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“I appreciate the offer, Dana, but I can take care of this myself.”
“I know you can, but I’m offering to be there anyway.”
“It’s not the right time, besides, you need to be here for Claire.”
“We have plenty of time before Claire needs us. This is important, Jake. It’s your family.”
He knew precisely how highly Dana regarded family which was exactly why he didn’t want her here. When he’d responded, he’d purposely let the frustration creep into his voice, so she’d know he was done negotiating.“Dana, it’s not the right time.”
He was beginning to wonder if it ever would be.
After their graveside kiss it seemed they’d finally gotten their timing right. So right in fact they’d ended up at his place, stripping each other bare as they pinballed down his hallway like a couple of horny teens. But their passion had been swiftly interrupted by a phone call from Wade.
Jake couldn’t help wondering what would’ve happened if he hadn’t answered. If they’d spent the night together, would he have truly let Dana in? Would she be here with him now, sitting beside him on the stars and stripes sheets still adorning his childhood bed? Or better yet, would he have made good on his promise to take her to the Keys, where they could be sitting at Schooner’s, sipping cold beer between salty kisses?
The nightmare he kept waking from told him he’d made the right call. If life had taught Jake Shepard one thing, it was that a world where he got what he wanted didn’t exist. Bringing Dana here would only have accelerated the end of something that might never be, no matter how much he wanted it.
2
Dana was joltedupright by the ringing of her phone. She tried to quell her disappointment when it wasn’t Jake’s number on the screen. Just another weather alert warning of freezing rain. Spring in D.C. was never dull.
She silenced the alert, but her distress over Jake was still loud and clear. He’d promised to call her when he’d left for the airport but that was almost a week ago.
Carefully, Dana closed the delicate pages of the mid-fifteenth century Venetian vampirism manuscript she’d been deciphering. She removed her white gloves and cringed at her chewed nails. Her nervous habit had resurfaced thanks to Jake’s disappearance and now she was too distracted to concentrate on her work.
She looked around her empty office and tried not to take offense at the cavernous silence that echoed back at her.
Normally, she preferred the solitude the Smithsonian offered. But she’d grown so accustomed to having Claire and Jake fill the space, that without them, her normally structured world was off kilter.
She didn’t know what to think of the radio silence between Jake and herself, but she was beginning to worry. He hadn’treturned any of her calls or texts. She knew his uncle would never call Jake home if whatever was going on wasn’t serious, especially after what Jake had just been through.
After the Vega case, Jake deserved a break. They both did.
Dana had even let herself envision the Key West vacation Jake suggested shortly before he’d pressed her against the wall outside his bedroom and kissed her breath away. Instead, Jake had gotten devastating news about his mother.
Dana didn’t know much about the woman. Jake wasn’t big on sharing information, but parts of their personal lives had inadvertently bled into the three intense FBI cases they’d worked together. Parts that had introduced Dana to Jake’s Uncle Wade, and cemented Jake as someone she could rely on.
That’s why the silence was so disturbing. Even during the worst of their cases, Jake always checked in with Dana. She didn’t want to intrude on what was possibly a delicate family crisis, but if the worst had happened, she didn’t want Jake to think she didn’t care.
She never would’ve survived finding out the truth about her parents or being betrayed by her best friend without Jake. He’d been there for her, and she wanted to return the favor.
That is, if he wants me to.
Dana tried to silence her doubts. She thought of herself as a confident woman, but she also couldn’t help wondering if Jake regretted their passionate interlude. It had been leading to what was sure to be a night to remember before Wade called. But maybe Jake had welcomed the interruption. It would be understandable if he’d just gotten carried away, swept up in the emotions after everything they’d been through.
Did the time away make him see things differently?
See her differently?
For once, Dana thought she and Jake were finally on the same page.
But maybe not.
Maybe ignoring her calls was his way of letting her down easy.
She’d be lying if she said the rejection wouldn’t hurt, but maybe it would be the smart move.
She and Jake … they were completely implausible. As cliché as the jock and the geek living happily ever after. Yet, she couldn’t stop her mind from reliving those few minutes of blissful passion every time she closed her eyes.
