by JB Salsbury
“Jesus, Sadie.” He pushes hair off my face with a gentle touch. “You are so fucking beautiful. I’ve never been able to believe you’d choose me. Not then. Not now.” His eyebrows pinch together and his smile falls. “I don’t think I’ll ever believe it.”
I wiggle my left hand free and hold up my finger wrapped loosely in the tan rubber band he gave me when he proposed. The most romantic proposal in history—at least, it was to me. “Believe it. There’s no turning back.” My heart thumps harder when that smile returns and he kisses my ring finger. “Moving forward. What’s the plan?”
He presses my left hand to his bare chest and holds it there. “I’m going to get up, take a shower, and go to work. You should probably go home and pack your things. I’ll bring home dinner.”
“So the plan is I’m moving in here with you?”
“Yes.” He looks at me as if I’ve lost my good sense. “What else would we do?”
“What if I don’t want to move up here?” His home is beautiful, but I just forgave him twelve hours ago. Jumping into living together feels like more than I can handle. Besides, we’re a partnership, not a dictatorship. “I guess this is the part where I gently remind you about your possessive tendencies.”
He groans and rubs his eyes. “Yes. You’re right.” He scans the surrounding view and deck as if to take in all he’d be giving up. “I’ll move in with you.”
I try to hold back a laugh. “That’s basically the same thing. And what about your commute to work?”
“It’s doable.” He hasn’t taken his eyes off mine as he allows me full access to his thoughts and subtle reactions.
Wow. I think he really would give up his beach house to move into my tiny condo and room with Ricky and me. My heart expands further, filling with more love for Jack.
I kiss the tip of his nose. “I don’t think moving in with me is the answer. Besides, this house is incredible. I want to live here.”
“Thank, God.” His shoulders lose all their tension. “Go pack your stuff—”
“Not today, Jack.”
His jaw flexes and I can see he’s fighting the urge to argue. I appreciate his effort and kiss him to communicate that.
Our mouths fuse together before his tongue slides against my lower lip and he whispers, “Whatever you want, babe.”
Babe. I wondered if I’d ever hear him call me that again.
He nips at my mouth. “How long you gonna make me sleep in a bed without you?”
“Oh, I’ll be spending most of my time here. Just not officially right away.”
Ricky only let me move in with him after what happened at the beach. I’m sure he’ll be relieved to see me go so he can have his place to himself again.
“I’ll need space to paint.”
“Not a problem.”
“Like, a lot of space.”
“Take however much space you need. Take a bedroom.”
A bedroom? “I don’t remember seeing another bedroom during the tour.”
My face flushes at the memory of us moving from room to room, our naked bodies tangled in every imaginable position. Last night was different than any time we’d made love before, as we gave each other permission to stop holding back. Just thinking about it has my toes curling beneath the sheets.
“Tour’s not over,” he says in a low voice, his hips pressing his hardening length against my hip.
My body heats and my pulse flutters in the most intimate of places. I kiss his chest and he tilts his head back, giving me full access to his thick throat. He tastes of the salty ocean air and I inch my way to his mouth—
He presses his finger to my lips. “Hold that thought.”
I ask why with my eyes because he still holds my lips.
“I have to go to work. I’m going to be a husband, I need to take my responsibilities seriously.”
I grin at his cute teasing and twist away from him with a grumbled, “Party pooper.”
We manage to get ourselves off the cot without major injury, and he wraps me in the big sheet before wrapping the smaller blanket around his waist.
His broad back is tan and smooth and I gasp at the red marks stripping his shoulders and ribs. “Jack, I’m so sorry.”
He peeks over his shoulder at me, sees where my gaze is set, and rotates a little more to check out the damage. “Fuck, that’s hot.” He grins, his narrowed eyes filled with playful mirth. “When did you become such a hellcat in bed?”
My face feels as if it’s going to burst into flames. “Last night, I guess?”
He cups my cheeks and kisses the heated skin. “Do not be embarrassed. Wearing your marks is an honor. Knowing I’m the one who made you feel free enough to do it, well…” He nips at my lower lip with a soft growl. “I’m never going to make it to work, am I?”
I shove him playfully. “Go!”
His face lights up, and he snags my hand. “First, let me show you something.”
He checks the time as we pass the kitchen and seems satisfied that it’s only ten after six in the morning. He drags me down the hallway toward two more doors. It was dark last night, and although I assumed the house had more than one bedroom, I didn’t get a chance to see either of them.
He throws open the door to one then the other. “Take your pick.”
I turn from the two rooms to him, smiling. “Really?”
“Of course.” He nods toward the room with the big picture windows and ocean view. “I thought you might want to use this one as a studio. You can open the windows and get a nice breeze, not to mention the view.”
“Jack…” I’m speechless. No more painting two feet from my bed.
He guides me to the doorway of the other room. This one doesn’t have an ocean view, but it has windows that look out into a courtyard filled with hibiscus, lilac, and pigmy palms.
His arms come around me from behind. “Both rooms need a makeover, but I thought this one would make the perfect nursery. Maybe you could paint one of your murals on that wall?”
When I don’t respond right away, his muscles tense at my back.
“Or not.” He sounds nervous. Vulnerable. “Too much too soon?”
I turn in his arms and wrap myself around his middle. “It’s perfect.” I tell myself not to cry, yet tears form in my eyes. “I love it. I love you.”
He folds himself around me. “You had me sweating there for a minute.” He chuckles uncomfortably.
I pull back to get his eyes. “Did you buy this house for us?”
He licks his lips and shifts on his feet before he shrugs. “I bought this house for the life I wanted with you. I knew you had moved on, but I wasn’t ready to. If I couldn’t be with you, I wanted to be as close to you as I could get. I figured even if I had to do it alone, I wanted to live out the life I promised you.”
“That’s so sad.”
He shrugs. “It’s what I felt I deserved. And living here, imagining you painting in one room, our baby asleep in the other, the fantasy was better than the reality of not having you at all.”
“I’m so sorry it took me so long to come around.”
“Please, don’t apologize. No matter what the future brings, you’ll always be the best part of me. I’m done living without you.”
Jack
The sun is low in the sky and I’m anxious as fuck.
When Sadie left this morning, she said she’d come back tonight. I went to work and threw myself into the latest project, hoping staying busy would make time move faster. I felt as if I’d worked a fifteen-hour day by the time I raced out of the office at five o’clock.
I came straight home and pulled out a couple steaks to grill up for dinner. At nearly seven o’clock, Sadie is still not here. I’ve called and texted with no response, the feeling all too familiar.
With clammy hands, I strum my guitar. I’ve been playing this song since I was a kid, and the notes flow effortlessly, thoughtlessly, as I try not to lose my fucking shit, thinking I’ve lost Sadie again.
; My fingers move through the acoustic version of “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns N’ Roses on repeat. The only accompaniment is the waves beating on the rocks below. I check my phone on the table beside me. No new texts. No calls. Sickness swirls in my gut.
I’m about to drive to her place and make sure she hasn’t changed her mind when I hear the slam of a car door in my driveway. Quicker than I thought I was capable of, I’m up and through the house. I swing the door open and blow out a long, shaky breath when I see Sadie’s car—but she’s not alone. Ricky gets out of a pickup truck that has pulled in behind her.
My feet move of their own volition. Some primal need to touch her pushes me to her. She has her eyes on Ricky, but he has his eyes on me when I wrap around her from behind.
“Oh, hey.” She hugs me as best she can, embracing the arms that surround her as she falls back against my chest. “Why are you shaking?”
I nuzzle her neck, press a kiss below her ear, and whisper, “You came back.” Those three words sound so pathetic, but I can’t help how I feel.
She turns in my arms and peers up at me, her eyebrows pinched with concern. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“You didn’t answer your phone.”
“I was waiting for Ricky to get home to help me grab my easel and a couple pieces I’m working on. I lost track of time while getting organized, and my phone died.”
Ricky steps up beside us, his smile non-threatening, but it’s hard to banish the images of him and Sadie together.
I try like hell to hold back a snarl when I say, “Ricky.”
He must hear the lingering anger in my voice because he throws his head back and laughs. Sadie chuckles along with him.
Me? I’m the only one not laughing.
When he finally calms, Ricky offers his hand. “No hard feelings, bro.”
Gritting my teeth, I shake his hand and tell myself I’m doing it for Sadie.
He pulls me in for a back-smacking hug. “You can thank me later.”
“Thank you?” I pull away from him. “For what? Lying to me? Keeping me up at night imagining you with my girl?”
He turns his attention to Sadie, his brows lifted high.
She blushes. “Ricky saved all your letters and convinced me to read them.”
I watch the handsome fucker smirk proudly.
“Ricky knew what I needed before I did.”
“I really want to hate you,” I say to him. “You’ve been there for Sadie, and I hate that you know her better than I do. No man has ever known her better than me.”
He shrugs, not seeming intimidated in the least.
I step to him and hug him. His muscles go rigid. “Thanks, bro.” When I back away, I grab Sadie’s hand. “You have dinner plans?”
“No.” He motions toward his truck. “No plans beyond dropping Sadie’s art stuff off.”
“Then let’s get this stuff unloaded and throw some steaks on the grill.”
Sadie squeezes my hand and leans into my arm.
“Let’s do it,” he says, motioning to his truck.
I kiss her knuckles. “I’m so fucking happy you’re here.”
“I can’t believe you thought I wasn’t going to show.”
I square off with her, facing her head-on and dipping my chin to get her eyes. “I guess I’m still a little messed up from the last time I lost you. Eventually those fears will fade. But mark my words, Sadie girl, this is it.” I grab her hand and thumb the rubber band she still wears on her ring finger. “I will never give you a reason to run again.”
“You better not.” Her words carry a threat even though they’re said through a smile.
“Yo, Daniels!” Ricky calls from the tailgate of his truck. “You got her! Stop flirting and get your ass over here and help me!”
“Yeah, you got me,” she says and slaps my ass. “Go help him.”
I tackle her against her car and growl into her neck. “I love you.”
After a quick, hungry kiss, I leave her out of breath and flushed to help move her life into mine.
That night, with Sadie’s clothes in my closet, her toiletries in my bathroom, and her ass in my lap, we stare at the dark ocean with only the moon for light. I’ve never felt so content. My pulse moves at a steady pace, oxygen flowing in and out of my lungs with purpose but without a thought, and my life is back on track.
The best part of me has returned.
Epilogue
Seven Months Later
Jack
Our relationship hasn’t been easy since Sadie officially moved in. We’ve had to work through all the ways I’ve hurt her in the past, but she never makes me grovel for long. And after every roadblock we overcome, we’re left closer than before.
There have been long nights when I’ve had to wake her from a nightmare and hold her as she shudders and catches her breath. She still refuses to go to the beach at night.
I couldn’t stand the thought of Fabian roaming free, so I hired an investigator and a lawyer to do a little digging, looking for other victims who might be willing to come forward. If that dickhead so much as coughs on a woman without her consent, we’ll pounce on a class action lawsuit. In time, I tell her, we’ll nail that fucker to the wall and make the charges stick.
Until then, we live our life together and suck every ounce of joy from it.
“Stop touching my meat, asshole!” Jonah elbows my dad away from the roast they’re prepping for our new and improved oven.
Having a house full of family is part of that joy. Mostly.
My dad shoulder bumps Jonah back. “You wish I’d touch your meat, you dirty fuck.”
These two behemoths make our kitchen look dollhouse-sized.
“Dad, don’t be so stingy.” Sadie’s at the cutting board, putting together a salad, when she flashes me a playful smirk. “If Uncle Blake wants to help you with your meat, let him.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.” The smile my dad aims at Sadie dissolves when he turns back toward Jonah. “Did you hear that, you shithead?”
“Suck it, Daniels.” Jonah opens the oven.
“Don’t put it in! Not yet!”
“That’s what she said!” Sadie chimes from her spot across the shrinking kitchen.
My dad chuckles, and Jonah scowls at his daughter.
“Uh oh, he’s going for it,” she says through her laughter. “He’s sliding it in!”
Jonah closes the oven door and turns on her. “I’m not sure I like the way these Daniels men are rubbing off on you.”
I raise my hand. “Guilty. Rubbing off on Sadie is one of my favorite things to do.”
My dad and Sadie respond in unison.
“Jack!”
“Oh shit…”
Jonah slowly turns his glare on me. “Future son-in-law or not, I’m not afraid to make you disappear.”
“You wouldn’t dare. Not on Christmas Eve.” I’m laughing while preparing another round of margaritas for my mom and Raven, who are enjoying the view from the deck.
“Yeah, Vajonah.” My dad snags some sliced cucumber off Sadie’s cutting board. “It’s Christmas Eve. You should’ve let me put my special seasoning on that roast.”
“I’ve seen what your special seasoning is capable of.” Jonah stares pointedly at me. “I want none of that near my food.”
My dad freezes. “Don’t talk shit about my seasoning.”
“Thanks, Dad. Nice to see you’re defending your seasoning and not your son.” I grab the drinks.
Sadie leans over to give me a kiss and whispers, “I love you and your seasoning.”
I fucking adore this woman.
I kiss her back then carry margaritas and beers through the living room, where Carey is flopped on our couch, his legs hanging off one end, his phone pressed to his face. “Why don’t you put the phone down and hang with your family?”
He smirks at me. “No can do, brosky.” He flips his phone around and flashes me a picture of a half-naked woman who seems ten years older than his eigh
teen years. “Got a female interested in meeting up tonight.”
“Where’d you meet a woman? You’ve been here for a day.”
He hefts his big body—all long legs and wide shoulders—off the couch. He shrugs. “She works by the pool at our hotel.”
“Be careful or your dick will fall off before you hit twenty-one.” I slide the glass door open with my foot.
“He’s right, son,” Jonah calls from the kitchen. “Ask Blake. He lost his to a nasty case of crabs. Ate his shit right off.”
My dad laughs. “You lying prick—”
I slide the door closed before I have to hear those two go back and forth for another round. A person on the outside would never know they like each other by the way they talk to one another.
Raven and my mom are mid-conversation when I set their drinks on the patio table.
“Thank you, honey,” my mom says and turns back to Raven. “Summer would be the perfect time of year to get married.”
“Or winter in Vegas,” Raven says.
Sadie steps outside, and I’m struck for the billionth time by her beauty. Her long hair in a loose braid that stands out against her bright red sweater—and those jeans. Good God, I’ve been fighting a hard-on all afternoon from staring at her ass in that denim. But her beauty comes second only to her heart. I’m the luckiest man on earth to call her mine.
She steps up next to me. “They’re at it again?”
I snag my beer. “Non-stop since they got here.”
Sadie squeezes my hand. “Let them have their fun.”
“Winter as in next year?” My mom pouts. “That’s so far away.”
I lean close to Sadie’s ear. With her hair pulled back, it’s easy to get to the bare skin of her neck. I kiss her there because I can’t resist. “You know, if you wanted to release all wedding plans to our moms, they could plan it and all we’d have to do is show up at the right time and place.”
She grins. “Wouldn’t that be nice? I don’t know if it’s because of all the years I spent in catering or what, but I have no desire to plan a wedding.”
