You & Me (You & Me Series Book 1)

by Lisa Shelby

  From my standing position in front of him, I pull my shirt over my head and make sure that he’s looking at me when I say, “I’m here Jonathan. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t want to waste any more time away from you or hiding how I feel about you.” I tell him this with all the conviction that I feel in my heart. I pull my pants off and stand before him in just my bra and panties. “I have only been in love with one person in my entire life, and that person is you. I know how lucky we are to have a second chance. I’ll do whatever you need so that you know just how much I love you.”

  I crawl onto the bed, rest my body on top of his and kiss him with everything I have. I pour all the love that I can into this kiss so that he has no doubt how I feel about him. After a few glorious minutes, I whisper in his ear. “Make love to me, Georgia.”

  Without words, he spends the next few hours showing me just how much he loves, wants and needs me. I have never felt so cherished.

  Special

  Jonathan

  It’s the night before Thanksgiving and I couldn’t be happier. I have my girls here with me in my hometown of Savannah. To top it all off, we’re sitting in the Fanuas living room. Emily sits next to me on the love seat while Ireland snuggles up to me on my lap. She’s tired from the long day of travel, and I have a feeling she’s going to be asleep sooner rather than later. I have everybody I care about in the world in one room. The only people that are missing are Devon and Gabby, but we’ll chat tomorrow, and I’ll spend part of Christmas with them.

  Emily and Ireland seem to be a perfect fit with the Fanua clan. This doesn’t surprise me at all because these two are special. They light up any room that they walk into and always seem to bring a smile to everybody’s face. I am so proud both to introduce them to my family, and to have these amazing people in my life to share with the two of them. I just wish my mom was here. She would love them both. This I know for sure.

  As we all sit around and talk, I keep getting knowing smiles from Fiona and winks from Robert. I can see the joy that they have for me in their eyes. It’s just as obvious to them, as it is to me, that I have found the one. Emily is it for me, and this little girl slowly falling asleep in my arms brings me so many different emotions all at once. There is a fierce protectiveness that I feel for her that is different from what I feel for her mother. Knowing that the things I help Emily teach her will mold her into the person she’ll grow up to be is a huge responsibility, but one that I hope Emily will continue to let me take on alongside her. She also brings me a peace that I never knew children could bring. After years of not feeling much at all, this has been a big change for me, but in only the best of ways.

  Emily looks at Ireland—who has her head tucked into my neck so that I can’t see her face—and mouths, “She’s asleep.”

  Quietly, I announce to the room that it’s time to put Ireland to bed. I rise from the love seat as smoothly as I can to try not to wake her.

  “We’ll be right back,” Emily says as she gives a little wave and follows me down the hall, while holding on to one of the belt loops of my jeans.

  Bliss.

  These simple moments with them bring me pure bliss. I know that makes me sound all girly, but I just can’t think of another word to describe it.

  Fiona has put Emily and Ireland in Liam’s old room that now serves as a guest room. Traditional as always, Fiona has me sleeping on the fold out couch. It’s not ideal, but I get it. Emily and Ireland are sharing a double bed as it is. There isn’t really room for me anyway. And there is still the no sleep over rule. We haven’t been perfect at sticking to this rule. Cami and Alex have both hooked us up several times over the last month, and have had Ireland over for sleep overs. Thank God for Cami and Alex!

  Emily and I work together to get Ireland out of her clothes and into her adorable Thanksgiving pajamas that Mick got her.

  Who would have thought that Mick Jacobs would be a part of my day to day life? If you had told me that the bad ass, frat bother, player that I work with, and occasionally drink with, would one day become family, I wouldn’t have believed it. It turns out he’s a pretty good guy and not just the comedian, and sometimes asshole, that he lets us all see. His family comes first to him, and he has been incredibly good to Emily and Ireland. Never once has he made them feel like they are an inconvenience or in his way. He treats his mom like gold, and would welcome her into his home to live with open arms if she asked. He really is a good dude. He has been nothing but cool about Emily and I seeing each other. We had one talk—shortly after Kayla was arrested—where he gave me the typical big brother lecture. He told me that her happiness comes first, and that I better not get too close if I didn’t plan on this being the real deal. There were two hearts in my hands, and not just one. I assured him I was in this for the long haul and that on my part, there wouldn’t be any heart breaking going on. Since that little chat, my relationship with his sister has never been a topic of conversation.

  Looking down at Ireland all tucked in with her stuffed bulldog—that she of course named Frank Junior—I can’t help but smile. She is so stinking cute with those big brown eyes and those blond curls. I never knew what a button nose was until this kid came along and proved to me that they do exist. She has one and it’s perfect. Right now, her cheeks are a bit rosy from the warmth of being cuddled up with me, and her hair is sticking to her sweaty little face. Perfect.

  Even when she has those brief episodes where she actually acts like a four-year-old and gets whiny, she is still perfect and stubborn just like her momma.

  After she’s all tucked in, I walk around the bed to Emily and pull her to me and give her a soft kiss. Much to my pleasure, this doesn’t seem to be enough for her as she grabs my ass with both hands. I love it when she gets feisty, she is sexy and adorable all wrapped up in one. She pulls me as close to her as she can get me, and she deepens the kiss. Her hands roam up my back and then back to my ass. Our kisses become fevered and frenzied and she starts to moan. She moves her hand to the front of my pants and grabs onto my rapidly hardening cock. God, this sucks. All I want to do is push her up against the wall and make her scream because I’ve made her black out in ecstasy. But that isn’t possible with Ireland a few feet away and a house full of family waiting for us in the other room.

  I put my hand over her very busy one, and move it back to my ass and whisper in her ear. “Baby, we have to stop. We’re gonna wake Ireland up, and I really cannot go walking out there with a rock hard dick. You aren’t playing fair, Em.”

  She gives me a kiss on my nose then steps away from me and says, “Okay,” then walks out of the room. Leaving me there to deal with the tent I’m currently pitching, all on my own. She knew exactly what she was doing. Wicked woman.

  After taking the time I need to get my shit together, I walk back out to the family room and it’s happening. The damn photo albums are out, and Emily is at Fiona’s side on the couch as they go through my childhood, picture by picture. Not only does Fiona have all of her family albums—that include me almost as much as her own kids—but she has all of my mom’s too. Well, I guess in all actuality they’re mine, but wasn’t ready to bring them with me when I left for Portland.

  As I stand in the middle of the room with my arms crossed over my chest, Fiona and Emily both pretend I’m not in the room, but I see Emily peek up at me and try to contain her giggle that wants to break free.

  From his perch on the arm of the couch Liam says, “Dude, it was just a matter of time. You should never have left them alone together. They’re gonna be at this all night. Wanna beer?”

  All night ends up only being about thirty minutes and Robert, Liam and I use this time to catch up and talk sports while nursing our beers. After the ladies have finished up, they join us at the kitchen table just long enough for Fiona to give out her to do list for the morning. After her marching orders have been delivered, she says her good nights since she’ll be up early to put the turkey in. Robert follows on her heels, and since Kate is ou
t with her boyfriend, that just leaves Emily, Liam and myself.

  “So, Emily, tell me something.” Liam says as he leans towards her like they’re planning some sort of conspiracy together.

  “Liam . . .” I warn.

  “Yes, Liam?” Emily says as she leans back in her chair with her eyebrows raised. She has a grin on her face and her arms spread out on the back of my chair and the empty one to her left. Her whole demeanor says, ‘bring it on, big man’. God, I love this woman!

  “So tell me the truth. How do you put up with this pretty-boy shit-head?”

  Keeping a straight face, she replies. “Love and hard work, Liam . . . love and hard work. If I’m honest with you, I ask myself that same question every day. The only thing I can come up with is that I love him and I’m prepared for a lot of hard work.”

  As I sit there with my mouth hanging open she reaches a hand to my face and strokes it tenderly.

  “Like you said, he is very pretty, Liam. Sometimes it takes everything I have to leave the house and go out in public with him, knowing that every woman he passes by will be staring at him and thinking that they want to have his babies. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.” She stops and uses both hands to turn my face in Liam’s direction so that she can say, “I mean look at this face, for God’s sake. He just wakes up . . . and looks like this . . . every freakin’ day! Do you know how much work it takes to be worthy of being seen on his arm? It’s exhausting; having arm candy like this. It really is. As for him being a shit-head, do not get me started . . .”

  Putting my arm gently around her neck, I pull Emily against me like I am going to give her a noogie. But I just kiss it instead and put an end to the bullshit that is spewing from her mouth.

  “Enough already! You guys think you’re pretty damn funny, don’t you? Well, you aren’t.” Pushing Emily back a bit, I look at her and say, “You’re cute, but you aren’t funny. And you . . .” I say moving my attention to Liam. “ . . . You aren’t funny or cute, so just shut your face if you know what’s good for you.”

  Liam stands to leave, and Emily and I stand with him.

  “Whatever dude, I’ll see you in the morning. You better be careful. I think I’m starting to like her more than I like you. Emily, you’re good for this moron. Thanks for keeping his ass in check.”

  “Keeping his ass in check is my pleasure, Liam,” she says as she holds her hand up. Just like they’re long lost friends, he gives her the high-five she’s looking for.

  Emily and her damn high-fives. It should get old but it doesn’t. I love that she loves them.

  It’s fucking adorable.

  “No sneaking into her room tonight, Johnny Boy. Keep your stupid self on the couch or mom will kick your ass. You know she will,” Liam snarks as he walks out the front door and shuts it behind him. Of course he had to leave with some smart-ass, older brother type comment. That’s the way it’s always been with us. Best friends and brothers to the end. To be honest, I would expect nothing less from him.

  Alone for the first time all day, I take advantage of the quiet moment and pull her into my arms and capture her lips with my own. I kiss her as tenderly as I can, doing my best not to go too far, because unfortunately, Liam is right. I do have to sleep on the couch. Pulling my lips from her kills me, but it must be done. I take her beautiful face in my hands and say, “Thank you so much for coming here and leaving your family on your first Thanksgiving home. I know it’s also your first in Portland since Ireland was born. I hope you know how much it means to me.”

  “Jonathan, they’re amazing and I’m really glad Ireland and I got to come and meet them. I still feel bad about the cost of the last minute plane tickets though. It’s way too much and I wish that I could pay you back.”

  “Baby, having you here with them is worth every penny. It’s important that you get to know what little bit of family I have left. They’re important to me. You and Ireland are important to me. It means so much to have you all together. Thank you for giving me this.”

  “Ah honey, thank you right back. I don’t want to be anywhere else. As long as I have you and my baby girl in there, I’m right where I need to be.”

  It’s amazing how far she’s come, and how open she is with her feelings since the shooting. It feels good to know that I was the one that was able to break down her walls. That she trusts me enough to be this open and to tell me how she feels. I will never take for granted how much it means for her to give me that.

  She starts to lead me down the hall and we stop outside the guest room. It feels like I am dropping her off at her parent’s front door as I prepare to say goodnight to her. She leans against the wall next to the door and whispers. “Don’t I get a kiss goodnight?”

  I lean in and give her a kiss on the cheek and whisper in her ear. “Goodnight, Gracie.” Then I let go of her hand and walk backwards down the hall. She smiles and shakes her head slowly as if she finds me funny. I do catch her bringing her hand to her face where I left my kiss as she opens the bedroom door and closes it behind her.

  I swear to God there is nothing better than making that woman smile. Okay, there is one other thing . . . but making her smile is a damn close second.

  The next morning, I wake up to sounds in the kitchen. I look at the time on the cable box and it says that it’s only 5:54 in the morning. I can hear Fiona humming away while she prepares the turkey, and can’t be mad for being awake so early. I love the sounds of this house and the people in it.

  I throw the blanket back, stretch and yawn myself awake. I take a minute to put the couch back together and then head to the kitchen to see if I can give her a hand. I plan on stealing a cup of coffee while I’m at it.

  When I get to the kitchen, I see Robert is up too and pouring himself a cup. When he sees me, he hands me the full cup and then gets another for himself. We both head to the kitchen table and take a seat and a few sips before anybody says anything.

  “She’s a pretty great girl, Jonathan,” Robert says quietly so he doesn’t wake the rest of the house. He’s the only real dad I’ve ever known, and my heart swells with pride to hear him say this.

  “She is. I can’t believe I found her again,” I reply quietly as well.

  “It’s because she’s your soul mate, sweetie. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on the two of you together. It was meant to be,” Fiona says softly from the kitchen counter where she’s stuffing the turkey.

  “I know she is. She’s the one. I knew the first moment I laid eyes on her years ago in California. I’ve always known. There was nobody else for me after I met her.”

  “What are you gonna do about it, son?” Robert asks.

  “Well, she scares easily so I have to be careful. It’s all happened so fast and I don’t want to say too much, but I have some ideas. I love her and I love that little girl of hers. I never knew it could be like this. I know to the rest of the world this is fast, but to me, I feel like I’ve been waiting for years. I don’t want to waste another minute. I want us to be a family, and waiting until I think she’s ready is killing me. If I had my way we’d already be married, but I’m scared to even say the “M” word around her. I just don’t know how she feels about marriage after what she went through with her parents.”

  “Well, you need to talk to her and feel out the situation, son. You never know. She might just surprise you,” Robert says with one of his famous winks.

  “He’s right. When you meet the one you were meant to be with things change, and ideas you always had about how life should go fall to the wayside. When love takes over, there isn’t a wrong or right timeline. Just go slow enough for her, but not so slow that it kills you. You know her better than anybody. You’ll figure it out,” Fiona says while working her magic on our Thanksgiving Day feast.

  “Thank you both. It means a lot to me to have them here with us. I hope you know that.”

  “We do, son, and we’re happy to have them both here too. I hope to have them around for a long time to
come,” Robert says and warms my heart in a way that only he can.

  “After we get our list of stuff done, I was thinking I would take the girls to meet mom. What do you think?”

  “Sweetheart, I think that is a beautiful idea. Why don’t you leave Ireland here though? She might still be just a little too young to understand all that. Besides, it will give you and Emily some alone time. We’d be happy to watch Ireland if Emily’s okay with it.”

  I get up, walk around the big kitchen island, give Fiona a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without either of you. Liam I could do without, but you two I’ll keep.” I give Fiona a big grin and Robert one of his winks back to him, then head to the bathroom to change and go for a run before the girls are up. It may be November, but the weather here this early in the morning is already around sixty. Perfect weather for a run.

  When I get back, I hear the sweet voice of my little Princess coming from the kitchen. She’s sitting on a stool at the breakfast bar chatting Fiona’s ear off while she eats cereal in her pajamas. She is so freaking cute I can hardly stand it. This little girl has taken a hold of my heart and will not let go.

  She sees Fiona’s eyes flicker my way. She follows her gaze and spots me and yells, “Jonafon!” She points to the shirt of her pajama’s and says, “Gobble, gobble,” just like her shirt says.

  I kiss the top of her head and say, “Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Princess! Did you sleep good?”

  “I did. Too bad you had to sleep on the couch. Mommy and I have a comfy bed and got to snuggle.”

  “You have no idea how jealous of you I am, sweet girl. Speaking of your momma, where is she?”

  Ireland’s mouth is now full of sugary goodness so Fiona interjects. “She’s in the shower, honey. Can I get you anything for breakfast?”