Free Forever's Embrace (Forever In Luck Series Book 2) by J. Darling Page B

Rose.”
    She
smiled, he could hear it in her voice. “Really? You’re not just saying that are
you?”
    He
placed a kiss on her cheek. “I’d never lie about it. It was by far, the best kiss
I’ve ever had. You sure do know how to pack a wallop. You made my head spin,
and I’m breathless, in case you haven’t noticed.”
    She
wrapped her arms around his neck, and he rolled to his side, holding her close
as he did. They kissed again, long and slow, and damned if it wasn’t better
than the first time. Rubbing her back and running his fingers through her hair,
he said with and ache in his heart, “Go to sleep, Precious. We need to leave in
a couple hours, and you need to work in the morning.”
    She
nodded and cuddled up, then fell asleep in his arms.
    It
was no wonder that four hours later, as she left his arms and passed through
the airport security checkpoint, he felt as if his heart had left him.

CHAPTER
5

 
    Four
weeks later, Jake’s phone rang. “Hello.”
    “Happy
Holidays, Jake. It’s Harley at the Bottle Shop in Luck. I’ve got a package for
you. Can you come pick it up?”
    “For
me? What kind of package?” Jake asked in surprise.
    “Not
sure, just says to call you when it arrived. So, that’s what I’m doing.”
    It
was Christmas Eve, and he did want to pick up some beer for tomorrow’s games.
“Yeah, I’ll be in shortly.”
    “Alrighty,
see you then.”
    Whatever
this was, he wasn’t sure, but what he did know, was that the last four weeks
had been nothing short of mundane. He missed Jules with a passion so deep, he
was drowning. He hadn’t spoken with her, but he’d had pink roses delivered each
week with a note telling her he was thinking of her. If the Packer’s won New
Year’s Eve, he was switching the order to red.
    Getting
in his truck, he stopped at the end of the driveway and checked the mail.
Nothing. Damn, where the hell was it? If the last four weeks were good for
anything, it was for him to take an inventory of his life, and see in glaring
detail how little he had to offer a woman. He needed to hear soon, or he’d
never be ready to start classes come January eighth.
    Walking
into the Bottle Shop on Main, he waited while Harley finished with a customer.
“Hey Harley, let’s see what you got. I’m not expecting anything though, so I’m
not sure what this could be.”
    Harley
lifted a medium sized box onto the counter. It landed with a clunk, and you
could hear glass clank inside. What the hell was it? Opening it, he couldn’t
help but smile, then busted out laughing. Jules had ordered a big box of
Kleenex tissues taped to a case of his favorite beer. She’d also included what
looked like a shirt of hers, that said “Packer Smacker” on it, and he quickly
put it to his nose because it smelled like her. There was a little note inside.
Opening it, he read what she’d written.
    “Love
the flowers, been thinking of you too. Jules XOXO”
    Ten
feet tall. He felt like he was ten feet tall, and so strong he could bench
press a herd of heifers. Yes! He was floating on cloud nine. Next to her first
kiss, this was one of the best gifts he’d ever received. Smiling like the
Cheshire cat, he looked at Harley. “Thanks. This was worth the drive in, for
sure.”
    “You
know what it’s about then? Because I sure the hell don’t. I was told when that
shirt arrived, I was to tape the biggest box of Kleenex I could find to the
beer, put it all in a box, and call you.”
    “I
do,” Jake answered happily. “A friend and I have a little bet over the
Packer-Bear’s game next week, and it appears she thinks I’ll need Kleenex to
keep from crying in my beer. But you know what? The Packer’s are going to win,
I can feel it, and I won’t even need to open that box.”
    Harley
smiled, and said with a shake of the head, “Gotta love a good old fashioned
rivalry. Nothing like it to get your blood pumping. I’ll be watching the game
too, rooting right along with you. The Pack will