Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,68

on the edge of the tub.

With a gasp, he leaned forward and peppered a line of kisses along her spine. “This could never get old,” he murmured.

Cassie chuckled. “It certainly clears the head. I could sleep for a week right now.”

Jake eased out of her and removed the condom, tying it up before sitting back in the water, pulling her to him. “Come here,” he said, opening his arms so she could curl up on his lap.

Once she was settled, she kissed his chest, the area over his heart.

It had to mean something.

“Close your eyes. I’ve got you.”

And as she did as he asked, he hoped she’d do the same when he begged her to stay.

14

“You think you’ve got it from here?” Cassie asked Leroy and Julian, the site manager for the hospital.

Julian looked back at the site, and then to the plan currently laid out on the hood of his truck. “Yeah. It’s doable if there are no supply holdups.”

Leroy nodded. “I’ve got your back. I’ll call every supplier a week out from delivery and confirm the day before. If delays are coming, you’ll know in advance, not the day of.”

She was finally on top of everything. It had taken twenty-four site visits, approximately three hundred phone calls, and the installation of four different software packages, but her father’s business was up to date.

“I know it’s not perfect. We just weren’t able to catch back some of the delays, given not every vacancy has been filled yet and Leroy is just finding his feet.”

She’d filled his six most severe vacancies, including two in procurement and two in project management who had already started. Most of the things left on the plan could be handled by her father, or the people who worked for him. Plus, her father was itching to take over the reins again, even if he couldn’t go on site visits yet.

Perhaps she could follow-up on the landscaping team to be sure things were ready. And maybe confirm the VIP availability for the ribbon cutting of the new ward.

“What if I—?”

“We’ve got it, Cass.” Julian lifted the plan off the hood and rolled it up.

Damn, anxiety trickled through her to see someone else take over what she now thought of as her project. She pushed down the feeling that she was the only one who could make it right.

Forcing a smile on her face, she turned to Leroy and Julian. “You do. I have complete faith in the pair of you.”

Leroy grinned. “I’m sure your dad will let you know if we screw it up.”

The only things on her plan that she needed to personally attend to was arranging her flight home, calling Elijah, and heading back to New York.

And saying goodbye to Jake.

They’d made tacos on Saturday and taste tested tequilas. A serious lesson on why 100 percent blue agave was the best had dissolved into slammers with lemons being held in the most ridiculous places and a shower to get rid of salt. On Sunday, they’d hiked off her hangover when Jake had gotten home from the distillery, and had Olivia and Anders over for dinner.

When she’d woken up all those weeks ago on Friday, August Thirteenth, it had seemed impossible that she’d finish the day back in Denver. Even more difficult to believe was thirty-eight days later, a part of her wanted to stay.

She watched as Leroy and Julian disappeared across the nondescript parking lot. The sky was clear blue, a perfect night to sit in Jake’s hot tub, or go out for drinks with Emerson and Liv, or spend the late afternoon curled up on one of the outdoor sofas with Jake, a bottle of red, and a good book.

She needed to go home, but she wanted to stay.

Wants were childlike. Needs were mature. No matter how shitty she felt about it.

Her mind was already focused on her strategies for when she got back. How she’d manage Elijah. How she’d first try to fight to get The Grosvenor back, but if she couldn’t, could she finish the school in time to get on one of the major priorities for the coming year?

Yet, her thoughts drifted to the night in the hot tub the previous week. How Jake had held her while she dozed in his arms. How he’d gone to grab towels and came back with one around his hips and two for her in case she wanted to bundle her hair up as she usually did. How he’d cooked dinner for them