Page 93 of The Last Autograph
He smiled, his features visible in the blue glow from the computer screen on the desk. “So I’ve noticed. To tell you the truth, I’m a little drunk myself, so my discretion may be off as well.”
“So, Chef Sinclair, how’s life treating you?”
“I’m not really sure at the moment.” He slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Hesitated. “You seem happy.”
Was she? Happy? And was it okay to be happy without him, even for a night? “Yes. It’s a great party, and Mason’s such a sweet guy. I’m so pleased I came.” Molly pressed her lips together, trying to stop herself from waffling.
“How’s that ‘little time’ project going for you?” he asked.
“Surprisingly okay. Oh, and, I met with your mother yesterday.”
“What, again? Are you still in one piece?”
Molly raised her arms in the air and did a twirl. “Yes, as you can see, I’m completely unscathed.”
He chuckled. “Well, that’s a relief.”
“Yeah, I had things I wanted to say, so…”
Jake nodded. Stared. “Anyway, I wanted to thank you.”
“For?”
“Everything. I didn’t appreciate how much your support meant to me until I was on my way home from Paris.”
A memory surfaced of the sun peeking through the blinds of his bedroom the morning after she found him at the cemetery. “Oh, no problem.”
“That night when you came to find me, you left without saying goodbye.”
“I said goodbye,” she murmured, “but you didn’t hear me.” Molly cupped his face in one hand and whispered, “I kissed you too.”
Jake tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She stilled under his touch, but beneath her breastbone, her heart raced.
“Did you?”
“Yes. Just a peck.”
“Like this?” His lips skimmed her cheek—once, twice—as his hips pressed into her. “I must have been sound asleep.”
She breathed deeply, the excitement of being with him again too strong to ignore. “You were… and so peaceful that I couldn’t bear to wake you.”
“I wish you had.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I want to remember our last kiss.”Jake gently backed her against the wall and stood, one hand resting above her head. Molly’s breasts tightened against the satin of her bra as she recalled the last time they’d had sex at Silkwood Crescent, when they abandoned sleep to explore one another’s bodies.
She lifted her chin and tilted her head as Jake kissed the side of her neck, her earlobe. And, as Molly cast aside her inhibitions under the effects of one too many shots, she wanted him so badly that it scared her.
They kissed now, Jake taking the lead and Molly following with no concern for the consequences, overwhelmed by the sensation of being with him again.
He slid a hand up inside her dress and rested it on her thigh. “I’ve missed you.”
“You have?”
“So fucking much it hurts.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
