Her Maine Attraction: A Small Town Romance (Pine Cove Book 1) Read online

  He pulls her in close and kisses her. “Of course, babe. It’s my job as your husband to feed you.”

  “Well aren’t you two sweet? Barf. Did you happen to bring your wife’s new best friend some food, too?” I smile at him, and he holds up two bags of fast food.

  “Of course I did. I’m not stupid.”

  “Ahh thank you!” I jump up and kiss his cheek. “What a peach!” I take one of the bags from his hand and sit back up at the bar, ready to devour my food.

  When Alex sees me, he comes right over. “Are you eating outside food in here right now?”

  “Yeah, because you wouldn’t feed us,” I mumble around a mouth full of fries. Shaking his head, he starts to walk away, but I yell after him, “Wait! Bring me another drink! Oh, sorry, I mean please bring me another drink. Thank you!” I think I’ve had like eight gin and tonics by now, and am well on my way to a nice drunken state.

  When Alex puts another cocktail down in front of me, he doesn’t let go when I grab it. “You are not driving home.”

  “Obviously,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  “I can drive you, if you want.” Why is he looking at me like that?

  “She has a ride, Alex,” a deep, angry voice says from behind me, and I swivel around to see Jake with a sexy murderous look on his face.

  “Hey, mountain man. What’re you doing here?” I run my hand up his arm, and rest it on his perfectly chiseled chest. He’s wearing a long sleeved blue Henley tee that’s soft beneath my fingers. His hair is all messy like he’s been running his hands through it, and his jaw is set tight as his eyes shoot daggers at Alex. “How’d you know I was here, Jake?” I ask, curling my fingers into his t-shirt, needing him to look at me. I crave his eyes on me.

  Loosening his jaw at my touch, he finally meets my eyes, and I’m hooked. “Jack called and said you were drunk and needed a ride home.”

  “Alex said he’d take me for a ride on his motorcycle,” I tell him, purposefully trying to provoke him.

  “You are not going on the back of his fucking bike,” he growls, his eyes starting to swirl.

  “Why would you care if I did?” I uncurl my hand and run it farther up his chest, draping my arm around his neck as he leans forward, placing his hands on the bar on either side of me.

  “You’re not going anywhere with him, or any other man here.” Damn, he’s sexy when he lays down the law like that.

  “Mountain man, you have no claim here since you walked out on me last night.”

  “I didn’t walk out on you, darlin’.”

  “You did. But I could be persuaded into thinking otherwise,” I tell him, stroking the nape of his neck and tugging on the ends of his hair. “You could kiss me right here, right now, and I’d forget that you rejected me last night.”

  He takes a step closer, and I spread my legs, letting him get as close as possible. “I didn’t reject you, darlin’, I never would. I just needed some space. A little time to think.”

  “Do you need more time? More space? Because I can’t stop thinking about you,” I whisper, placing my other hand on his leg in front of me.

  “Baby, you’re going to have to stop touching me if you want me to keep my control in this bar.”

  “I don’t want you to. I want you to kiss me. I thought I already said that.” Tilting my head to the side, I bite my bottom lip and smile.

  “You’re drunk, darlin’. I can’t take advantage of that.”

  “You better. I’m drunk because of you anyway,” I confess, pulling on his hair again. “Please? Otherwise you can go, and I’ll just catch a ride home with Alex.”

  As I start to pull my hands away from him, he leans in further, holding me captive with the intensity of his stare. He must see what he needs there, because the next thing I know, his mouth is on mine. Pressing me back into the edge of the bar, I pull him close, not caring that we’re in a bar full of people.

  My body ignites, and I feel him sweep his tongue across my lips, asking for entrance. And I’m about to let him in when Courtney clears her throat next to me.

  “Hey lovebirds, you should probably remember you’re in public and know that everyone is staring at you.”

  Pulling away, I tuck my head into the crook of Jake’s neck, my face heating with embarrassment.

  “Am I forgiven?” he whispers in my ear.

  Smiling, I kiss his neck and pull back to look into his sparkling eyes. “Yes, you most definitely are.”

  “Uh, Ally?” Courtney asks, looking at me with a knowing smile.

  “Yes?” Oh my, the room is starting to spin a little. The alcohol mixed with the power of Jake Taylor has my head floating in the clouds.

  Her smile disappears and her brows furrow. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

  “Well, that’s not very nice,” I say, slurring a little.

  “I think you should take her home now,” Jack tells Jake.

  “Yeah, mountain man, I think you should take me home now.” I giggle. Grabbing my purse, I hop down from the stool and stumble into Jake, who’s right there to grab ahold of me before I fall over. “Thanks,” I say, patting his chest. “Bye, Courtney, see you Monday? I think? And Jack, thanks for the food, you’re a lifesaver. Truly.” Jake puts his arm around me to support most of my weight, and I look up at his handsome face, ignoring all of the eyes on us as we walk out of the bar.

  On the ride home, I curl up against the window of Jake’s truck and close my eyes, hoping the world will stop spinning a little. And the next thing I know, I’m waking up in his arms as he carries me up the porch stairs.

  “Let me have your keys,” he whispers in my ear.

  “Hmm? My purse,” I manage to mumble, snuggling closer into his chest. He sets me down gently on the chair outside, and I try and object, but the words aren’t forming as he leaves me to go and open the door. “Jake?”

  “Right here, darlin’,” he says, back in front of me, lifting me into his arms again.

  Walking inside, he carries me into my room and sets me down on my bed. I reach out and grab his arm before he can leave, and peel my tired eyes open, trying to find his in the shadows.

  “Stay. Please,” I whisper.

  “Ally…” he trails off, his voice strained.

  “Jake, please.”

  I hear is him sigh, and then he carefully pulls away from my grip and walks out of the room, closing the door behind him. Shrouded in darkness, with only a sliver of light coming through the crack at the bottom of the door, I hug my pillow to my chest and try to not think about the rejection. Again.

  Drifting off, I suddenly feel my boots coming off my feet and a blanket covering me before the bed dips next to me. “Jake?”

  “Right here,” he whispers, his whisky smooth voice flowing over me while his arm drapes over my middle. “I couldn’t leave you again, darlin’.”

  Smiling into the darkness, I wiggle back, snuggling tight against him, and drift off into a deep sleep.

  Chapter 8

  Feeling groggy, I reluctantly open my eyes to see the first light of the day starting to stream through my curtains. I’m a little foggy on what happened last night, and my mouth feels like I swallowed cotton. I need water.

  Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I gather all the energy I have, and stand. Shuffling out of my room, I make a stop at the bathroom, and then go and get a bottle of water from the fridge, taking a few swigs right away. As I let the cool liquid sooth my bone-dry mouth, I’m suddenly struck with what happened last night. The bar, getting drunk, Jake coming to get me, kissing him, and him carrying me to bed.

  I could have sworn he slept next to me, but he wasn’t there a minute ago when I woke up. Great. He probably snuck out after I passed out.

  Grabbing the aspirin bottle from the counter, I pop a few in my mouth, sure of the headache that’s about to come. Two hangovers in a row. Wow, I’m pathetic.

  Starting a pot of coffee, I lean against the counter and cover my face with my hands. My Go
d, I made a fool of myself last night. Why do I continuously do that with Jake? Kiss me so I’ll forgive you? Good one, Ally. Force a man to kiss you, and then make him stay with you after he carries you to bed because you’re lonely. I’m pathetic.

  Grabbing a sweatshirt from my room, I pour myself a mug of coffee, and then shuffle outside to watch the sunrise.

  “Morning, beautiful,” a deep voice greets me, and I let out a little scream, nearly spilling hot coffee all over me.

  “Jake! You need to stop scaring me like this!” I tell him, my breathing coming fast. “I thought you left,” I say when my heart rate settles. “You weren’t there when I woke up.”

  “I don’t sleep much. I came out here to watch the sunrise. Come sit.”

  Taking the empty chair, I sip my coffee, and let it give my tired brain some clarity. “There’s coffee inside if you want some.”

  “Thanks, I do.” Getting up, he goes inside, and my head is still trying to catch up with what’s happening. Last night I drank copious amounts of gin with Courtney, we talked, we danced, and then Jack brought us food. I was flirting with the bartender–what’s his name–and then suddenly Jake was there, kissing me senseless.

  My God, I love kissing him. It’s like flying into a twister – wild and head spinning.

  “Do you remember last night?” Jake asks, startling me out of my thoughts. He hands me a blanket and I drape it around my cold legs.

  “Yeah, sorry if I was terrible. That bartender just kept feeding us drinks, and we were having too much fun to say no.”

  “Fucking, Alex,” he growls.

  “Huh?”

  “He was getting you drunk so you’d sleep with him.”

  “Who?”

  “Alex, the bartender,” he says sharply.

  “Oh, that was his name. And, no, I don’t think so,” I scoff.

  “Ally, all the men in that place wanted to take you home. If Jack hadn’t called me to come and get you, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”

  I look at him in disbelief. “Jake, all the men did not want to take me home,” I tell him, shaking my head. “And it wouldn’t have mattered if they did. It’s not like I was going to sleep with any of them.”

  Jake just grunts in response, taking a gulp of his coffee. I really want to shout in his face that I wouldn’t sleep with any of them because they aren’t him, but I don’t.

  “Thank you, though,” I say, looking out at the water. “You came to my rescue again. It seems moving here means I need saving a lot.”

  “I don’t mind. Just call, and I’ll be there.”

  Looking back at him, I see his eyes are soft and sincere, so I give him a slight nod.

  As the sun peaks up from the horizon, the sky starts to turn the telltale hues of yellow and orange, with the blue becoming brighter and brighter.

  “It’s so beautiful. I can’t believe I get to see this every morning.” The quiet of the early morning surrounds us as we watch the world come to life.

  “Do you have plans today?” Jake asks, breaking the silence.

  “No, I don’t.”

  Now that the sun has risen, I can see his handsome face more clearly. “I’d like to show you something, if you want.”

  “Yes, I’d like that.” I smile softly. “Should I go and get ready now?”

  “In a few minutes. No rush,” he says, looking out at the sea, sipping his coffee.

  We each enjoy the sunrise, and it’s not until its fully risen and my coffee is cold, that I decide to go inside and get ready. I throw on jeans and a light sweater, hoping this will be okay for whatever he has in mind.

  Sitting next to Jake as he drives, I contemplate for the fiftieth time where he could be taking me. We’re driving down the road with the lake, and I try and catch a glimpse of it through the trees. “There’s a lake there.” I point. “Just through those trees. I stopped on my first day and it was so beautiful. The houses on the other side looked so nice, and the sun was hitting the water just right – casting a glow over everything.”

  “Sounds nice,” he says.

  “So, where are we going?”

  “Somewhere personal to me.”

  “Really? You want to show me something top secret?”

  “Something like that,” he says, smiling softly. I haven’t seen him smile fully yet, but I’ll coax one out of him soon.

  A few minutes later, Jake pulls off the road and onto a gravel driveway that’s lined with huge trees. Now I’m even more curious. And just when I think the gravel drive will never end, we come up on a massive modern log cabin house.

  Jake clears his throat. “My house,” he says nervously.

  My wide eyes sweep around to his. “This is your house? Jake, it’s beautiful.”

  It’s two stories, with large windows spanning between the two levels, and a huge wrap around porch. I didn’t even know log cabins could be so big, and nice, and not just shacks in the middle of the woods.

  Jake gets out of the truck and comes around to open my door. Hopping down, I land a little funny and stumble forward, bracing myself on his chest as his arms come around me in an instant.

  “I don’t bring people here,” he confesses. “But you let me see you paint. That was you letting me see a piece of you, and I want to give you something in return.”

  “That’s…that’s, thank you,” I whisper, feeling honored. But I’m not sure if he’s doing it because he wants to, or because he feels he owes me something. Either way, he’s letting me in.

  Moving my hand from his chest to his cheek, I smooth it back and forth across his beard, loving the feeling against my skin. Pushing up on my toes, I give him a soft, sweet kiss. “Now, show me around. I want to see your secret lair.”

  Smiling softly again, he takes my hand and leads me toward the front door. There aren’t flowers everywhere like Dottie’s, but there are big, beautiful trees all around. I bet the pine trees look gorgeous covered in snow in the winter, and the oak and maple trees will look amazing when they change colors in the fall.

  Walking up the steps of his porch, Jake opens the front door, and I immediately gasp. “Jake, oh my god!” I pull him into his own house, going straight to the back wall. It’s made completely of floor to ceiling windows so the sun can shine brightly through into the living room, and offers an uninterrupted view of a sparkling blue lake. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”

  “I have.”

  Huh? I look up and see him watching me. Oh, he meant me. A blush creeps up my cheeks, and I playfully slap his chest and smile. Squeezing his hand in mine, I look around the rest of the living room. It’s an open floor plan with high vaulted ceilings, a huge brick fireplace, and big leather couches. The mantle holds pictures of Jake and his family at various ages, and I take notice that Jake is definitely the best-looking brother, despite all of them being attractive.

  A wooden coffee table sits in between the two couches, and holds a few magazines and a half-filled glass of water he must have forgotten about.

  Plaid throw pillows and blankets lay haphazardly on the couches, and it feels so warm and homey in here. I can see myself curling up with a book on the big leather chair by the fireplace and enjoying a glass of wine.

  When we walk into the kitchen, I almost faint. It’s practically my dream kitchen with dark wooden cabinets, shiny new appliances, lots of counter space, a deep farm sink, and an island with bar stools. There’s a breakfast nook off to the side, jutting out past the far wall, where a large bay window offers another unimpeded view of the backyard and lake.

  “Jake, this is all so gorgeous,” I tell him, squeezing his hand. “I love it.”

  He ducks his head, but doesn’t say anything. Is he shy about showing me his home? Well, isn’t that cute. I found a small soft spot in the big, strong Jake.

  “Want to see the back?” he asks, and I nod, letting him lead me through the back door.

  We step out onto a large deck with a table, chairs, umbrella, and a huge grill in
the corner. We walk down the stairs to the ground level, and to the right there’s a patio area with a couch, three chairs, and a couple small tables sitting around a fire pit. It looks like the perfect place to spend summer nights relaxing and roasting marshmallows.

  Continuing on, we walk down a stone path that leads to a dock where two Adirondack chairs sit at the end, and a tied-up row boat rocks gently in the water. As I take in the panoramic view of the lake, something occurs to me.

  “Wait, Jake. Is this the lake? The one I said I stopped at on my first day?” I look up at him and he nods. “Wow,” I breathe out. “It’s even more beautiful from this side.”

  “The sunrise isn’t like at Dottie’s, but it’s still nice.”

  “I’m sure it is.” I look down at the boat in the water next to me, and see that it’s made from a deep, rich colored wood with carvings all around the top of it – vines intertwining together so beautifully.

  “Did you make this?” I ask, and he nods, running a hand through his hair. “It’s amazing, Jake. I love the carvings all around the top. That must have taken a long time.”

  “It did. But that’s why I do it.”

  “To keep your hands busy?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Do you have any others I can see? Are you working on any now?” I’d love to see what else he can create, but he hesitates, not answering right away. “Hey, I showed you mine, now you show me yours.”

  “Alright, darlin’, I’ll show you mine. Come on.” He smirks, leading me back up the dock and around the side of the house. We come up on a large garage, and Jake lets go of my hand to pull up the bay door, exposing his workshop.

  Two boats are up on tables, mid-construction, and a bunch of work benches and machines are spread throughout with tools lining the walls.

  “I think I would cut something off if I just stepped inside,” I say, eyeing the saws.

  “I wouldn’t let that happen,” he assures me, taking my hand again, and walking me inside. But I let go of his hand the second I see what the boats are.

  I step up to the first one that has roses running along the side, and I run my fingers over them, feeling the carvings. They’re raised, 3-D cut outs, not just a pattern carved into the surface. He must just start with a large piece of wood and then carve into it, leaving behind these beautiful, intricate flowers.