Forever in My Heart Read online

  The heat must have gotten to her because she could feel his touch, as though he were there. Her eyes snapped open when rough, calloused hands pinched her nipples. She tried to turn, but was boxed in by well-muscled arms.

  “Jamie?” It came out more like a question than a statement, although there was no doubt who was behind her by the way her skin prickled with awareness.

  His breath was hot by her ear. “Expecting someone else?”

  A laugh bubbled up in her chest, and she couldn’t help but tease him. “Not until tomorrow.”

  “Oh, yeah? Then it’s a good thing I’m here now.” He rubbed his cock along her bottom, and she had to bite her lower lip to refrain from moaning at how amazing he felt all slippery and wet.

  One hand cupped her breast while the other was bending her forward. Before she could formulate a response, he’d spread her legs and entered her from behind.

  “I’ve thought about you all day, baby. About taking you like this.”

  “I was in the middle of such a fantasy right before you joined me.”

  “I hope the reality is better.” He thrust up.

  She cried out in pleasure, holding onto the wall for support.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he murmured and bit her shoulder.

  “Definitely a yes.” She thrust back to take him in deeper, and this time he was the one who called out.

  Back and forth they moved with only the sounds of their raspy breathing, the streaming water, and their bodies slapping together filling the room.

  “Come inside me, Jamie. Hurry.” The pressure was building, and when he stroked her, everything inside her broke open, and she cried out as she came around him. He gripped both sides of her hips and called out her name as he joined her.

  He pulled her against his heaving chest, and they stood with the water pounding down on them. Pulling out, he spun her and swooped down for a long and sweet kiss. She never tired of kissing him and pulled him closer, thrusting her tongue deeper into his mouth. Sometimes, knowing he was with her still made her catch her breath.

  “Let’s wash up. I have a surprise for you,” he said.

  “Another one, you mean?”

  He tweaked a nipple. “One that will hopefully have you wanting to do this again before the night’s out.”

  The man was gloriously insatiable.

  After drying off and dressing, Vicky poured them both a glass of lemonade while Jamie wrestled something out of a large box.

  She peeked over his shoulder. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked, excitement bubbling in her voice.

  “Yup. My parents’ house was converted to central air. They had this old A/C up in the attic. Let’s see if I can get it to work.”

  “Do you think you can?”

  “I hope so. Otherwise, I’m buying a new one.”

  It only took five minutes before Jamie had the unit purring in her window.

  “You’re my hero,” Vicky said, standing with him in front of the air.

  “It’s going to take a while to lower the temp in this heat-box.” He ran his fingers along the swell of her breasts. “Are you feeling appreciative of me yet?”

  “No more getting sweaty until this thing can cool us off.” She handed him the glass of lemonade and sat on the couch. “How come I didn’t know the café renovations were almost done?”

  “What do you mean? I mentioned it the other night.”

  “You did? Did I respond?”

  “You mumbled something about having another grand opening celebration and then fell asleep.”

  She was both lifeless and brainless after they made love.

  “Lucy was right. All we do is have sex.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” He sat beside her. “What’s going on? That’s not all we do, although it’s the highlight of my day.”

  “I didn’t remember about the café and haven’t thought about the cupcake competition, either.”

  “We’ve both been busy, and when I come home you jump me.”

  “What? I jump you? You have your facts wrong, hotshot. You come in and jump me.”

  “How about the day last week when I hadn’t even gotten my boots or my tool belt off and you had my pants down around my ankles?”

  Oh, he’d looked super sexy wearing that tool belt. He’d looked one hundred times better wearing only the tool belt. How could she resist?

  “You wearing that tool belt should be illegal.”

  He laughed and lifted her legs onto his lap. “And the time we had sex on the kitchen table?”

  She moaned at the memory. He’d showered while she made dinner. He came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel and, well…she’d just put the pasta in the boiling water. It would have taken a good ten minutes before it was done, and she didn’t like her pasta too al dente. It wasn’t her fault the towel just fell off, right?

  “Okay, okay. Maybe the jumping is mutual.” Her heartbeat leaped as the stirrings of arousal tingled between her legs. She couldn’t get enough of this man, a fact that, if she let herself think about it too much, would start to freak her out. She wasn’t ready for a serious relationship, yet here they were living together. Sure, it wasn’t planned and was a result of the break-in, it seemed completely natural and…right.

  “Let’s talk now.” She stopped his wandering hand. “First, put a shirt on.”

  Although it was cooler in the apartment, it was still warm and after their shower, they’d both dressed lightly. She wore a flimsy sundress with only a pair of bikini panties underneath. Jamie wore a pair of athletic shorts without any underwear. The thought of that alone made her start to sweat.

  “It’s too hot for a shirt,” he groaned.

  “And from my perspective, it’s too hot without the shirt.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Admit it. You want me again.”

  She pushed at him when he tried to lower her horizontally on the couch. “Aren’t you full of yourself? I want to talk.”

  “I can multitask.” He managed to lift her sundress up over her stomach and grazed the tips of her breasts with his calloused hands. The pleasure was so intense she had to squeeze her legs together. Damn him. She did want him again.

  She wriggled out from underneath him. “Later. Let’s talk about the café and when I can plan the grand reopening.”

  She rose and walked over to her messy desk to locate a notepad, laughing when he groaned.

  “Okay, but it’s your loss, babe.” With a wink, he rose from the couch and slipped a T-shirt over his head.

  And it was her loss. But looking at his six-pack was raising her internal temperature by about ten degrees. After they talked and ate, she’d have the pleasure of stripping it from him… again.

  Chapter Nineteen

  It was family visiting day at the rehabilitation center, which meant both Jamie and his father would visit his mother, making it the first time they’d all be together since the night of his father’s heart attack. While he had seen his mother weekly, his father had only spoken to her—at her request. Jamie wasn’t sure what would happen and as such, set his expectations low.

  Jamie picked his father up and drove to the center.

  “The flowers you got for Ma are nice.” Jamie nodded in the direction of the bouquet in his father’s lap.

  “Tulips are her favorite.”

  “Are you okay about today’s visit?”

  When his father didn’t reply, Jamie snuck a glance. As he thought, his father was jingling the change from his pocket like he always did when he was anxious.

  “Pop, it’s okay to be nervous.”

  “I’m not. I’m annoyed to be meeting her in a place full of crazy people.”

  “It’s not a loony bin. It’s a rehabilitation center for people who have various addictions to alcohol, drugs, and pain killers. All the people there are people like you and I.”

  “Humph. Somehow I doubt that.”

  Jamie groaned inwardly. They weren’t even there yet, an
d his father already had a bad attitude.

  “Please try and keep an open mind. Ma likes it there. The way her counselor explained it, right now, she’s more comfortable there than at home.”

  “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” his father said.

  This was not starting out to be a good journey.

  They drove thirty minutes longer before Jamie parked. Located forty-five minutes away, the rehabilitation center was on over thirty acres of ground in suburban Philadelphia.

  Jamie led the way inside and spoke to the receptionist who informed them his mother was in her usual spot in the garden. As they approached, Jamie could see her sitting under a tree with the large floppy gardening hat he’d bought her on her head.

  “Hi, Ma.”

  She turned and gave him a bright smile. Jamie loved his mom’s smile. Whenever he’d done something wrong, she’d scold him but would always give him a special grin that made him know she loved him more than anyone in the world.

  “Jamie.” She stood to give him a hug and kiss.

  “You’ve lost more weight. It looks good.”

  “Fifteen pounds and counting. There’s still another fifteen I want to lose.”

  She looked past Jamie to his father. “Johnny. You came.”

  His father shifted his feet uncomfortably. “Of course I came, Barbara. It’s good to see you.”

  She beamed at him. “Are those for me?” she asked, nodding at the flowers.

  Clearly his father had forgotten them.

  “Oh, right. You still like tulips, right?”

  “They’re my favorite.”

  His father smiled and Jamie relaxed.

  “Ma, why don’t you show Pop the garden you’ve started.”

  Jamie faded into the background while his parents wandered a few feet away from him. He felt the weight of the importance of this day on his shoulders. Part of his mom’s healing was dealing with things between her and his father. His mother’s doctor had called Jamie the other day to discuss his father coming to one of her counseling sessions. When Jamie had mentioned it to his father, he refused to entertain the notion of couples counseling. Jamie hoped after the visit today, his father would see the sense in it. Without it, he didn’t think his mother would return home when her rehabilitation ended.

  With his smartphone, he checked his email, jerking his head up at the sound of his father’s raised voice. Sure enough, his father gestured with his hands in the air, a clear sign he was agitated. Jamie shoved his hands in his front pockets and paced. He’d give them another minute before intervening. It was scary how he found himself parenting his parents.

  Finally, his father bellowed, “I’m out of here,” and charged past him and toward the van.

  So much for the happy family visit. They hadn’t even lasted thirty minutes.

  Jamie found his mother fussing with her plants.

  “What happened?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? He didn’t like what I had to say so he yelled and stormed off in typical Johnny DiSilva fashion.”

  Jamie couldn’t argue because she was right. His father didn’t like to discuss things. If he didn’t agree with what you were saying, he walked away. It always frustrated his mother—hell, it frustrated him.

  Jamie placed his hands on his mother’s shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  She rose and rubbed dirt off her fingers. “I’m fine. Your father’s attitude would have bothered me a couple months ago. I would have started crying and then reached for the bottle.”

  “And now?” Jamie asked although a part of him was afraid of her answer.

  “I want to do my crocheting while listening to Internet radio. I found this classical musical station that’s very relaxing.”

  “Really?”

  She clasped one of his hands. “Really. I’m done drinking. For good this time.”

  The conviction in her voice gave Jamie confidence she meant it.

  “What did you fight about?”

  “I asked him to come to a sharing session with me. The doctors say it will help me prepare for coming home if I discuss any problems that could have contributed to my drinking. And that includes talking to your father.”

  Something had been weighing on his mind a while, and he decided it was time to clear his mind.

  “Ma, did Pop ever hit you?”

  She immediately shook her head. “Your father never physically hit me. But there’s another kind of degradation that can be dealt out without resorting to violence. That kind—the kind with words—often hurts worse than if he had used his fists.”

  “Such as?”

  “Yelling if dinner wasn’t ready within five minutes of him getting home or putting me down if I suggested we try something new for dinner and he doesn’t like it. Your father’s set in his ways and doesn’t adjust well to change.”

  And having an alcoholic wife was most likely something that both embarrassed and frustrated his father.

  “Did Pop give a reason for not wanting to meet with the counselor?

  “According to him, things are fine between us even though I told him that’s not the case. He doesn’t grasp that I’m not coming home if he doesn’t face them. I won’t risk falling off the wagon.” She reached for Jamie’s hands. “You understand, right?”

  He hugged her. “I do. The health of both you and Pop is important. There have been some changes since you left. I hired someone to clean the house every week.”

  “He must have loved that.”

  “I told him too bad unless he was going to clean. He’s learned to accept it. I’ve even got him to cook and wash his own clothes.”

  “How did you manage that?”

  “I told him I wasn’t doing it. When I go there, I’ll cook, but I make him clean up.”

  “Oh, I wish I could see him washing dishes.”

  “He grumbled the first few times, but I put on music and ignored him.”

  “These are things I’ve asked him to help me with over the years, and he dismisses me, like I’m a child. He’s going to have to deal with it if he wants me to return.”

  “What if he doesn’t deal with it? Where will you stay? My room at my apartment isn’t being used, but I don’t think my roommate would appreciate my mom living with him.”

  “I’m sure it would cramp his bachelor style.”

  Not to mention shock his mother when she heard the loud moans of Tristan and Lucy having sex through the thin walls.

  They were quiet a few minutes, thinking.

  “If you’re not staying at your apartment and not at our house, where are you staying?”

  He cringed and hoped his mother wouldn’t give him grief. “I’m staying with Vicky.”

  His mother raised an eyebrow. “I see. So what Carmen told me is right.”

  “Carmen as in Vicky’s mom?”

  “She called the other day and made arrangements to visit me.”

  Interesting.

  “How did your conversation go?”

  “Surprisingly well. She apologized.”

  “For what?”

  “For not being a supportive friend and allowing me to hide from everyone. Here I was all set to apologize to her, and she did it first.”

  “Does that mean things are good between you now?”

  “Things are definitely improved from where they were. She’s coming to see me this week.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m more optimistic than I’ve been in years. I feel like I’m starting to get my life back.”

  “You deserve it, Ma.”

  “Is your relationship with Vicky serious?”

  It was from his perspective, but he didn’t know if Vicky shared his feelings.

  “I’m staying with her because someone broke into both our places, searching for something.”

  “Oh my God. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Everything is fine. We think it has something to do with a flash drive Sal had and his friends are looking for. Anyway, I moved in with Vicky to prote
ct her from these clowns and to search the café for the drive. It was the last place Sal was before he died, and we are hoping he hid it somewhere in there.”

  “And have you found it?”

  “No. My partner and I are almost done refinishing the inside. We ripped up the old flooring and searched every inch of the place with no luck.”

  “But you’re still staying with her and by stay I mean sleeping with her.”

  Jamie shifted his weight from one foot to another. Talk about an awkward conversation to have with his mother. It reminded him of when he was sixteen and she found a pack of condoms and a copy of Playboy in his drawer.

  “I care about her.”

  She tilted her head and studied him. “I can see. Do you love her?”

  It was a question he’d been asking himself a lot, lately.

  “I do. I think I always have.”

  “Does she feel the same way?”

  “It hasn’t come up in conversation. Listen, Ma, our relationship is new. Things are starting to get easier with her parents, but I still have to deal with the animosity of Vicky’s brothers and sister. Nick is starting to come around, but Kate loathes me.

  She touched his forearm. “Give her time.”

  He sure as hell hoped giving Kate time and space would work. If he and Kate didn’t make peace, Vicky would be in the position of choosing between them. And if that happened, Jamie wasn’t sure he’d come out on the top.

  ****

  Vicky drove around the block three times as she hunted for a parking spot on the street by Kate’s New York City brownstone. Finally finding one, she parked, and gathered the numerous bags her mother had brought. In addition to a suitcase because she was staying a few days, there were bags of gifts for Meghan’s twin girls, plus something for Lucas.

  Although her mother and everyone else in the family spoiled her nephew, he remained shy about accepting gifts. The boy had been through so much in his short lifetime. Losing both his parents and older sister in a car accident had been difficult and resulted in Lucas being an introverted little boy when she’d first met him last November. Now, six months later, he’d come out of his shell, thanks to the love and support from Kate and Edward. Vicky was happy things were falling into place for her sister.