Forbidden Heat by Carew, Opal (most popular ebook readers .TXT) 📕

Trey had totally moved on, Jake reminded himself, and dwelling on what might have been was a recipe for heartache

“Well, it’s time for me to be off .” Trey signed the check on the table.

“Do you have to leave so soon?” she asked.

Trey smiled. “Sorry, honey.” He took Georgia’s hand and kissed it. “But I had a delightful time.”

She smiled, but couldn’t keep the disappointment from her face. Trey was such a lady’s man.

“Have a good time at the wedding tomorrow,” she said as they walked toward the door.

They stepped outside into the warm evening.

“I’ll get us a cab,” Jake said. “Any ideas where to go for dinner?”

“Georgia suggested we go to a little Italian restaurant just a block down, so we can walk.”

They turned left and strolled down the street and a few minutes later entered a classy Italian restaurant.

“Please, follow me,” the mustached host said as he led them through a maze of hallways passing small groupings of tables in intimate niches along the way. “Is this to your liking?” he asked when he stopped at a booth in a niche of its own.

“Great. Thanks.”

“Could you bring us a carafe of your house wine? Our friend told us to be sure and try it,” Trey said.

“Right away.” The man hurried off, leaving them to enjoy the soft dinner music playing in the background.

“Nice atmosphere.” Jake picked up one of the menus the host had set on the table.

The waiter arrived with a carafe of red wine, two stemmed glasses, and a basket of fresh-baked bread. He set the bread on the table, then filled the glasses. Both Trey and Jake ordered the house specialty. The waiter scooped up the menus and went on his way.

“So what’s going on with you these days?” Trey asked.

“Since we’re into the summer session, I have a pretty light class load.”

Trey nodded. “Got the pool open?”

“Of course. You’re welcome to come over for a dip anytime.”

“Yeah, sure,” Trey said. “I’ll have to do that.”

But Jake knew it wouldn’t happen. Besides, he’d forgotten that Trey had a pool of his own.

The waiter arrived with their salads.

“What about you?” Jake asked.

“I went on a forty-mile ride last month.”

“Yeah? That’s not too long for you.” As long as Jake had known him, Trey had been an avid cyclist and often did lengthy trips.

“True, but Lindsay . . . the woman I went with . . . hadn’t done a ride that long before, so we had to ease into it.”

“Hmm.” Jake grinned. “A woman willing to go into training to be with you. Sounds serious.”

Trey shrugged. “I thought so, but . . . no. She ended it a week later.” He took a bite of his salad.

At the haunted look in Trey’s eyes, Jake’s heart compressed. He’d obviously cared about the woman. “Sorry to hear that.”

“No problem. That’s just me . . . looking for love in all the wrong places. Just because we shared a few interests didn’t mean it was a match made in heaven. Our personalities didn’t mesh well together.”

Jake had gotten the sense for a long time now that Trey had decided to leave his interest in men completely behind him and hoped to find a woman to settle down with. Start a family. Have a normal life . . . at least, one he didn’t feel he had to hide.

“What about you?” Trey asked. “I heard you were dating Rachel in the science department.”

“For a while . . . but that ended in April. Before that, I was seeing a guy named Rico.” It felt strange talking to Trey about his love life, but he tamped down the awkward feelings. After all, friends talked about their love lives all the time, didn’t they?

“I heard that became a bit of a problem.” Trey grabbed a slice of bread from the basket and buttered it.

Jake pushed back stray stands of hair that had escaped his ponytail. Trey seemed to know a lot about his relationships. Was that friendly interest, or could it be more?

“Yeah. The guy was pretty emotional . . . and overly possessive. I finally had to end it.”

Trey nodded. “It’s tough out there. Finding the right person. Making a go of it. If you do find the right person, though, I’m sure it’s worth the effort.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Jake said, shifting his gaze to the bread as he picked up a slice and buttered it. “What about you? Do you think you ever will?”

“I hope so,” Trey said with a shrug. “Enough about this, though.” Trey grinned. “So tomorrow, Harmony ties the knot.”

Jake nodded. Harmony had found someone she loved and whom she would spend her life with. She was proof it could be done.

Jake glanced at Trey. If only he could find someone in his life who thought he was special . . . who would make him forget how much he wanted Trey.

“It’ll be great seeing a lot of old friends tomorrow,” Jake said.

Trey leaned forward. “You know who we haven’t seen for a long time? Remember Danielle Rayne from first year? I wonder if she’ll be there.”

“I’m sure. She and Harmony were pretty close friends.”

Danielle had transferred to another school after first year. Financial considerations.

Trey leaned back in his chair. “Remember I had kind of a thing for her?”

Jake remembered. In fact, he had, too. But then Jake had always known he was interested in both men and women. For Trey, however, Danielle had been the first woman he had ever been attracted to. Before that, Trey had always assumed he was attracted only to men. It had been an eye-opener for him . . . and the beginning of the end for Jake and Trey’s relationship . . . even though Trey had never acted on that attraction.

“She was very pretty . . . and sweet,” Jake said.

A little withdrawn, though. But Trey and Jake had drawn her out of her shell and formed a friendship with her. She didn’t make friends easily, but