Time Changes Everything Read Online Free PDF Page B

was he quiet?  All of a sudden, the most serious talk she ever had with Jake came to an abrupt end. Just like that. She began to panic.
    As if he thought the very same, Jake rose. “I have to go.”
    She stood. “You’re going to run away again?”
    He jerked his head back and frowned. “I’m not running away. It’s just been a little bit too deep for me this morning.”
    “I’ve got to get to work, too.”
    He held the door open for her and they both walked through, stopping outside.
    Jake crowded her and looked down intently. His breath was warm on her ear. “You need to listen to your own advice, too. I think you’re just as lonely as I am.”
    Before Amanda could reply, he kissed her on the cheek, turned around and walked away.
     
     
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    JAKE HAILED A TAXI and tried to think about the shitload of work that sat on his desk. But his mind meandered to Amanda -- again. She’d called earlier in the week to invite him to spend Thanksgiving dinner at her apartment, which surprised him. Since their jog in Central Park, they hadn’t spoken.
    The thought of seeing her again tightened his throat. He didn’t want to screw things up like he did during their last talk – the sissy talk they shared – the one that scared the shit out of him. Never in his life had he been so open with a woman. The minute Amanda prodded him with questions, he poured his soul out like a weenie.
    Jake couldn’t stop thinking about Amanda’s statements regarding her future. Of course, the idea of her running a major fashion show thrilled him. No doubt, she would succeed. However, Amanda’s unwavering decision to have no man in her life disturbed him.  
    When the doorman let him in and escorted him to the elevator, Jake took a deep breath. In all his years, not once had he been this anxious about seeing a woman. Sure, Amanda was a childhood friend, but he meant it when he said she stirred something within him. He was about to find out what that something was.
    Amanda opened the door. “Welcome to Chez Mandy.” 
    He stepped in and handed her the pumpkin pie he’d brought, just as the phone rang in the background. 
    “I have to get the phone. Be right back.” Amanda excused herself.
    Contemporary furniture and blue walls with drapes over the windows decorated the apartment.  Amanda’s touch was everywhere including her framed drawings that hung around the room. It used to take a lot of persuasion to get her to share her work, and now it was displayed for anyone to see.
    Jake strode over to a watercolor piece depicting the large sycamores in the Larson’s yard back home. It brought memories of home and a twinge of longing to be there, with Amanda, surged through him.
    He turned around and stopped short. 
    Amanda leaned in the doorway of her kitchen.  She wore suede pants and a white tuxedo shirt. A thick brown belt hugged her hips in all the right places, accentuating her flawless figure. She had an ease about her as she moved to him and asked, “What do you think?”
    He brushed aside a strand of hair in her face. “Absolutely beautiful.”
    Amanda blinked. “What?”
    “Your painting.” He faced the wall and pointed, so he wouldn’t lean into her and kiss that surprised look off her face. “It’s home. I like it.”
    Amanda blushed. “I painted it last year.”
    Jake titled her chin toward him. “Still story-telling, huh?”
    “Only you would know the stories about the sycamores.” Amanda rolled her eyes and retreated to the kitchen.
    He’d kissed her under the sycamore on her homecoming night. He took a deep breath and followed her into the kitchen to watch her as she worked.
    “That was Mom on the phone, giving me orders about the turkey,” Amanda said.
    “I’m sure you’ll manage.” He raised his eyebrows. “Did you tell her I was here?”
    “No way. She would order us to give her all the details of how we met up again and then I would never get dinner ready.”
    “Probably