Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“I want a baby too,” he said, taking the helmet from her, and setting it beside him on the table.
She took a quick breath. “I only want your baby.”
“I only want you to be the mother of my baby.”
“Okay. Same page. So we’ll wait.”
“I want us to be married, but I changed my mind about the house.”
“Oh?”
“Screw those guys. We’d help them with their kids. They can help with ours.”
She nodded quickly. “Yes, they can, and clearly, you can’t be away from Kola and Harper. Finn and Wick had no idea.”
“Poor bastards.”
“You’re a non-negotiable in the lives of your besties.”
“And you?” he asked hesitantly, and I could hear his heart in his throat.
“You’re not really asking that, are you, Jacob?”
He inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly. “I want to get married in the backyard like your folks were, but we can have a big blowout thing too for all your Sutter people and––”
“No,” she said quickly. “Small wedding, just people we love. I will have a big job, but just like Uncle Aaron, the balance is in his quiet home life with the man he loves.”
Jake nodded. “You won’t hate me for making you wait?”
“It’s a small wait, not a big one.”
“No. Not a big one, but still.”
“If we had discussed things first, we’d be right here, wouldn’t we? You’re not saying no to being a young parent, there are just important milestones that need to be hit.”
“That’s right.”
“And we’ll be married,” she sighed.
He stared into her eyes.
She took a breath. “Forgive me for not talking to you.”
“I do,” he assured her, and then cleared his throat. “And now I need you to promise to always talk to me before you leap so we can do it together. I can’t bear to be left behind.”
She was nodding frantically, and he reached for her, smoothed away her tears, and then leaned forward but stopped.
Her whimper was all longing.
“Promise me.”
“You and me,” she swore. “Cross my heart. We’re one person from now on.”
“One,” he murmured, and leaned in and kissed her.
She pounced on him, arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. She might have thought she loved him before this. It was one thing to know in your head, to be aware of how you felt. But now she knew, down deep, that to be without him was not what she wanted or needed. He, I knew, was always aware, because Jake led with his heart. There was no doubt that he loved Hannah, it was on his face, in every gesture, in every word. But for her, this had been eye-opening. To be truly happy, she had to have him. And that was scary, as it was for me with her father. Because some people could still function, still live, without their other half, but I wouldn’t be able to, and now I knew, neither would she. All at once I had something new to worry about.
When they parted, she took a deep breath. “I never want to figure out things alone. I can’t—I can compartmentalize a lot, most things, but not my family, and not you.”
“I missed you,” he whispered.
She kissed him again for that.
He wasn’t tired enough not to take her on a ride around the block on the back of his motorcycle, both of them wearing their helmets, and when they returned, I had coffee ready just how they liked it, his with only cream, hers with cream and vanilla syrup.
“Well?” I asked her.
She tipped her head back and forth. “It’s not how I thought it would be.”
Jake was beaming at her.
“I might have miscalculated the appeal.”
“Enjoyed the holding on, did you?”
“Yes,” she said quickly, taking a sip of her coffee. “That is definitely a big perk.”
“You know, you’re gonna have to move all your clothes out of my closet,” he told her, taking his coffee with him as he headed for the stairs.
“I moved nothing of yours,” she murmured back. “I’ve been doing a fair amount of pining, so many items have been worn by me.”
“Oh yeah?” He sounded so very pleased.
“Yes. Sandusky’s Pipe Fitting—whatever that is—has been in heavy rotation.”
He chuckled. “Thank you for the coffee, Mr. Harcourt,” he said, climbing the stairs.
“Yes, Pa, thank you,” she echoed, trailing behind him.
I didn’t see them again before I left for work, and that was fine with me.
When I got home that night, late, even after Sam, which never happened, my husband was in walking shorts, running shoes, and a Nirvana T-shirt that I hadn’t seen in ages. Dobby was in his harness on the kitchen counter watching as Sam slathered a piece of banana bread with a heart-stopping amount of butter.
“You seem to be on your way out,” I said, walking by him and putting everything in my hands down on the kitchen table. I then returned, trailing my hands over my stunning husband, admiring all the muscle groups and his gorgeous ass.