I left work that day with a conflicted heart. Dr. Mathews and I worked well the rest of the day. We'd joked with patients and were even alone in the break room for a whole five minutes without taking our clothes off.We could do this, I told myself. It would get easier with time. Maybe by next week I wouldn't want to jump his bones every time I saw him. Maybe by next month, I would forget just how good he felt inside of me. How I had felt complete.Maybe.But probably not.I sighed as I put my car away and headed into the house. A summer storm chased the setting sun across the corn fields. Big, heavy, gray clouds filled the darkening sky and thunder rumbled as I went inside. The smell of rain on growing things and the cool breeze of a storm filled my home.The humidity still flowed around me like water, but the storm would at least lower the temperature to something almost comfortable. I thought a quick shower and then I would sit by my window and watch the rain come in.I ran upstair
“Thank you, Hannah,” Dr. Mathews said, handing me a patient chart as I passed his office.“Of course, Dr. Mathews,” I replied sweetly. I smiled at him, but it was a professional smile. One I would give any coworker.We'd managed to go the entire rest of the week without having sex in the office.But that was only because we were having lots of sex in other places. My bed. His bed. My kitchen. His living room.So far, no one suspected a thing. Not even Donna. We were the models of professionalism and good behavior at work. Other than a couple of winks here and there. It took a lot for me not to smack his perfect ass when he walked past, but I was capable of controlling myselfEspecially because I knew that it meant I got to have him all to myself later.“What are you up to tonight?” he asked, swiveling in his chair.“Just a quiet night in,” I told him. “My place. All alone.”Which meant that I wanted him to come to my place.He grinned. “Sounds like a nice relaxing night. I was thinki
It took me ten minutes to find Tom's truck. Luckily, security didn't bother me since it was still mostly daylight out and I was obviously looking for a car. I imagined that this happened fairly frequently.I thought of seeing Jacob and my body went hot and fuzzy at the thought. I took off my scrub top to show off the low cut tank top I wore underneath. I had made sure to wear my sexy bra today. With the way Jacob and I were going, it was a good idea to wear a sexy bra everyday.Tom's work truck chugged down the highway as I made my way back home. Twilight crept along the road behind me, finally overtaking me with darkness a few miles from town. I sung along to the radio as I turned down the street leading to Jacob's house. I was going to have to tell Jacob that he needed more light on his street. It seemed like none of the streetlights were bright enough.That's when I saw the police cruiser flip a u-turn and put on its lights behind me.I mumbled a curse and pulled to the side of the
The next three weeks flew by. I started keeping a quiet count of the days until Katie returned from filming. She kept progressing in her baking competition, so the date kept getting pushed further and further back.I tried not to let it get to me, but it was hard. I wanted to be able to go out to dinner with Jacob without having to invite Donna every time. I wanted to start on us really being a couple. Right now, it things felt more like a really long, really awesome, one night stand. I didn't like living a lie, even if it wasn't really a lie.“Any plans this evening Donna?” Dr. Mathews asked as we tidied up the clinic and prepared to shut down for the evening.“We have baseball tonight,” Donna replied. “I'll be glad when the season is over. Going out to those fields in this heat is brutal. What about you, Hannah?”“Just heading home. I have a really yummy recipe for a grilled chicken salad that I'm trying tonight. I got all the ingredients at the farmers market this morning.” In code
I lay on the bed and panted for breath.That was quite possibly the hottest sex I'd ever had in my life.“That was amazing, Dr. Mathews,” I finally gasped. I rolled over to see him grinning at me.“I didn't know that the doctor thing did it for you,” he teased. “Now I know why you jumped my bones at the clinic.”I gave his shoulder a gentle push. “You jumped my bones,” I told him.He laughed and reached for me, apparently ready for another session of jumping.That's when I heard the unmistakable sound of my front door opening, followed by my mother's voice.“Hannah? Are you home?”Jacob and I looked at one another and our eyes got big. My mother was a founding member of the Ladies' Bridge Club. If she saw us together, we'd be toast.We both scrambled off the bed. I grabbed an old robe hanging off my nightstand and wrapped it around me. Jacob jumped into his underwear and opened my window.“It looks like it's just her. I don't see your dad in the car,” he whispered. He frowned as he lo
“Hey, Dad,” I said softly, coming up behind him.He sat dozing in his easy chair in front of the TV. The news was on low, but he wasn't paying attention to the day's stock market prices. He snored slightly and then shook himself awake.“Hannah.” He smiled a little, then frowned. “What are you doing here?”“I came to check on you,” I told him, coming around and kneeling in front of his chair. I set my first aide kit on the floor next to me.He looked pale, and when I put my hand on his, he felt clammy. Despite the air conditioning going in the house he was sweating, but had a blanket across his lap. I didn't like the slight wheeze in his voice when he spoke, either.“I'm fine,” he assured me. “I just need some rest.”“Mom told me you fell today,” I replied.“I just got light headed. It's all those damn medications and the damn humidity right now,” he grumbled. “I just need some rest is all. I'm fine.”“Okay. You rest, and I'll check you out.” IHe narrowed his eyes at me, and I thought
“So, we're breaking up today,” Jacob announced.I looked across the bed at him and raised an eyebrow. Both of us were still completely naked and tangled up in his sheets. We'd been laying there all morning, simply enjoying laying in bed and playing on our phones together. Breaking up seemed like an odd thing to do at this point.“Um, we are?”“Not you,” he explained, holding up his phone. “Katie and I. We're doing it today.”A small thrill went through me. This was the first step to Jacob and I being able to actually date. We would need to let the town settle down for a little bit after this, but hopefully I would stop getting mean looks from all the old ladies any time I even mentioned his name in public.“How's it going to happen?” I asked him, leaning back in his very comfortable bed.“At the bakery. Lunchtime.”“It'll be crowded. Nice.” I nodded my approval.“Want to come?” He grinned at me. “Katie says she's been practicing crying and she made special cupcakes to throw at my head
It was up to me to pick up a couple of things to help with dinner. I felt incredibly domestic and helpful as I picked the ripest tomatoes and the freshest gallon of milk in the entire store.The summer heat was oppressive as I walked to my car. The blacktop radiated the sun and shimmered with imaginary mirages of water. I was sweating by the time I finished the short walk and loaded everything into my car.That was summer in Iowa. Humid and hot.The cicadas thrummed in the trees and birds called out as got in my car. We would get thunderstorms this evening, and given Jacob's propensity for getting wet and looking sexy as hell because of it, I was rather looking forward to them.I especially liked how he held me as the thunder crashed around us. When the storms came, I didn't have to worry about people coming to our houses and finding us. I didn't have to worry about what anyone else thought. I was Jacob's and he was mine.It was my own little slice of heaven.I hummed as I drove the r
JacksonHis mouth twitched like he wanted to smile at her. She raised her hand and tried to appear like this wasn’t breaking her heart. If anyone was looking, they would think she was here for moral support and that nothing was wrong.“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen for joining me today. First, I’d like to address the vicious rumors going around that I am involved with a woman other than my fiancée. I want to state expressly that this is a bald-faced lie.” He paused and smiled around the room. “And I have proof.”Emma couldn’t help but gasp. So did several reporters.“If you’ll please turn your attention to the screen here,” Jackson said, motioning to a flat screen TV near him. He clicked a small button and the screen came to life. “This is security footage from a small sailboat in the dock. It was overlooked at first, but as with many good things, it warranted a second look.”Emma wondered if he meant something more by that statement, but didn’t have time to ponder it as the securit
JacksonJackson went back up to his apartment, got in the shower, and cried.He hadn’t cried since he was five years old and his pet turtle died. He hadn’t cried like this when his parents died. He didn’t know that it was possible for a grown man to feel this much hurt inside.He had screwed up. Big time.Why hadn’t he just told her? He could have come home from the party and told her then. He could have mentioned it the next day. It would have been so easy.He wanted to say it was to protect her. He wanted to believe it was because he was keeping her calm for the baby.But that was a lie.He was doing it to protect himself. He was afraid she would leave him. That she wouldn’t smile up at him like he was the best thing in the world. That she wouldn’t tease him or make him laugh because she would finally see his true nature.And he had made it a self-fulfilling prophecy. By not telling her, he had ruined things. He had broken their trust.He should have told her that he loved her the m
EmmaEmma didn’t know it was possible to cry this much. She didn’t know that she had this many tears inside of her. She didn’t know that it was possible to feel this much pain from just one lie.He kissed another woman.He didn’t love her.She was obviously nothing to him.She sat on her couch in her tiny apartment, mindlessly eating a pint of ice cream that she stole from his fridge, and cried.The worst part was that she didn’t even feel like she had the right to cry. It was in the contract that they could see other people. Their relationship was never meant to be about love. They were a business relationship. It was always supposed to be a way to keep the bad boy’s business happy. She was only ever supposed to be the good girl image.Yet, it still hurt. It hurt more than she ever thought possible.He had cheated on her. Just because she had suspected this day might come didn’t make it easier. When they had first started this arrangement, she thought she could handle it. She had tho
JacksonJackson sat at his desk, head in his hands. He didn’t know how to fix this one. He had screwed up. It wasn’t really his fault, but now that it was happening, he could see a million different ways he could have prevented this.‘If onlys’ whispered through his mind. He could have pushed the woman away sooner. He should have never been alone. He should have told Emma right away.That was the one that hurt the most. He should have come straight home and told her that a strange woman had kissed him. She would have forgiven him then. She would have understood.He sighed. Now it was too late. He’d kept the kiss to himself. For the first twenty-four hours, he thought he was safe. There were no news stories, no leaks. He had thought that it really was just an over-eager business student.And then came the phone calls. Nearly the instant it hit the tabloids, he was deluged by phone calls.Now there was a note from his housekeeper that Emma had moved all of her things out.He ran his han
EmmaEmma groaned, finally giving up on her nap. Exhaustion still tugged on her, but her phone simply wouldn’t stop buzzing or chiming. Unfortunately, it was on the kitchen table and a good ten steps away from the couch she currently was very comfortable on.The chime went off again. She thought about just leaving it there, but it was plugged in. The chimes would never stop since it would never run out of battery. Besides, that many text messages, emails, and phone calls had to be something important.With a groan, she threw her feet to the floor and sat up from the couch. She just wanted to nap today. This being pregnant thing was harder than she expected. She remembered her friend Grace’s pregnancy being easy. The only thing Grace had was an aversion to the smell of cooked chicken. Emma seemed to have an aversion to everything.She stood up and walked zombie like to the kitchen table. She picked up her phone and started making some ginger tea while she checked what was making her ph
Jackson“I don’t have to go,” Jackson told the beautiful woman laying in bed.Emma rolled over and hugged the bowl closer to her chest.“And what are you going to do if you stay here? Sit and watch me throw up?” she asked, motioning to the bowl.Morning sickness had hit her hard. He’d been surprised to learn that it really should be called All Day sickness as it didn’t occur just in the morning. It actually seemed to be worse for Emma right before bed.“I don’t like leaving you,” he said, softly. He sat on the edge of the bed and caressed her hair. She hummed slightly, leaning into him.“I’ll be fine,” she promised. “Honestly, I just want to lay in bed, drink the ginger tea you got me, and watch horrible, trashy TV. There’s a new episode.”Jackson rolled his eyes and then narrowed them. “You aren’t hyping the morning sickness so you can stay home and watch the new episode are you?”“Me?” Emma’s eyes got big and innocent as she held up a hand to her chest. “I would never.”“You so woul
He looked down at the picture again. He was a father.“What are you thinking, Jackson?” Emma asked. He looked up to see her biting her lip and looking like she was about to cry. “Please, tell me what you’re thinking.”“I’m thinking you are the most beautiful woman in the entire world,” he told her. He stood up and put his arms around her. She was shaking. “I’m thinking that I am the luckiest man in the world.”A shudder of relief went through her and she collapsed into him, tucking her face into his shoulder. He rubbed her back.“I was so afraid...” Her words came out muffled, but he understood them.“Why?” he asked, pulling her back.She shrugged. “I don’t know. Your reputation?”“It’s in our contract.”“Yeah, but so are sales taxes and membership fees. Just because it’s in a contract doesn’t mean that it’s something you want,” she replied.He took her chin in his hand, making sure that she looked up at him. She was so beautiful it made his heart catch. If he had felt protective befo
JacksonJackson woke feeling more rested than he had in months. He lay in bed for a moment, his eyes closed and body still, enjoying the lack of exhaustion. He wasn’t sure what had woken him, but it wasn’t his alarm. It wasn’t a need to move or a desire to get the day started.It was that he just wasn’t tired anymore.He peeked open one eye to see the world bathed in sunlight. It was strange that he’d slept so late. Usually, he was up and running by dawn. There was too much for him to do in the world to lay around sleeping all day.Yet, he had relaxed today. He looked over to see Emma curled up beside him. Her chest rose and fell with easy, deep breaths that told him she was still fast asleep. He smiled, watching her for a moment.When she was here, he felt at peace. There was no need to push for the next thing. He still wanted to excel, of course, but the need for better stopped when she was around. She was the best. He was content.It was a strange feeling. Usually, when he woke up
Emma“You must be Emma. It’s so wonderful to meet you. You look just like your pictures in the magazines.”Emma stood at the door of Jackson’s apartment and suddenly wished very much that she didn’t have to do this. But, she didn’t really have much of a choice. This had to happen.“Yes, I’m Emma,” she said, forcing herself to smile as she opened the door a little wider. “Please come in. Your name is Becca, right?”“That’s me, Becca the wedding planner,” the woman chirped. Becca wasn’t much older than Emma, but was several inches shorter. She had beautiful blonde hair in beautiful wavy curls down her back. The woman looked like she just stepped out of a beauty salon.She wore a light pink dress that looked like 1950’s vintage. Her makeup was perfect. Her hair was perfect.Even though Emma wore nice slacks, a button-up dark blue silk shirt, and light makeup, she felt incredibly unprepared. Becca just looked so put together.“Now, I have some samples of other weddings so that I can get y