by Ford, Hope
Stunned, I watch as my sister tells her fiancé that she can’t marry him and runs toward the back of the church.
I get up to follow her and Maxwell is hot on my heels. Once we get to the hallway of the church, I tell him, “I’m sorry, I have to check on my sister.”
8
Maxwell
“That’s fine. I’ll make sure you get there okay.”
She looks at me quizzically and then rolls her eyes. “It’s church. I think I’m safe.”
Right then, a man starts running toward us down the hall, calling her name.
Instantly, she puts her hands up to stop him. “John, I don’t have time for this. I need to check on my sister.”
We get to the room that Andrea ran into and Eve opens the door.
“Eve, we have to talk, now!” her ex hollers at her before reaching out to grab her arm.
I step between them and block him from touching her. I turn my head to look behind me. “Go ahead, honey. I got this.”
She nods and closes the door behind her.
“Who the hell are you?” John, the dumbass ex, asks me.
“I’m Maxwell Jones.” And his widened eyes tell me he knows exactly who I am. “And I’m Eve’s date. Her boyfriend,” I clarify for him.
Just because of everything I know about him, I want to clean the floor with him right now. But out of respect for Eve and everything she and her sister are dealing with, I won’t follow through with it.
He takes a step toward the door I’m standing in front of and then stops. “Well, step aside. I need to talk to Eve.”
I laugh. Literally laugh in his face. I may have fifteen years on him, but I also have about fifty pounds of muscle. “No.”
“What do you mean, no?” he asks as his face turns ten shades of red.
I understand now that this man probably never heard the word when he was growing up. The self-entitled ass.
“No, I won’t move. No, you won’t be talking to Eve. You had your chance with her and you blew it. One day, you’ll realize how much you screwed up. But me, well, I’ll spend the rest of my life thanking God you did.”
“Was she fucking you while she was with me?” he demands.
The blood coursing through my veins turns cold. I clench my fists at my sides to stop myself from punching him. I take a step forward and press my chest against him. In a low, grave voice, I tell him, “If you think that, you don’t know her at all. I want you to leave. Don’t bother her ever again. She doesn’t want you, and she doesn’t need you. You see, I love her and I won’t let anyone ever fuck with her again. If you contact her, I will make it my goal in life to bury you, you little shit.”
His face turns white and right when I think he’s about to say something, his shoulders drop and he turns and walks away.
Everything is going through my head at once. It’s then I realize how attached I already am to Eve. She’s changed my life in only a few days, making me see all the good there is and can be in the world. And it hits me: she’s nothing like my cheating, money hungry ex. She never could be.
“So, uh, did I just hear you tell my ex that you loved me?” Eve had opened the door and is standing over my shoulder. I wonder how much she heard.
I turn around and stare at her, nodding my head.
“Just to get rid of him?” she asks nervously.
I put my hands on the door frame above her head. I see her sister in the room behind her and she’s smiling at us with her hand over her heart. She has fresh tears rolling down her face, but she seems happy for her sister – for us.
My gaze goes back to Eve. “No, I told him that because it’s true. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. I probably should have told you first.”
She looks up at me hopefully. “So you love me?”
“More than anything,” I tell her honestly.
Her arms go around my waist and my hands come down to wrap around her. Her body is trembling and I pull back to look down at her. “You okay?”
She smiles through the tears falling down her cheeks. “Yes, I’ve never been better. I love you too, Maxwell Jones.”
Epilogue
Three Years Late
EVE
I walk onto the patio and Maxwell takes his feet off the ottoman and pats his lap for me to sit down. I would argue with him that I’m too heavy, but he would just make me sit there anyway. I’m holding our three-month-old baby in my arms. His name is Junior and he is absolutely perfect.
These last three years have been a whirlwind. But I wouldn’t change a thing.
I met his daughter a week after we met. It was pretty surprising to find out that she’s only four years younger than me. But she accepts our relationship. She’s just happy to see her dad smiling again. And he’s definitely doing a lot of that now.
Maxwell had my apartment packed up and he bought me a dream house. We couldn’t go to his mansion because he was giving it to his daughter and new son-in-law.
We got married only two months after we met. He encourages me to do whatever I want to do, to have hobbies and to reach for my goals. He wants me to make decisions. The only thing he wouldn’t give on was the date of our wedding. I wanted more time to plan, but he just handed me his credit card and told me, “Money talks. Anything you want planned can still happen. Just make it happen sooner.”
I just shook my head. There was no sense in arguing with him. Because the truth is, I couldn’t wait to be Mrs. Eve Jones.
And now we’re parents. We took the last couple of years just being together. I’d wondered if he would want more kids since his daughter is already grown, but he told me that he wanted my baby, our baby.
And so now here we are. I was pregnant through the hottest summer LA has ever seen and now we are already getting ready for our little Jr’s first Christmas. I’ve decided to take a few years off from teaching to stay at home with him.
“How you feeling, love?” he asks me as he rubs my back.
“I’m fine. I’m perfect actually. I was just cleaning the kitchen while Thea held Jr.” And then I wince, because I know what’s coming.
“Eve, I hired her so she could be some help for you. Not so you would clean.” His hand slides to my butt cheek and squeezes. I don’t know if he thinks that is some kind of punishment, because it’s not. I just press back into his hand.
“Oh, you dirty girl,” he whispers before he kisses me lightly.
“I know, but she didn’t want to give him up so I just helped her a little.” I lay Junior down on his chest and then I lay my head on his shoulder. Maxwell holds him with one arm and keeps the other around me, making me feel safe and loved.
I am thankful for him every day. “You are too good to me, Mr. Jones.”
* * *
Maxwell
I’ll never forget the night I met Eve. She turned my whole life around. What I thought was living wasn’t living at all. She’s shown me exactly what love is and how powerful it can be.
I’ve watched her flourish in front of my very eyes. Gone is the insecure woman that couldn’t make decisions. She has no problem bossing me around these days.
She’s now confident, happy and a leader to any woman that is willing to follow her path. She’s been a great resource for my daughter, January, and they are good friends now, which makes me happy.
I look between my son in my arms and my wife. My love for them is amazing and I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like if I hadn’t asked her to dance that New Year’s Eve.
“I love you, Eve.”
She smiles at me and kisses my lips before pulling back. “I love you, too, Maxwell.”
We sit there, watching the sun set over LA, and all is right in my world.
Want to know what happens with Andrea, Eve’s sister? Get Pinky Promise for FREE here!
In case you missed it, there is a #1 and #2 of Kisses at Midnight. Check out His Resolution by Dani Wyatt and January’s First by Frankie Love.
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About the Author
#1 bestselling short romance author Hope Ford writes short, steamy, sweet romances. She loves tattooed, alpha men, instant love stories, and ALWAYS happily ever afters. She has over 60 books and they are all available on Amazon.
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