Another Summer by Sue Lilley

Author:Sue Lilley [Lilley, Sue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Jake stopped messing about on the piano and sat beside Evie on the sofa. As he put a welcome arm around her, she hid her face in his shoulder, embarrassed that she couldn’t stop crying.

“Maybe I’ll just wear this shirt wet in future.”

She tried to laugh but choked on a sob. The memories were still too raw, no matter how much she’d been pretending. She was icy cold, shivering against him, almost curled up in a ball now as he wrapped his arms around her, his chin resting on the top of her head.

“You’re going to have to tell me?”

She took a deep breath. “I lost a baby a couple of months ago. It was ectopic, when the baby grows in the tube? It ruptured. They said I could have died.”

“Sounds gruesome. Is that what the scar’s all about? I thought it was your appendix, or something.” He leaned over her shoulder, pushing her hair back from her face so he could look at her. “I’m thinking I’ve been a bit rough. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, you didn’t hurt me. You’ve been wonderful.”

“Wonderful? I’m liking that. But are you going to tell me the rest of it?”

“It’s a long story,” she sighed. “It was such a horrible time.”

“So give me the short version?”

“The baby wasn’t planned,” she told him, reluctant to bore him with the details, but finding she wanted to talk. “I was taking the pill but there was a time when I ate something dubious and was violently ill. I felt so stupid when I realised. And Joe was so weird about it, we couldn’t really talk. I’ve felt ever since that losing the baby was my punishment for not wanting it enough.”

“Sounds like a ton of shit to deal with. Maybe a summer in the Spanish sunshine will help take your mind off it?”

“Jake, don’t!” she pleaded as he manoeuvred his position so he could kiss her. “That’s a fantasy. It isn’t real life. I’m due back at work in a couple of weeks.”

“I’d take fantasy over real life any day. Couldn’t you swing more time off? Say you’re not ready yet, or something? I get that you don’t want to leave your daughter but I meant what I said about bringing her along. No strings. No hassle. What’s to think about? You know you want to.”

Of course she wanted to but that didn’t make it any more possible. She lay back, her head on his chest, watching his hands stroking her arms. Even through her sweater, he had her skin tingling again. Already, after only a couple of days, she was wondering what her life would be like without him.

“I bet I’m the first proper fuck you’ve had in years. How can you resist?”

“You are such a big head!”

She twisted out of his arms and threw a cushion at him. But she did laugh. What was it about him, that he could make her feel so different? When he grabbed her again and kissed her neck, she felt herself beginning to melt.

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