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  Mine.

  She’s mine, here in my bed, to do with as I please, he thought to himself as his balls filled, heavy as they tightened before stroking himself, so she could watch. His girl more than liked what she was seeing as her eyes flashed with desire.

  They made love again and again.

  Even when his body was spent and needed time to recuperate, he kept going. Pushing to please her. Watching pleasure wash over her was one of the most beautiful things he had ever experienced. The night turned into early morning when they couldn’t do anything other than lie next to one another and talk in hushed whispers.

  They talked about the past. About when they’d both figured out they cared about each other as more than friends. How they’d known it was love. They even talked about the reasons they didn’t take a chance before. The risk of the other not feeling the same and losing the friendship they had, had been too much of a risk to take. The conversation flowed freely and without judgment.

  They decided to put their best foot forward, determined to leave the past behind them now that they were finally together.

  When Jason brought up the future, her dark eyes sparkled back at him, making his chest fill with hope and pride.

  The beautiful woman lying in his bed knew everything there was to know about him and was also the one to walk bedside him for the rest of their days. Sure, someone would probably think he was out of his fucking mind, bat shit crazy for predicting such a bold future, but he didn’t give a fuck.

  He knew, without a doubt, their future was full of endless possibilities. No matter what life had in store for them, she would be beside him.

  His best friend was also his girl.

  The only woman he had ever, and would ever, love.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ROCIO

  TWO MONTHS HAD FLOWN BY IN a blink of an eye. Summer had faded away, and autumn was in full swing in Chicago.

  I still couldn’t believe the way my life was, and every day I thanked my lucky stars and any greater power that had helped align Jason and my path. I had never been as happy. And maybe because of it, I was worried. Holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop, having a rug pulled from under me, making me awaken from the most beautiful dream.

  “Hey, there you are.” He poked his head into my bedroom, and I smiled at him, trying to sweep the worry away from my eyes.

  “I’m here.” I pressed my lips together, “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “What’s going on?” he asked, his eyes on the bag I was filling up.

  “Nothing. Just getting a couple of things for this weekend,” I shared, and his shoulders relaxed. For a moment, I wondered if he had the same worries I did in the back of his own mind.

  “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

  “This weekend?”

  “Yeah. I know we talked about going away and getting out of the city, but—”

  “But you wanna stay home?” I cut him off, my lips twitching. I should have known. He wasn’t one to travel too far from Chicago and the shop.

  “No. I was wondering if you might wanna go somewhere…. Warmer,” he shared, and my head popped from my duffle as I looked toward him with narrowed eyes.

  “What do you mean, warmer?”

  “I mean Hawaii.”

  “Hawaii?” I repeated.

  “Or LA?” he threw out there, and I was sure he knew I thought he was crazy.

  “LA? Like Los Angeles?”

  “Why not?” He shrugged, and I couldn’t help myself. I started to laugh, and now it was Jason who was glowering in my direction.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked, and I stepped away from my bed and closer to him.

  My hand rested on his chest. I loved his chest. The strength and warmth that radiated from him alone made knees go weak. Now that I could touch him freely, the steady thump of his heartbeat made everything right in my world.

  “You’ve been back how many years since you came from New York?” I asked, and he lifted a manly brow. At moments like these, I loved how well I knew him. I knew he wanted me to get to the point.

  “What does that have to do with us going—”

  “How many times have you left the state since you got back?” I gently inquired.

  “I went to that Green Bay game last month with Jax.”

  “And how many times did you call the shop?”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “And didn’t you end up coming home early?” I pushed, trying to make my point.

  “That was because Jax wanted to get back to Kacey and his woman.”

  “You know what I mean. Plus, my mom… I can’t leave her alone.”

  “She’s alone right now,” he pointed out, starting to irritate me. I fought from childishly rolling my eyes at him.

  “You know what I mean. I can’t go that far.” He sighed, and I could see the tension in his shoulders.

  “I know.”

  “What’s up?” I searched his eyes for a hint of something. “What is this really all about?”

  “Things are fucking great between us,” he blurted out, and I stilled.

  “You’re not telling me anything I don’t know.”

  “Really damn great,” he reiterated, and I frowned. A knot came to life in the pit of my stomach.

  “You’re scaring me, Jason,” I whispered honestly.

  “I saw my mom today.”

  “Okay.” I spoke slowly, not knowing exactly where he was going with this. Katherine Somers loved me. She had been driven to tears with joy when we’d shared we were together. She had even pulled me aside, her eyes still filled with wetness as she’d told me how happy she was to have me as a daughter.

  “You ever angry with me?” he asked out of nowhere, and I found myself frowning, worry still niggling at me.

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “Where is this coming from? Angry?” I questioned, “Why would I be angry?”

  “I cheated you out of…” He looked away, and I put my fingers under his chin so he would look at me again.

  “Cheated me out of what?” I pressed.

  “Cheated you out of more from life. Of kids and a family and—“ I couldn’t help myself. I threw my body into his and wrapped my arms around him. “What the—”

  “I love you, Jason,” I whispered into the crook of his neck, letting the warmth of his skin comfort me.

  “I love you, too, but Row…” He tried to pull me away so he could look at me, but I simply held on tighter.

  “I made my choices,” I whispered steadily.

  “But if I had—”

  “Shh…” I hushed into his neck, breathing in the woodsy, citrusy scent of his body wash and cologne. “I made my choices.” I shared, “I didn’t just sit there and hold my breath for you. No matter what happened before, or what finally made our roads meet, or what we missed out of life, or what we got out of it before, we are here.” I pulled away, needing to look into his beautiful blue eyes, and I fell deeper in love with him. “We’re finally here,” I repeated, licking my top lip. “We can only move forward and leave all the what ifs behind us.”

  “Yeah.” His tone was unconvincing.

  “Your mom said you cheated me out of those things?” I asked, curious of where the hell all this was coming from.

  “Hell no. My mom freaking loves the idea of us. Of you being an official Somers, you know that.”

  “Then where the hell did this come from?”

  “She just said in passing that it was a shame we didn’t get together a couple of years ago. How it would have been nice to have grandkids, which got me thinking.”

  “Of little Jays and Rows?”

  “Yeah. And everything that would have come with them.” His voice was wistful, and I stilled as I started taking what he had to say seriously.

  “Like what?” I softly wondered.

  “Baby showers, and how we would have told our families. Birthday parties and fir
st days of school.” I bit my lower lip and sniffled. Wetness hit my eyes, but I fought from letting any tears fall. “Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you.” His thumb stroked my cheek, and I smiled sadly, shaking my head.

  “You didn’t.”

  “Baby, you look like you’re about to cry.”

  “I just… I’ve thought about all that, and hearing you think about it…” I shook my head. “It’s bittersweet, you know?”

  “I do.” His blue gaze was bright, and I wondered if our kids would have had his eyes. It was too late for that, so what was the point of going there? It wouldn’t be too late for him if he were with someone else. I shook my head and smiled as brightly as I could at him.

  “So…” The thought wouldn’t go away. “You could still have that.”

  “What?”

  “Without me… you could—”

  “Don’t go there, Row.”

  “It’s true, though. Baby, I’m forty. The chances of us—”

  “I didn’t mean to bring this up, so you could think up nonsense.”

  “It’s not nonsense, Jason. It’s honest,” I carefully laid out, ignoring the way my heart was beating a million miles a minute.

  “Row your boat, did you fall?” he asked, and I looked up at him feeling slightly dizzy.

  “What?”

  “Bump your head?” he asked, searching me, touching my head gently.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” I asked irately.

  “There is none of that without you,” he plainly stated, and it was like my lungs finally let me breathe. “None of that would be without you. I wouldn’t want it. Do you understand me? From here on out there are no other choices, no other paths. It’s just us. I thought I was clear about that.”

  “I just need you to really understand what you’re giving up, what you—”

  “None of that would mean shit without you. Do you get that?” The fierceness in his voice and the fire in my eyes told me he was being one hundred percent honest with me, and I believed him. I couldn’t not believe it. Hadn’t I made the same decisions before? All those extra things wouldn’t have been right for me if he hadn’t been a part of them.

  “So, this weekend… My place or yours?” I changed the subject, moving us forward as a weight I didn’t know I had been carrying dropped from my shoulders.

  “Mine. I like you in my bed.”

  “You’re lucky I like your bed, too.” I grinned before giving him a peck on the lips and going back to my bed to pack.

  “Is that lace I see in there?” He peeked, and I knew he didn’t miss the special lingerie I had ordered especially for this weekend. Monday through Friday, we usually slept at my place, but on the weekend, we were at his. Since he was off the entire weekend, I had bought a little something special.

  “Mhhmm…”

  “I’m a lucky son of a bitch, you know that, right?”

  “The luckiest.” I laughed, giving him a wink before zipping up my bag and putting it over my shoulder as I walked toward him.

  “Ready?” I asked, not saying a word when he took my duffle and put it over his own shoulder.

  He had done things like that in the past throughout our friendship, but more so since we got together; and even if I was a highly independent woman, I loved the little things he did to show how much he cared. How much he wanted to take care of me, even when he knew I was more than capable.

  JASON

  “Jason,” she gasped, and he didn’t stop. In and out. He worked her body slowly and deliberate, and it was costing him. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep it up, but fuck, he couldn’t get enough. Her little whimpers and gasps, the sight of his cock driving into his bit of heaven on earth was fucking beautiful.

  “Love the way you take me, Row.”

  “Jay,” she cried, her fists clenching the sheets below her.

  “Don’t come,” he gritted as he worked her, and he didn’t miss the way she started to tighten, and her body tensed.

  “Jay,” she gasped, but he didn’t stop. “Not yet,” he growled, holding a lace-covered breast in his hand. Her tit overflowed from the sexy scrap of lace she was wearing, and he tweaked her nipple. With the feel of her lusciousness and stiff bud in his hand as her pussy pulled him in deeply, he knew he was teetering on the edge, about to lose control.

  “Come!” he roared, his mouth at her ear, and he felt her come as she soared. She quivered around him, clenching and milking him, and he let go. Ribbons of his release filled her, and he held on to her tightly. When his heart rate slowed down, he kissed her shoulder and slipped out of her.

  “I love you,” he whispered against her shoulder and lay down next to her in bed.

  “I love you, too.” She looked over her shoulder and leaned forward to kiss him.

  “Thank you.” He nuzzled her ear with his nose.

  “For?”

  “For being you. For giving me this.”

  “Great sex?” The smile was clear in her voice.

  “For giving me a chance. For being mine.” He kissed her shoulder again, loving the scent of her skin and hair.

  “You’re cute normally, but when you get all sappy sweet, you’re extra cute,” she said into the darkness before sliding the back of her body into his front, spooning closely.

  _________________________________

  An incessant ringing woke him up from a deep sleep. With a groan, he pried his eyes open, Rocio’s sleeping body in his arms. The phone rang again, and he kissed the back of her head before letting her go, turning his body toward the nightstand, and grabbing the phone.

  “Hello.” His voice rasped with sleep.

  “Jason Somers?”

  “Who wants to know?”

  “This is Chicago PD. Is this Mr. Somers?”

  “This is him.” He sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

  “Your shop was broken into. We are going to need you to come in and—”

  “Fuck. I’ll be right there.”

  “Jay?” Rocio woke up, and as she blinked away sleep, her eyes quickly filled with concern.

  “How bad is it?” Jason asked the officer on the other line, needing to know what he was about to walk in on.

  “It’s not the worst I’ve seen. Not even close. But we do have a little bit of a situation, and as the owner, we need you to be here.”

  “Did you catch the guys?”

  “That’s kind of why we need you to come in.”

  “Okay. Give me fifteen minutes, twenty max.” Jason ended the call without another word and got out of bed.

  “Jay?” He opened his mouth to share when her phone started to go off, and she sat up in bed. He watched her grab her cell and frown.

  “Hello,” she said almost breathlessly. “Yes… Of course.” She looked up at him, and something about the way her eyes were trained on him stopped him dead in his tracks. “Yes. I will be right there.” She ended the call and looked down at her hands.

  “Row?”

  “I have to go,” she mumbled, standing up, but she wouldn’t look at him as she dressed in the yoga pants she’d set aside.

  He rushed to her side and held on to her forearms. “Babe, talk to me.”

  “I—”

  “Is it your mom? Is she okay?” he asked, rushing to conclusions.

  “No, Jay, she’s fine.” She softened slightly in his arms.

  “Then what is it?” he asked just as his phone went off again, and he growled. It was probably Jax calling about the break-in.

  “Busy morning.” She smiled, her eyes almost tear filled.

  “Someone broke into the shop. They need me to go in,” he clarified, and her eyes widened.

  “I… I would go with you, but that call—”

  “What happened?”

  “I… I’m not sure, but once I know more, I’ll tell you. Yeah?” Why she was playing it close to the vest was beyond him, but he could respect it.

  He opened his mouth and closed it with a sigh when his landli
ne started to ring. “We’ll talk when we get back.”

  “Okay.” She smiled weakly, and for a moment he wondered if he shouldn’t stop and get whatever it was out of her. “I’ll see you later. I really have to go.”

  “Be safe,” he stressed, zipping up the hoodie he’d thrown on. “I’ll see you here, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” They walked out of his room, and as he was locking up, he turned, and she kissed him. The kiss was filled with so much passion and love he didn’t know where it was coming from, but he held on to the back of her head. When they pulled away, he searched her eyes.

  “What was that for?”

  “For being you.” She shrugged before brushing her lips against his cheek and walking away to her car.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ROCIO

  “HE’S BEAUTIFUL,” I SAID WITH awe in a hushed tone.

  “He is.”

  “And he’s okay?” I asked, looking at the most beautiful dark brown eyes I had ever stared into.

  “One hundred percent healthy.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” I whispered.

  “Only if you’re sure you want it to. If not, I can call the next name on the list.”

  “She just… She just gave him up?” I asked, wondering how that was possible. He was perfection wrapped in muslin as I looked up at my friend Diane, and her eyes softened.

  “You know it’s never that easy.”

  “I know. I didn’t mean—” I shook my head, but Diane’s hand touched my shoulder as she sat next to me on her couch.

  “She saw your folder. I told her about the experience you had with your brother’s children. Told her how you watched after them when he hit a rough patch, explained it all. I told her all about you. And even if I hadn’t, your folder told her all about you.”

  “You said it could take a very long time for this to be possible.”

  “I know.”

  “You warned me this might not happen. That birth moms prefer a couple.” I looked at my friend with tears in my eyes. Life felt surreal.

  “Sometimes, miracles happen, honey. Today was one of those days.” She gently smiled at me.

  “And she knows I’m not married?” I asked, because saying I was single sounded wrong. I needed to ask so I wouldn’t be surprised down the road. My heart was near bursting at the idea of a baby in my arms.