Loving Jack (22 page)

Jack was almost to the patio when Matthew took three long strides and grabbed Jack’s arm. He looked ready to fight. Grace stepped forward. If Matthew thought to hit Jack she would make her presence known. She couldn’t get involved physically but she could call for help. Grace’s hand moved back to the place where her baby grew safe and warm inside her. She quickly pulled her cell from her back pocket and prepared to dial 911.

Matthew forced Jack to turn and look at him. “I asked if you love me, not Grace. That was a non-answer, Jackson. Maybe I need to remind you.”

Matthew wrapped one giant hand around the nape of Jack’s neck and gripped his hair to hold him still. He fisted the other hand in Jack’s shirt and took his mouth in a forceful kiss. Grace watched in shock. Jack struggled and pushed at Matthew’s chest. He made sounds of protest. Matthew growled into Jack’s mouth and fisted the hand in his hair tighter. Matthew tugged harshly on that hair until Jack’s head was tilted back, giving Matthew a better angle from his impressive height.
 

While Grace watched helplessly, Jack’s struggle lessened. The fists pushing at Matthew’s chest gave up the fight. His sounds of angry denial became a moan of acceptance. Jack’s hands moved up to Matthew’s face to hold him close. He was kissing the other man back now. It was a passionate kiss of lovers who knew each other well. Something inside of Grace shattered. Something broke that could never be put back together. She had to leave. She’d seen enough. Matthew was right, Jack did still love him. It was all there for her to see. There was longing in that kiss. It wasn’t just about a physical act. It was about two people finding each other again, finding love again, as well.

Matthew backed Jack into the pillar he’d punched just moments ago. He pressed their bodies together and Jack moaned again. They were fitted intimately together from chest to hips. Matthew’s hands slid under Jack’s shirt and pushed it upward. Their kiss was broken only long enough for the shirt to be pulled over Jack’s head and carelessly discarded. The men loved each other’s mouths fiercely with tongues tangling and teeth nipping. Two sets of masculine hands roamed and groped in a fit of passion.
 

Grace knew her dream of a future with Jack had just come to a screeching halt. Just moments ago she’d been so hopeful. Her heart, that useless organ in her chest, shattered for the second time in her life. Both times were courtesy of the same beautiful man and this time she wouldn’t be able to move on and try to forget him.
 

The tears began to flow then. One hand covered her mouth to keep the anguished scream building in her chest from escaping. The other caressed her belly, as if she were soothing the child she now carried. She heard footsteps behind her and remembered Rachel was still waiting for them to come out for her bags.
 

“I was afraid to come in,” Rachel said with a nervous chuckle. “I figured Jack had you naked on the sofa already.”

Grace knew the moment Rachel saw the scene unfolding out back. Both men were now shirtless and quite engrossed in exploring ridged muscles and firm lips. Rachel gasped loudly and cursed.
 

“Son of a bitch!”

With the sliding door open and only the screen separating indoors from outdoors, Rachel’s oath drew Jack’s attention. He was willingly wrapped in Matthew’s loving, if aggressive, arms when his eyes met Grace’s. There was no stopping the flood of mournful tears tracking down her face. Disbelief mingled with horror on Jack’s face. He looked up at Matthew who was also peering into the deeper shadows of the house now. Jack came back to Grace, but Matthew hadn’t released him and it didn’t look like he was going to anytime soon. That was just as well. Grace was leaving.

“I need to borrow your van,” Grace told Rachel in a broken sob. Rachel immediately held out her keys to Grace without question. Storm clouds of anger and disappointment filled Rachel’s eyes as she looked at her best friend and business partner.
 

“Please, drive safely. You’re very upset and reasonably so.”

Grace snatched the keys and mumbled a quick, “Thank you,” before she took off. Jack was going to want to talk to her. He’d want to let her down easy. Grace would splinter completely if he said one kind word to her. She didn’t need his apologies or words of regret. She’d seen all she needed to see. It’d been foolish of her to suppose she could make Jack happy. She should have listened to her instincts.
 

Grace stumbled on the last step and sprawled on the pavers. She scrambled to her feet and jogged to the street trying to ignore the stinging of her palms and knees.
 

“Grace!” Jack bellowed from his porch but Grace kept going.
 

The sound of his pounding footsteps approaching didn’t stop her either. She would much rather be alone for the impending total breakdown she knew was coming fast. Grace made it to the minivan and tugged on the door. It opened an inch before it was slammed shut.
 

Grace was caged in by Jack’s strong arms. He had both of his big strong hands on the window. He was breathing hard behind her. His hot breath sifted through her hair. She looked at the hands before her. They were strong and elegant. They knew every inch of her body. When she saw them now all she could think about was how they’d looked when Jack had been rubbing them all over Matthew’s body. Or the loving way they’d held Matthew’s face while they kissed.

Jack put his forehead on her shoulder. One of his arms wrapped around her waist. If it was possible, she stiffened further, feeling like her spine would snap. Having him touch her now was painful. She just wanted to go.

“I’m sorry, Grace.” Jack kissed the side of her head.

“So am I.” He had no idea how much.

“Please come inside and talk to me. Baby, please don’t leave like this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I saw enough. I just want to leave now.” She had no idea where she was going to go, but getting away from where she was would have to do for now.

“So what, you’re just going to walk away, again?” Accusation rang in his tone. Grace turned around and pushed against his chest with everything she had.

“Are you saying this is my fault? Was I getting naked with someone else? Don’t you dare blame me!” she shouted at him.
 

“I’m not blaming you.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration and looked at the ground. When he looked back to her, tears swam in his eyes. “What I’m saying is I love you and I don’t want you to leave.”

“You love me, do you? Tell me,
Jackson
," she mimicked Matthew, “what exactly would you be doing now if you hadn’t been interrupted?” They both knew the answer. “At the moment I’m not feeling the love.”

Guilt and sorrow were etched into Jack’s features. There wasn’t really any good response to that question. Grace looked away. Seeing his hurt was too much. She couldn’t allow herself to feel sorry for him. That’s when she noticed that Matthew had followed Jack when he pursued her. He looked torn between dragging Jack away and jumping on his motorcycle and never turning back. He looked back and forth between Jack and her. It dawned on Grace that Rachel had seen that bike parked out front when they arrived and knew Jack wasn’t alone. Rachel appeared a few yards down the sidewalk looking like she wanted to be the mom she was and step in to make it all better. Sadly, there was no way to fix this problem.

“Sometimes, love isn’t enough, Jack,” she told him sadly. “Love didn’t stop you from straying just now. Or was it love, your true love that made you forget me in the space of a kiss?”

Now Jack was the one shifting his eyes between Matthew and her. He was so torn. His heart was there in his eyes and that heart didn’t know which way to turn. She feared his sense of honor was about to make him say something he would forever regret. No matter what happened between Jack and Matthew, Grace could never be with Jack again.
 

Grace believed to her core that a relationship that wasn’t built on a strong foundation of trust couldn’t survive. It wouldn’t matter how hard or how long she tried, Grace would never forget this day. Insecurities from the past were still haunting her. Now that she’d seen the truth of Jack’s feelings for Matthew, she’d never be able to trust him with her heart again. It was too late for them.

“I do love you, Jack, too much to brush this under the rug and pretend I can’t see exactly how much you love Matthew.”

“But Grace, I love you, too.” He stepped forward to wrap his arms around her and she allowed it. She let him hold her this one last time. Just for a moment.
 

“That just isn’t enough for me.”

Jack was crying openly. She suspected he’d realized there really was nothing left to say. Grace had never believed it was possible to truly love two people at once. Just now, she believed it was. Jack’s heart was truly torn and Grace refused to settle for only half.

Rachel squeezed by them to pick up the keys Grace didn’t remember dropping. She climbed into the driver's seat and waited quietly.

“I have to go now, Jack.” It was plea for mercy.
 

The longer she stood there the harder it would be to leave. He didn’t argue. Jack let her go in slow degrees. First he lifted his head from the top of hers. Then he slowly separated their chests followed by releasing her with one hand and a long moment later the other. He watched her face the whole time and neither of them tried to hide their pain. Grace looked over Jack’s shoulder to Matthew’s equally pained face.
 

“I hope you’ve finally found what you need.” Grace swallowed hard, tasting the bitterness of longing and loss on her tongue. Luke’s words came back to her then. “Be happy, Jack. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. Just be happy.”

****

Four months later . . .

Grace was propped up in her bed in the maternity ward at the University of Washington Medical Center. Three sets of eyes watched her in silence. When she and Jack parted, Grace had been roughly five weeks pregnant. There was a solid chance that her son had been conceived in the alley behind a bar.
 

She’d hugged the knowledge of her pregnancy to her chest like a precious secret. Until today, the baby was hers and hers alone. Of course, she knew she’d have to tell Jack eventually, but speaking to him about it would be painful for them both. She hadn’t had any contact with Jack at all. Jack had tried to get her whereabouts out of Rachel, but Rachel had promised not to breathe a word. The time to tell Jack had been quickly approaching, but the events of the day had hurried the inevitable.
 

Grace just didn’t know how to approach Jack. What if he was with Matthew? She assumed he was. What if Matthew still didn’t want a child? That would make things difficult for Jack, not to mention the baby when he grew older. How would she deal with that? This was far from a perfect situation to bring a child into.
 

She’d known right away she couldn’t work with Jack. So once she was able to gather her wits, Grace had contacted Luke. He would be perfect for the partnership at Artifex. She’d had him in mind for the position all along if she turned it down. It was an awkward conversation at best, but Luke listened to her idea with an open mind, as always. Artifex needed a CFO with a mind for improving their operations to help grow the business. Luke was an expert at just that. He also wanted to leave New York for greener pastures. It didn’t get much greener than Washington State. She pitched the idea to Luke and let it go. He would think about it and get back to her or he wouldn’t. It hadn’t taken Luke long to make up his mind to come out to have a look at the company himself.
 

Within a couple of months Luke was on board at Artifex and Rachel thanked her profusely and regularly for helping to find the perfect person to replace her. Not that she’d ever actually gotten her foot in the door.
 

The friendship between Luke and Grace had somehow survived Luke’s confession of love and Grace’s subsequent rejection of that love. They were both busy with work but their pattern of weekly dinners and frequent phone calls had resumed on the west coast. Luke just wasn’t affectionate like he used to be.

Grace was doing freelance consulting from home. She bought a house with a huge yard in a beautiful neighborhood with top rated schools for her and the baby. Her plan was to keep working from home for a few years after the baby came. The baby that no one but Grace knew was coming. She knew Jack would never want to be parted from his child. Grace wouldn’t want that either. Her son would need his dad. So she didn’t even entertain the thought of moving back home.

When Grace registered at the hospital she’d given Luke as her emergency contact. So when she lost consciousness while talking to her new neighbor, 911 was called. When she was still out of it in the emergency room the hospital had given Luke a call. Luke happened to be in a meeting with Jack and Rachel when the call came in. So they all rushed to her side. Unfortunately, Grace had developed gestational diabetes. The test for that wasn’t performed until between twenty-four and twenty-eight weeks. Grace was just twenty-three weeks and the test was planned for her next monthly visit. They were keeping her for observation and education on the necessary diet changes to prevent an episode like this in the future.
 

She looked around the room at three of the people that meant the most to her in this world as she stroked her rounding belly through the hospital gown. And there they all sat looking shocked and accusatory. Luke’s expression was far more hurt than angry. She’d been hiding her little belly from Rachel and Luke but it seemed to have doubled in the last week alone. Jack spoke first. He was staring at her belly warily.