Passion Never Dies (17 page)

Diana stared into Jake’s eyes and the implication was clear. He wasn’t going to spend the rest of the summer building the hotel. He was leaving sooner rather than later. Her heart plummeted and she looked away, not wanting him to see the pain in her eyes.

“I see,” she said quietly. She felt his hand take hers and lightly stroke her palm.

“I don’t think you do,” Jake said, but Diana shook her head.

“When do you leave?” she asked bluntly.

“Diana -”

“Jake, when do you leave?” she asked abruptly.

“I should be done with the contract revisions in a few weeks. My COO will take over any other negotiations. I have to fly back to Manhattan to begin proceedings on another project as soon as possible.”

It was like a death knell and Diana struggled to sit up. Jake watched her closely as she looked at anything but him.

“I don’t want to go back to Manhattan without you, Diana.”

She looked back at him, her eyes widening at his statement.

“What?” Hope rose in her chest as he held out his arms and she went into them, breathing his scent and realizing that she was only half alive when he wasn’t around.

Jake kissed her forehead and stroked her silky hair.

“Do you honestly think that I could leave you?”

“Oh, Jake...” Diana said as she looked up at him and kissed him with a voraciousness that took even him by surprise.

“You’ll have to tell your parents and your work that you’ll be leaving soon,” he said, after their long kiss ended.

“Wait...what?” she asked, confusion again settling in.

He wrinkled his brow as he stared down at her.

“It would only be fair to give them as much notice as possible, Diana,” he chided gently.

“I don’t understand,” said Diana as she drew away from his arms. “I want to see you again, of course, but I wasn’t planning on leaving my home and my job.”

“I’m not just asking you to visit me in Manhattan. I want you to come with me and be part of my life.”

Diana looked at him, perplexed. This wasn’t exactly a marriage proposal, so what was it?

“Are you asking me to live with you?” she asked uncertainly.

Jake nodded, his eyes becoming cautious as she frowned at him.

“I can’t just suddenly leave everything I know,” she said, shaking her head.

“Why not?” he asked, dumbfounded.

Diana let out a grunt of exasperation, sweeping an agitated hand through her mussed hair.

“Well, I have a great job and I have my family and friends here.”

“What about me?” Jake asked softly. She could see a glimmer of hurt in his green eyes.

“I - I care about you,” she answered, unwilling to let him know about her love for him until he confessed his true feelings to her. “How do you feel about me?”

Looking slightly uncomfortable, Jake answered, “I care about you too, which is why I want you to join me in New York.”

It wasn’t enough. Diana wanted to hear the words that would make her heart sing. If Jake didn’t love her, she wasn’t about to give up everything and leave with him.

She shook her head and looked at him sadly, her heart squeezing painfully in her chest.

“I can’t leave Vegas,” she said adamantly. Her mind was made up. Only love and commitment would make her leave her family, her friends, and her beloved job.

Jake stared at her in disbelief.

“Diana, it’s not as if you can’t get a job like yours in Manhattan and your family and friends can visit us any time. I’ll even pay for their plane tickets.”

“Excuse me?” Diana asked sharply as indignation coursed through her. “I happen to love my job and the children I teach. Furthermore, my family and friends would be thousands of miles away and even if they had the time to visit me, it still wouldn’t be the same.”

She couldn’t believe his insensitivity. It was unlike him to be so callous about her feelings. Placing her legs out of the bed, she swept up a sheet to cover herself and stood over him.

“I may not be a hotshot company president like you, but I know my worth and I’m not just going to pack up and leave everything I know and love because you’re telling me to,” she said heatedly.

“Diana, I didn’t mean -”

Putting a hand out to interrupt him, Diana continued, “I had no idea that you thought my job was so unimportant and interchangeable.”

“I didn’t say that,” Jake said in a frustrated tone.

“Yes, you did. You just said that it’s not as if I couldn’t get another job
like mine
in New York.”

“It came out wrong. I just want you to be with me, that’s all,” he said placatingly.

Biting her lower lip, Diana looked at him for a moment. He was so handsome lying there on her pink sheets that she could feel her anger start to drain away, but she was still smarting from his unintended insult.

“I think you should leave,” she said quietly.

“What?” Jake asked in a slightly astonished voice.

“You heard me. I need some time to think. Alone.”

Jake stared at her for a few seconds before rising. He left her bed and stood up before her, naked and upset.

“I’m sorry. Apparently, I’ve said all the wrong things to you, but we’re not done talking, Diana.”

“For now, we are,” she said with a finality that made it clear that the conversation was over.

Jake sighed and then picked up his clothes from a nearby chair. Without another word, he left her bedroom and shut her door gently. Diana stared at the closed door for a few seconds before flinging herself on her bed and allowing herself to have a good, long cry.

~

“Dammit, why can’t she just be reasonable about all this?” Jake muttered to himself as he sat at his desk at work and gripped a pen in his hand.

It had been a very long, grueling day and he had instructed his secretary to inform future callers that he had already left the office for the evening. This morning’s argument with Diana had started him off on the wrong foot and he had developed a throbbing headache as the day had slowly progressed.

He had not meant to belittle Diana’s job as a preschool teacher, but he had been taken aback by her refusal. He desperately wanted her to come with him to Manhattan and he had been certain that she would readily agree. He had never before asked any woman to live with him and he had assumed that she would jump at the opportunity to continue their relationship even if she had to move out of state. Apparently, he had misjudged her strong ties to her job, family, and friends. Hurt pervaded his being at the thought that she didn’t care about him enough to leave everything behind.

Jake winced at the unfairness of that thought. He hadn’t exactly told her that he loved her. He felt possessive, protective, and caring, but was that love? The only thing he was certain about was that he couldn’t imagine his life without her. A startling solution suddenly came to his mind making him pause. He slowly smiled, relief flooding his heart as he pictured Diana beaming with happiness. He had been blind and stupid not to have seen how simple it was to fix things between them. Now it was up to him to make things right and he was determined not to fail because his future depended on it.

~

“Of all the asinine assumptions,” Diana fumed as she forcefully unpacked groceries in her mother’s kitchen.

“Be careful, darling. You’re going to break the eggs,” cautioned Trina, watching her daughter shove the egg carrier back into place and slam the vegetable drawer shut.

“He’s got some nerve,” Diana grumbled as she continued to toss frozen meat into the freezer.

“Uh, honey, let me put away the groceries. I think you should just sit down and have some tea,” said Trina carefully.

“It’s not every day that a man asks you to just leave everything and live with him. I guess that his next move would be to toss me over his shoulder and carry me to his secret lair, Neanderthal style.”

“Ranting and raving is not healthy, dear. You need to talk to him.”

“I don’t want to talk to him,” said Diana crossly as she stalked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She sat on the sofa and crossed her arms against her chest staring moodily at the wall in front of her.

Trina followed her into the living room and stared down at her disgruntled daughter.

“You’re behaving like a child.”

Diana sighed and looked up at her mother apologetically.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Trina sat down next to her and stroked her daughter’s hair back, which helped soothe Diana’s raw nerves.

“You love him, don’t you, darling?” Trina asked gently.

Diana looked into Trina’s understanding eyes for a few seconds before nodding reluctantly. She placed her head on her mother’s shoulder, sighing deeply.

“If you want to go with him to New York, I would understand and so would Murray.”

Lifting her head, Diana looked at her mother searchingly.

“But...I couldn’t leave you, Mom. We’ve always been together.”

“Sweetheart, Jake loves you and you love him. You belong together. Murray and I can always visit you in New York or you can visit us.”

“But I don’t know if he loves me...” Diana said morosely.

Trina let out a little laugh.

“I saw the way he was looking at you when you both came to visit us last weekend. That man loves you, darling. Trust me.”

Diana frowned disbelievingly at her mother’s words.

“He hasn’t said so.”

“He does,” Trina nodded wisely. “Sometimes men are just a little bit dense, dear. You have to be patient with them.”

Diana smiled at her mother’s statement, but then frowned again.

“I don’t want to leave you,” she said and took her mother’s hand in hers.

“I’ll miss you, Diana, but your life is with him now. I know you would be unhappy if he left and you stayed behind here in Vegas.”

Diana was silent for a long moment before she looked at her mother again.

“I do love him, Mom.”

“I know you do. Trust your heart, sweetheart.”

Diana’s feelings were in turmoil, but her heart was strong in its conviction. She needed to find a way to get Jake to reveal his true feelings for her. She knew that if he left without her, she would be devastated, but she still wasn’t ready to leave Las Vegas unless she knew without a doubt that he loved her. Her mother’s reassurances gave her the courage to question him, but apprehension still gripped her heart.

Chapter Eight

The meadow was sweet smelling and the grass was lush as Jake surveyed it from a distance. Two days after their row, he had managed to convince Diana to join him at this meadow in Mt. Charleston, not far from her mother’s house. He had been nervous that she would refuse, but he could sense that she wasn’t as upset with him as she had been two days ago. He had asked Liz to pack them a picnic basket and she had made sure that there were plenty of chocolate-covered strawberries, specialty cheeses, deli meats, gourmet bread and red wine in the basket. He wanted this picnic to be perfect for Diana because he wanted her to remember it for the rest of her life.

~

Diana drove up to the meadow and parked her Mazda right behind Jake’s car. He was leaning against his black Porsche casually wearing faded blue jeans and a light blue T-shirt. His tall, lean, muscular figure made her heart leap as she stepped out of her car wearing a yellow, sleeveless top and a flared, white mini-skirt. Her frustration with him had dissipated after her talk with her mother a few days ago. Now all she wanted was to open his stubborn mind to the possibility that he did love her after all.

~

“Hi, there,” he said softly, his eyes admiring as he took in Diana’s tanned arms and slender legs.

“Hi,” answered Diana quietly and allowed him to draw her into his arms. He leaned back against his Porsche and stroked her back gently. “I’ve missed you, Diana.”

Diana wrapped her arms around his waist and enjoyed the feel of his hard body against hers.

“I’ve missed you too, Jake,” she replied as she breathed in his masculine scent and reveled being in his arms again.

Two days had gone by since their argument at her apartment and, for some reason, it had felt longer. She now realized that it would be impossible to continue to live in Vegas without Jake. She needed to be with him like she needed air to breathe.

“Thank you for spending today with me,” he said, nuzzling her hair.

“You’re welcome.”

Jake reluctantly released her and walked over to the trunk of his car. She watched him as he lifted an enormous picnic basket out with a grunt of exasperation.

“This is heavier than I thought it would be,” he smiled wryly.

“What’s in it?” Diana asked curiously.

“I told Liz to pack a bottle of wine and a few other things, but I think she packed a restaurant instead.”

Letting out an amused laugh, Diana followed him to the meadow. He settled the basket in a grassy clearing. There was nobody else around and it was very quiet for a Saturday morning. The only sounds they heard were of birds chirping in the trees and the wind gently rustling the tree branches overhead. The sky was cloudless and the sun warmed their skin without scorching it. A pine tree provided shade as Jake spread a red and white checkered blanket on the ground. Grinning, he indicated to Diana to have a seat. She sat cross-legged on the blanket and dove eagerly into the large picnic basket.

“Wow, Liz really packed a lot of food,” marveled Diana as she took out several types of cheeses, a loaf of French bread, two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine.

Jake chuckled as he watched her take out grapes, gourmet deli meats packed in Tupperware, and chocolate-covered strawberries.

“I hope you’re hungry,” he said as he took out plastic plates and utensils from the basket.

Smiling, Diana shook her head in amazement as she continued to dig into the picnic basket.

“It’s a bottomless basket,” she said as she took out napkins and bottled water. “Liz has thought of everything.”

“Come here,” Jake said in a low voice.

Diana looked up and caught his hungry gaze. She leaned over the picnic basket as he placed a hand under her chin and tilted her head up to his.

Parting her lips, she felt him gently delve into her mouth with his tongue and explore her searchingly. She heard his moan and answered him with one of her own. She completely forgot where she was; the only thing that mattered was him and his kiss.