“It does sound like that, doesn’t it?” Gosh, her voice was bitter. “But what it sounds like and what it really is are two different things. I learned that the hard way with Braden.”
Jericho paused. “He said he wanted you back. That what you want?”
She swallowed hard, thinking. Trying to gauge his reaction. If she told him what she really wanted, would he run off and leave her? Could she handle being abandoned twice? “I think I’d really like for you to hold my hand again,” she said in a small voice.
He reached over and took her hand in his. “That’s easy enough to do.” His thumb brushed against her palm, sending ticklish feelings up her nerve endings. “Better?”
“Yeah.”
They sat there for a long, quiet moment, just holding hands and listening to the water. Then, Jericho broke the silence. “I know I’m not exactly a great catch. I’m the town outcast. A drifter, I guess. A bad boy. Not the kind of guy you bring home to Mom, you know? I have tattoos and piercings and I’m pretty much the only one in my family that hasn’t spent time in prison. I don’t have a place of my own yet. I really don’t have a lot to offer a girl like you. Not like Braden.”
She blinked. Looked over at him. Her fingers curled against his, squeezing his hand. “What do you mean, a girl like me?”
“I mean, I’ve never really dated anyone like you. Most of the chicks I’ve seen have been casual hook-ups. I feel like I’m not the right kind of guy for you because you’re so pretty and sweet and you like to bake and do stuff around the house. I’m not used to that kind of girl.”
He made her sound like the most boring woman on earth. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be. I like it. I really do.” This time he squeezed her hand, and she could have sworn he moved a little closer to her on the dock. “I just don’t have much to offer that kind of girl. Braden’s got a great job, and probably a college education, and savings, and shit like that.”
“Yeah, Braden’s just great on paper,” she said, resentment clouding her voice. “But when I needed him, he took off to pursue his own ideas and left me to clean up the mess. You know what I want in a guy? Someone that loves me for who I am and sticks around to help me change the light bulbs. That’s all that I ask.”
He looked thoughtful. “I do change a mean light bulb.”
A giggle escaped her.
“I guess I just have a hard time asking a girl to take a chance on me when I don’t feel like I have much to offer.”
She gaped. Just a little. “Not much to offer? Are you kidding? You’re smart, you’re funny, you’re kind, you’re good with your hands, you’re great in bed, and you make me laugh and feel totally comfortable.” This time, it was Emily that scooted a little closer. “And best of all, you are always there when I need you.”
“Well,” he said softly. “All right then.”
She tilted her head back and gazed up at him. “You make me happy and you’re there for me. I don’t think a girl could ask for more.”
“So…all that shit I said about us being casual? I lied. I don’t want you seeing anyone but me.”
“I don’t want anyone but you,” she whispered happily. “And I don’t want you to see anyone but me.”
“Emily Allard-Smith, ever since I met you, I haven’t been able to see anyone but you.”
“See, there you go again, always saying the right things,” she said, snuggling up to him. He looped an arm around her shoulders and he felt so good, so very right. “And I’m pretty sure I’m going to go back to just Emily Allard. The ‘Smith’ part kind of gets on my nerves.”
He laughed. “Me too. Me f**king too.”
She grinned up at him.
Jericho smiled down at her and leaned in and lightly, ever so lightly, brushed his lips over her mouth. “You’re pretty amazing, Emily Allard.”
“You are too, Jericho Lozada,” she said, and pushed in for more kisses, her arms going around his neck. The jacket slid off her back and pooled onto the dock, but she didn’t care. The taste of Jericho, the feel of him, the scent of him, it enveloped her, and she was gloriously, deliriously happy. “So,” she breathed against his mouth when they parted. “You ever made love on a dock?”
~~ * * *~~
They did, in fact, make love on the dock. It was tricky because they left most of their clothing on in case of splinters. It ended up being a lot of mutual mast***ation until Jericho shoved his pants down, pulled out a condom, and pushed Emily’s panties aside and thrust into her. Then, Jericho had to keep muffling Emily’s orgasmic shrieks with kisses, but they both managed to come until they were seeing stars – both literally and figuratively – and stagger back to his motorcycle an hour later.
Emily clung to Jericho, feeling lazy and wonderful, as he strapped the bike helmet under her chin. “I’d ask you to move in with me tonight, you know, but I feel like my house has been invaded by the Spooky Squad.” She made an unhappy face.
He cupped her chin. “It’s your house. You said you got it in the divorce, right? Make him leave. Unless you want me to make him leave.”
“No, I can handle it,” she said. “Unless you think it’s too bitchy of me to throw out my ex and all his employees when I’m the only bed and breakfast in town?”
“Oh, it’d be bitchy,” Jericho said with a laugh. “And it’d make me damn happy.”
Come to think of it, it’d make her pretty happy, too. “My sister’s dating a cop,” she told him. “A really big one. Think I should call in a favor?”
“What else are all those brownies you bake for?” He leaned in and kissed her. “I’ll support you whatever you want to do, you know. I’m here for you.”
Happy tears filled her eyes. That was all she’d ever wanted – support and understanding. “I know. And I appreciate it more than you can ever imagine.” She pulled out her cellphone and grimaced at the time. “I hope Luanne’s working tonight or she’s going to be super grumpy.”
“I guess it doesn’t have to be tonight,” Jericho said thoughtfully. “You could always kick them out in the morning.”
“Oh, it needs to be tonight,” she assured him. “Or else they’re going to film their stupid show. I just have a feeling.” With that horrible thought running through her head, she pulled up Luanne’s number and hit ‘call’.