“Nah, it’s not long,” Charity says. “Angela will sleep, and I get to snuggle brand new puppies. It’s really a tough gig.”
Joy smiles and rubs her face. “I think I’ll go try to rest. I’m off today, but I’ll call and check in later this morning.”
“Okay,” Charity replies, waving us off as we walk back out to my car. We’re quiet on the drive home, and when I pull into the garage, I glance over to find that she’s asleep.
I walk around the car, open her door, and lift her into my arms, carrying her inside. She wakes up and wraps her arms around my neck, burying her face near my shoulder.
“I’m taking you to bed,” I inform her.
“I can’t have sex right now,” she says, kissing my shirt. “I’m too tired.”
“No sex for you. Although watching you work might be the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”
Her eyes spring open, and she stares at me as I set her on her feet by the bed.
“Seriously?”
“Oh, yeah.” I swallow hard, willing my dick to calm the fuck down. “You’re amazing, Joy. Your skill, your professionalism. Jesus, it was . . . fascinating.”
“It was just a C-section. You should see me reconstruct a knee.”
“I’m serious.” I pace the room as Joy sits on the edge of the bed, watching me. “I’ve always known that you’re excellent at your job, but witnessing it is something else altogether.”
“Thank you,” she murmurs, a smile tickling her lips. “That means a lot, Jace.”
“I’m proud of you.” The words are pouring out of me now. I walk back to her, pulling her into my arms. I can’t stop touching her.
I don’t ever want to stop touching her.
“I’ve loved you for almost half my life,” I say into her hair. “But Joy, I’m in love with you.”
She stills in my arms, and I simply wait. My Joy is a thinker, and sometimes, she needs to process things.
But when I hear a sniffle, I pull back to look into her tear-soaked eyes.
“Joy?”
“I’m in love with you, too,” she whispers and looks away from me. She fiddles with the necklace she wears and stares at my neck.
“Look at me.”
Her eyes move to mine again.
“Why does it make you sad?” I ask tenderly while wiping a tear away with my thumb.
“I’m not sad,” she says and sniffs, making me smile. “I’m surprised. And I have a confession.”
“Seems this is the time for them.” I brush another tear, then lift her again and sit in the chair in the corner of my bedroom with Joy in my lap. She’s a petite woman and fits perfectly against me, whether we’re having sex or just sitting like this.
“I’ve been in love with you for a long time.”
I stare at her in surprise, then frown. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
She cocks a brow and gives me the don’t-be-dumb look.
“Because we’re in the friend zone.”
“Were,” I correct her.
“Right. We were in the friend zone. And I didn’t want to screw it up because you’re my best friend.”
“Likewise,” I say with a sigh. “But we’re not screwing it up, Joy. It’s way better, and I didn’t think it could get better.”
“I know,” she whispers, burying her face in my neck. She’s exhausted, and I should put her to bed, but I’m selfish. Having her in my arms is heaven. “I love you, Dr. Crawford.”
She yawns, and I smile, my heart beating double-time. “I love you too, Dr. Thompson.”
“We need the following,” Joy says as we walk into the grocery store. I reach for a small cart, but she shakes her head and points to the big one.
Apparently, we’re buying out the store.
“Salad stuff, including kale, chicken breasts, Brussels sprouts, squash, a case of water, non-fat milk, yogurt, eggs, mushrooms, ground beef, and anything else I see that I have to have.”
“That list is all over the place,” I inform her. “Don’t you write your list by category? Like, all the dairy together, all the produce, and so on?”
She shrugs a shoulder as she leads me to the produce section. “I wrote this a little at a time, so I jotted things as they came to me.” She reaches for a bag of green beans. “Would you rather have green beans over the Brussels sprouts?”
“Either is fine. I’m going to go grab a couple of apples.”
“Okay,” she says, not even glancing my way as I walk to the display of fruit.
I prefer the Honeycrisp, grown here in Washington. I check for bruises and place them in a bag, then turn to fetch a couple of bananas.
“Hi.”
I glance up to find a woman grinning at me. She has dark hair, cut short. Her face is pretty, and she’s curvy in all the right places. At another time in my life, I would have been interested.
“Hello.”
“I’ve seen you in here a few times,” she continues. “You must live nearby.”
“Uh, not far, yeah.”
She nods. “I’m Lisa.”
“Hi, Lisa, I’m Joy.” The woman I love is suddenly standing next to me, her hand in mine, and a bright, fake-as-fuck smile on her face aimed at Lisa. “How are you?”
“Oh, I’m fine.” Lisa’s smile falls. “Have a good day.”
“You too, Lisa!” Joy waves at the other woman as she pushes her cart out of the produce section, then gives her retreating back the stink-eye.
“She was a friendly woman,” I comment, knowing full well that Joy is irritated. I can’t blame her. If some dude started flirting with her over the kumquats, I’d lay him out.
“You’re not allowed to shop by yourself,” she says, not looking me in the eyes as she bags a bunch of kale. “In fact, just leave the shopping to me.”
“Joy, I was just kidding.” I laugh when she tosses the kale into the cart harder than she needs to. I can tell she thinks it’s funny too as she’s trying to suppress a grin. “I wouldn’t dare flirt with another woman when you’re in the store.”
She glares at me, and I laugh harder. I bury my fist in the hair at the back of her head and pull her to me for a long, deep kiss. I give zero shits that we’re in the middle of the produce section.
“I only have eyes for you, babe.”
She grins. “I know. But that was kind of fun.”
“I wasn’t squirming,” I inform her.
“And I wasn’t actually mad,” she replies. “You’re hot. Girls will flirt with you.”
“And if you’d been five seconds later, you would have heard me tell her that I have a scorching-hot girlfriend.”
“As it should be,” she says with a nod, making me grin. “Now, we need the meat department.”
“I’ll show you the meat department,” I murmur in her ear, making her giggle.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You love me.”
She shrugs a shoulder, then nods. “Okay, I do. I love you and your ridiculousness.”
An hour later, I’m hauling groceries from the car to the kitchen. We got everything on Joy’s list, along with about fifty things that weren’t on her list.
“I thought the point of this was for us to eat cleaner,” I say, pulling out a bag of Oreos from a grocery sack.
“I’ll eat like three of those a day,” she says with a frown.
“And I’ll eat the rest of the bag in one sitting.”
“Then I’ll hide them from you.” She bats her eyelashes at me and unboxes the disposable Tupperware containers she bought for the meal prep portion of this operation. “I’m going to make individual salads, so all we have to do is put dressing on them. I’m also going to grill up a bunch of chicken breasts, mushrooms, green beans, and so on. So there will be a complete meal in each container.”
“Okay, Rachael Ray, let’s do it.”
For the rest of the afternoon, we chop, sauté, grill, and assemble our meals for the week. My house smells amazing.
“I don’t think I’ve ever done this much cooking in this kitchen,” I say as we seal the tops on the last of the containers.
“This space is gorgeous,” she says with a sigh. “It should be cooked in often.”
“Well now that you’re here, it will be.”
She nods, but I can tell something’s on her mind.
“What are you thinking?” I ask.
“I should probably check on my house,” she says with a quirk of her lip.
“We can load this up, along with Carl, and stay at your place for a few days.”
“You don’t mind?”
“As long as I’m with you, I don’t mind at all.”
~Joy~
“Why am I going to this?” Noel asks me for the fifth time. Jace just dropped us off at a spot in Bellevue that’s known for good food and even better music. “I don’t know any of these girls.”
“Because we need a girls’ night out,” I inform her again. “And you’ll like these women. I promise. They’re not bitches.”
“Everyone’s nice to you,” she says as we walk down the sidewalk in our heels. “Because you’re likeable.”
“Well, so are you.” We head into the bar. It’s not quite hopping yet, and I spy our party right away at a big round booth in the back. “There they are.”
“Joy!” Meredith exclaims and waves in excitement.
“Hi,” I say with a smile and gesture to my sister. “This is Noel. Noel, this is Meredith Williams, and Amelia Crawford, who I believe you’ve met.”
“Definitely,” Noel says with a nod. “Hi, Lia.”
“Hey, girl,” Lia says. “This is my sister, Anastasia.”
“We need name tags,” Noel says as we scoot our way into the booth.
“Oh, honey, this is nothing,” Meredith says with a laugh. “You should see my family. I’ve been part of it for over five years now, and there are days that I think we need to wear name tags.”
“It’s a huge family,” Anastasia agrees with a nod. “But fun. And let’s not forget, sexy as hell. I mean, the level of hotness that exists in that family should be illegal.”
“I’ll have a champagne with pomegranate,” I inform the waitress, and Noel orders the same. We also place an order of just about everything on the appetizer menu. “How was your honeymoon, Lia?”
“The best,” she says with a grin, sipping her martini. “Wyatt took me to Paris for fashion week.”
“No,” Noel says, her eyes wide in shock. “Stop it.”
“It’s true.” Lia sighs. “VIP all the way, too. Front-row seats. It was off the fucking hook.”
“Oh my God, that’s awesome,” Noel says, and I know that she and Lia will be good friends. They share a love of fashion and makeup and all things girly that I just don’t have a passion for.
“I have some fun makeup ideas for the kids,” Lia informs Meredith.
“Awesome,” Mer says, clapping her hands. “Lia’s been working with me and the kids in my studio and does all of the makeup for our recitals.”
“They’re cute,” Lia says with a smile.
“And are you still going to keep up with your YouTube channel?” I ask her.
“Oh, yeah, I love it, and it’s a great source of income,” Lia says with a nod. “But what I really want to know is, what’s up with you and Jace? Wyatt said you’ve always just been friends, but you were more than friendly at our wedding.”
“I love gossip like this,” Anastasia says, sipping her drink. “We need more nights out.”
“Well, we’ve been friends since our freshman year of college,” I reply with a smile and glance at Noel, who’s also smiling. “But over the past couple of months, things have grown more . . . intense.”
“So you’re fucking,” Mer says with a grin. “I love it. Keep talking, and use all the dirty words.”
I laugh and reach for an onion ring. “The sex is . . . wow.”
“I just need to add something,” Noel says, holding up a hand. “As someone who’s witnessed this from the beginning. The Jace you all know now is not the Jace from almost fifteen years ago.”
“How so?” Anastasia asks.
“He was a little nerdy,” I say, but Noel rolls her eyes.
“No, he was a lot nerdy. And shy. And just not confident at all.”
“I mean, he was nineteen,” I remind everyone and glare at my sister. “You’re making him sound awful, and he was not awful. He was young.”
“But man, did he grow up,” Noel says with a smile.
“Sometimes, it takes a person a while to come into their own,” Meredith says with a shrug. “I was the skinniest, scrawniest girl ever. Of course, dance kept me small, but I didn’t blossom until after school.”
“Jace’s always been a great guy,” I continue, “and we’ve stayed close all these years. He’s an amazing doctor. I have a lot of respect for him.”
“And his penis,” Anastasia says with a wink, making us all giggle.
“It’s evolved from friendship love to romantic love,” I continue. “And the sex is off the hizzy.”
“Atta girl,” Lia says, reaching her hand out to bump mine. “I love Jace. He’s the best. When I didn’t know if things would work out between Wyatt and me, he was there to listen, and he never judged me.”
“That’s Jace,” I agree with a nod. “He’s a good friend.”
“What about you, Noel?” Meredith asks. “Are you seeing anyone?”
“Who has time?” Noel asks with a gusty breath. “I work non-stop. So, unless he wants to pick out curtains or a sofa, I’m probably not going to meet him.”
“Same,” Anastasia says. “The only men I meet are grooms and new dads.”
“Well, that one groom did come on to you,” Lia says, and Anastasia rolls her eyes.
“Don’t remind me. What a creep.”
“Joy, has Levi said anything to you about Starla?” Meredith asks, and Noel stares at me in shock.
“Starla?” Noel screeches. “As in the pop star?”
“That’s the one,” I reply and fill her in on the concert and Levi leaving with her.
“You didn’t tell me!”
“I’m sorry, it’s been busy,” I say with a shrug. “I haven’t seen Levi much, but no, I don’t think he’s said anything.”
“Starla won’t talk about it either,” Mer says, tapping her chin in thought. “I want to know if there’s something ongoing there, or if it was just a one-night thing. Frankly, Starla hasn’t given anyone the time of day since Rick died, and that was more than four years ago now.”
“Wow,” I breathe. “I had no idea. I remember his accident was all over the news. It was sad.”
“It devastated her,” Mer says. “So, when she left the venue with Levi, I was excited for her.”
“Wait, let me get this straight,” Noel says, shaking her head. “You’re friends with Starla?”
“Oh, yeah, long-time friends. I used to tour with her as a backup dancer, but now I own a studio here in Seattle with my dance partner, Jax, and I’m a mom. I danced with Starla when she was in Seattle for old times’ sake, but I hung up my touring shoes years ago.”
“That’s so awesome,” Noel says.
“I’ll ask Levi about it the next time I see him,” I offer.
“So will I,” Lia says with a wink. “We’ll get the deets.”
“You guys, it’s the cha-cha slide,” Meredith exclaims, shimmying her way out of the booth. “Come on!”
“I don’t know how to do it,” I say with a laugh.
“I’ll show you, it’s easy. Let’s go.”
“Where is he?” Noel asks as we stand on the sidewalk. Jace is on his way to pick us up, and rather than wait for him inside, we decided to get some fresh air. Noel is holding her heels in her hands.
“On his way. You’re going to get flesh-eating bacteria or something, standing on the sidewalk in your bare feet.”
“I let a stranger kiss me on the dance floor,” she reminds me, and I bre
ak out in giggles. Gosh, she’s funny when we’ve been drinking. “I don’t think I need to worry about the sidewalk.”
“Just don’t call me when you have tetanus in your toes.”
“That’s disgusting,” Noel says as Jace pulls up to the curb. He’s in my car since his is just a two-seater.
“Hi, ladies,” he says with a smile. Noel climbs into the back seat, and I fall into the passenger seat, smiling at him.
“You’re hot,” I inform him.
“And you’re drunk,” he says with a laugh. “I haven’t seen you like this in years.”
“I haven’t done this in years,” I reply with a frown. “I’m always the responsible one.”
“We need more girls’ nights out,” Noel informs us from the back seat. “With champagne and celebrity gossip and kisses from strangers on the dance floor.”
Jace’s head whips to mine, and he scowls.
“It’s hot when you’re jealous,” I inform him.
“You kissed a stranger?”
“Not her, you idiot. Me,” Noel says with a giggle. “She’s too hung up on you to even dance with a boy.”
Jace reaches over to take my hand in his and kisses the back of my knuckles. “Good girl.”
“Oh, that sounded dominant,” Noel says as she scoots forward. “Are you a dominant? Like, do you tie her up and use a flogger and have a red room of pain?”
“You read too many books,” I say with a giggle. “But I wouldn’t mind the flogger.”
“Good God,” Jace mutters, rubbing his fingers over his lips. “You girls shouldn’t be out alone when you’re this drunk. It’s not safe.”
“We’re perfectly safe,” I reply.
“Yeah, I carry mace,” Noel says primly. “And don’t change the subject. Do you use butt plugs?”
I blow a raspberry as I laugh my ass off, and Jace chuckles.
“Not yet,” he says.
“I want to play with butt plugs,” Noel says, almost pouting in the back seat. “I need to find a fuck buddy. I don’t want anything permanent or serious because I don’t have time for that, but sometimes, a girl just needs something shoved up her ass.”
“Oh my God!” I exclaim, shocked and laughing harder than I have in years. “Noel, you do not want that.”
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