The Dating Intervention: Book 1 in the Intervention Series (42 page)

Doctor Kat looked paused. “Okay, no. I wouldn’t have. I mean, you graduated vet school. But c’mon, Doc. It’s weird you’ve worked at a bar for so long. Right? Six years or something?”
 

“Right,” Delaney said.
 

“Don’t get all huffy. I’m serious.”
 

“Well thanks for hiring me, anyway.”
 

“You’re welcome,” Doctor Kat said. “I get a kick out of you, that’s for sure. And it’s been fun hassling you about your love life on Jake’s account. You know, he must be real interested if he’s having me pester you about it.”
 

That was good to hear.
 

“And you’re real interested in him, too. I can tell. You guys make a cute couple. Now stop grinning like the coyote that raided the hen house and get this dog back in the crate.”
 

“Am I grinning?” An embarrassed heat marched its way up Delaney’s neck and spread to her face.

Doctor Kat rolled her eyes.

“Are we a couple?” asked Delaney.
 

“Are you?” When Delaney stared blankly at her, Doctor Kat went on: “I’ll just say this, Doc Collins. I saw Jake the other night, after the two of you went sledding all morning. He came over to help my husband with some foaling. He couldn’t stop grinning. That same stupid grin you’re wearing now. If you’re not a couple yet, you should be. And if you don’t take that advice, you’re missing out. Let’s go. We’ve got a surgery in five.”
 

From her purse, which was stuffed into the cabinet on the wall, Delaney’s phone chirped. She put the chart on her desk, dug out her phone and felt a rush of pleasure when she read Josie’s text:
 

I got it. Next year, I’ll officially be Principal Garcia. Bow down. Oh, and thanks, ladies. Wouldn’t have done it without you Literally.
 

Summer:
Way to rock it, Josie. We knew you could do it, didn’t we, D?

Quickly, Delaney typed back:
We did. Congrats, Josie. I mean, Principal Garcia. Can I call an emergency Happy Hour tonight?
 

Josie:
Everything ok?

Delaney:
Everything’s great. See you at 6?
 

Summer:
See you then.

***

Benjamin greeted Delaney when she walked into Rowdy’s that evening.
 

“Hey, D, which side of the bar are you on tonight?”
 

For the first time since she’d stopped working at Rowdy’s, felt a rush of relief. She really hadn’t enjoyed it … but she’d never been brave enough to look forward to doing anything else.

“Emergency Happy Hour with the girls.”
 

“A Guinness, a water and a vodka cranberry,” Benjamin said. “Coming up.”
 

Delaney slid onto a stool at the usual table. The place was mostly empty. A man sat at the bar, his elbows up on the counter, his head in his hands, an empty brandy snifter in front of him.
Just a few short weeks ago, I would have ended up taking him home.
She shuddered.

From the doorway, a voice called, “Collins. I want to see you in my office, now. The
Principal’s
office.”
 

Delaney giggled, then jumped up to hug Josie. Summer, in her usual fashion, breezed in next and joined them in a group hug.

“So what’s this emergency Happy Hour all about?” Summer asked as Benjamin put their drinks on the table.
 

“Jake and I are going steady,” Delaney answered.
 

Her friends looked at her, stunned.
 

“But –” Summer said.
 

“The girl –” Josie said at the same time.
 

“It was his sister!” Delaney said. “I met her this morning.”
 

She explained everything: how she’d lost her phone and missed Jake’s texts, how she’d wanted – no, needed – closure, and how she’d shown up at his apartment, met his sister and accepted his invitation to go steady.
 

“The thing is,” she finished, “I never would have had the confidence to seek that closure if it weren’t for you guys.”
 

“Don’t go getting all emotional on me,” Josie said. “Please.”
 

Summer wiped a tear from her eye with the corner of her bar napkin.
 

“Seriously,” she said.
 

Delaney’s bedside clock read five a.m. when her phone chirped Friday morning. After an initial bout of panic (was her mom texting to say something had happened to her dad? Was Summer having problems with the pregnancy? Had something happened to one of the kids?) she felt happiness flood her veins as she read Jake’s message:
TGIF. I’m getting started early. Want to come over to my new gallery after work and help me paint? I promise it’ll be romantic.
 

Still smiling, she wrote back:
Sure! See you around 5:30. :) PS-how could it not be romantic?
 

Jake:
Have a great day. xo
 

Delaney:
xo

She spent the next hour daydreaming about making love to Jake in an empty art gallery, then got up to drink coffee, shower and head to work.
 

***

As advertised, Jake made the gallery setting romantic. He draped huge white tarps from the ceiling to cover the windows and placed candles in sturdy copper candlesticks on the floor around the room’s perimeter. In the center of the gallery, he set up a little card table. A pizza and a bottle of wine sat on top of it, alongside a red rose in a vase.
 

“This
is
romantic,” Delaney said.
 

“I figured you’re coming to help me,” he said, taking her hand and walking with her. “I might as well feed you.”
 

Looking around, she said, “This is going to be a beautiful gallery space. The high ceilings, the tall windows. I can’t wait to see your work in here.”
 

“Me, too,” Jake said. “Now let’s eat. Because I do plan on making you work.”
 

“Don’t you have electricity yet?”
 

“Yeah, why? Oh, the candles. Yes, I just wanted to, you know, set the scene. For romance.”
 

She laughed, and he said, “We’ll turn on the lights after we eat.”
 

“Are you sure drinking wine is a good idea?” Delaney asked as Jake put slices of pizza onto paper towels and pushed one toward her.
 

“Why not?” He shrugged. “I’m an artist, remember?”
 

She took a sip of the wine he’d poured into a plastic cup. “I’m not, though.”
 

“But you work with your hands.” He winked.
 

Delaney looked around at the gallery space. The shiny concrete floors and visible ductwork gave it utilitarian feel, which would contrast nicely with Jake’s nature-inspired work. She couldn’t wait to see how it looked during the day, with sunlight pouring in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
 

“Ready for the big reveal?” Jake asked a few minutes later, as they gathered their trash into a bag.
 

“That’s what I’ve been waiting for,” Delaney said.
 

“This is for the back wall,” he said, prying the lid off a paint can to reveal a warm, brick red color.
 

She clapped her hands together. “Love it. It’s perfect.”
 

Together, they stretched a tarp out on the floor along the back wall, then set up their supplies. Jake plugged his phone into his stereo speakers and put on something acoustic. The strumming of the guitar was soothing. They began painting, Jake cutting in on the edges with a brush, and Delaney rolling the center.

An hour later, they stood in the middle of the room, checking for streaks and spots where the paint was thin. Jake draped his arm around Delaney’s shoulders. She sighed, content. Even though she was exhausted, her body was buzzing with energy. She wasn’t going to pretend she didn’t know what it was. She wanted Jake Rhoades, in her bed. Naked. Sweaty. On top of her.
 

“We make a good team,” Jake said, halting her fantasy just as it was getting good.

“Oh, yeah. We sure do,” Delaney said. She wondered if he could hear her thoughts.
 

“Thanks for coming with me tonight,” he said.
 

“Thank you for inviting me,” she said. “Want to come over for a bit? A night cap?”
 

“I wouldn’t turn down some coffee,” he said.
 

***

A few moments later, they arrived at Delaney’s house. While the coffee brewed, Delaney set mugs, creamer and a sugar bowl on a tray. As she carried the tray into the living room, she noticed Jake had abandoned his boots on the floor in the middle of the walkway. It was nice, she thought, having a man’s boots in her living room. She actually enjoyed pushing those boots out of the way with her sock-clad foot, and seeing his jacket hanging over the back of a dining room chair. They were small things, she knew. But they felt comfortable. She realized this was the first time she hadn’t felt like a man was preparing to pack up and hit the road at the first possible opportunity.
 

Jake had stretched out on the couch, and she thought he’d fallen asleep. She set the tray on the coffee table, careful not to make any noise.
 

“Come here,” Jake said.
 

He pulled her down on top of him, and she propped herself up so she could look at him. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Delaney froze for the briefest second when she realized there was a man on her couch and he was looking at her, staring right into her eyes, like he might stay. Not on the couch, of course, but in her life.

“Thanks again for coming with me today,” he said. “It was way more fun with you there.”

“It was fun. And you’re welcome.”

“We should shower,” he said.
 

Delaney moaned in response.
 

“Don’t like that idea?”
 

“I love it,” she said.
 

For half of a split second, Delaney experienced profound relief that she’d spent an entire morning scrubbing her house clean. When Jake ran his hands down her back, over her butt and back up to her shoulders, her insides quivered and she forgot all about her sponge and spray cleaner and led the way to the bathroom. He followed her. The coffee sat, perched on its pretty tray.

Is this really about to happen?
 

Delaney Collins was about to have sex with Jake Rhodes. Something inside her told her it was going to be delicious. Beyond delicious, like the fresh-baked rolls at the barbecue restaurant.
 

Fresh-baked rolls?
her inner voice demanded.
More like chocolate cake.
 

This was going to be different, and she was going to like it. Not just like it, she corrected herself. She’d waited for it for weeks. She was going to love it.

She turned on the shower and from behind, Jake pulled her sweater over her head. She turned around and he pulled her t-shirt off, then unhooked her bra and cupped her breasts. Her knees went weak with desire. He moved with such tenderness that she found herself wanting to take her time, to savor every moment.
 

Could it be like this all the time? Delaney had waited so long for this. Now that it was finally here, she felt like she wanted to burn each image into her mind. She unfastened his belt, unbuttoned his jeans and began pulling down his pants. He removed them completely. Jake pressed his mouth to hers.

“I think it’s hot now,” she said against his mouth.
 

“I assure you, it is,” he said.

She giggled and pulled him into the shower, feeling a tremendous amount of anticipation and an unfamiliar level of calm. The hot spray massaged her shoulders, her scalp, her back. She could taste the sweat as the water rinsed it clean. All the while, Jake’s hands roamed over her bare skin, leaving tingling trails in their wake.
 

“Soap?” he said.
 

She handed him the body wash. He poured some into his palm and began rubbing her shoulders and arms. Her knees nearly buckled from pleasure.
 

“Your turn.”
 

She turned Jake around and worked the body wash into a rich lather on his back. As her hands made their way down to his waist, she reached around and grasped him. After letting her stroke him for a few seconds, he turned back around and said, “A shower’s worthless without a good shampoo.”
 

His hands in her hair sent shivers of desire over her skin. She moaned as he kissed her neck while still working his fingertips over her scalp. He tipped her head back for a rinse and caressed her nipples while her eyes were closed.

Weeks. Her body had begged for this for weeks. And now it was finally here.
 

Again, she groaned. Her entire body pulsed with the deep wanting she’d begun to feel whenever they were close. She craved, more than anything, that intimate contact. Not just skin on skin, but the feeling that a man was invested. Jake moved closer to her, pressing his wet body against hers. Slick and warm, his mouth roamed over her face, her neck and her collarbone. She felt like she might explode.
 

Maybe I should cool the water off
.
 

His hands were on her hips and she could feel him pressed against her. She wanted him. One little shift of her hips and he’d be inside her. She could almost feel it now, the slow, rhythmic movement.
 

Without thinking, she reached back and turned the heat down. She felt his smile against her mouth.

“Too hot?” he said.

“You don’t even know.”
 

***

The forecast had been right: sex with Jake Rhoades was absolutely incredible. Mind-blowing. Toe-curling. Delicious. As she basked in the afterglow, snuggled up to a damp Jake on her bed, she wondered why it had taken her so long to find a guy she really, truly liked – and felt attracted to at the same time. This was bliss.