by M. C. Cerny
“No. I want your mother to like me.” Jacob stated.
“Silly man. If I love you, she’ll love you.” Katie paused and chewed on her thumb nail, thinking. Jacob snorted as she spoke again clarifying. “Well, maybe not right away love you… but I’m sure she’ll come around.” Katie smiled and Jacob eased his anxious face, pulling her thumb from between her lips to kiss it.
“I also want to stop working for Eli before we start a family.”
“But you’ll miss the team.”
“Not in that way, I won’t. The company needs someone around full-time, and I can’t count on Eli to not send me someplace like Siberia, even as a strictly part-time thing. Trying to manage both this past year was insanity for me. I don’t want to have to leave you again, ever.”
“Jacob, I support you in whatever you decide, but I don’t think leaving the work you do with your brother is a snap decision. Think about it, please, before you decide.”
“If I quit, I’ll have more free time to help you plan the wedding,” Jacob cajoled Katie, who sighed deeply.
“I don’t want to have to wait that long planning for months to get married. All those details will give me a headache. Besides, you haven’t asked me anything yet. Just who was going to marry me, Mr. Presumptuous?” Katie pouted.
“How remiss of me, my love.” Jacob got out of the bed and pulled Katie up. Standing in front of the large bedroom windows, he pulled the drapes back so that they could see the moon reflecting on the fields and bright stars twinkling in the night sky. He kissed her gently before kneeling in front of her. As he made his way down, he stopped at her abdomen. He splayed hands around her slender waist and reverently kissed her belly. She ran her fingers through his hair, her nails raking his scalp.
“Will you, Katherine Marguerite Wilson, be my wife, my lover, and the mother of our many, many children?” Jacob looked up into her eyes and saw the tears.
“Only if you promise to stop stalking me, to love me, and to not make me cook.” She cupped his face and kissed him deeply.
“Can I give you a big wedding for the world to see?”
“Those take forever to plan,” Katie said in a whining voice.
“No more than a year, I promise.” Jacob crossed his fingers over his heart.
“Only if I get to keep my job.”
“Fine, but I want you to move in with me when we get back to the city. I’ll have them pack your apartment and move it in before we get back.”
“You drive such a hard bargain, Mr. Reed.” Katie rolled her eyes.
“Do you concede, woman?” Jacob growled, nipping at her belly.
“Only on this round.” Katie smiled and kissed his growling mouth. He picked her up and brought her back to bed, laughing. Mrs. Reed would prove to be a real challenge, but one well worth the wait.
WHEN I FIRST STARTED THIS project, oh so many years ago… I never envisioned I would actually put it out there for others to read. It was just a little word document I visited between my 9-5 job projects to keep my sanity while dreaming about becoming the next Tom Clancy thriller. Oddly enough, when you give your characters life they sometimes take it upon themselves to take your writing in a completely different direction. So to Tom Clancy… many thanks… turns out I’m more of a romance girl after all. I’m honestly both excited and nauseated to see where this all ends up. If writing this was an adventure, I have found publishing is like getting naked in front of a room full of people and then asking them to describe your most unflattering body part. Weird but cool, right?
I have so many people to thank… awed by their unwavering support. My family, who has often put up with my “half-attention” as some scene materialized in my brain during dinner or some crazy unrelated question was asked, for which you told me to “Wikipedia that shit”. My friends, runners and non-runners… you are simply awesome, being in my “circle of trust” and hey, who else would understand my demented sense of humor?… CS, DP, MM, TJ, KM, VW, TS, LG, RB, HC, KH, KK, MP, GL… I’m just going to say I’m probably a jerk right now forgetting some of you! XOXO
For KK, my very first beta reader, you will never know how much your kind words have kept me going. Your honest feedback and thoughts are appreciated.
My fabulous editor, Kim. Thank you oodles for helping me pull this baby together and make it something special. I look forward to many more books with you on board.
Ari, you are an incredible cover artist. You captured Katie and Jacob’s story beautifully and practically jumped inside my head to make it happen. You are a genius and a wizard!
If you enjoyed reading this book and want to see more in this series, please take a moment and leave a review. You support and constructive criticism keeps me inspired to be a better writer and storyteller. I want to thank you for your support.
For information about M.C. Cerny visit,
https://www.facebook.com/MartaWritesBooks
dpgroup.org
Table of Contents
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
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
dpgroup.org
Table of Contents
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
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
