Cara looked at him, shocked that he remembered exactly how she pictured her future family. She often allowed herself to dream of what it would be like to have a family of her own. She could always see the kids, but never the face of the man she would call her husband. She would bet, that Jake remembered that too.
“Who better to have kids with, than your best friend, no? Seems like a no brainer to me.” Jake said completely sure of himself. She smiled at him. She loved that about him. When he was adamant about something, he owned it with his whole being.
“Okay, if in five years from now, neither one of us are in a relationship, we’ll get hitched and have some babies.” She shook her head at the ridiculousness of her agreement, and the fact that she was sincere. He dropped his arm from her shoulders and held his hand to her.
“Come on now, it’s not real unless we shake on it.” He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to shake hands on their promise to one another. Cara slid her hand into his and they shook hands, sealing the deal. “Now that that’s settled, there’s just one more thing.”
“What’s that?” She asked, curiosity spiking in her voice.
“About before, and what you said.” She looked at him, trying to remember what she had said. “I’d never take off without you.”
Realization dawned upon her as the first glimpse of sunlight made its way above the mountains. “Oh, that. I was just kidding around.” She said as she took a deep breath of the fresh air.
“Kidding around or not, I just want it to be made clear. I need you, Cara, just as much as you need me, if not more.”
She didn’t look at him; she just continued to take in the view. Without uttering a word, she laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a squeeze. The simple gesture assuring the both of them that, that need would never diminish, for either of them.
Chapter Three
It was Sunday, which meant one thing, a big family dinner at the Lanza house. Jake was starving and he and his father, had been fighting Deb Lanza, to throw them a crumb or two since she started cooking, six hours ago. His stomach growled loudly, as the two men tried to trick Luke’s six year old daughter Ava, into grabbing more stuffed animals for their tea party. They made a quick escape into the kitchen. Like two scavengers, they searched high and low for something to pick on, something Deb wouldn’t notice.
“Joe! Stop picking on those rice balls.” Deb slapped her husband, Joe’s hand with a dish towel. He grunted and reluctantly pulled his hand out from under the tin foil covered tray.
“Damn it woman, you cook all this food, but no one is allowed to eat it.” He reached behind her, grabbing a breadstick she had wrapped with prosciutto, biting into it angrily. “What? I’m starving!” He said with his mouthful of innocence.
“Stop picking.” She warned and that was enough for Jake to second guess digging into his mother’s food without her consent.
“Grandpa!” Ava called as she ran into the kitchen. She was dressed in a pink tutu and a silver princess crown. She carried a plastic wand, that, trailed ribbons. “You are late for the tea party.” She said as she pointed her wand at him.
“I’m sorry princess, I was starving thought I could grab some food for our tea party.”
“There’s no food at a tea party, silly. Just tea!” She glanced at Jake, and scowled. She was just as scary as her grandmother if you messed up her tea party. “Uncle Jake! Where is your tiara?”
Jake watched his father sigh and pretend to cry. “All the women in my life, want me to starve,” said Joe. Ava’s little eyes were staring daggers at Jake, and he scrambled to figure out where he had put the goddamn tiara. He looked around the kitchen, and spotted it on the counter, hurrying over to grab it. He placed it on his head, it was probably crooked, but he didn’t care, he just didn’t want to upset his niece.
“Here it is, see I’m all ready for the tea party.” Jake said, praying his brother would get his ass here sooner rather than later. He perked up when he heard Sam call out from the front of the house.
“Hello? Where is everybody?” She called. Then Jake heard another female voice, and sighed with relief that both Sam and Cara were there. They pushed through the kitchen door and Jake looked up at them like they were his savior. He knew he looked ridiculous standing in the middle of the kitchen with a tiara on his head, and the laugh that burst from Cara’s mouth only validated his suspicions. Yep, he looked like a big asshole.
“Save me,” he pleaded with the two girls.
“That’s a good look for you.” Cara winked at Jake and he grunted in return, glad his pain amused her.