Lone Wolfe (23 page)

 
          
He
turned slowly around in the room, taking it all in, the sunlight breaking
through the clouds and washing over him, his features softened with
remembrance. And in that moment Mollie knew she loved him.

 
          
It
seemed so amazingly apparent, so utterly obvious.
So
simple
.
As the realisation
rippled through her body, her heart’s answering response was,
Of course
.

 
          
Of
course she loved him. She’d started to love him even when she was a child,
peeking between the hedges. She loved the boy he’d been, trying to take care of
his family, and the man he’d become, responsible, gentle, utterly trustworthy.

 
          
Her
mind had tried to convince her she didn’t love
him, that
she didn’t even know him well enough to love him, but in that moment Mollie
knew she did. Perhaps she always had.

 
          
Yet
she knew she couldn’t tell him now. Her heart was filled to overflowing, yet
Mollie swallowed it back down. It would be too much for Jacob now. So she just
smiled and touched his arm. ‘How wonderful,’ she said, ‘that you all had one
another.’

 
          
Jacob
looked at her, blinking as if he was surprised by the realisation. ‘Yes,’ he
said slowly, ‘it was.’

 
          
With
the realisation that she loved Jacob, everything else seemed to slide into
place. It was as if her love for him was the key that unlocked not just her
heart, but her mind.
Her ideas.
Now she knew just what
to do with the Rose Garden.

 
          
Yet
first there was something more important to attend to: Jacob’s birthday. Since
he’d closeted himself in the office for most of the day, preparing was easy.
She left him a note in the kitchen letting him know she’d gone into town, and
walked the quarter mile to the bus stop in the centre of Wolfestone. Her
shopping took less than an hour, and when she returned to the manor she saw
that Jacob had not seen her note or even left his study at all.

 
          
Just
as well, Mollie decided with a new, optimistic determination. This would give
her more time to make things just as she wanted them.

 
          
That
evening she changed into a strappy top and a summery skirt that swung about her
legs, tamed her hair and touched up her make-up. Then she went to Jacob’s study
and rapped sharply on the door.

 
          
‘Mollie
…?’ His voice, from behind the thick oak, was muffled.

 
          
‘It’s
eight o’clock, Jacob. Aren’t you going to stop working?’

 
          
‘I’m
sorry. I have a great many things to do.’

 
          
Mollie
sighed. She’d anticipated this. ‘It’s just that I’m feeling a little woozy all
of a sudden …’ She let her voice trail off, and within seconds Jacob had thrown
open
the door, his face harsh with concern.

 
          
‘What
happened? Are you—?’

 
          
‘I’m
fine.’ Mollie grinned at him. ‘That was the only way I could think of getting
you out of there.’

 
          
Jacob
stared, completely thunderstruck. ‘You lied to me?’

 
          
‘It
was for a noble purpose.’ She tugged on his arm before he could work up any
real indignation. The man’s moral code was unfaltering. ‘Come on.’

 
          
‘What
…? I have to—’

 
          
‘You
don’t have to do anything right now,’ Mollie said.
‘Except
follow me.’
She led him into the kitchen, where she’d dimmed the lights.
‘Close your eyes.’

 
          
‘What …?’

 
          
Laughing,
Mollie stood on her tiptoes and reached up to cover Jacob’s eyes with her
hands. ‘I mean it.’

 
          
Jacob
let out a short, irritated breath, and Mollie knew he had no idea what she was
doing, or why.

 
          
She
led him into the centre of the kitchen, her hand still covering his eyes. ‘Now,
I have to let go for a minute, but no peeking, all right?’

 
          
‘Right.’
He still sounded annoyed.

 
          
Mollie
dashed over to the light the candles on the cake—all thirty-eight of them. She
picked up the cake and brought it front of Jacob; his eyes were still closed.

 
          
‘All
right, you can open them now.’

 
          
Jacob’s
eyes flew open, and Mollie smiled.
‘Happy birthday, Jacob.’

 
          
He
stared at the cake as if he didn’t know what it was. He looked so nonplussed
Mollie was afraid she’d made a terrible mistake. ‘Haven’t you ever seen a
birthday cake before?’ she teased.

 
          
His
eyes met hers and he gave her a rueful smile. ‘Not one for me.’

 
          
Mollie
stared at him, too surprised to dissemble. ‘Not ever?’

 
          
He
shrugged. ‘Not that I remember. My birthday always fell at term time, and the
school didn’t run to making cakes.’

 
          
‘Well,
I made your favourite,’ she said with a smile. ‘Double chocolate. At least,
that’s what you wanted for your eighth birthday. I don’t know about now.’

 
          
‘I
love chocolate,’ Jacob said, and his voice sounded almost hoarse. Mollie felt
the tension spin out between them, tautening and stretching, and her hands
nearly trembled as she held the cake.

 
          
‘Here.’
She placed it on the worktop. ‘Make a wish.’

 
          
Jacob’s
gaze remained fastened on hers as he bent down to blow out the candles. Mollie
held her breath. She certainly knew what she would wish for.

 
          
‘What
did you wish for?’ Mollie asked after he’d blown them out. She sounded
breathless.

 
          
‘Now
if I told you, it wouldn’t come true.’ A smile, slow and sexy, curled Jacob’s
mouth. Mollie felt heat flood through her body. She’d never seen him smile like
that before. It made him look unbearably desirable, so that she could barely
hold the knife steady as she turned to the cake.

 
          
‘Let
me cut you a piece.’ She cut a generous slice and put it on a plate, yet his
smile still warmed right through her and gave her the courage to take a forkful
and hold it aloft, offering him her own wicked smile. ‘Ready?’

 
          
Jacob’s
gaze, dark and hot, never left hers as he obediently opened his mouth. Mollie
fed him the cake, her heart starting an uneven, heavy rhythm at the sheer
sensuality of the action. She loved him so much. She wanted him so much.

 
          
His
lips closed around the fork, his hand brushing her fingers. She nearly shuddered
aloud. He ate, swallowed and then took the fork from her.
‘Now
your turn.’

 
          
‘
Wh
… what?’ Smiling, Jacob reached for the cake. Mollie
watched, mesmerised, as he discarded the fork and took a piece, sticky with
chocolate, in his fingers and held it aloft. ‘You like chocolate, don’t you?’

 
          
‘Oh
… yes.’ She opened her mouth obediently, like a little bird. Jacob fed her the
cake, his thumb brushing her lip; and as she ate, her tongue touched his thumb
and made her whole body quiver with desperate awareness. Somehow she managed to
swallow, speak.
‘Jacob …’

 
          
He
pulled her towards him, easily, for she offered no resistance. Her head fell
back as his lips brushed hers so briefly, so barely, and Mollie waited, hoping
that he would deepen the kiss.

 
          
He
didn’t.

 
          
His
lips hovered over hers for a torturous second before he stepped back. ‘A
birthday present,’ he said, trying to smile.
‘For me.’
Even though his voice remained light Mollie saw the struggle in his eyes. She
knew he wanted to kiss her again, and more deeply, and even more than that. And
yet he wouldn’t, whether it was because of responsibility or fear or guilt
Mollie couldn’t even guess. She wanted to shake him. She wanted to tell him
that she might be the best thing that ever happened to him, if only he’d let
her love him.

 
          
Yet
she swallowed the words, because she knew Jacob wasn’t ready to hear them. She
wasn’t sure she was ready to say them. She certainly was not prepared for the
possible—maybe even probable—rejection.

 
          
So
she smiled, as if that kiss hadn’t stripped away her defences and left her
shaken and exposed before him, and reached for the box she’d left on the table.
‘Actually, I have another present for you.’

 
          
‘You
do?’

 
          
‘Don’t
sound so surprised. It is your birthday after all.’

 
          
‘It’s
just … no one’s ever given me a present before.
On my
birthday.’

 
          
Mollie
frowned, the box still in her hands.
‘Nobody?
What
about your brothers and sister? What about the list up in the nursery?’

 
          
‘List?’

 
          
‘On the wall.
It’s how I knew you liked chocolate. It was a
list of everyone’s birthdays and what they wanted for a present.’

 
          
‘Oh.’
Jacob’s expression cleared and he smiled in memory. ‘I wrote that list. To keep
track, so I wouldn’t forget anyone’s birthday.’

 
          
‘Oh,
I see.’ And she did. How she loved this man.

 
          
Mollie
swallowed past the lump in her throat. She didn’t need to ask who remembered
Jacob’s birthday. The answer was obvious. ‘Well, here’s your first present.’
She handed him the box. Jacob took it, turned it over in his hands. Mollie gave
a little laugh. ‘You’re meant to open it, you know.’

 
          
‘Yes.’
He smiled ruefully, his eyes glinting. ‘I suppose I’m just savouring the
moment.’ Almost reluctantly he slid off the ribbon and tore the wrapping paper.

 
          
He
gazed down at it for a long moment until Mollie felt compelled to say, ‘It’s …
it’s a chess set. On that list you wrote—’

 
          
‘Yes,’
Jacob said quietly. ‘I remember.’ He was still staring down at the set Mollie
had bought in town. There hadn’t been too many options, and suddenly she wished
she’d bought something else, something better, or at least a better chess set,
one with marble pieces or a fancy board. She’d bought him a
toy
, for heaven’s sake, and he was a
millionaire. He could buy a thousand chess sets if he wanted, or one made of
solid gold.

 
          
Jacob
looked up, his eyes bright. ‘Thank you,’ he said quietly, and Mollie heard the
raw note of sincerity in his voice. ‘Thank you, Mollie.’

 
          
And
then she knew she’d bought him the right gift. ‘You’re welcome.’

 
          
They
remained there a moment, hesitating, awkward, and Mollie wanted to close the
space between them and wrap her arms around Jacob, smooth the furrow from his
forehead, kiss his faint smile into fullness. Yet she didn’t, because she could
see even now Jacob was trying to distance himself, struggling with the
gratitude and joy he felt and the guilt and shame that seemed constantly poised
to overwhelm him.

 
          
Yet
she had to touch him, if only a little bit, so leaning forward, she placed a
hand on his cheek. Jacob started at the touch, and his eyes closed briefly
before he snapped them open, stared at her with those fathomlessly dark eyes so
she had no idea what he was thinking. ‘Good night, Jacob,’ she whispered, and
she left the room before he could.