She smiled. “I have your number unless you changed it?”
He shook his head. “My personal number is still the same.”
“I’ll call you when I’m leaving the office.”
“Promise?” he asked, moving toward her.
She tilted her head up to meet his kiss, her heart raced in her chest as his gaze fell to her lips. She licked them in anticipation and he swung her around and through the door of her house, pulling her against him. His voice was low, “One more kiss…”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Her lips tingled when his lips teased hers and she stood on the tips of her toes, desperate. Mmm. A girl could get used to this. Who knew love could be this delicious?
He nipped her lip before pulling back. “You’d better go.”
She groaned. “Do you have plans for the day?”
“No, I’d hoped to spend the day with you, so I’ll just pine away until you get back.”
She laughed. “You can stay here.”
“Are you sure? I have a hotel and I can wait there until you’re done at the office.”
“You know... I don’t have to take Radar with me. Do you want to hang here with him?”
“I’d love to. In fact, I can take him for a run if you like.”
“That would be great. I promised him a run and he’ll sulk for hours if he doesn’t get one.”
He took a step toward her, but then stopped. “I’ll take him now. It might be better that way, otherwise, it will be nearly impossible to let you go.”
She bit her lower lip, hard. “Yes,” she whispered, it might be best if you leave with him now. I have a spare key in the credenza beside the front door. Take that with you, and I’ll see you later.”
“Let’s go, Radar.” Radar jumped to Jax’s side and pranced as soon as he saw the leash.
“Peyton?” Jax asked before walking out the door.
“Yes?” she turned back to him.
“I love you.”
Her heart jumped into her throat and she smiled. “I love you, too, Jax Lawton. I love you, too.”
Twenty-Two
Peyton
Peyton walked into her condo at 7 PM, greeted by the smell of garlic and butter, and all the candles in her living room were flickering.
“Honey, I’m home!” she called out, a mischievous grin lighting her face.
Jax walked out from the kitchen and leaned against the door jamb, his eyes roving from her toes to her eyes, slowly, methodically.
She froze; electricity shot through her, her insides tied up in knots.
He moved toward her with panther-like grace, and a zing of anticipation spread through her body. A girl could definitely get used to this.
“How was your day?” he asked pulling her into his chest, holding her.
She melted into his warm, safe arms. “It was good, but I couldn’t wait to get home,” she admitted, pulling her head back to look at him.
He kissed her forehead, took her by the hand and led her toward the kitchen.
Had he changed his mind? This wasn’t exactly the greeting she’d anticipated.
“Come sit,” he gestured toward the kitchen bar as he moved toward the frig. “Can I get you a glass of wine, water, iced tea?”
“Iced tea sounds perfect. What did you and Radar do today?”
“We went for a seven-mile run, hung out on the porch, were briefly interrogated by Mrs. Baylor next door, went for a walk, and now I’m making you a delicious dinner.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
She giggled. “Mrs. Baylor is tough,” she agreed. “You’re going to spoil him. I can’t do seven miles yet.”
Jax padded to her side and tilted her chin until her eyes met his. “How are you? Is your recovery on track?” His eyes were filled with concern and something else she couldn’t quite read. What was he holding back?
“I’m doing really well and trying very hard to listen to the doctor’s orders. It’s not my strong suit,” she admitted.
He laughed. “Really, why does that not surprise me?”
She whacked his arm and raised her eyebrows. Her lips parted.
He glanced at them but moved back toward the stove.
Her eyebrows knit together. “Jax, what’s going on? You feel distant.” She joined him beside the stove.
He sighed. “We have a lot to talk about, Peyton. I love you and I don’t want to move too fast. Maybe it’s because I don’t want to scare you, but I’ve learned the hard way that relationships need to be built on something stronger than chemistry.”
His finger traced her jaw, and she shivered, goosebumps breaking out on her arms. She self-consciously touched her hair, brushing it behind her shoulder, breaking contact.
“Then don’t do that. It’s—difficult for me when you do. Your touch—“
He swallowed her response with a kiss and she opened for it without hesitation. They broke apart with ragged breaths.
“I don’t even know what to do with this,” she admitted. “I’ve never—Jax, I’ve never had this connection with anyone.” Her breath hitched.
“Never?” He tilted his head, his eyes curious. He used a wooden spoon to turn the chicken simmering in the cast iron pan and turned back to study her.
"Never." She confirmed. "I've been focused on my career. I've dated from time-to-time, but never anyone serious. Never anything like this."
"Does it scare you?"
"I wouldn't say it scares me, no, but I would say that it's a major distraction."
His lips turned up at the corners and he took a step toward her, his voice low. "What distracts you?"
She narrowed her eyes and pointed to his chest. "You distract me. All I can think about is how much I want to be with you, to feel your lips on mine, to--well, you know." She dared a glance at him, his pale blue eyes were dark, almost a midnight-blue.
"Jax, I'm not sure I know how to manage this." Her lips parted and his gaze dropped to her lips. Her breathing was coming a little faster now.
"Some things aren't meant to be managed, Agent Carter, some things are meant to be felt." He gently tucked a wayward curl behind her ear, his fingers blazed a trail to the base of her throat where her pulse was pounding.
Peyton squirmed and stepped back. “Jax, you can’t do that.”
“I can’t, or you can’t handle it?” He asked.
A silence stretched between them.
Suddenly Peyton’s brow furrowed, and she shook her head, all the color draining from her face.
“Peyton, what’s wrong? Are you in pain?” Jax moved to her side, taking her face in his hands with worry-filled eyes.
Peyton held back a sob. “Oh, Jax—I’m so stupid. Th—there’s something I—I have to tell you.”
“Peyton, whatever it is, you can tell me. It won’t change anything.” His pale blue eyes were filled with concern.
“You don’t know that—you can’t say that.” Tears streamed down her cheeks that she quickly tried to brush the away.
Jax tipped her face up to his, his eyes seeking hers, “Yes, Peyton Carter, I know with 100% certainty that nothing you can say will change how I feel about you or what we have.”
“I can’t have children,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face.
Jax’s eyes went wide, and he stuttered. “A—are you certain?”
She pressed against her stomach.
“The bullet?” His eyes followed her movement, then he took her hands in his, holding them tight.
It was almost her undoing. She looked away. “I don’t want you to feel sorry for me.” She tried to pull back, but he held her tight, tilting her chin up, seeking her eyes.
“Peyton, I’m not sure children are in our future anyway, especially when you consider our career choices, but if we decide we want them, then we’ll adopt them.” He paused. “There’s something I have to tell you. I was adopted.”
“You were?” she whispered.
“Yeah, and my adoptive parents are amazing. T
hey will love you, by the way," he assured her with a brilliant smile that made her stomach flip flop. "They were the best parents, and I couldn’t ask or imagine that biological parents could have been any better. If it wasn’t for them, Peyton, I don’t know where I would be today. Maybe that’s short-sighted or doubting God, but I know that He gave them to me for a purpose. I’m completely comfortable with adoption, and in some ways, feel more comfortable with it.”
Peyton was stunned. Jax lifted her chin again. “Hey—did you hear me?”
“Yes.” She bit her lip, tears flowing freely again. “I hear you. Are you sure—“ but his lips captured the question, erasing it from her mind as he raked his fingers through her hair. If there had been any doubt in her mind if he meant it—there wasn’t now.
Twenty-Three
EPILOGUE
Four Months Later
Jax groaned, “Peyton Carter, do you have any idea what you do to me?” She licked her lower lip and he lost himself.
Peyton leaned into him and nipped his lower lip. “Just one more day—that’s all we have to get through is one more day,” she managed between kisses.
“Easy for you to say,” he moaned, “you’re such a tease.” She giggled, and he tugged her head down to his, planting kisses on her chin and down her neck.
“That’s not fair,” she gasped.
“But you made it sound so simple,” he teased, “just one more day, after all.”
“Get a room, you two,” Paige huffed as she walked into the living room of her house with Chris in tow.
Peyton tore herself out of Jax’s arms, her chest heaving. “I kind of want to pinch myself,” she said. Paige looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “No, really. My wedding day is tomorrow—tomorrow!” She twirled around the room, coming to a stop in front of her sister, grasping her arms.
Paige laughed, her sea-green eyes sparkling. “Who are you and what have you done with my sister, Peyton?”
“This is a new and improved Peyton, and a much happier Peyton,” she confirmed, eyes shining.
Paige wrapped her arms around her sister and pulled her tight. “I couldn’t be more happy for you, baby sister.”
Peyton laughed. “Okay, I’m younger by two minutes!” She declared, moving away to pat Radar who was laying down by the fireplace, whining from all the excitement in the room.
Chris came up behind Paige and wrapped his arms around her stomach, nibbling on her ear.
“It’s not too late, you two. You could get married alongside us tomorrow,” Peyton suggested.
Paige glared at Peyton and shook her head no.
“What? You don’t want to marry me?” Chris asked, whirling Paige around to face him.
She swatted him and pushed away. “Oh, stop. That’s not what I said at all. Tomorrow is about Peyton and Jax, and besides, all the cupcakes are her favorite flavors, not mine.”
“What about my favorite flavors?” Chris’s eyes narrowed as he began moving menacingly toward Paige who shrieked with laughter and ran around the couch, putting it smack dab between them.
“Hmm. I’ll have to think about that.” Paige waggled her eyebrows at Chris. “Maybe if you’re a very, very good boy you can have your favorite flavors at our wedding, too.”
“Oh, but I insist,” he declared, licking his lips and quickly leaping over the couch, catching Paige by the waist and scooping her up into his arms. “Or maybe I’ll just eat you,” he suggested, nibbling on her ear.
“Okay, now who needs to get a room?” Peyton laughed.
“Mmm,” Chris agreed. “Tomorrow’s looking more tempting by the minute.”
“I love you, Christopher Mason,” Paige assured him as she pulled his face toward hers.
“And I love you, Paige will-you-marry-me Carter.”
“What?” she gasped.
Chris set her down and got down on one knee in front of her. Peyton walked over to Jax and they held each other, tears shining in Peyton’s eyes.
“Paige Carter, I love you, baby. You complete me and I can’t wait to make you the happiest and most satisfied woman on the planet…”
“Hey!” Jax objected.
Chris glanced briefly over at Jax, then shifted his focus back to the woman standing in front of him. “Fair enough. Paige Carter, I can’t wait to make you one of the happiest and most satisfied, cherished women on the planet. Will you marry me?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a red velvet box, popped it open, and Paige squealed.
“Chris, are you kidding me? It’s gorgeous!” She clapped her hands.
The room was silent for a long moment.
“Um, still on my knees,” he reminded her.
Paige’s hand flew to her mouth and she giggled. “Yes, a thousand times over I will marry you, Christopher Mason!”
Chris stood, slipped the ring on her finger, and kissed her and kissed her and kissed her.
“Good Lord, I’m going to have to get a fan,” Peyton declared, her eyes brimming with tears of happiness for her twin. She turned to Jax, blinking them back.
“Let them fall,” he reminded her, kissing the tip of her nose and drawing the most incredible gift from God into his arms.
Tomorrow she would officially be his, and he would be hers, and the circle of trust would be complete.
* * *
Author’s Note
I’m often asked by generous readers how they can help get the word out about a book they enjoyed. There are many ways!
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Thank you for reading this book and for supporting indie authors!
Did you enjoy Circle of Trust? You won’t want to miss the next one in the series from Kate Cambridge.
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About Lawfully Charmed by Kate Cambridge
An excerpt:
Philadelphia Train Station
Philadelphia, PA
“Oh, mother, seriously!”
“Claire Marie Hawarden—I am quite serious.” It was all Claire could do to not roll her eyes. “Just last week a train was robbed in Texas, and I fail to understand why you feel the need to visit with your sister now of all times. It’s dangerous.”
“Mother, we’ve been over this a thousand times, and rehashing it won’t change anything. We’ve purchased the tickets, and Mary is expecting me. You know how hard it’s been on her since losing Mike. She needs my support now more than ever.”
“She never should have gone to Texas to begin with. She belongs here in Philadelphia, and I hope you can talk some sense into her while you’re there. She could easily sell that little piece of land they call a farm and come back home to find a suitable husband. It’s bad enough that your brother Jim visited her to help out—and decided to stay!” Her mother’s raised voice had the beginnings of hysteria.
Claire bit her lip. She didn’t want to exasperate her mother further, and there was no point in trying to make her mother understand Mary’s heart in moving there to help the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word with homeless and orphaned children. If the truth were known, Claire had been more than a bit surprised when her sister decided to stay in Texas permanently. She couldn’t understand the draw to live in a land so wild and untamed—and uneducated.
“I’ll do what I can, Mother, but you know how Mary is...” She bit her lip again.
“Just promise me. Promise me, Claire, that you will return as planned in four weeks. I couldn’t bear to lose another one of my children.”
Claire took both her mother’s hands in hers and kissed her cheek lovingly. “Your children are all very much alive, Mother, and trust me— No one will have to convince me to return to Philadelphia. It’s only been a few weeks since my graduation from Bryn Mawr, and
already I’m going stir crazy. I need to get back so that I can begin looking for work.”
“Hrmph. Work? You don’t need to work, darling, Edward is quite capable of taking care of you, and in fact has expressed the desire to do so several times. Why must you put off his advances? It has been a dream of your father’s and mine to connect our family with the Woodbury’s, and you must admit—Edward is a fine catch.”
“Yes, Mother, I’m well aware of Edward’s standing…” her voice trailed off, but then she brightened as the train whistle blew the final warning for boarding, a welcomed distraction to her mother’s reproach-filled eyes. “Well, I must be going or I’ll miss the train. Give father my love, and I’ll telegram as soon as I’ve arrived.”
“Don’t forget! Your father hired a sheriff to protect you once you reach Texas. Do be looking for him, won’t you?” Her mother’s voice trailed off as Claire reached the train steps, and the conductor offered a hand to help her board.
“Goodbye, Mother!” Claire waved as she turned to instruct the porter on where to deliver her baggage. Her parents had insisted on a private Pullman sleeping car, and she would likely need the space to accommodate her luggage and the gifts she’d brought for Mary.
Yes, it was adequate, if a bit small. Suddenly she was grateful she didn’t have to share this small sleeping space with a complete stranger. She tipped the porter, and he closed the door behind him.
She had traveled by train in the past, but never a trip so long as this. She couldn’t deny the flitter of excitement that rolled through her stomach, resulting in goose bumps across her arms. The movement of the train startled her, and she reached for the wall to steady herself as she moved toward the small window in her compartment to watch their departure.
It was a true wonderment that an engine could power the train and transport people in days or weeks on a journey that used to take months. Why just weeks ago her father had heard that a man in Germany had created an engine-propelled carriage that could carry two or more people.
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