Jake was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels. "This is a pretty sweet setup you have here."

"I do enjoy my TV, but it's really because of Brett. When Patti lived here, he was sick and tired of the c.r.a.ppy television-watching experience, so he hooked us up with all the bells and whistles. When Patti moved in with him, I was lucky enough to keep it all. I don't know what I would do without my DVR. With working nights, I'm never home to watch my favorite shows." You're rambling again. Shut up. "The shower is ready for you. I left some clean towels in there, and I found an extra toothbrush. Use whatever you want."

"Thanks." Jake slipped off the couch and sauntered to where she stood. Leaning closer, he whispered, "Pick a movie for us to watch after my shower."

Just the simple heat of his breath on her skin made her head spin. And it continued to spin even as he walked away, stepped into the bathroom, and closed the door behind him.

A minute later, Liv heard the water running. She was just about to search the menu on the television for a movie when the phone rang. She had a feeling she knew who it was. "h.e.l.lo."

"So, how was he?"

"How's it going, Ozzie?" Liv couldn't help the roll of her eyes. "It's pretty late. I expected your call a while ago."

"Do not distract from the hot topic. How was it?"

"Good."

"Good?" he squealed. "Unacceptable answer."

"All right, all right. It was...mind blowing." Liv heard the water shut off in the bathroom. She would have to cut this short.

"I knew it. Honey, that man is the finest thing I've ever seen. I'm so proud of you. This is a new beginning for you. First the bakery, and soon your love life will finally be on track."

Without the background noise of the water, Liv whispered into the phone, "Okay, don't get all sentimental on me. Yes, it was great and he was great and the bakery is going to be great, yada, yada, yada."

"Why are you whispering?"

"I'm not whispering." She had to get him off the phone.

"You are so whispering. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just have a headache from last night so stop talking so loud."

"Well excuse me, grumpy. Fine, I will let you off the hook for now. But be prepared to put the events of the evening into sentences eventually."

"All right."

"Remember, I want details. I'm talking dirty, uncensored-"

"Hey Liv, did you find us a movie?"

She whipped around to find Jake standing in the living room, his chest glistening, his lower half covered by only a towel. Oh. My. G.o.d. She was mesmerized by the sight of him, and so fl.u.s.tered that she dropped the phone.

She quickly picked it up and thrust it back to her ear.

"Who was that?" Austin asked.

"No one," Liv choked out.

"Sorry, you're on the phone," Jake whispered. "I'll take a look." Walking over to the coffee table, he picked up the remote and started flipping through the movies on demand.

She turned around and lowered her voice. "It's no one. Just the television."

"Liar! He's still there, isn't he?"

She didn't reply.

"He is!"

Liv casually laughed, making light of the situation. Austin was so dead.

"I thought he didn't stay the night? What is he doing there? Are you guys on a date? This is unbelievable."

"Okay, Ozzie. I'll do that. I have to go now. I'll call you later." Austin's yammering continued even as she put down the receiver.

"That was Austin. He was just calling to...uh-"

"Get details." Tilting his head back, he shot her a wide grin.

"Pretty much." She had to give him credit. Despite the awkwardness of this situation, he really was trying his best to make this normal. Not many men could make channel surfing s.e.xy, but standing there in just a towel, Jake definitely brought out the s.e.xy.

"Isn't it fantastic that you don't even have to leave the house to rent a movie anymore?" Jake said.

Who really cared about a movie when she had the Hollywood equivalent of a leading man right here in her living room?

"It looks like we have a few to choose from," he continued. "We have funny, action, or chick flicks. What do you think?"

"Definitely funny."

"Exactly what I was hoping for. I'm going to go and get dressed. Since I only have my work clothes, can I borrow a T-shirt? If you have one that'll fit me."

"Sure. I have tons of T-shirts from the bar. You can look in the bottom drawer of my dresser."

"Thanks." Before heading to her bedroom, he tossed the remote on the couch.

Were clothes really necessary? She wouldn't be offended by naked movie time. Liv tensed. Did she just give him permission to go through her drawers?

She crept around the couch, stealing a glance into her bedroom, and watched Jake as he dressed. He dropped the towel and slid on his pants.

She let out a soft sigh.

Heaven.

He was heaven.

Jake couldn't wait to get dressed and get back to Liv. He'd been fully prepared to be shot down. She gave him the opening and he took it. So here he was, searching through her dresser drawers. This couldn't get any closer to a relationship. When he'd seen her standing in the doorway, sleepy, disheveled, and shocked, he realized that he wanted to see her every morning. Just as she was.

Jake glanced at the alarm clock on Liv's night table. He was due to meet the catering manager at the book launch venue in two hours, but he didn't want to leave her.

He grabbed his phone and dialed Melanie, the most reliable publicist on his team.

Shelton wouldn't be too happy. If he wasn't able to make a meeting himself, he wanted Jake there as a representative of the firm. And he had always been happy to oblige. Evenings, weekends, no matter the time, he had always come through.

But his absence was because of his mission. That had to be forgivable.

Melanie picked up on the third ring.

"Mel, it's Jake."

"Hey, Jake." She sounded surprised. As she should. Jake had never called one of his employees on a weekend.

"I'm sorry to bug you on a Sat.u.r.day, but something's come up." Like his p.e.n.i.s, hopefully, over and over again. Jake smiled. That was definitely a perk, but more than anything, he wanted to spend time with Liv. There was so much more to this woman than he had antic.i.p.ated. "I'm not able to meet with the catering manager at The Grande. Can you take the meeting?"

"Sure." Shock registered on Melanie's voice. Jake never gave up his meetings. "I'd be happy to. I've got nothing going on this afternoon."

"You're a life saver. I'll forward you the info. And we need to stress the frequency of the servers circulating the room. It's the only thing I didn't like about their presentation."

"Got it. I'll take care of it."

Jake straightened and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was a liar. A cheater. A selfish a.s.s. And it was Liv who would end up with the most to lose. Jake could always find another job. But Liv, she wouldn't be able to get a new heart after he'd stomped all over it.

He knew all along-from that first accidental touch-but it wasn't until this morning that he actually let himself believe it could happen. She was not going to make it easy for him. Her distrust in the happily ever after saddened him. Someone had to have hurt her deeply. It was probably the reason why she shied away from intimacy and relationships.

He couldn't imagine how someone could cause her pain. If he knew who it was, he wouldn't hesitate to pummel the a.s.shole. He'd eventually find out. At her own pace. But he knew he had his work cut out for him, trying to break down the armor she had on every moment of every day. It was down right now, but Jake wondered how long it would be before she donned it again.

He fumbled through the drawer and found a gray T-shirt. When he righted himself, his reflection stared back at him. He should be ashamed of himself. They seemed to be on the same page when it came to s.e.x, but he couldn't deny he was using her for his own selfish ambition. Using her to fulfill some childhood memory that brought his grandmother back into his life.

He just had to hope that Liv would be forgiving. He didn't have much time to convince her that he was the real deal, in for the long haul, despite his underhanded actions. There was no way he would lose her because of the actions of some other loser. He would show her what it meant to be a man, and prove that he was worth letting down her guard.

Maybe if he opened up he'd have a better chance at winning the girl. Maybe if he let her into his life-behind the scenes-she'd want to stay and never let go.

Jake lay with Liv in his arms, completely at peace.

They couldn't even last an entire movie without keeping their hands off each other. But this was way better than any movie. His heart swelled. He was usually the first to race out of bed after the s.e.x happened. But this time, with Liv, the cuddling afterward was even better than the s.e.x.

He shook his head. What the f.u.c.k was he thinking? He swayed between laying his cards on the table and trying to protect the body he held in his arms, wanting to keep her for himself. If he had known one small agreement with his boss would have turned out to be such a cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k, he'd never have agreed in the first place. But then he would have never met Liv.

Liv sighed softly and stirred in his arms. "Hi," she said with a croak, staring up at him.

"Hi."

"You're all serious." She placed her palm against his chest. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing important." You should tell her. Tell her about Shelton and your deal. "What's your family like?"

Chicken.

"You already know so much, Mr. Nosy." She tapped his chest.

"I know superficial things. Tell me about you. What about your family?"

She grimaced. "My mom and grandparents live in Collingwood. That's where I grew up."

"What about your dad?"

She tensed in his arms. "My dad?" Liv scoffed. "My dad left when I was ten and I haven't heard from him since." She pulled away and pushed her head against the pillow, her muscles tightening and jerking in his embrace.

"I'm sorry. Some men just don't know how to be real men." He had a perfect home life. And knowing what he did about Liv, the story about her dad made sense. He had a.s.sumed it was a love story gone wrong that tainted her ideas on relationships. That was not the case. Her father was the reason she shied away from love-and men in general. It would be hard to break her away from that mentality and get her to trust him. Trust? Why should she trust you, Jake?

The nagging feeling of guilt was back and this time he couldn't just shake it out of his head. He would do anything to take back his deal. Was that why he felt the need to show her the other side of himself? To purge his guilt? He squeezed her tight, wanting to keep her in this moment.

He slid his hand down her back and cupped her bottom, kneading her tender flesh.

She flashed him a s.e.xy grin. "Feeling frisky?"

He moved his hand over her hip and between her legs and she gasped. "I guess so."

Her heart beat against his chest, thumping quicker and quicker with every move of his hand. He slipped his fingers between her folds. She was still wet from their previous s.e.x session. His fingers continued to caress; this time, he plunged one finger inside. "I'm sure you have a lot of things to do tomorrow before the big opening."

"I do." She moaned. "Lots of things I need to do tomorrow."

"I guess I should finally make my way home. Leave you to get things done." He thumbed her c.l.i.t as his finger moved slowly in and out of her.

She looked up, affection staring back at him. She had given herself over to him. And he was a lying jerk-off. He didn't deserve her affection.

"You could always stay." Liv moaned and pushed her head back as her body tightened around him. He loved the effect he had on this woman, the pure pleasure she embraced while in his arms. "I had the whole day planned and...there's something I want to show you."

Tomorrow was Sunday. And every Sunday during the winter, Jake, Brian, and Tony would meet at their local outdoor rink to play hockey. Miles would sit in the stands and watch, nursing his allergy to sports.

He'd have to cancel on his friends. Another excuse for him to avoid real life...for Liv. But she had dropped her guard. Just like he had hoped. Liv moaned, lower and deeper with the stroke of his hand across her tender flesh. At this moment, there wasn't a trace of her defenses left.

A plan formulated in his mind. She wouldn't be the only one to reveal something tomorrow. If he had any chance of keeping her, he needed to step up his game. And he knew exactly where he would take her to solidify his place in her heart.

"What's that?" he asked, wondering if what she had planned was her way of opening up.

"It's a surprise." She whimpered as her body fell away. She lifted one leg, opening herself up, giving him better access.

"We won't be playing pool, will we?" A second finger joined the first.

"No pool." She groaned and asked on a gasp, "Will you come with me?"

"Oh, I plan on coming." He removed his hand from between her legs and shimmied below the comforter. "But you first."