I laugh and follow Madison over to the food table to fix a plate. Even though her and Blaine haven’t spoken much in months, you can tell they still get under each other’s skin. But there’s someone else that she seems to be more attracted to and he’s walking through the backdoor now, looking extremely hot in his uniform.
Mark rushes over to Kylie and picks up her, swinging her around while she laughs. It’s hard to miss the smile on Madison’s face as she watches him play with his niece.
“Yeah. Blaine is quite choke worthy,” I joke, not knowing what to say now that she’s checking Uncle Mark out. “You can stare as hard as you want, but it’s not going to make that uniform magically fall off.”
“Oh, trust me, I’ve learned that over the years. Hasn’t stopped me from wishing though.” She smiles and begins making a plate. “He’s the hottest damn uncle I’ve ever seen.”
“He has handcuffs too,” Jax teases, snatching up a burger, before joining the guys by the pool again.
“Oh, hell. I need to cool off.” Madison leaves the plate she was making and walks over to jump into the pool.
I’m about to walk over and join Ava and the guys when Tessa walks through the sliding door. We’ve kept in contact over the months, but we haven’t seen much of each other since she’s been busy at Midnight’s. I thought it would be nice to invite her to Ava and Royal’s cookout since it’s her day off.
“Oh my goodness. I’m so happy for you.” Tessa rushes over and throws her arms around me, rocking back and forth. Her dark hair surrounds us, flowing in the wind as she congratulates me. “You two are going to make a beautiful baby. I’m so excited for you both.”
“Thank you, Tessa. I’m glad you made it,” I say once she breaks the hug. “I was afraid you’d get called into work again.”
“I told Joe he could kiss my ass. The new bartender he hired is horrible and I’m sick of going in to pick up her slack. That shit wasn’t happening today. I miss you too much. I had forgotten how lonely it is living alone.”
“No luck on finding a roommate still, huh?”
She shakes her head, before turning to face the guys. They’re taking turns tossing Kylie around the pool. Everyone breaks into laughter when Jax tosses her to Blaine and he accidently gets kicked in the forehead, but still manages to catch her.
Blaine has finally stripped out of his shirt and jeans and I can’t help but to notice Tessa checking him out. As far as I know nothing happened when he was keeping an eye on her, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Blaine is a manwhore, after all.
After everyone is done eating, I’m in the middle of helping Ava and the girls clean up when Jax picks me up and starts carrying me away.
“We’ve gotta go, ladies. I have a surprise for my girl and want her to see it before it gets too dark.”
Everyone yells their goodbyes, laughing as I slap and scream at Jax to put me down when he begins tickling my neck with his beard, walking around front at the same time.
“Stop!” I scream right before he sets me down next to his truck. “That tickles and itches, Jax.”
“Yeah,” he says against my ear. “But you love my beard. Especially when it’s between your legs.”
“I do,” I admit, my body heating at the memory of last night when he held me against the wall on his shoulders. “I especially like it there.”
He smiles and rubs his thumbs over my cheeks, his eyes turning meaningful now. “There’s something for you at the house. I’ve been dying to show it to you all day. Let’s go.”
“Okay.” I climb into the truck when he opens the door for me. “What is it?” I ask once he joins me inside.
“I love the shit out of you, baby, but I’m not telling. You’ll see when we get home.” He bites my bottom lip, before reaching for my seatbelt. “Now buckle up.”
Curiosity has me on the edge of my seat the entire drive back home, which only seems to make the drive seem longer.
When we pull into the driveway, he quickly kills the engine and jumps out in a hurry, leaving the keys inside. He rushes over and opens the door for me and picks me up, shutting it behind me.
I smile and wrap my arms around his neck when he begins walking. I expect him to go to the front door, but instead he walks around the side of the house.
“It’s back here?”
“You’ll see.”
The moment we reach the back of the house and the tire swing comes into view, I’m overwhelmed with happiness. I can’t seem to stop smiling as he sets me down to my feet and I walk over to touch it.
I can picture Jax pushing our child on the swing just like he used to push me when we were kids. He was always so careful not to hurt me or go too high unless I asked him to.
Jax couldn’t be more perfect for me and I know with everything in me that he’s going to be the best father to our unborn baby.
I’ve never been happier for what lies ahead or even looked forward to having a future before, but Jax showed me at two different times in my life that he was always what fate had in store for me.
He is and always was my future . . .
I grin from ear to ear as I watch Alexandra walk over to the tire swing and touch it. The smile in her eyes tells me everything I need to know.
I thought about tracking down the old one I used to push her on as kids, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized finding that one after all these years would be unrealistic, so I bought a new tire to hang.
I want a fresh start for me and my family. I want this house to feel like a home to Alexandra. A place where she feels safe and loved at all times to raise a child with me.
“I love it, Jax.” She turns to face me, her smile growing bigger as I walk over to join her. “When did you do this?”
“When you were at work earlier. Why do you think I rushed you out the door for the cookout?” I move in behind her and run my lips over her neck, making my way around to her lips. “I wanted something in our home that would make you happy. Something that would remind you of good times. That tire swing meant a lot to us as kids and still means a lot to both of us now. There’s no way I was not putting one in our backyard for you and our baby.”
“You make me truly happy,” she whispers across my lips. “It’s always been you, Jax. If it were anyone else pushing me on the swing . . .” She grabs my face, forcing me to look her in the eyes. “It wouldn’t have felt the same. It was and still is you. I love you. I love you more than anything in this world and I never want to imagine a life without you in it. Just the thought of not waking up to you every morning makes everything inside of me feel like it’s dying. I never want to live that way again. I can’t.”
I swallow back my emotions and place my forehead to hers. “You’re about the only thing that can make me smile, Lex. You make me happy. I said these words to you thirteen years ago and they’re still true to this day. I never stopped needing you. I’ve loved you since the age of nine when I found you as that pretty little blonde crying that night, and I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you since the moment you kissed me when I was thirteen. You will never have to go a day without waking up to me. Not now that I have you as mine, Lex. I love you so fucking much that it hurts. I’ll die if I lose you again. That’s how much you mean to me.”
She smiles when I wipe my thumb under her wet eye, drying it the best I can. “I’ll never get tired of hearing you say those words.”
I cup her face in both hands and hover my lips above hers. “I’ll never grow tired of saying them.” My mouth moves over hers, showing her just how mine she is. I’ll never get used to being able to show her, which only makes it certain I’ll make sure to everyday. “Now climb in.”
“Really?” She laughs when I give her a look, showing her I’m serious. “It’s been ages since I’ve been on a swing.”
“I figured that.” I grab her hips and lift her legs into the tire. “Hold on tight,” I tease, remembering how I used to tell her that as kids.
She gr
abs onto the rope and laughs as I push her.
Just like when we were kids, we stay out here for hours talking and laughing, except now we talk about the future of our child.
Our child.
Those words squeeze my fucking heart every single time. She’s having my child, and one day soon, I plan to make her my wife.
I can’t imagine anything better in this world than getting to spend the rest of my life with the only woman that has ever made me feel complete . . .
THE END
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VICTORIA ASHLEY GREW UP IN Rockford, IL and has had a passion for reading for as long as she can remember. After finding a reading app where it allowed readers to upload their own stories, she gave it a shot and writing became her passion.
She lives for a good romance book with tattooed bad boys that are just highly misunderstood. When she's not reading or writing about bad boys, you can find her watching her favorite shows.
Contact her at:
www.victoriaashleyauthor.com
Standalone Books
Wake Up Call
This Regret
Thrust
Hard & Reckless
Strung
Walk of Shame Series
Slade
Hemy
Cale
Stone
Styx
Kash
Savage & Ink Series
Royal Savage
Beautiful Savage
Pain Series
Get Off On the Pain
Something For The Pain
Alphachat Series (Co-written with Hilary Storm)
Pay For Play
Two Can Play
Locke Brother Series (Co-written with Jenika Snow)
Damaged Locke
Savage Locke
Twisted Locke
FIRST AND FOREMOST, I’D LIKE to say a big thank you to all my loyal readers that have given me support over the past few years and have encouraged me to continue with my writing. Your words have inspired me to do what I enjoy and love. Each and every one of you mean a lot to me and I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for your support and kind words.
Also, all of my beta readers that have taken the time to read my book and give me pointers throughout this process. Thank you all so much.
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