Hell, how is this woman not kicking my ass right now? After the way I treated her, after the bullshit I put her through? She’s more than a Disney Princess. She’s a queen. My queen.
I hold her tight, breathing in her sweet, sweet scent. “I don’t know how you figured it out and you’ll have to fill me in on all of that sometime. You’d make a hell of a private investigator.” Her eyes twinkle back at me. Seriously though, if this teacher thing doesn’t work out for her, I’ll call up Rivers for a job recommendation.
“In any case, I don’t mind being the breadwinner for a while. I am now gainfully employed as an early childhood educator, after all.” She quirks her shoulder.
I cup her cheek, basking in the way she leans into my touch. “I’m so fucking proud of you for making your dream come true.” I whisper against her lips.
“You understand that means I won’t be Callie’s nanny anymore?” Her forehead is creased with concern.
“Good,” I say. “That means you can be so much more to her. To me…if that’s what you want.”
“Of course that’s what I want.” Her misty eyes smile. “I want us to be a family.”
When she says that, I grin hard enough to rip my mouth at the seams. “Let’s make a deal then,” I suggest.
“What kind of deal?”
I fist her skirt at the waist and pull her to me. “You can keep your job, teaching all those miserable, snotty little human beings every day…as long as you come home to me and Callie every night.”
She grins, then she rises onto her tiptoes. “Deal.”
“I’m probably going to have to get you a new car, though.” I stink-eye her junk wagon parked on the curb ahead of mine.
She glances at the car and from her expression, I can tell that there’s no love lost between her and the vehicle. “I won’t even fight you on that.”
I hold her tight and devour her damn mouth like the savage I am.
When we pull apart, I think I’m the one with rainbows and stardust in my eyes because Jessa is watching me curiously.
“What?” she asks.
“This is gonna sound crazy as fuck when I say it…”
“Say it…” she challenges me.
“It's crazy. The moment I saw you, I just knew my life would be different with you in it. Better with you in it.” I brush her long tresses away from her face. “I feel like I've traveled through time and space, stumbled through multiple lifetimes to find you. And there's no way I'm letting you go now.”
She holds me tight. “Then, don’t let me go…”
60
Take it off!” Alexia swings an arm in the air and hollers. “Take it off, Duke of Hastings.”
We talked Penny into a bachelorette party. Sort of.
It’s the night before the wedding and we’re gathered in the backroom of Iris’s flower shop, eating leftovers from last night’s rehearsal dinner and binge-watching Bridgerton on Netflix as Iris arranges the bouquets for tomorrow. Pretty low-key and sedate for a bachelorette party but it’s better than nothing.
Now that Eli and I are together for real, it was painful leaving his side tonight. I could tell that he didn’t want to be apart from me and neither did Callie.
The little girl has been clinging to me for dear life ever since I moved back in with them. I’ve been giving her all the hugs and kisses and reassurance she needs until she fully believes that I won’t ever disappear on her again.
Anyway, Eli and I put her to bed together this evening. Then, he walked me to the door, covered my face with kisses and made me promise not to do anything too wild and crazy at this ladies-only soiree. I’m counting the minutes until I can creep into our bed and get myself all tied up in my man’s arms again.
We’ve been texting back and forth as I distractedly watch the TV show with my friends. He says he’s getting a bit of work done while he waits for me to get home. Yes—he and Cannon have decided to take another shot at working together at Kingston Realties. Seeing the brothers trying to repair their relationship makes me unreasonably happy.
The duke is prancing his sexy ass around on the television screen when my phone lights up with a new notification. Not another text message from Eli, though. It’s an alert from my Prasanna Yoga Studio app.
I sit ramrod straight on the hard, low couch when my eyes flicker over the message. “Gabby’s teaching a yoga class tonight,” I spit out.
Iris and Penny share a glance before swinging their eyes to me.
Lexi’s head snaps in my direction, her eyes narrowed. “Is she, now?” I know that look in my sister’s gaze. It spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E.
The angel on my shoulder tells me to let it go. But the devil tells me to bring down fire and brimstone on that bitch. She tried to ruin Eli’s life and I promised myself I wouldn’t let her get away with it.
A determined breath surges out of my lungs as I spring up to my feet. “Let’s go, girls!”
I’m riding shotgun in Penny’s SUV while Lexi and Iris stew in the back. I’m not usually an aggressive person but I can feel myself getting more and more amped up with each passing mile.
Alexia’s head pops up between the front console. “So what’s the plan here? Are we going to kick some ass tonight or what?”
Penny gives me a skeptical look from the driver’s seat. “Please don’t do anything crazy,” she implores. “My wedding is tomorrow and I don’t plan on getting married with a black eye. Plus, I’m breastfeeding. My boobs will explode if I have to spend the night in jail.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I promise. “We’re only going to…talk.” I crack my knuckles. Admittedly, that does not add to my credibility.
To be honest, I don’t really trust myself. I’m not sure
