by Laura Drewry
Normally, that would have been wise advice, but as Maya slumped against the bathroom wall running the calculations through her head again and counting backward through the weeks, there was no getting around it: It’d be a while before she stopped barfing.
And she couldn’t be happier. Or more terrified.
Was it messed up that of all people, it had to have been Will who’d made her see what she’d been too angry—and too scared—to see before? Sure it was. But did it matter? No. All that mattered was getting to Jack before he changed his mind.
“He waited four years,” Will said, refilling her glass. “He can wait another day or two.”
Maybe, but she couldn’t. She needed to get off that floor and get moving…and she would, just as soon as she could stop throwing up.
—
Brand spankin’ new passport in hand, Maya waited her turn at the border crossing, then merged into traffic that swept her along I-5 toward Seattle. How did people drive in this traffic all the time? Vancouver was bad, but this was crazy, and it seemed like every five minutes there was more construction.
She never would have found TMJ if it wasn’t for the GPS in her car, and even then, parked right outside the front door, she couldn’t believe she was there. Could she do this? Did she even have a choice? No, no she didn’t.
The bold colors on the walls, along with the various gaming stations in the reception area, made it look like a kids’ play area at the mall, which was fitting, because the guy behind the desk looked like he was about fifteen.
“Hey,” he said. “How’s it?”
“Uh, yeah, good, thanks. I’m sorry, I don’t have an appointment, but I was hoping to speak to Jack Rhodes if he’s available.”
God, she sounded like she was making an appointment for some financial adviser or something.
“Yeah, hang on, I’ll go find him.”
“Oh, okay.” Her heart racing, her throat dry as a cork, she lifted her hand and called after the kid. “Thank you!”
She’d paced one length of the reception area before Pete came bounding toward her, ears soft, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.
“Oh thank God,” she murmured, pressing her forehead against his. “A friendly face.”
A second later, the kid came sauntering back.
“That’s Pete,” he said. “Kind of like our mascot.”
Smiling, Maya continued to rub Pete’s neck just the way he liked. “I know. Pete and I are old friends, aren’t we?”
“Cool. Yeah, looks like Jack’s in with legal right now, so I don’t know how long he’ll be, but I told Jessie to tell him you were here.”
“Is it okay if I wait?”
“Fill your boots. Play around on the game stations if you want; there’s soda in the fridge, snacks over on the counter…”
For the first little while, she just sat on one of the incredibly comfortable couches, flipping through various computer and gaming magazines with one hand while continuing to pet Pete with the other. When she’d finished skimming them, which is all she really did because she had no idea what any of it meant, she finally picked up a controller and turned on Apollo2.
Up first, Sector Selwyn—maybe it’d be easier using the system as a partner instead of Jack. She loaded up Mercy and zipped her around most of the junk being shot at her and was almost to Selwyn when his voice made her drop the controller.
“Snip.”
Oh, God. There he was. So big, so beautiful, and so far away standing at the corner of the reception desk.
“I, uh, oh, hi.” Scrambling for the controller, she dropped it two more times before managing to set it on the table. “Um, hi.”
The kid at the desk cocked his eyebrow as he leaned closer to Jack. “Dude, you gotta teach her how to hold the controller. Couple times there I thought she was going to whip it at my head.”
Jack’s mouth twitched slowly then spread into a huge lopsided grin, and Maya knew if she died right there, she’d die happy. Knees quaking, she took a small step forward, bumped into the corner of the couch, steadied herself, then took another step.
“Can we, I mean, do you have a minute?”
“Of course.” He stepped back, waved her around the desk, then held his hand up in front of Pete. “Stay.”
Okay, so his office was walled with windows and everyone could see in. That was okay, she could…
Jack closed the door and immediately started pulling cords to close the blinds.
Oh thank God.
Her heart racing, she chewed at least the top layer of skin off her bottom lip by the time he finished.
“Uh…so…hi.”
It was all she got out before he pulled her into his arms, lifting her clear off the floor, and kissed her, his big grin never slipping even a little bit. Maya wrapped herself around him, arms and legs, and held on in case he ever decided to let her go.
His kiss went from hard and hungry to slow and indulgent, to nothing more than his lips feather-brushing hers, and when he finally eased back to take a breath, she took his face between her hands and looked at him, taking in every little bit she’d missed so much.
“I was beginning to think I’d lost you forever,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry, Jack. I just—” It was then she noticed the boxes. Lots of them. Stacked up all over his office. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah.” He carried her over to his big leather chair and lowered them both down, so she was sitting facing him on his lap. “I was going to find you. I screwed up, I know that, and I’m sorry, but holy hell, I love you. Whatever it takes, Snip. You and me. We. Us. I’m going to make it work.”
He’d melted her plenty of times before, but that time she was pretty sure he’d done her in.
“You didn’t screw up,” she murmured, tracing her finger along the line of his jaw. “And I’m sorry I blamed you, that was so horrible, and if Will hadn’t pointed it out to me, I might not have realized it.”
“Will? You talked to Will?”
“Well, he actually came to talk to me, but none of that matters.”
She smoothed her fingers over his forehead, easing the frown away, then leaned in and kissed him achingly slowly, not letting him hurry her, not even when he moaned and clenched his fingers around her hips.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you,” he said, his voice low and thick.
Maya wiggled her butt against his lap and snorted. “I have a pretty good idea.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he growled over a grin. “But since you brought it up…”
“Whoa there, slugger.” She pressed her fingers against his mouth and laughed when he kissed them instead of her. “I actually came here to give you something.”
“What, like an early Christmas present?”
“Uh, yeah, sort of, I guess, but I don’t think what I’m going to give you is something you’ll want to keep.” She pushed off his lap and managed to dodge him when he tried to pull her back. “Where’s my purse?”
“You dropped it by the door.”
“Right.” Scooping it up, she hurried back to his chair and climbed back on his lap. “Okay, close your eyes and hold out your hand.”
“Snip.”
“Do you want it or don’t you?”
He immediately closed his eyes, held out his hand, and waited.
“Don’t open them until I say, okay?”
“Come on, Snip.”
She pulled the tissue-wrapped plastic wand out of her purse and set it flat against his palm, then just watched his expression for a second as he tried to figure out what it was. Finally, with a deep breath, she nodded.
“Okay, look.”
He opened his eyes slowly, took a second to focus, then all of a sudden his eyes flew wide.
“Is this—? Are you—? Are we—?” He didn’t seem to know where to look, at her or at the big pink positive sign in his hand. “But how? We burned through that box of condoms.”
“We are, an
d I’m guessing because there’s about a twelve percent failure rate.”
He started to smile, his mouth wobbled, and before she could say anything else, he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her against him, so tight, as his whole body quaked around her.
She tried to ease back, but his arms were like a vise around her and even when she finally managed to pull away a little bit, he kept his head down, until she cupped his face in her hands. As she eased his face up, he tried to swipe his hand over his cheek and managed to stab himself with the end of the wand.
“Those better be happy tears, buddy, or I’m going to ram that wand right through your chest.”
“Are these?” He brushed his thumbs under her eyes then leaned his forehead against her.
“What are you talking about?” she choked. “I don’t cry. I’m tough, remember?”
“Me too.” He tossed the stick on the desk then set his hand over her still flat stomach. “We’re going to have our own little snippet.”
“Looks like it, yeah.”
His grin suddenly got even bigger. “Griffin’s gonna be so pissed; good thing he already signed the contract.”
Using her sleeve, she wiped his cheeks dry, then leaned in and kissed him again, slowly, pulling a long groan from somewhere deep in his chest.
“Jack?”
“Hmm.”
“Is there anything else I don’t know?”
“No.”
“Will said you were ready to walk away from all of them.”
“Mm-hmm.” The way he looked at her—it was like he’d never seen her before and he was worried he’d never see her again so he had to take in as much as he could. “I love you.”
Would there ever come a time when that didn’t make her smile? She hoped not.
“You love the Carsons, too.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“And with them in our lives, are we going to be able to do this?”
He exhaled slowly, his grin widening. “As long as you keep using the word ‘we,’ I’m pretty sure we can do anything.”
“I hope so.” She trailed her fingers across his Adam’s apple then curled them around the neck of his shirt. “Because there’s something I really want to do right now.”
“Anything,” he groaned. “Whatever you want.”
Leaning in, she pressed a soft kiss under his ear and whispered “Let’s go to the gum wall.”
Epilogue
“Thanks, but I’m okay, really. I’ve got magic beans.”
Rachel Green, Friends, “The One with George Stephanopoulos”
By Jayne standards, Christmas Eve dinner had been a fairly subdued affair. Instead of inviting everyone she knew, it was just the eight of them, and together they’d put together one of the best meals ever, which was great, but now they were relaxing in Jayne and Nick’s game room, too full to move.
Most of them were relaxing, anyway.
“Come on, Ponch, let’s show them how this is done.” Ellie pushed up off her chair and pulled down a couple pool cues. “Who’s in?”
“Don’t you ever just sit still?” Nick asked over a groan.
“You’re just saying that because you know Ponch and I’ll kick your ass.”
Nick and Carter turned to look at each other, grinned, and reached for their own cues.
“It’s on, Ellie.”
Regan and Jayne settled in at the far end of the huge sectional couch, feet up, drinks in hand, while Maya stayed right where she was, curled up against Jack with her glass of sparkling water and Pete lying on the floor next to them.
“Jayne?” Maya tipped her head a little and pointed to the speakers in the ceiling. “That doesn’t sound like Springsteen. Or Mellencamp. And it doesn’t sound anything like Bon Jovi.”
Nick laughed from his position bent over the pool table. “Great, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not great,” Jayne grumbled. “But it’s Christmas, so I’m humoring him with some of his hillbilly crap.”
“Hey!” Nick stood straight up and pointed his pool cue at Jayne, grinning all the while. “George Strait is not a hillbilly.”
Jayne snorted over an exaggerated eye roll. “Yes, dear, you’re right, I’m sorry.”
As soon as he looked away, she stuck her finger in her mouth and pretended to gag.
“I’m heading to the kitchen,” Regan said. “Anyone want anything?”
Carter didn’t even look up from his shot when he chuckled. “Yeah, but Jayne says her kitchen’s off limits for stuff like that.”
A chorus of groans erupted in the room from everyone but Regan; she just grinned and wagged her brow at him.
Ellie flagged Regan just before she disappeared. “Can you grab Ponch and me a couple more beers please?”
Jack shifted position behind Maya a little so she could scooch in closer to him.
“Why ‘Ponch’?” he asked. “I get that he’s a cop and what-all, but wasn’t Baker the blond one on that show? Wouldn’t it make more sense to call him that?”
Nick and Carter groaned, but Brett stood up a little straighter, and for a second there it almost looked like he was going to smile.
“Tell him, babe.”
“What?” Ellie asked, then shrugged dismissively. “Ponch was the sexy one, everyone knows that.”
Jack’s laugh, from deep in his chest, rocked Maya, making her laugh, too. It was even enough to pull Brett’s twitching mouth up into an actual smile.
“Here y’all go,” Regan said, handing over the fresh drinks. “Don’t forget to tip your waitress.”
“Here’s a tip.” Carter took the bottle from her, set it on the ledge behind him and dragged her in for a long slow kiss.
“Mmm.” She grinned, heading back to her spot beside Jayne. “You should see how much he tips me when I cook for him.”
Everything about that room, and the people in it, warmed Maya. A few years back, she never would have imagined any of this was possible, and yet there she was, there they all were.
They’d all started out as friends first and had become each other’s family.
In another couple weeks, Carter and Regan would finally have a child placed with them; Jayne and Nick hadn’t said anything yet, but Maya had seen Jayne pour her wine out and replace it with grape juice when she didn’t think anyone was looking; and as for Ellie and Brett…they were still trying to figure out if they should elope or have the big cop wedding complete with members in Red Serge, so for now they were just happy being happy.
Maya leaned back against Jack’s chest and sighed. If she’d ever been this happy or this content before, she couldn’t recall it. It was so much more than she ever expected it to be, and sitting there with Jack’s arms around her, she just knew.
“You okay?” Jack asked, murmuring against her neck. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’m good.” Turning her face up, she pressed her lips against his in a small slow kiss then pulled his arms tight around her. “This is it, Jack. This is how it feels.”
He didn’t even have to ask what she meant, because he knew it, too.
This was forever.
For Junessa and Holly
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, enormous thanks go out to you, the readers. Without you, none of this would be possible, so thank you thank you thank you.
It takes a whole team to bring a book to life and it’s always an amazing thing to watch it come together. Thanks go to my editor, Junessa Viloria, for loving Maya and Jack so much. I’d also like to thank Gina Wachtel, Erika Seyfried, Ashleigh Heaton, Matt Schwartz, Lynn Andreozzi, Evan Camfield, and each of their teams (many of whom I’ve never met), who do such an amazing job on each and every book.
Thank you to my agent, Holly Root, who’s put up with my special level of crazy for a lot of years now.
Thank you to Heidi Kuran, Cheryl Sayle, and Tammy Hinsche, who graciously answered all my questions, some of which were perhaps a little odd. Not all the information made it into t
he book, and bits of what did may have been tweaked for my purposes, so any mistakes or errors are mine and mine alone.
Thank you to Ann Christopher, Kristi Cook, Lori Devoti, Caroline Linden, Sally MacKenzie, and Eve Silver for the years of support and encouragement, and to Maggie McGinnis and Sidney Halston for helping me through the time crunches.
To Ron, Thomas, Michael, and John, who didn’t complain too much when I hung a blanket in the doorway of my “office” to try and block out the world while I wrote this book: I’m fairly certain I don’t deserve any of you, but I’m incredibly grateful that you’re mine and I hope you know how much I love you. xoxo
And finally, a big thank-you to John Hughes, whose movie Some Kind of Wonderful made me love the idea that two people can start out as friends first and end up being perfect for each other.
BY LAURA DREWRY
Plain Jayne
Prima Donna
Accidentally in Love
How Forever Feels
LAURA DREWRY had been scribbling things for years before she decided to seriously sit down and write. After spending eight years in the Canadian north, Laura now lives back home in southwestern British Columbia with her husband, three sons, a turtle named Sheldon, and an extremely energetic German shepherd. She loves old tattered books, good movies, country music, and the New York Yankees.
lauradrewry.com
Facebook.com/LauraDrewryAuthor
@lauradrewry
The Editor’s Corner
Another month of new Loveswept romance books is here! I know you’ll adore this selection of stories chosen just for you….
USA Today bestselling author Claire Kent continues her emotionally charged story of longing, betrayal, and insatiable desire with Darker the Release, sequel to Sweet the Sin. Another Loveswept USA Today bestseller, Lauren Layne, introduces her new Oxford series with Irresistibly Yours. Wendy S. Marcus’s latest sexy yet sweet military romance, All I Need is You, releases this month as well. Then there’s another Friends First story from USA Today bestseller Laura Drewry, How Forever Feels. USA Today bestseller Stacey Kennedy finishes up her successful BDSM Club Sin series with Mine, simultaneously introducing her next series of erotic play, Dirty Little Secrets, and hot hero Micah.