Someone Like You (12 page)

“No, it’s
fine. I have everything under control.”

Shit, the lies are rolling off my tongue now.

“Jake, can I
at least come in?
 
It’s chilly out
tonight.”

He stood
frozen, unable to move, unable to speak.

“Jake, could
I come in?”

He shook from
heart to toe, finally stepping aside and letting her into his house.

His
and Katie’s house.

He didn’t
close the door, but decided he should when Gen ran her hands up and down her
arms.

Jake
nervously moved his feet, glancing once again at Katie’s photo.

“I think
you’ve already answered what I wanted to know when I drove over here,” said
Gen.

He turned to
look at her. Hurt was written all over her face, and her lips had quivered when
she’d said that to him. She’d made the fatal mistake of getting involved with a
dumb ass who was still so in love with his dead wife’s memory.

“Jake, I
thought I could handle the just sex bit. However, I sat thinking about us,
about Nicky getting used to having your around, and I can’t do it. I want more.
I’m not talking about us moving in together or the getting married sort of
commitment, but I need to know that you’re at least willing to move on from
Katie’s passing. I can’t be with a guy who won’t even kiss me on the lips.”

“I think, I
mean I probably will in time.”

Gen shook her
head. “Can you do it now because now is what I need?”

They stood
looking at one another.

“You can’t,
can you?”

Jake shook
his head.

Gen held out
her hand. “It’s been really nice getting to know you, but I got hurt by Nicky’s
father promising me something he had no intention of giving me, and I can’t do
it again. I thought I could, but I’m sorry. I guess I’m too old for games now.”

Jake looked
at her hand. He couldn’t bring himself to shake it because that would mean he
was accepting that it was over, and deep down he knew he didn’t want it to be.

If only she’d give me some more time.

“Jake, you
told my son it was impolite not to take a person’s hand when they offered it.”

He swallowed
and put his hand into hers. She had the beginning of tears forming in her eyes.

“Good luck
with the dog training. I hope you find something you really want to do with
your life. Be happy, Jake.”

She turned,
opened his door, and walked down the path. Jake shut the door, not wanting to
see her actually drive away. He put his forehead against the wood and broke
down and cried even harder than he had when Katie died in his arms.

Chapter Fourteen

“Sadie,
it’s
Mitchell
Farraday
.”

“Mitchell.
It’s wonderful to hear from you. Do you want to buy another gift certificate?”

“No, it’s
about the first one. Well not that actually, more about Jake Harris. I’ve just
spoken to him, and he sounds more depressed than he did before. He told me
you’d matched him with a wonderful single mom, but things didn’t work out for
them.”

Sadie tapped
her pen on her desk. She hadn’t stepped in on this one because she knew when it
came to healing a heart after a loved one had passed witches shouldn’t get
involved. Being dumped was one thing, but being left alone by death was
something mortals had to deal with all by themselves.

“Just like
you and Rachel, I know they’re right for one another, but this is a tricky
one,” said Sadie.

“I think we
need to do something because I’m scared he’ll sink into a deep depression, and
it’s the last thing I wanted to cause when I gave him the certificate.”

Sadie looked
at her bottle of potions sitting on the bookshelf, but resisted the urge to mix
a brew. In Jake’s case it would only be temporary. He had to see this through
himself or it would never last. Hearts would be broken.

She suddenly
had an idea about what might do the trick.

“Leave it to
me, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“That’s great
because I have every confidence in Perfect Pairing helping my buddy out.”

Sadie pressed
the end call button and
looked
 
to
the right The gardens outside her
office window sure looked like they needed some TLC. She skimmed through her
files, picked up the phone, and dialed.

“Hello.
Thompson Landscapes.”

“Hello, is
this Gen?”

“Speaking.”

“It’s Sadie
Sutton,
remember me, CEO of Perfect Pairing?”

“Yes. I do,
but I’m not interested in being a member again if this is a sales call.”

“No,
just the opposite.
I’m wondering if you could do some landscape
work. Things are looking a bit shabby. Maybe you can squeeze me in, oh let’s
say, the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, that
shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Good, I’ll see
you then.”

****

Jake headed
to the Perfect Pairing office. He didn’t want to take a survey because well,
his pairing hadn’t worked out as planned, but that was his own damn fault.
Sadie Sutton had been insistent that he take the survey at her office. He’d
told her to put it into the mail, but somehow she’d convinced him it could only
be done there. The lady could be quite compelling when she wanted to be.

He opened the
door and saw the receptionist typing at her keyboards.

“Hello, Mr.
Harris.”

Jake looked
over at her. He wasn’t aware that she knew his name.

She smiled at
him. He didn’t feel like smiling back, but at the same time he didn’t want to
appear rude, so he managed a tiny one.

“Sadie will
be right with you.”

He decided to
take her word for it and not sit down while he waited.

He looked at
some photos on the wall. One looked like Kyle Daley who he’d seen in the movie
he’d watched on the plane when he returned from active duty Shit, it was him,
and he’d once been a client of Sadie’s. Hadn’t he just read the guy had finally
married after being a confirmed bachelor for years?
Guess Perfect Pairing is great at its job.

“Jake, thanks
for coming down here.”

He turned to
see Sadie standing in the doorway. “Why don’t you step into my office, and we
can get this survey completed. It’s for the corporate headquarters and they
like things done by the book.”

Jake walked
in, noticing the huge glass window that he hadn’t seen when he’d first visited
Perfect Pairing. He remembered one being there, but it hadn’t been this large.

Sadie sat and
pulled out a form from a folder sitting on her desk.

“Could you do
me a favor and look out of the window and check if it’s raining?” she asked him
just as he was about to sit down.

“The sun’s
out. It’s not raining,” he said. She must be crazy because her office was
filled with bright sunlight.

“There could
be some dark clouds moving in.”

He hesitated.

She lifted
her pen and indicated for him to walk to the window.
“If you
would, please?”

Definitely
crazy, but he’d humor her.

He glanced up
at the sky. Not a cloud to be seen. Before he turned away he happened to look
down and see a van with Thompson Landscapes written on its side. He swallowed,
hoping Gen wasn’t around because he couldn’t bare the thought of running into
her after the incident at his house. He hadn’t slept since that night, had
barely eaten, and his pants were hanging on his ass now.

Jake didn’t
want to, but shit, he was being compelled again. He glanced down and saw Gen in
the flowerbed underneath the window. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and
she was bending over planting whatever the purple flowers were. He loved her so
much that he wanted to cry because his own stupidity kept them apart.

He turned and
looked at Sadie.

“I know what
you’re thinking,” said Sadie.

“You can’t
begin to know that.”

“Oh, I think
I can, and that’s why I arranged for you both to be here around the same time.”

“Why are you
doing this to me? I told you I still love my wife and I can’t give my heart to
anyone else.”

Sadie stood
and walked over to the window beside him. He looked at Sadie and then back down
at Gen, who was now wiping the back of her hand across her brow, leaving a
smear of dirt in its trail. He almost laughed remembering when he’d found her
that day working in the client’s yard. He was sure that was the second he’d
fallen in love with her.

He looked at
Sadie again. She nodded as if she could read his mind.

“She’s your
fate and your destiny. She’s the woman who will be your loyal companion for the
rest of your life.”

He swallowed,
feeling sweat break out on his forehead.

“I don’t
think I can.”

She took his
arm and turned him to face her.

“What I’m
about to show and tell you
is
against the rules. I
could lose my status as a witch. For that reason you’ll understand what I tell
you and act upon it, but afterwards you won’t remember a thing.”

Jake couldn’t
take his eyes off Sadie now because her eyes seemed to be growing larger and
bluer. Had he heard correctly that she was a witch? Or was his mind doing silly
things to him because of the stress of seeing Gen again?

She clicked
her fingers, and there on her desk sat a globe, and in its center was him and
Gen in what looked like one of the rooms at his house. However, it had baby
furniture in it. Gen was holding a baby.

“He’s the
first of two children you and Gen are destined to have together.”

He swallowed,
a tear running down his cheek.
Him a father.
He’d
always wanted to be one.

“Jake, Jake.”

“Katie, is
that you?”

It was. It
was his Katie inside the globe.

“I’m here
Jake, and I want you tell you that it’s time for you to love someone again. You
won’t dishonor me. In fact, I won’t rest peacefully until you do because I’ll
worry about you being all alone.”

“Katie.”

He reached
out to touch the globe, but both it and Katie were gone.

The
next thing he knew was, well, it was off because he couldn’t quite remember
anything that had happened since he’d entered the office. However, now he felt
like a weight lifted off his shoulder. He also had the urge to run outside and
tell Gen he loved her before it was too late. In fact, he was going to do just
that. He made a dash for the door.

“The survey,”
Sadie shouted after him.

“Forget it
because I’ve got urgent business outside.”

Jake ran out
of the office and down the hallway. He pushed the entry door open and ran
outside. He turned the corner to see Gen wiping mud off her thighs.

She looked
up, saw him, but didn’t move. He walked toward her, didn’t say a thing, but
simply grabbed her and kissed her, this time on the lips.

How could he
have waited this long? It was the most beautiful kiss of his entire life. Even
better than his first one back in third grade with Suzy
Lovering
who’d just gotten braces.

His tongue
slid across
Gen’s
lips as she opened her mouth, and
he pulled her in tight to him. He never wanted to let her go, but he had to
because he had something to say.

Jake pulled
away.

“I’m ready
Gen.”

“Ready
for what?”

She raised
her eyebrows. He could tell she was probably shocked at the suddenness of the
kiss.

“To
let Katie go, and to have someone like you in both my life and heart.”

“Oh, Jake, I
love you so much. But are you sure you’ve given this some thought? I mean right
now you might be thinking this is a good idea, but how about tomorrow or next
month when something reminds you of Katie?”

“Gen, it’s
okay. The strangest thing happened this morning. It was almost like Katie was
telling me that you were my future, and she wouldn’t be happy until I gave my
heart to you.”

Gen smiled
before kissing him
..
Their tongues dueled as his heart
beat faster. He was sure the world was spinning around him.

They pulled
away again. He glanced up at the window and saw Sadie standing there. She
winked at him.

Jake coughed.
“I don’t know if you’re ready for this yet, but would you think about being my
wife?”

Gen smiled
and didn’t answer for awhile.