He was in good shape for the next couple of years, at which time he’d have to have either made the downtown property profitable or else found something else to supplement his income.
He wasn’t particularly worried. Ria and her friends had some great ideas for this block. He was going to start slow, but he was excited about possibilities. He still went to bed every night exhausted from a day’s worth of hard work, but he woke up the next morning excited. Looking forward to what would come next.
He’d never known life could be lived like that.
Ria had come over a few minutes ago, and she came out of the bathroom looking gorgeous and relaxed in a pair of leggings and an oversized pink top.
He gave her long legs an automatic ogle as she approached, and she giggled as she settled beside him.
“I got sandwiches from Anna’s,” he told her. “I know it’s my turn, but I was too tired to cook.”
“That’s fine with me. It’s been a long week for me too. Plus you’re going to have to do a bunch of grilling tomorrow for your cookout.”
Jacob wasn’t sure how it had happened, but he’d somehow ended up being the host at a cookout this weekend. It wasn’t a huge affair. Just a casual get-together of friends of his and Ria’s (more hers than his since he was still working on making real connections there). But Madeline was coming, along with Skye and her one unmarried brother. Fitz, who Jacob had discovered he really liked, said he’d stop by for sure. And Ria was trying to talk Belinda into making an appearance.
“Oh,” he said, remembering something. “I was talking to Ken this morning, and I invited him to come if he wanted. It’s not his weekend with his daughters, and I don’t think he has much of a social life.”
“That’s good. I like Ken. It should be a good group. You do feel okay about having everyone over, right?”
He frowned down at her, trying to read what was underlying her question. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know. It’s just that you’ve kind of been thrown right into the middle of Azalea—because you’re dating me. And I just want to make sure you don’t feel like it’s too much. Like I’m pressuring you into—”
“Oh my God, Ria, of course not.” He laughed and nuzzled her hair, pulling her closer to his side and leaving his arm around her. “I want this. All of this. I haven’t had it in a really long time. You’re not pressuring me into anything.” He paused, a little hesitant about saying something so vulnerable. But he said it anyway. “Everything that comes with you, sweetheart, is a gift.”
Her face twisted with obvious emotion, and she stretched up to kiss him. The kiss took a decidedly carnal turn, and it wasn’t long before he’d taken all of Ria’s clothes off and he had her straddling his lap, naked and eager as she rode him. (She was the one who thought about making him sit on a throw blanket so they didn’t mess up his new couch.) He made sure she came before he did, and he sprawled out on the couch afterward, holding her warm body tightly against his.
He honestly hadn’t known it was possible to be so perfectly satisfied.
Just as he was processing that rather sappy thought, his stomach growled loudly.
Ria giggled. “I guess that’s a sign that we should eat.”
“In a minute,” he murmured. “Let me hold you a little longer.”
She lifted her head to gaze down at him, her warm, generous heart spilling over in the look.
Spilling over for him.
Then she said, “As far as I’m concerned, you can hold me as long as you want.”
That was the plan. Jacob was planning to hold on to her for the rest of their lives.
Epilogue
THREE MONTHS LATER, Ria, Skye, and Madeline were working late on a Friday afternoon. They were doing the flowers for a wedding the following day, and that always meant a rush of work on the day before.
Since it wasn’t a particularly elaborate wedding, they had most of it under control. As soon as they finished the final bouquets, all that would be left was the setup at the church the next morning.
For the third time in the past thirty minutes, Ria glanced at the clock, hoping they’d be done in time for her to grab a quick shower before her date with Jacob that evening. They spent most evenings together now and almost always spent the night at either one or the other of their places. But he’d made a big deal about asking her to go that evening, and she wanted to make sure she looked nice.
If worse came to worst, she’d text and say she was running a few minutes late. Hopefully he hadn’t made reservations at a restaurant that would be thrown off by a short delay.
“You can just take off,” Madeline said when Ria turned back to the bridal bouquet she was wrapping. “Skye and I can take care of the bridesmaid’s bouquets. You’ve got all the flowers sorted already, so we can just wrap them off. No problem.”
Ria hesitated, torn and tempted both. “I shouldn’t leave y’all with—”
“Go!” Skye said loudly. “You’re going to drive us crazy with your antsiness.”
“I haven’t been antsy.” Ria frowned. “Have I?”
“Maybe a little,” Madeline admitted with a laugh. “So Jacob has something big planned for tonight.”
“I don’t know. He just made a point of asking me. Said it was a surprise. He’s not always super romantic that way, so I didn’t want to... Are you
