” He looked down at his watch, then glanced at her. “I’ve got to get back to work for a meeting. Can I give you a call tomorrow night?”
 

The knot in her throat pulled tight. She should have listened to Nicky and not indulged in a night of spontaneous lust. Before she’d slept with Jake, she hadn’t expected anything long-term to happen. For once in her life she’d felt reckless and wanton, and he’d been the man she wanted to be reckless and wanton with.