Jake's Bride by Karen Rose Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

Divorced."
    "Were you ever lovers?"  Jake figured if he shocked her, she'd tell him the truth.
    Totally astonished, Sara just gaped at Jake.  As the astonishment wore off, annoyance took its place.  Most of the time Jake acted as if he didn't want anything to do with her.  Now, he wanted to know about her love life?  His interest intrigued her and also gave her hope.  Because if he cared...
    "Why does it matter if I was involved with Mark?"
    Gold sparks flashed in his eyes.  "So you were."
    "I didn't say that.  I want to know why you care."
    "Because what you do affects our son.  I want to know if this man was in and out of your apartment as if it was his, if he stayed overnight—"
    "All right!" she broke in, deciding answering him was the lesser of all evils.  "Mark and I were never lovers.  After Christopher was born, he helped me out a lot.  We even dated for a while.  But we both knew we were meant to be friends."
    "Just friends."
    She'd said it once, she wasn't going to say it again.
    But Jake kept probing.  "Does he know about us?"
    All she could do was be honest with Jake and hope he'd eventually believe her.  "Yes.  He knows Christopher is yours.  I didn't see him when I went back to pack up so I didn't have a chance to tell him I'd told you about Christopher."
    "Why did he call?"
    Sara knew Jake was showing too much interest to merely be concerned about what had happened in Wasco.  She almost  smiled.  Almost.  "He wanted to know if Christopher would like a fire engine for Christmas."
    Jake was exasperated with himself for caring who Mark was, how close he'd been to Sara, and what he meant to her now.  He didn't like the idea of another man buying his son gifts, of another man helping Sara after the birth of his son.  Yet guilt stabbed him, too.  As Christopher's father, he should be thinking about what his son wanted for Christmas, how to make their first Christmas together special.
    He tried to put the topic of Sara's romantic past aside.  "Have you bought Christopher anything yet?"
    She shook her head.  "No.  I've got to get organized."
    "Maybe you and I could go Christmas shopping some night.  After the auction." 
    Sara gave him a radiant smile that could light up all of L.A.  "I'd like that."
    When she smiled like that, he remembered all the good times.  He hadn't looked forward to Christmas in a very long time.  A child always made Christmas special.  A child and...a family.  He wanted his son to feel the stable solidity of a family.  Jake moved away from the furniture and closer to Sara.  "I'd like to make Christmas special this year for Christopher."
    "So would I."
    The pulse at Sara's throat fluttered, and he could count each beat.  The round neckline of her T-shirt just gave him a brief glimpse of the soft skin above her breasts.  He remembered the softness, the suppleness, the heat when he'd aroused her.
    "I'd better finish upstairs," she murmured.
    On impulse, Jake laid his hand on her arm.  "Come with me to the garage.  See if everything is set up the way you want it."
    She studied his hand on her arm, then lifted her gaze to his.  "All right."  As he took his hand away, she looked around the empty room.  "This is so hard."
    "You can cancel the auction."
    "And do what?  Put it all in storage?  No.  I have to let go.  I have Mom's china and her perfume bottle collection.  The rest..."  Sara shrugged.  "It's not going to help me remember her better."
    Jake wasn't so sure of that.  Sara was putting up a brave front, but getting rid of her mother's things hurt her.  He wished he could make it easier somehow.  He knew how loss hurt, how it lasted.  He didn't want her to regret not keeping those things that were dear to her mother.
    In the garage, Sara examined each piece of furniture sitting around the perimeter.  "I'm giving Mom's sideboard buffet to Aunt El.  She was with her when she bought it."
    As Sara talked, she slowly crossed to an old-fashioned