by Ann, Jewel E
“What?” Jackson took a sip of his tea, hiding his cocky-bastard smirk.
“So how was your last day with Dr. Harper?” Ryn asked, stealing Jackson’s sandwich and taking a huge bite.
He gave her the hairy eyeball.
“Sorry, baby. I’m starving,” she mumbled. “Think of it as feeding your daughter.”
Jessica widened her eyes at Jackson. For all the years he gave Luke crap about submitting to Jessica, there he sat—no testicles—lovesick for his wife and utterly smitten over the bundle in Jessica’s arms.
“I’m cured. My words, not hers.”
“Is Luke still seeing her?” Ryn wiped her mouth as Jackson reclaimed the rest of his sandwich.
“Yes.” Jessica laughed. “The guy had me iron his socks to take to Goodwill. You can’t fix that kind of crazy overnight.”
The twins shared knowing looks. Luke not only had AJ to deal with, he had the memory of watching Jackson deliver a violent death to Preston Iverson. After two months and still no Preston, Ryn asked Jackson if he killed Preston. In true Jackson style, he replied, “Do you really want to know?”
Ryn shook her head and they never discussed it again.
“Speaking of crazy …” Jessica glanced at her phone next to her plate. A photo of Luke pinned beneath Jones on the floor lit up her screen with the caption “Play time. Where are you, Mom?”
“Looks like it’s time for Livy and me to head home.” She stood.
Jackson cleared his throat, but it sounded more like a growl.
“Fine.” She handed Livy to Ryn.
“Get your own.” Jackson smirked.
Ryn elbowed him. “Don’t be mean.”
Jessica typed a message into her phone. “No, he’s right. I plan on remedying this situation as soon as I get home.”
Jessica: I’m on my way. Get your dick out. I want a Livy too.
Jones: Still waiting for your doctor to give us the go ahead.
Jessica: Dammit, Jones! Meet me in the GTO in 20. Dick. Out. NO CONDOM!
“There. I just sent Luke a love letter. Wish me luck. I’m going to get Livy a cousin.”
Jackson and Ryn laughed.
“Bye.” Jessica winked and blew them a kiss before floating on her dreamy cloud all the way home.
*
“So remind me … why aren’t they married?”
Jackson chuckled, stealing Livy from Ryn. “You know I don’t speak woman.”
“Yeah, yeah … and I don’t speak Jackson, but I got you something anyway.” She pulled a box from her purse.
“You’re too late. Christmas was last week.” He sucked on Livy’s fingers.
“I felt bad that your glasses were lost in the move.” Ryn smirked.
“And by lost you mean tossed.”
“I didn’t throw away your glasses. Anyway …” She grinned.
Jackson loved that grin, those freckles, and her eyes that lit up just for him and the miracle he held in his arms. But without a doubt … he knew she threw away his glasses.
Ryn opened the box and pulled out a shiny pair of black Clark Kent glasses.
“You can’t buy someone glasses as a gift. You don’t even know my prescription.”
“Pfft … drop the act. They were vanity glasses and we both know it. I looked through them … they weren’t prescription.”
“It was minor.”
Ryn slipped his new glasses onto his face. Then she cocked her head to the side, lips twisted. “They just don’t look the same without the tape.”
“If and I mean if in the most hypothetical sense … if my glasses were vanity glasses, then why would you buy me new ones?”
Ryn shrugged then leaned in to kiss Livy’s chubby cheek.
“Unless … the glasses are for you.”
She scoffed. “Why would the glasses be for me?”
“Because you like me to…” he pressed his fingers over Livy’s ears and whispered “…fuck you wearing nothing but those glasses.”
Even after nearly a year of marriage and the birth of their first child, he could still make her blush from nose to toes.
“And we’re one week from the day.”
Ryn cleared her throat. “The day?”
“I’ve noticed the past few days you’ve wandered into the bathroom, opening and closing drawers for nothing in particular, at the exact time that I’m showering. I’ve watched you ogle me.”
“Livy’s extra diaper supplies are in our bathroom and the ogling to which you are referring is me glaring at you because you get a shower. Since you went back to work two weeks ago I’ve had three showers.”
“Sorry, my new job is demanding.”
“You’re a computer geek and you work from home.”
Jackson shook his head. “You don’t even know what it is I do, and I would offer to help more but I don’t have boobs.”
“She doesn’t eat twenty-four hours a day.”
“Yes, but she fusses easily.”
“So?”
“So … I don’t like it when she’s upset with me.”
Ryn laughed. “She’s not upset with you. She’s a baby. Babies cry.”
“Because they want boobies.”
“Oh my God … let’s go.”
As if on cue, Livy started crying. The second Ryn took her and held her to her chest she stopped crying.
Jackson held the door open with one hand, diaper bag and carrier in his other hand. Ryn narrowed her eyes as she walked past him. “Boobies,” he mouthed.
“Shut it,” she whispered.
He let the door close behind him and just stood there for a few extra seconds, watching Ryn toss a blanket over Livy on the way to the car. With a long sigh, he looked up at the bright clearing in the late afternoon sky. Beyond all certainty he knew there was a God, one who didn’t keep score. One who, in spite of all the lives Jackson had taken, still found him deserving of everything.
*
He loved her. No … he adored her. That was the only explanation for Luke leaning against the door of the GTO when Jessica arrived home.
“We’re not having sex in my GTO.”
She smirked. “And yet … here you are.”
“I just came down here to tell you that.” He stood with his back straight, arms crossed over his chest.
“Today was my last day with Dr. Harper.”
“I know.”
“Did you also know that last week my pussy doctor gave me the green light to get pregnant?”
“I know that Dr. Brannon is an OB-GYN, not a ‘pussy doctor.’”
“Says the shrink.” She curled her fingers into his front jeans pockets.
“How can we have a baby if you think marrying me is bad karma since Lake’s accident?”
Jessica knew it bothered Luke that they weren’t married yet. She wore the ring but they never set a date. Too many plans in her life had taken a turn for the worst. No plans with Luke. Just one day at a time.
“You went to medical school, yet you don’t know how to make a baby?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. I also know that my parents married before my mom had me and Jackson and their life together—although filled with moments of happiness—was tragic. Then there is the story of Tom and Felicity Jones. Now, I do believe you were at that wedding and how are they doing this many years later?”
“We are us. Do you get that?”
Jessica nodded and held up her hand to show him her ring. “One day at a time. We’ll get there. But right now I want a Livy. Jackson is terrible about sharing.”
She could see him, feel him thinking. Luke’s mind was incessant and logical, but with her his thoughts were visceral.
“Don’t overthink this, Jones. Get your ass in the back of the car.”
Luke looked around.
“Overthinking …”
He grumbled something and she was certain it was “contumacious.”
“Don’t worry, Dr. Jones…” she smacked his ass as
he crawled in the backseat “…we’ll keep it discreet in case someone drives by. I know you have a pressed argyle sock reputation to uphold in the building.”
“We have a perfectly good bed upstairs. This makes no sense.”
She slipped off her shoes and undressed from the waist down then straddled his lap. “I have my reasons.” Smashing her hungry lips to his, she unfastened his jeans, bringing him to life the second her hand stroked him. He closed his eyes and moaned into her mouth.
Once the windows fogged over and she felt him possess her whole existence, she whispered in his ear, “Tell me you love me.”
Luke nuzzled her neck, brushing his fingertips along her bare legs. “I adore you.”
“Show me.”
He showed her, twice for good measure. Luke’s head fell back, eyes closed, sweat beaded on his brow.
She giggled, nipping at his ear lobe. “This is fate you know.”
“You think?”
“I do. We may have just conceived a child in the same backseat as you were conceived.”
Luke’s eyes popped open.
Sorry, Thelma … I had to tell him.
The End
Acknowledgements
“God gave you a gift of 84,600 seconds today. Have you used one of them to say thank you?”
~ William Arthur Ward
This has been a crazy, incredible journey. I have a huge cast of real-life characters to thank.
My husband and three boys: If you didn’t bring out the crazy in me every day, I would have been too sane to write the Jack & Jill series. You are my heart—never enough stars—I adore you. <3
Mom: I write for myself, and the world now, but I write because of you. You have always been my biggest fan in life, and for that, I am yours too.
Dan (Dad) and Roger: Thank you for being you! Your laughable antics and old-man ways brought Peaceful Woods to life.
Kambra: Thank you for taking on any task I threw at you—proofreading, beta-reading, Social Media PA … and the list goes on. I can’t wait for my readers to know you better.
Jyl: As aways, thank you for being my BFF, beta-reader, sounding board, fellow squirrel chaser, and travel companion!
Sherri: Thanks for reading my words at their worst and still seeing the diamond beneath the turd.
Shauna: Our personal messages and random confessions are a highlight of my day, every day! You are a true name queen, a true fan, but more than that … you’ve become a true friend. I know we’ll be talking much ado about nothing for many years!
Monique: You are my #1 bitch. <—Can you believe I really wrote that? I know someone will steal you because you’re just that awesome. However, I will continue to work tirelessly to get you back. I can honestly say NO ONE has even come close to working so hard to get my books into the hands of readers. It’s such an honor to call you my friend.
Max: Words are my thing, but it’s hard to articulate how incredible it feels to write something that reminds you of why you do what you do. Your words, not mine. You are a true teacher and I love being your student. I should mention that you are my editor at The Polished Pen, but I don’t want aspiring writers to hire you and compete for my spot on your busy schedule.
Kiezha: Librum Artis Editorial Services is my top find of 2015! I am the luckiest author out there to have such a brilliant editing team. Thank you for proofreading Middle of Knight and Dawn of Forever.
Ella James: Oh. My. Goodness! Thank you for befriending me when I needed it the very most in my writing career. Your guidance has been invaluable.
Thank you, Sarah with Okay Creations, for the wickedly awesome covers to this series.
Paul with BB eBooks, you are a magical formatting genie. My wish is your command. Your customer service, attention to detail, and miraculously quick turnaround time is THE. BEST!
Thank you, Lisa with TRSoR Promotions and Neda with Ardent Prose, for organizing the publicity and promotions.
Thank you to every single blogger who took a chance on this series and loved it! My jaw is still stuck to the ground. You magnify my words to the world!
Finally, thank you to every reader who opened their mind and their heart and invited my characters into their own imagination. It is the ultimate privilege to write for you.
Also by Jewel E. Ann
Holding You Series
HOLDING YOU
RELEASING ME
Standalone Novels
IDLE BLOOM
ONLY TRICK
UNDENIABLY YOU
jeweleann.com
About the Author
Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.
With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business.
After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing.
When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
End of Day
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Middle of Knight
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Dawn of Forever
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Also by Jewel E. Ann
About the Author
