Page 74 of Pleasure Island
“No.” Michelle grinned at me. “Jake handles a lot of the cooking these days. I think he enjoys it. So, I leave him to it.”
We chatted about a little bit of everything as Jake finished up the burgers. Michelle pulled out a salad and Jake scooped steaming fries from a pot on the stove.
“Nice healthy meal,” Jake said with a grin.
“There’s a salad,” Michelle responded with a sniff.
I watched the two of them as we settled down to eat. They fit together insanely well. I couldn’t deny a rub of envy, but I shoved it aside. I was happy for Jake. Really happy.
He didn’t have to know that watching him with his girlfriend made me think that much more about Mila.
Not that we’d had anything close to what Jake and Michelle had.
But I realized now that part of me had been…hoping. Hoping for what, I didn’t know. But hoping for something.
“How is the new job going?” Jake asked, drawing my attention away from the brood I’d been about to sink into.
I shrugged. “Boring. Easy.”
“What happened to the last job?” Michelle asked, her head tilted to the side in interest. “Weren’t you doing bodyguard work or something like that?”
“Or something,” I said, trying not to let anything show in my voice. “My services were no longer required. It was just a short-term job anyway.”
Jake eyed me, and I could tell he had questions, but he kept silent about them.
As dinner came to a close, Jake and Michelle started acting…weird. They shared secretive little looks and kept leaning over to whisper to each other.
Once, Jake caught her mouth in a quick kiss, and when they didn’t come up for air for a few seconds, I cleared my throat. “I can head out if you guys need some time to yourselves,” I offered in a wry voice as Jake shot a look at me.
“No.” Michelle blushed and got up from the island, carrying her plate over to the sink. “There’s something we wanted to tell you. We told Raye a couple days ago. We, um, tried to invite both of you for dinner so we could tell you both at the same time, but you said you couldn’t get away and…well, I was so excited…”
“You’re rambling,” Jake said, getting up and crossing to her.
I watched as he cupped her face in his hand then lowered his head, kissing her.
That was when I looked away.
It was too intimate a moment for me to be sharing, but they didn’t seem to mind.
“You can look now,” Jake said, his voice full of amusement. “It’s safe.”
I shot him a dark look.
He shrugged. “I can’t help it. Michelle can’t keep her hands off me,” he said, grinning widely.
Michelle jabbed him in the ribs. “You’re the one who can’t keep his hands to himself these days,” she replied in a huff.
“Yeah, well, that’s because you’re so damned beautiful.” Jake bent over her again.
I cleared my throat. “Should I go?”
“No!” they both replied at once.
Michelle wiggled out from between Jake and the counter and joined me back at the island.
“Like I said,” she told me, beaming. “We’ve got news.”
Jake came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him, and Jake kissed her temple before looking at me. He put his hand on her belly. “We’re going to have a baby,” he said.
