Foul Play - By Janet Evanovich Page 0,30
The big question was, how long did she want to wait? She said she didn’t necessarily care about marriage. What did she care about?
Amy brought Jake his lemonade and sat Indian-style on the bed, next to him. She zapped the television with the remote control, but couldn’t get interested in the ten o’clock news. She had the clinic on her mind. She was beginning to share Jake’s belief that Turner and Bottles knew more about the rooster’s disappearance than they’d admitted to, but what about the second break-in? It didn’t make any sense.
Jake sipped his drink and watched Amy. “You look like a woman with a lot on her mind.”
“I can’t help wondering about Red. Why would you—” She stopped in midsentence and stared openmouthed at the television. There she was in living color, holding a container of alleged rooster soup. “Omigosh.”
Jake scrambled to the edge of the bed. “We made the ten o’clock news?”
“… and so, there you have it, folks. The question remains unanswered. Has Lulu the Clown cooked Red’s goose?”
Amy felt her eyes fill with tears. “What a terrible thing to say about Lulu.”
Jake pulled Amy into his arms and shut the television off.
“We must have missed something, Amy. The reason. We need to know the reason for all this. There have to be clues. We just haven’t recognized them.”
Amy didn’t care about clues. She cared about getting kissed. She cared about getting closer to Jake. A lot closer.
He looked at her face, flushed with desire, and knew she wasn’t going to tell him to stop tonight. Heaven knew, he didn’t want to stop, but there was a meddlesome voice, whispering through the cobwebs of his mind, “Why?” He wanted to be sure it was love. This had been a strange day. He was afraid her emotions might be jumbled.
“Amy, I think we’d better stop now.”
“Why?”
“Because if we don’t stop soon … we’re not going to stop at all, and you’re going to get devirgined.”
“So?”
“So! I’m not going to devirgin you when you’re at an emotional low. Only a sleazeball would do a thing like that.”
“You don’t want me?”
“Of course I want you! Anyone can see I want you. I’ve completely stretched the crease out of my sweats.”
“Well?”
“For Pete’s sake, Amy, you don’t just rush into these things. You have to get to know people.” He couldn’t believe he was saying any of this. The woman of his dreams was panting on the sacrificial altar.
“Besides, you have to take precautions when you do these things, and I don’t have any … um, precautions with me. If we did it without precautions you might end up with kittens.” Did he say “kittens”?
Amy laughed out loud. “I wouldn’t mind having kittens. Motley needs a playmate.”
Jake grinned. “Don’t laugh. This is serious.”
“You’re right. It is serious,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’ve waited a long time for the right man to come along.”
She looked into his soft brown eyes and wondered if he loved her. She knew he cared, but love … she was afraid to hope for love. It almost didn’t matter. She couldn’t help the way she felt about him, and if it had to be a one-sided love affair, then she would have to live with it.
Jake’s heart was caught in his throat. “Are you sure I’m the right man?”
Amy tugged at the drawstring of his sweats, loosening the knot. “I’m sure. I’ve never felt like this before. I love you.”
She loved him. He felt like his heart had just been blown up like a helium balloon. She loved him!
Amy closed her eyes. “Oh geez. I’ve said the wrong thing. You look like you just got punched in the stomach.”
“I was surprised. I didn’t think … I never dreamed. I mean, I’d hoped, but … Oh, hell.” He kissed her.
“Amy, I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you. When you stole my parking place. And I have a confession to make. I followed you all through the supermarket, waiting for my chance to marry you. And when I offered you a job, I didn’t know I needed a receptionist.”
He kissed her again. “I love you.” He drew her closer, feeling fiercely possessive. “I love you.”
His voice had turned bedroom sexy, deep and raspy soft. His brown eyes darkened as his hand moved over the nape of her neck.
He drew a playful line along the side of her breast to her rib cage. “I’d like to spend the night with you.”
“The night. Hmmm.