Free Reunited by Ashley Blake Page A

smile on his face.  “You’re thinking
about me moving to New York aren’t you?”  I playfully tapped him on the arm. 
“That thing is a BEAR Jake!”  I settled back into his arms.
    “I
don’t see any other way for this to work.  I mean how are you going to spend
your life loving me and raising our five children if you’re in a different
city?”
    I
quickly looked up at him, feigning shock.  “ How many children?”
    We
laughed and then he got serious.
    “We
really do need to figure out the distance issue.”
    “I
agree with you Jake, but I think maybe we should spend some time together in
our real lives, not secluded on a beautiful ship.  We need to get to know each
other as adults, don’t you think?”
    “You
were always the reasonable one of the two of us, weren’t you?  I knew there was
a reason I loved you.  Okay, so we’ll date and spend time together and get to
know each other all over again.  I’m looking forward to it.  What are you doing
a week from Saturday?”
    “You
mean a week after we get home from this reunion trip?”
    “Yes,
are you free?”
    His
lighthearted tone, made me giggle.
    “I
probably could arrange to be free Mr. Hunter.”
    “Good. 
I will fly in on the jet to visit you in Chicago for the weekend.”
    “Um,
you just asked about Saturday.  I didn’t say I was free Sunday.”  I was having
such fun teasing him.
    He
leaned down to whisper in my ear.  “Saturday will run into Sunday for us.”
    There
was no mistaking his sexy growl and what it implied.  I felt the heat rise
between my legs at the thought of what was to come with us.
    “Sounds
perfect.”  I snuggled into his arms and yawned.
    “Let’s
get ready for bed.  I have a t-shirt you can sleep in.”
    We got
ready for bed and we brushed our teeth.  Jake always carried spare toothbrushes
with him when he traveled.  He didn’t like the thought of using the same
toothbrush for weeks on end if he ended up having to stay longer than
anticipated on a business trip.  Thank goodness, because I didn’t feel like
going back to my room to get mine.
    As we
crawled into bed we talked about the plans for the following day.  We were
going to Cozumel and planned to spend the day with Amy and Paul.  We had plans
to go to Dolphinaris where we could swim with the dolphins and we were going to
go zip lining.  I couldn’t wait.  I was so excited for the next day and was so
happy the way everything had turned out.  As I curled up into the nook of
Jake’s arm, I dozed off feeling happier and more at peace than I had ever felt
in my life.

CHAPTER
7 
    The
next morning I woke up pretty early and felt out of sorts as I glanced around
the room not knowing where I was at first.  Then reality set in and I stretched
as butterflies fluttered in my belly and I remembered where I was.  I heard the
shower and realized that Jake had let me sleep a little longer while he got
ready.  So this wasn’t a dream!   I bounded out of bed and noticed a note
next to my clothes.
    I
didn’t want to wake you, sweetheart.  If you’re still sleeping when I get out
of the shower, I’ll nudge you.  J-
    I
didn’t realize that I had a big goofy grin on my face until I saw my reflection
in the mirror.  You are love struck, missy!   Yes I am!  
    Just
then I heard a knock at the door.  Amy must be coming to check on me since I
didn’t make it back to our room last night.   I opened the door ready to
tease her for being a mother hen, when I was greeted with the shocked face of
Arianna Covington.  A smirk spread across my face as she struggled to get her
words out.
    “I, I,
uh, I…was looking for Jake.”  Her eyes narrowed as they surveyed my tousled
hair and what was clearly his oversized t-shirt.
    “He’s
in the shower.  Did you want to leave him a message?”  I couldn’t help but lace
my words with sticky sweetness.
    “I, um,
I…didn’t see him yesterday so I was wondering what he was doing today.”
    This
girl