Emily's Affair (25 page)

"Honey, dancing was just a job. If we hadn't worked there, then we wouldn't be here. But if Jake finds out from someone else, he might not understand why we danced. I'd rather you not have to go through what I did with Trace."

Emily thought over that for a minute, then said, "All right, Marilyn. I'll tell him."

"Good. And the sooner you tell him the better."

"But you've got to do something for me."

"What?"

Emily smiled. "If I'm gonna tell Jake, then you ought to find Trace and explain the truth to him."

"Baby doll, I am so over Trace it ain't funny."

"Yeah, right. And I'm still a virgin."

Jake averted his gaze as two women and one man each took a shot tequila shot. Swearing off the stuff was one thing, but watching someone take a shot was something he needed to work on.

"They're done."

Jake raised his head and met his father's concerned gaze. "Is it that obvious?"

"Only to someone who watched you go through detox."

Jake reached for his soda. "Did I ever thank you for that?"

"Several times." Colonel Jed drained half of his soda. "You know, son. I didn't understand in the beginning."

"Understand what?"

"How you got to the point you did."

Jake's smile was wry. "It was easy. I went to the liquor store, bought a bottle, then got drunk. Then I stayed drunk."

Colonel Jed shook his head. "It wasn't that easy. There was a reason why it started."

Jake tensed. "There was?"

"There was and I apologize for it. I shouldn't have pushed you as hard as I did."

"Dad, it wasn't—"

His father held up a hand. "No. Hear me out. I know what I did was wrong and I'm sorry for it. There's no excuse for the kind of pressure I put on you."

"Dad, did I ever tell you what I wanted to be when I grow up?"

"No."

"I wanted to be a general. I'm sure you can figure out why."

Colonel Jed's expression was serious. "But instead you got a Ph.D. in Chemistry, then walked away from it and opened up a bar."

"Yes, sir, I did." Jake braced his forearms on the bar and leaned forward. It was time he tried to explain a few things to his father. "We come from a long line of career military men. Correct?"

"Correct."

Jake nodded. "When I was little, I knew I wanted to follow in your footsteps. But as I got older… I realized two things." He paused. "The first was that I'm not cut out for the military life."

"And the second…?"

Jake looked up and met his father's gaze head on. "That I'd never be as good a soldier as you. Or Granddad or Uncle—"

"You would have been better."

Jake almost laughed, but he didn't. "I drank, because I could. I drank, because when I did I could forget how disappointed you were that I didn't follow in your footsteps."

"But you did something I never could have," his father pointed out. "You're the first doctor in the family."

"Yeah, well, I'm also the first bar owner, too."

"I'd rather you be the first doctor."

"And I'd rather be the first bar owner," Jake countered.

"But you've got a Ph.D.," Colonel Jed said.

"There's little difference between measuring out twenty-five milliliters of ethanol and giving someone a shot of whiskey."

"But there is a difference."

Jake nodded. "There is. I get better tips dishing out the whiskey than the ethanol. Dad, I went all the way with school. I got my doctorate and I was miserable. I wanted to do something that would make up for me not joining the Army. I wanted to make you proud of me."

Colonel Jed drew in a deep breath. "I've always been proud of you, son. Even when you were at your worst, I was proud."

"I know that now, but back then I was too drunk to notice."

"Son, is this really where you want to spend the rest of your life? Surrounding yourself with a bunch of drunks for the rest of your life? Flinching every time someone asks for a shot of tequila?"

Jake pondered the questions and his response for a minute, then said, "I don't know. All I know is that since we opened up The Brigade, I've been happier than I can remember. You and I have gotten along better. Mom doesn't worry as much. Katie and I see more of each other. And I haven't had a drink in four years, ten months, and nineteen days."

Colonel Jed pulled back. "I didn't realize you still counted the days."

Jake shrugged. "Every day I get through without a drink is a small victory. 'Cause there are times when I want one so badly that I can taste it. Today was one of those days."

"What happened today?"

"Not what, but who." Jake pushed off from the counter and went to deal with a customer at the other end of the bar. A few minutes later, he returned to his father.

"Would that who be a sweet, little lady named Miss Emily," Colonel Jed asked with a sly grin.

Jake opened a cooler and checked the inventory. "You know it."

"You gonna marry her?"

"The thought crossed my mind."

"That's good, because it looks like she's ready for it."

"What?" Jake straightened and his father motioned for him to turn around. Jake spun around, then sucked in a sharp breath.

Emily—resplendent in a white wedding dress with long sleeves, an embroidered bodice, and a full satin skirt—floated across the room towards the bar and him.

Jake's breathing grew ragged. "Dad?"

"Yes, son?"

"I'm gonna marry her."

His father laughed. "Your mother will be ecstatic. But you better hurry, son. The other fellows in here are thinking the same thing."

"She's wobbling."

"Her shoes are too big," Marilyn said.

"No. It's her self-confidence." Lee tightened the sash to her short blue robe. "She's shaking more than I did the first time I stripped before a full house."

"How did we get you over that bout of nerves?"

"You went out into the audience and talked me through it."

"Ah, yes. Now I remember. I made some really good tips that night," Marilyn murmured. "I'll take care of Tabitha. You go and take care of Jake. He's been acting funny ever since you went downstairs for the club soda to get the stain out of the May Dress."

"It was the wedding dress."

"The wedding dress had a stain on it, too?"

"No. He's acting funny because I was wearing the wedding dress."

"Oh," Marilyn drawled, then laughed. "The poor guy is probably hearing more wedding bells than he's ready for." She looked at Emily. "You look like you're hearing a few wedding bells yourself."

"Dream on, Marilyn. The day I start hearing wedding bells is the day I'll be caught dead in a dress with flowers on it." Emily smiled and walked towards Jake who was gazing at her with lazy male possessiveness.

Jake pushed off from the wall and reached for her as she approached. "As much as I love that robe, you have to go change."

Emily arched a brow and moved into his arms. "I do?"

"Yes, you do." He stole a quick, hard, mesmerizing kiss. "Your lawyer is downstairs and he's demanding to see you. And no man, but me is allowed to see you in this robe."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really." Another kiss and Jake tried to set her away from him. "What time will you be done up here?"

Emily kneaded his broad shoulders and arched herself into him. "I don't know. Why?"

"Because I want to take you home and have my wicked way with you." Jake pulled her hard against him, showing her the extent of her effect on his magnificent body, and Emily shivered. "And this time, I'll be the one in control."

"Mmm, that sounds divine."

"And while we're recuperating from the first round…," he trailed off.

"Yes," Emily asked breathless with anticipation.

"We'll discuss a few things."

Emily blinked and leaned back against his arms, then looked up at him. "Things?"

"Yes, ma'am. Quite a few things."

"What kind of things?"

Jake gave her a new version of his angel-slash-Beelzebub smile and Emily knew she was in trouble. "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

Life doesn't get any better than this, Jake thought. He was naked and in bed and… feeling way too good to be alive. And he owed it all to his sweet Emily and the incredible things he'd taught her to do with her body.

This was the day of revelations. He'd cleared the air with Colonel Jed. He'd put Jose Cuervo out to pasture. They'd done another night of record business at The Brigade. He'd inadvertently been the first person to ever send his woman flowers.

And Jake had finally convinced himself that he was the man for sweet Emily.

Jake grinned. Hell, what a day. And to think, it only gets better from here.

Emily snuggled up against his chest.

He squeezed her close, then pressed a kiss to her hair. "I love you."

He felt her tense and could have cursed himself. "You don't love me," she announced with stone cold authority.

Jake blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You're attracted to me and you want me, but there is no way you love me. No way whatsoever. You only want me for sex. And that's what I want you to want."

Jake's brow creased. "What the hell are you babbling about?"

"We are friends who have sex and this is just an affair and there is nothing special or permanent about our relationship and I don't expect or want to get married."

Jake was stunned, speechless. His head dropped back on the pillow and he concentrated on dissecting Emily's words as they tumbled out of her mouth. With every word she uttered, his irritation increased.

"You don't want to marry me, because I'm all wrong for you. I'm too busy. You wouldn't be happy with what I have to offer. Stafford & Co. is the most important thing in my life and men like to—no, they
have to
feel like they are the most important thing in a woman's life. And you won't ever get that with me, so don't even try. Because I refuse to give up my business for anyone. It's mine. I built it with my own two hands and I'll destroy it before I let anyone take it away from me."