A/N: Hi, there! Inspiration has been flowing well the last week, and I was actually able to finish this chapter before Christmas! Yay! For all of my wonderful h00rs out there asking about it, there is citrus in this chapter :D
I'm full of mixed feelings as I tell you that there will be only two more updates to this story. The next chapter is the last and there will be an epilogue.
Enjoy!
Give Me a Sign
Chapter Forty-Nine
This is Love
This is why we do it
This is worth the pain
This is why we fall down
And get back up again
This is where the heart lies
This is from above
Love is this, this is love
-This = Love – The Script
Jacob
While Nessie went outside to work on her garden, I went back to our bedroom and dug out the journal I'd been attempting to keep. I'd skipped a day or two in the last week, but overall I was pretty proud of myself for doing what I had. It wasn't anything special; just a black spiral-bound notebook I had in my closet. I opened it to the first page and read what I'd written.
This is fucking stupid. Dr. Ass-Fucker can kiss my ass if he thinks it'll do any damn bit of good.
I smirked to myself and turned to the last page I'd written on. It surprised me how much had changed in just one week. The night before, after Ness fell asleep, I stayed up a long while thinking about a lot of shit. I didn't get up because I wanted to write, I got up because I didn't want to bug Nessie. The journal had been sitting on the floor by my side of the bed, and I took it with me to the living room where I ended up writing the longest entry to date. I had to give it to Dr.Ass-Fucker; he knew what he was doing. I scanned through what I'd written.
What the fuck is wrong with me? I couldn't fuck Nessie tonight. She said she understood. I wanted to. I'm not even sure if I can explain what happened. She was right there, so warm and soft, and fuck, she tasted so good. My dick says hell yes, but everything else says it'll be better all around if we wait.
. . .
She's getting so much stronger. I have no doubt that if she'd tried to talk to me about kids when she first moved in, she would have fought me a little but eventually given in. She wouldn't have stood her ground the way she did. She's always had a certain fire to her, but now it's really starting to shine.
. . .
I pray to God she'll be patient with me. It's not going to be an easy road. She's never gone through a bad breakup—any breakup, for that matter—I hope she understands it's not going to just fix itself like the marriage thing. I was able to give her what she wanted then. Marriage doesn't scare me as much as kids do.
I stared at the last line for a few minutes. After therapy today and thinking more about all this, I'd started to realize something. I wanted to deny it; I wasn't afraid to have a kid. It was just a stupid idea made by a family man with a stick up his ass. At the same time, I thought about my dad and all the things he did for me. He was a great father; he knew what to do and what to say when things got rough, and he knew how to have fun. There was no doubt in my mind that I would never be even a fraction as good at parenting as my dad was. I'd screw a kid up. They needed shit like nurturing and someone to show them right from wrong. I couldn't even count how many times I got myself in trouble when I was a kid. If I'd been my dad, I would have kicked my ass so many goddamned times.
I sighed and got up to get my pen from the computer desk, then I sat on the bed and wrote a little bit until Nessie came back inside. When I heard the back door, I closed the notebook and set it down on the floor by the bed.
Nessie came in the room with her shirt and most of her hair soaking wet. "What did you do?" I asked.
She laughed and took the shirt off as she walked toward the hamper. "I forgot how to use the hose."
I smiled and walked over to her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She tried to wring out her hair, using the discarded top to soak up all the water, then she took off her bra. "I was trying to clean my hands off because they were really dirty, and before I knew it, I had water spraying everywhere."
"Weren't you wearing your gloves?"
"At first, yeah, but I like to feel the mud and dirt on my hands. I'm surprised my pants made it out as dry as they did."
"Your ass is pretty wet," I told her. It looked like she'd sat in a pool.
She patted her ass as if she could just brush it off. "Well damn." With a sigh, she unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them down over her hips. I told myself to take a step backward and give her a little more room, but I couldn't. She was standing naked in front of me now, her hair still wet, goosebumps rising all over her skin, and her nipples at full attention. My dick was already hard.
"Nessie?" I took a step closer to her and reached out to touch her back. Her skin was cold and damp.
She dropped her clothes into the hamper and turned to look up at me. Her eyes told me she was a little nervous. "Yeah?" She put her hands on my chest and moved even closer to me. The way she moved made it seem like she was either trying to warm up or hide herself.
I swallowed and rubbed her back to warm her up. "I love you."
She rested her forehead on my chest. "I love you, too."
"Are you okay?"
She shivered. "I think so. I'm just cold."
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her head. "Do you want to take a shower?"
"Maybe. I'm sorry, Jake; I didn't think before I started to undress."
"Do you really think I mind, Nessie?" I made her look at me and bent to kiss her lips. "I mean really? You're too damn sexy for your own good."
She smiled and blushed. "Thank you. I know you don't mind it. I just meant I'm sorry if you thought I was trying to start something."
With my arms still around her, I started to move toward to the bathroom. "You know me, Ness. I'd make an invitation out of almost anything if I thought you'd be up for it. Now's not the time, and I'm okay with that. That doesn't mean we can't get naked and wet together, does it?"
Her smile widened. "No, it doesn't."
I pulled away from her and started the water. I kissed her one more time before I took my clothes off. She smirked as I climbed into the tub with her, her eyes on my dick. She looked up at me and blushed. I pulled the curtain closed, and she bent over to start the shower spray. I couldn't keep my hands off her. I pulled her close and kissed her, trying hard to ignore the way her body felt against my dick. It wasn't easy.
We both warmed up quickly. I helped her wash her hair because I loved doing it. She melted into my touch, the soft smile on her lips telling me exactly how content she felt. We both laughed when she tried to return the favor. She had to stand on her toes, but I held her steady and let her do it.
When we got out of the shower, we dried each other off. I stooped down to get her legs and kissed her stomach. Her skin shivered, and I looked up at her. She ran her fingers through my hair and smiled. I kissed her again, working my way up to her tits. I gave each one just a little treatment, telling myself I shouldn't take it too far. I couldn't help but give both her nipples a good, open-mouthed kiss, though. She whimpered, and I felt her fingers grip my hair.
"Jake . . ."
I moved up and kissed her neck a few times before I finally made it to her lips. She shot up on her toes and pressed her body against mine as her arms wrapped tightly around my neck. I held her just as fervently, one hand firmly on her back and the other grabbing her ass. She kissed me wildly, little whimpers and mewls escaping her throat. I was going crazy. I needed her so fucking badly. I held her as steady as I could and tried to get us to the bed without breaking the kiss.
It wasn't possible. She pulled back and stopped. She didn't look at me; she rested her hands and forehead on my chest. I tried to urge her to move, but either she didn't know what I was trying to do or she wasn't as eager as I was. I cleared my throat and rubbed her back as I told myself to calm down and be patient with her.
"Ness, are you okay?" I asked.
She shrugged but didn't move away or look up. She didn't even speak.
I sighed. "Baby, what's wrong?" I pushed her back gently and made her look at me. She didn't meet my eyes; she kept hers closed. "Come on, Ness, don't do this. Not now."
She started to tremble as a tear fell down her cheek. I wiped it away, but it was just the first. Finally her eyes opened. She looked so fucking scared.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered.
I shook my head. "Whatever it is, Ness, we'll figure it out. I need you to talk to me, baby."
She sniffled and furrowed her brow as she looked down. "I want to be with you so badly, Jake." She stepped away from me and wiped her face. "I really do, but I . . . I don't even know how to say all this." She sat on the edge of the bed and put her face in her hands.
I couldn't stand to see her so upset. I sat next to her and ran my fingers through her still-damp hair. "Try, baby. Tell me what's wrong."
She turned and rested her head against my shoulder but didn't move her hands. She sniffled again and sighed. I kissed her head and wrapped my arm around her shoulders to pull her with me as I laid down. She didn't fight me, she just curled up against me and nuzzled her face against my chest. I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes, telling myself I had to be patient and wait for her to speak. I'd give her a few more minutes before I started pushing again.
She took a deep breath and leaned up on her elbow. She stared at my chest for a few seconds before she looked up and met my eyes. "I'm sorry."
I touched her cheek. "Baby, don't be sorry. Just talk to me."
She licked her lips and nodded. "There are so many things going through my head right now. I don't know if I can get them all straight. I want to be with you, Jake. I really want to make love and be close to you like that how we were before. That's all changed, though, and I don't know if I can." She paused, and her lips trembled. I held her tighter. "I was nervous about it before, but now I'm really scared. I mean, before therapy, I was afraid of what an accident would to us, you and me. Now Dr. Furst says I'm not ready to raise a child, so where would that leave me if I got pregnant now? I'd have to give it up or screw it up, and I can't . . . your baby, Jake . . ."
I pulled her back down and kissed her head. I hadn't realized just how badly I'd hurt her. "Shh, baby, everything's going to be okay."
She shook her head as she sobbed. "No, it's not. I looked, Jake. Did you know that more than half of all unplanned pregnancies are because of failed birth control? God, Jake, if it happened to Leah, what would stop it from happening to us?"
"Nessie, those statistics are for people using only one kind. Leah was only using birth control pills, and she forgot to take them a few days when she was planning for the wedding."
She sniffled and looked up at me. "Really?"
I nodded. "Yeah." That conversation had been an awkward one, but I was glad Leah had been so talkative if it helped Nessie get past this. "Did you happen to look up how many pregnancies happen with both the pill and condoms?"
"No."
I hugged her tightly and kissed her. "Baby, listen. Yeah, there's still a possibility, but it's so small I don't think we need to be worried about it, okay? And if, by some freak occurrence, you did get pregnant, we'd work around it."
She started to relax a little and leaned up to kiss me. "What do you mean when you say we'd work around it?"
I took a deep breath. "It means we'd figure out what to do together."
She furrowed her brow. "I'd have to get rid of it, Jake. I mean, not like abortion, but adoption. I wouldn't abort."
"Okay. But adoption is only one alternative, Ness. Just because Dr. Furst says he thinks you'd be better off waiting a while doesn't mean you absolutely have to. Nobody could make you give it away."
She looked up at me with a hopeful expression, and I realized what I'd just said. "Do you mean that, Jake?"
I cleared my throat. "Yes, I do, but I'm not saying I want to have a kid, Nessie. I'm saying that if something happened by accident that neither of us was planning, we'd figure out what to do together and fuck Dr. Furst if it's not what he thinks is best."
She smiled and kissed me. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too. We're still going to try to stick to his plan, okay?"
She nodded. "I know. I feel so much better, though, knowing that everything in the world won't end if something happened."
I smirked. "Why would it end?"
Her smile disappeared, and she shrugged. "If I lost you and had to give up your baby . . ." She licked her lips and looked down.
I made her look at me. "You've got me, Ness. I'm not going anywhere."
She reached up and touched my jaw lightly before leaning in to kiss me. It was just soft, but it was wet and left me hungry for more. I rolled to my side, pushing her back, and leaned up on my elbow to hover over her. She smiled sweetly as her hands started to move slowly down my neck and shoulders. I cupped her tit and squeezed lightly. She licked her lips and looked at me through her lashes. She was so fucking sexy, especially when she gave me that look that I knew well. I leaned down and kissed her, pushing my tongue past her lips. She opened to me eagerly and pulled me closer. I slid my hand gently down her smooth skin to her hip. She turned into me a little and lifted her foot to rub my leg.
I wrapped my arms around her and shifted to my back, pulling her on top of me. She broke the kiss and whimpered, then spread her legs to straddle me. I closed my eyes and swallowed thickly. I could feel her pussy on the tip of my dick against my stomach. Either I hadn't done a very good job drying her off or she was a different kind of wet.
Nessie pushed herself up with her hands on my shoulders. "Jake?"
I opened my eyes and looked up at her. "Yeah, baby?" I rubbed her arms and pushed her hair back behind her shoulders.
She licked her lips. "I, um . . ." She hesitated for a moment before she lowered herself again and kissed my lips. "I want to make love."
"Yeah?" She was silky and smooth. Every part of her. Her back, her arms, her legs, her ass . . . even her feet were soft. I could touch her forever.
She smiled and nodded. "Yeah."
She still seemed a little nervous. I kissed her and pushed her gently to her back before I sat up and got a condom out of the drawer by the bed. A part of me wanted to just put it on and fuck her senseless. I wanted to make sure she was well taken care of first, though. It had been too damn long since the last time I'd fucked her; I wasn't sure I'd be much use.
I leaned over her to kiss her deeply and grabbed her tits. She covered my hands with hers and moaned softly into my mouth. I left her mouth and kissed her down her neck while I skimmed a hand down her stomach. She gripped my hair and moaned again as her hips thrust forward. I was about to touch her pussy when she spoke.
"Jake?" She pushed lightly on my shoulder.
I looked up at her. "Yeah, baby?"
"I'm ready."
I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I'm ready. To make love." She put her hand over mine again, still on her lower stomach.
I nodded. "I know. That's what we're doing."
She smiled a sweet, shy smile and shook her head. "No. I just want you, Jake. Please?" She pulled on my hand, moving it away from her pussy.
I was honestly confused. "I don't understand."
She pushed herself up and kissed me. "Lay down please."
I did and just watched her as she got on her knees beside me. "I don't want you to think that I don't want you to touch me, Jake. What I want right now is to just be with you. I don't want to waste time with anything that isn't becoming one with you again."
I think my jaw dropped open. Nessie took the condom and opened it, then put it on for me. My eyes closed, and I groaned. Her hands felt so fucking good.
"Is that okay?" she asked. She leaned over me and kissed my lips.
"That's fucking perfect, Ness."
She swallowed and started to straddle me. "I mean is it okay that I just want to skip everything else and go right to this?"
I pulled her down and kissed her roughly. My hands helped her get into position, and both of us moaned when she slid down on my dick.
"Nessie, baby, don't ever think that something you want is wrong. I'm just used to pleasing you first. You want something different, whatever it might be, just tell me."
She settled herself all the way down and whimpered. She sat up and licked her lips before she started to rock gently against me.
"My God, Jake . . ." She leaned forward with her hands on my chest. Her hair fell forward around her arms. "It feels so good like this."
Her slight movements were driving me crazy. I grabbed her hips tightly and urged to do more. She rocked harder, a little faster. It still wasn't enough. I hissed and arched my back. "Dammit, Nessie . . . Fuck, baby."
"Do you like it, Jake?"
I nodded. "Fuck yes. I need you, Ness."
She bent down and kissed me. "You have me," she said quietly. "Always."
She let me guide her movements then, crying out when she really liked something. I didn't think it would be possible to make her cum, but just as my body started to tense, she leaned forward and froze for half a second before she moaned loudly and arched her back. Her pussy tightened harshly, making me delirious. My release hit a few minutes later. I felt it through every single part of my body; it was glorious.
It was a good thing I was already laying on my back, because I might have crushed her if I was on top. Nessie shifted to my side, and I moved just enough to get rid of the condom.
"I love you," I said when I laid down again.
She curled up against me. "I love you, too. Thank you."
I kissed her head. "You too."
Ness and I lay together quietly for a while. Her fingertips moved softly over my chest while I gently played with her hair. The next time I looked at the clock, mostly by accident, I was a little surprised to see it was already almost six o'clock.
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
She drew in a deep breath and hummed. "Yeah."
"I am, too. We should get up."
I felt her smile against my chest. "Speak for yourself."
I smirked. "Okay, I should get up."
Her arm tightened around me. "No, you shouldn't. I'm comfortable."
"I'll starve."
"You have reserves." She patted my stomach. "You could survive on your muscles for years."
I snorted. "And what about you? You'd last maybe a week."
She shifted to look up at me. "Are you saying I'm weak?"
"No, just that you're tiny."
She hummed. "Oh, I see. Well, you've disturbed my peace anyway. Let's get up." She kissed me and sat up.
I chuckled and got up after her. Without getting anything on, she headed for the door. She stopped and turned to glance at me, a sexy smirk on her lips. I gave her a smirk of my own and followed her.
The rest of the week was better than I had thought it would be. I didn't even care that the men on my so-called team weren't doing anything. There wasn't anything to do. The client finally came by Friday afternoon to look through the place. Acting as foreman, I had to walk through with them and answer any questions they had. They were all dumber than bricks, but they didn't want any changes and the building was declared finished.
It was a relief to finally be done with it. Nessie helped me celebrate that night in a horizontal fashion. My plan, like always, was to take a week off and start looking for more work after my break.
We usually spent Saturday together, but something felt a little different when we woke up. It was the first of many days we'd have to just relax and be together. I wanted to spend the whole day fucking her, but she tensed up when I tried to come on to her. She admitted, reluctantly and with a very red face, that she'd gone on the rag earlier that morning. She explained that was what the white pills in her birth control packet meant. Instead, we spent the day inside just being together and talking about everything, then went out to a movie and dinner on Sunday. When we got back, I realized I'd left my phone at home, and I had a missed call from Harry, Leah's dad. I called him back, and he said he wanted to talk to me. I made a plan to see him the next day.
"What does he want to talk to you about?" Ness asked curiously when I told her.
I shrugged. "I don't know. Probably something work-related."
She nodded.
I went out the next day at noon, and Sue let me in.
"How are you, Jake?" she asked.
"Not too bad. You?"
"I'm doing well, thank you. Harry's in his office on a call; he'll be out shortly. Are you hungry?"
Sue was the kind of woman that had to feed anyone that walked through her door. There was no doubt in my mind that she'd already started to spoil her first grandchild.
"No, I'm okay. I'll just wait for Harry."
She nodded. "Okay. How's Nessie doing? Has she made a decision about Lisa's flowers?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Nessie's fine." It took me a second to remember that Leah had asked Ness if she'd do another arrangement. "If she has decided, she hasn't told me about it."
She nodded again. Harry finally came down the hall and invited me to his office.
"How's it going, Jacob?" he asked as he shut the door behind us.
"It's going. What's up?" I was already prepared to reject whatever it was he wanted me to do.
He smirked. "I figured you'd want to just get down to business." He walked over to a counter with several decanters of liquor. He offered me a drink like he did almost every time I came here, and I declined like always. "On my desk you'll find the blueprints of a project I have set to start next week. I have everyone I need ready to go aside from a foreman. The man I hired got himself into trouble with the law two nights ago, and now he's in jail."
I snorted. "Sounds like a nice group of guys. Forget it." I turned around to leave.
"I need a foreman, Jake."
I stopped with my hand on the door and turned to look at him. "The last contractor I worked for already beat you to it, Harry. I told him to fuck himself, just like I'm telling you. I'm not doing it."
"Will you just think about it? I could really use your help."
I sighed. "I'll think about it, but my answer will still be no."
I didn't give him a chance to say anything else as I walked out.
"How did it go?" Nessie asked me when I got home.
I shrugged and sat on the couch. She sat next to me. "It went all right, I guess. Now Harry wants me to be foreman." I shook my head.
Ness put her hand on my arm. "Really?"
I think she liked the idea of me being the boss. I kissed her and nodded. "Yeah. I told him I'd think about it, but I don't know if I really will."
"Why don't you want to do it?" she asked curiously.
"I don't know; it just seems stupid. Oh, by the way, Sue asked if you had made a decision about Lisa's flowers."
She quirked her lips. "I think so. I want to, I think. I mean, I want to do it because I like doing it, not because I like her. Would it be bad to tell her I'd do it for a higher price than the other one?"
I laughed and hugged her. "That's not bad at all, baby. That's business. If you had a set price, then maybe it would be more complicated, but you don't. If they don't want to pay it, you don't have to do the work."
She smiled. "I like that idea."
She called Leah later that day to give her the information, and they set up a time on Wednesday for her to do the arrangements. I was proud of her for what she was doing. It was only more proof that she was getting better.
Tuesday Ness and I talked about seeing Dr. Furst separately. I was hesitant about it only because I wasn't sure if she was really ready for that. She assured me that she was fine for a test run and just see how it went. I sat in the waiting area for her hour. It was the longest hour of my life. I couldn't even count how many times I wanted to break the door down just to make sure she was okay. I had to admit I was curious about what they were discussing, but I found I wasn't upset that I didn't know. I remembered the first time we had come for the free consultation and how hard it had been for her.
When Ness finally emerged with tears in her eyes, I wanted to beat the shit out of Dr. Furst. She smiled brightly, though, and hugged me tightly.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She nodded and stood on her toes for a kiss. "I'm okay. I was a little nervous, but I think I'll be okay. Thank you for waiting."
I kissed her. "Did you expect me to run away? I love you, babe."
"I love you, too. He's waiting for you."
I touched her cheek. "You'll be okay out here?"
She nodded again. "I'll be fine."
Talking to Dr. Furst without Ness was surprisingly similar to how it was with her. We went over the same things, and he asked the same kinds of questions, but it wasn't as distracted. We seemed to go back and forth between Ness and me when it was both of us, but this time it was concentrated on me. I told him about the success I'd been having with the journal, and he encouraged me to keep it up. Before I walked out, he assured me that Ness did great on her first session without me. I felt good knowing that one of our big goals had been met.
Harry wanted to talk to me again on Wednesday while Ness was at Leah's. I dropped her off and went to see him. I hadn't made up my mind yet. He was available as soon as I got there, so we just went right back to his office.
"Any final decisions yet?" he asked as he sat down behind his desk.
I lounged back on the couch. "No."
"I'm willing to sweeten the deal."
I smirked. "You really think that'll change my mind?"
He shrugged. "It might, I suppose. How much were you getting paid?"
"Does it matter?"
"It should, considering I intend to double it."
I sat up in surprise and almost choked. "What?" This man had too much money.
"You heard me." He stood up and walked around the desk to sit on the corner of it. "Look, Jacob; I'm not asking you to take this position because I want you to work your way up to a contractor. I'm asking you because I know your skills, and I know you won't screw me over. I also know how you are with people. I've gotten reports on you. You don't think you're any good, but I think you'd do a great job if you gave yourself a chance. You're strict, yes, but that's what gets work done. I don't want a foreman who sits around and lets the men do whatever they want. I want a foreman who will keep them in line."
"I didn't get into construction because I like to boss people around. I like to build things and get my hands dirty."
"Then don't boss people around. Get your hands dirty all you want. Be a part of the construction. All you'd have to do different is have people under you. A team of ten men or so that report to you. And, of course, you'd have to earn more money and get better benefits."
"You and I both know it's not that easy."
He sighed. "Then what about a side offer? Your girlfriend—Nessie, is it?—she's really getting into flower arrangements, isn't she?"
I stood up and took a step closer to him. "You leave her the fuck out of this, Harry. This is you and me, and—"
He waived his hand and stood up from the desk. "Jacob, stop it. I'm not the man I was before, and you know it. I'm not threatening you or her, so just calm down. What I'm offering is a booster to help her start a business if she's interested."
That was unexpected. I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked down for a second. Nessie hadn't talked about it, but I was pretty sure she'd like the idea of her own business. "That's not my decision to make," I said. I had to admit the thought of being able to offer something like that to her was nice.
Harry nodded. "Of course. Maybe you'd like to talk it over with her and get back to me?"
I nodded. "I'll talk to her."
He came up and patted my shoulder. "If she says yes?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. If she says yes, and I turn down your offer, she doesn't get the money?"
"I'm a reasonable man, Jake, but you know I don't give up easily. I want you on my team."
That was a no. It was a lot to consider, and I really didn't want to disappoint Ness if she wanted the business. She could start it without Harry's help, but the money would make things so much easier for her. "What benefits are we talking?"
He smiled. "What are you getting now?"
"The basics—health and vision—through the end of the month."
He nodded and clicked his tongue. "All right. Full health and vision plus dental. And I'll see what I can do about getting Nessie added."
"How? I tried that before; she has to be a dependent or my wife."
"Yeah, but I can pull strings. I didn't say it would be easy, I said I'll see what I can do."
I shrugged. "If you say so. When does the project start?"
"It's scheduled for next Monday."
A week was all I'd been planning to take anyway, and it would save me the trouble of having to look for another job. I wasn't sure if Ness was worried about money at all, but I didn't want her to be. I sucked in a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. I'll talk to Ness about this side offer of yours, and if she says yes, I'll do it." I figured I should probably take the offer even if she said no, but that was a different thing altogether.
Harry held out his hand. "You won't regret it, Jake."
I shook it. "We'll see about that."
"How did it go today?" I asked Nessie as we ate dinner that evening.
She smiled at me. "It went well, I think. The bouquets turned out so pretty. Lisa said they were perfect."
I nodded. "Was she nice to you?"
"Yeah, actually that surprised me. She sat in the basement with me almost the whole time I was putting things together. She apologized for what happened at Leah's wedding and asked if we could be friends." She sounded bewildered.
"That's good, babe. What did you tell her?"
She shrugged. "I said I didn't see any point in holding it against her if she was sorry but that I'd had too much experience with people trying to get me to trust them so they could just turn around and hurt me again. I'm not mad about it anymore, but I don't see us being best friends for a while."
I was impressed. "That's better than what I would have done, Ness."
She smirked. "You would have told her to go to hell, wouldn't you?"
I nodded. "Yeah, probably."
We ate quietly for a few minutes while I tried to come up with a good way to ask her about Harry's offer. I couldn't come up with any brilliant ideas, so I just jumped in.
"Ness, have you ever considered a business?"
She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean a flower arrangement business."
"Oh. Yeah, I've considered it, but I can't." She looked down at her plate and speared a carrot.
"Why not?"
She shrugged. "I'm allergic to the sun. Flower shops and greenhouses are all very open places with lots of sunshine."
I reached out and touched her arm. "Then don't open a shop. You can order plants and things that you need online, right? And you haven't killed any plants in your garden yet."
Her brow furrowed. "Jake, I can't work for a flower shop at home."
I smiled. "No, baby, I don't mean work for someone else. I'm talking about your own business."
Her eyes widened. "My own? Are you serious?"
I nodded. "Of course. Have you ever considered that?"
She laughed. "Yeah, I have, but who would want my flower arrangements?"
"You've done three in the last month, Ness, and that's just what Leah asked you to do. I'm sure she and her mom would help spread the word if you started your own company."
She pursed her lips. "I'm not sure. I'll have to think about it."
"All right." I lifted her hand and leaned in to kiss her knuckles.
"What about you? How did it go with Harry?"
I sat back and sucked in a deep breath. "Well, that depends. I might have agreed to do it."
A sly smile spread across her lips. "You might have?"
"Yeah. He offered me one hell of a compensation package, and even threw in an extra bonus for you."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why for me?"
"He knows me well enough to know that he can throw all the money he wants at me, and I'm too stubborn to budge. He makes an offer for you that I'm pretty sure you'll like but won't get unless I agree." I shrugged.
"What was the offer?" Her voice was flat like she wasn't convinced it was a good idea.
"He wants to pay for you to start your business."
He eyes widened, and her jaw fell slack for a moment. "Jacob, that's . . . Who the hell does that? No; I don't want the money or anything to do with it if it's just to get you to do something you don't want to do."
She picked up her empty plate and went to the kitchen. I followed her and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind as she rinsed the plate.
"I love you, Ness." I kissed her head.
"I love you, too, Jake." She turned the water off and turned in my arms to face me. "I don't want you to do anything just because I'd get something ridiculous out of the deal." She put her hands on my chest and looked up at me. Her brown eyes were troubled. "Personally, I think you should take the job, but that's just because you'd be the boss and you deserve that. If you do decide to do it, though, tell Harry I don't want his money."
She stood on her toes for a kiss, and I hugged her tightly. "Are you sure, baby? You wouldn't have to use it right away; you could put it back."
She nodded. "I'm sure. I know I could put it back and use it later, but I'm not sure I'll ever start my own thing. On top of that, Jake, I don't want him to ever think he has something he can hold over you."
She was too sweet. I kissed her nose. "I wouldn't let him if he tried, but I understand what you're saying. So you think I should take the job?"
She reached up to put her hands on my face. "Yes, I do. It's up to you, though."
I had to admit the thought of twice what I'd been earning before made my mouth water a little bit. There was so much I'd be able to do with it. "I think I will."
A/N: Thank you for reading!
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