Chapter 2

He flew from Venice to see me...

"I shouldn't have let you go. I lost years thinking about you and only you and how stupid I was to let you go."

"It was a mutual decision. We were young. It wasn't your fault," I tried to explain.

He looked relieved. Was this really happening? The rational part of my brain argued that I didn't know him. He was a man, not the boy I'd known.

I recalled our decision when I was sixteen to see other people. Our long- distance relationship had lasted more than two years, but being away for the next ten months proved difficult.

And we didn't know whether I could travel to Europe to see him the next summer. University was two years away. I had to work to save money for school. And so we'd decided to see how it went. See other people. Try to be teenagers on two different continents.

I'm so proud you're going to university, I remembered reading in one of his letters. We'd continued our friendship through writing, until I met my future husband and made the decision to stop our correspondence.

If I wanted to give that relationship a chance, I knew I had to stop writing to Jake. It couldn't be any other way for me. My heart needed to heal and fall in love with someone else. I was certain if this new relationship didn't work out, I'd go back to Jake. This was the last chance I'd give my heart to fall in love with someone else, and it did. I didn't write to Jake again until after I was married.

"No. I shouldn't have let you go." He shook his head. "I was too stupid and young and afraid to tell you how I felt, and then you met Tyler."

I lowered her head at the memory of my deceased husband.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." His hand came closer to mine, but we didn't touch.

"It's all right. Jake, before you go any further with this, I need to tell you I'm involved with someone." I knew Jake had always appreciated my honesty. But would I push him away again? Would he let my new relationship grow, the way he had last time?

"Do you love him?" He put his hand on top of my palm over the wicker chair; the skin coarser than I recalled, but just as tender and warm. The heat flowed through my arm up to my bosom, and I remembered my hardened nipples.

Jake's eyes sparkled, and I admired the dimple in his chin I fell in love with. I knew he had noticed my perked top. What man wouldn't? I wiggled my fingers in his palm, wanting the feel the movement of his skin against mine.

"No," I whispered, enjoying his touch more than I could admit out loud because I heard my voice tremble. "Jake, it's been over twenty years. Why are you asking me questions like that?"

He suddenly moved his chair around, turning to face me. The edges of the front of the seat touched. Jake's legs brushed against my knees as he spread them around my chair.

"I don't make the same mistake twice," he whispered, tucking my hair behind my ears on each side. "You're even more beautiful than the last time I saw you."

I concentrated on my breathing, because if I didn't, I'd forget to inhale. Having Jake close to me felt like we'd never been apart. The twenty years seemed like minutes, and what had passed during that time didn't matter, at

least not now. Before we parted as teens, he's said we'd find our way to each other if we were meant to be. Was this the moment he spoke of?

I couldn't help but admire Jake's broader shoulders, defined chest, and the bulk at the front of his pants, which I was sure hadn't started to grow yet. My current relationship was fresh and not going too well. Christopher was too self-obsessed. Honestly, I could wiggle out of it if I really wanted to. One phone call, that's all it would take.

Jake brought his face closer to mine. The moonlight touched his cheeks, and I recalled our night at the orchard. The night I told him I wanted him to take my virginity. And he did. He had taken me again and again and it was the one decision I'd never regretted. I'd lost it to my true love, and now I wanted to be with him more than ever. But was this too fast and frivolous? I didn't seek out casual sexual encounters, though having him here made one seem more plausible than before.

Jake's hands glided from mine to my bare arms, gently squeezing on their way up. He cupped my face and brushed his thumb across my lips while leaning in closer. The rational part of my mind clicked shut. I'd

wanted to be with him again more than ever. And here he was. The moment I dreamed about was happening and I wouldn't stop it. I couldn't stop it.

My breath stopped and my heart thumped at an unbearable speed. Jake touched his lips to mine. They were as responsive as when we were in our teens. I remembered all his kisses and had even counted them until I reached a thousand.

After then, I stopped counting because each one always felt like our first kiss. And so did this one.

But now I was a woman, and I'd learned a few things myself during the past twenty years.

My mouth hardened and I slipped my tongue deeper inside his mouth. He responded. Jake held my head, sliding his tongue inside me to match my longing, and I accepted him more deeply and fully. My insides warmed and my crotch heated.

Jake's lips coasted to my cheeks, eyes, and nose, and finally found a spot in the middle of my forehead. Leaning in closer, he embraced me. Another squeeze and I'd be crushed. My fingers clenched his sweater, holding on for my life. I wouldn't let him go. Not again.

"Is this even possible?" he whispered.

"I hope so. Otherwise this is one dream I don't want to wake up from." My hands took hold of the hem of Jake's sweater and I pulled it over his

head. The past twenty years had served him well.

Jake was more muscular than I remembered. His body had transformed to a man's, and that's exactly who I needed: an experienced man. I kissed his chest, taking my time. A quiet yelp escaped Jake's throat. He held me by the shoulders and trembled after each peck I planted as if I'd released an electric shock from my lips.

"You have no idea what you're doing to me, Rose." His warm breath whisked along the top of my head.

"I think I do." I smiled, looking up. His eyes were closed. My legs unwound and I wrapped them around him. He picked me up by my bottom

and carried me to the lounge, lying on top of me. I held my thighs in place, ankles criss-crossed at his back. He lowered my feet to his side, then pulled my tank top over my head, freeing my breasts.