Jay lets out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Freya gave it to me the last time I saw her, just as we were leaving. She said it was for when I asked you to marry me.”

  I’m blinking at him. Well. That’s really sweet of my niece, and I can totally picture her telling him that in absolute seriousness.

  “And you kept it?” I ask, eyeing the toy ring with a smile. Because really, this is pretty adorable all around.

  “Well…” is all he says, making a face.

  Yeah, okay. I get it. Pursing my lips, I ask, “You just put it in your bag and forgot about it, didn’t you?”

  “Yup.” He has the grace to look a tad embarrassed now. While still smirking.

  I shake my head and pluck the ring out of his hand, examining it more closely. “It’s way too small.”

  Jay retrieves the toy. The ring is not a perfect circle, the bottom ends having a gap between them, and pinching it between both his thumbs and forefingers, he pulls the ends apart, widening it.

  “There.” He holds it back out to me.

  “Are you putting it on my finger?” I raise my eyebrows and offer my outstretched hand to him.

  He hesitates, all traces of playfulness gone from his gaze. “Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

  I make my lips twitch in a quick smile. “Do you think I should?”

  “I definitely think you should,” he says, nodding solemnly.

  “If I say yes, does that mean I’m agreeing to go work at Relief International with you? Because I need to think about that some more.”

  “No,” Jay says emphatically. “It doesn’t mean that. You take the time you need to decide if you want to go.”

  I’m having a hard time catching my breath. Jay is mine. He’s going to stay with me, no matter what. And there’s not a part of me, not even a tiny fraction, that has doubts about what to tell him right now. Because nothing has ever felt more right than the thought of spending the rest of my life with this man.

  Still, the temptation to mess with him is too strong. So I frown with mock concern and ask, “Would you object if I hyphenated my last name like Paige did?”

  Sighing, he lets his hand that’s still holding the ring fall to the bed. “You can do whatever you want as long as you let me censor your iTunes playlist on a regular basis. How about that?”

  I wrinkle my nose at him. “That’s kind of a deal breaker, Jay.”

  Grunting with annoyance, he tosses the ring aside and climbs onto all fours on the bed, putting on his best dark and menacing expression as he advances on me. Laughter gurgles out of me as I flop over and scramble to get away, but he grabs my ankle and pulls me back.

  Rolling over on my back again, I kick halfheartedly at the restraint, giggles still bubbling up from my chest. And when he moves to cover my body with his, I jerk my hands up to block him, but he grabs them and pins them to the bed on either side of my head.

  I suck in a sharp breath as I take in the expression on his face. He’s got that look, like he’s starving and I’m the first scrap of food he’s seen in days.

  I close my eyes and arch up into him as his mouth finds my throat, lightly biting a trail up to my ear. My lungs feel overfull with air, and as his teeth graze my earlobe, a high-pitched moan escapes me.

  “Yes or no?” he says, his breath fanning hotly on my ear.

  I bend my neck as far as it can stretch, nuzzling my face into his hair.

  “Yes,” I whisper. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Jay.”

  “And continue to be my best friend?” He pushes himself up, lets go of my wrist to drag his thumb down the side of my face and across my bottom lip.

  “With lots of benefits,” I agree, the corners of my mouth tugging up in a smile.

  His eyes intense and serious, his voice quiet, he states more than asks, “Forever.”

  With a nod and burning eyes, I swallow down the knot in my throat and say, “And always.”

  Epilogue

  Mia

  I’m alive. I’m awake. That’s all I know.

  It’s as if my head is filled with bricks. I can hear the mechanical whirr and swoosh of air conditioning blasting on high, and the sheets wrapped around me feel starched and cool.

  It takes so much effort to pry my eyelids apart that I almost surrender to the urge to go back to sleep. I’m blinking like I have sand in my eyes, squinting at the murky and unfamiliar surroundings, my gaze drawn to the sliver of light peeping in through the gap in the blackout curtains.

  I’m in a hotel room.

  And I’m not alone.

  I hear the movement behind me before I sense it, the rustling of sheets as a body shifts on the bed, and then comes a sleepy puff of breath.

  Jay?

  A jolt shoots through me, and any last hint of grogginess disappears as I roll over.

  He’s veiled by shadows, but it’s unmistakably him, sprawled on his stomach next to me. His dark hair is tousled, his eyes are closed, and his stubble-darkened face looks still and serene. The white sheet covers him only to the waist, and it takes all my willpower not to reach out and touch the muscular expanse of his arm, his shoulder, his back.

  He’s mine now. For real, with no uncertainty or ambiguity. I love him so much that it feels like it must be a tangible thing—a visible glow or a distinct aroma or an audible hum, the perceivable signs of perfect happiness.

  Yesterday seems surreal, a dizzying emotional rollercoaster that started with Grandma’s funeral and ended with getting Jay back. Going from one extreme to the other—crushing grief to absolute bliss—has left me so exhausted I’m pretty sure I could sleep for days.

  What time is it? I twist around to grab my phone off the nightstand and find that it’s barely eight o’clock.

  And I have a message from Paige, sent just after midnight, way past the the time I’d muted my phone and lost awareness of anything or anyone beyond this room. All that existed was me and Jay—my fiancé—and our naked bodies on this bed, tangled between these sheets, making up for the past three months apart and taking our sweet and sweaty time about it.

  My toes curl at the memory.

  Well? my sister texted late last night, probably thinking she’d been patient long enough. How did it go?

  Biting my lip, I send her a reply I know she’ll find maddening: a grinning and blushing emoji.

  By now she probably knows I didn’t come back last night, so I’m sure she can fill in the blanks.

  Beside me Jay stirs, and I turn toward him as he opens his eyes. It’s hard in this light to see his expression, but from the way he blinks at me, I’m guessing he’s suffering the same disorientation I did when I woke up just a few minutes ago.

  Smiling, I reach out and put my hand on his shoulder, brushing his cool skin while saying in a near whisper, “Hey, you.”

  “Hey,” is his slightly raspy reply, and the deep baritone of his voice drapes itself over me like a warm blanket.

  Rolling off his stomach and onto his side, he catches my hand as it falls off his shoulder. Then he’s pressing his palm against mine and weaving our fingers together.

  “Sleep well?” he asks, his thumb caressing mine.

  “Like a rock.” I squeeze his hand tighter, loving the strength in his grip and how it wraps mine completely. “I feel like it’s the first time I’ve slept in months.”

  I can see his lips quivering, and his voice turns husky and teasing as he says, “You’re welcome.”

  I’m welcome?

  Yeah, right. I let out a scoff even as heat flickers in my core at the memories of all the ways he apparently thinks he tired me out yesterday.

  I’m about to snap out a comeback when he cuts me short by pulling me into his arms. And then we’re lying there in the semi-dark, skin on skin, our limbs entwined.

  “This is definitely the best way I’ve ever woken up,” he murmurs next to my ear.

  My nose buried against his neck, I close my eyes and inhale the smell of him.

  My Jay.

  “Bet an art lesson would be better,” I say playfully as I graze his earlobe with my teeth.

  I can feel his spine straightening, can hear his breath rushing out. Digging his fingers into my hair, he inches his head back so that we’re nose to nose.

  “Still wouldn’t beat seeing your beautiful face smiling at me,” is his soft reply.

  A warm and melty sensation floods my chest, but I can’t help releasing a snort-laugh. “Liar.”

  “Only a little bit,” he says with a grin before capturing my lips.

  The kiss is sweet and soft and lingering—and close-mouthed, because...well, morning breath. Yuck.

  He’s right. This is the best way to wake up.

  Our lips stay locked for what feels like an eternity that passes in a split second, and when he lets me go to vault out of bed and head to the bathroom, my heart is still singing, my head as light and airy as a balloon.

  Yesterday morning seems like such a long time ago, only a distant memory of waking up to get ready for a funeral and thinking I’d lost both my grandma and Jay forever.

  However much he was joking about taking credit for helping me sleep so well last night, there’s probably some truth to it. And that’s not because of how many times he made me come, even though I’m feeling flushed as I realize at some point I totally lost count.

  No, it’s because in between those rounds of make-up sex, we talked. And talked, and then talked some more.

  Turns out when you haven’t spoken to your best friend for months, there’s a lot to catch up on. I expected it to be hard to describe to him what it’s been like, the long good-bye to Grandma and trying to make the most of my remaining time with her.

  But I was wrong. With him, I finally felt like I could get everything off my chest, knew that he would just listen and that I didn't need to worry about upsetting him the way I have with my family.

  It was so freeing to let it all out. While he held me, I could let the tears flow. Could allow myself to mourn without fearing it would drown me.

  Then Jay told me about his parents and his childhood and about the day his dad was executed. He seemed so much calmer about it than that day at the beach on our drive home—somber, yes, but not nearly as angry.

  This time I was able to just listen and empathize without feeling any resentment about how long he kept it all a secret from me. Because I get it now, why he did. But I still asked him not to hide shit from me anymore, and he agreed.

  Well, he promised to try, anyway.

  Baby steps.

  My phone buzzes, and I pick it up and see another message from Paige. God, you're so annoying, it says.

  I laugh to myself and start typing a response, but another text arrives before I get very far: Come home as soon as you can, please. Grandma’s attorney will be here at 11 to go over the will.

  Oh, right. I knew that. And just like that, my euphoria dissipates, my stomach twisting into a knot. I send a quick reply saying I'll be there, and then Jay comes back out of the bathroom.

  He walks around to my side of the bed to grab his own phone off the nightstand. I watch him as he starts tapping on the screen, standing there in his boxer briefs, which are still hot as hell.

  “When’s your flight?” I ask.

  “Three-ish,” he says absently, frowning at his phone. Then he puts the device back down before sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “I’m working tonight,” he says. “How long are you staying?”

  “Until Sunday.” Which means I'll be spending the next two days helping my parents get started on cleaning out Grandma’s house and packing up her stuff. A lump forms in my throat. I swallow it down, but it's not easy.

  He starts stroking my hip on top of the sheet. “Need a ride home from the airport?”

  “Sure, but I’m flying into LAX.”

  I’m warning him out of politeness. Only douchebags ask a person they like to brave that kind of traffic.

  Jay grins at me. “That just shows how much I love you, then, doesn’t it?”

  Rolling my eyes, I counter with, “Still not as much as I love you.”

  “Prove it,” he says, squeezing my hip lightly.

  I squint at him as I try to figure out how to reply in kind. “You can censor my iTunes playlist if you want to. It’s not a deal breaker.”

  At his snort, a snicker escapes me. My amusement drains almost right away, though, and I put my hand on top of where his is resting on my hip, saying emphatically, “There is no deal breaker.”

  He’s quiet for a drawn-out moment, regarding me solemnly.

  “Keep your playlist, baby.” He bends down and presses a light kiss against my lips before saying, “From now on, I’m all about making you happy.”

  “Yeah?” I say breathlessly, my heart doing flips in my chest.

  “One hundred percent,” he reassures me.

  I cup his cheek and ask, “You have a rental car, right?”

  “Uh-huh.” He slides his mouth down to my neck, and a shudder skips down my spine.

  “Take me back to my parents’ house?” I toss the question out quickly, before he makes me forget how to speak.

  Pushing himself up to stare down at me, he hesitates before asking, “Do I have to go inside?”

  “Yes,” I reply, reaching up to stroke his chest. “Please.”

  After the way my family ganged up on me yesterday, I’d rather not face them alone. If I show up by myself, they’ll want to know what happened. But if Jay’s with me, hopefully they’ll keep their nosy questions to themselves.

  Jay sits up straight again, and his voice turns glum. “Is your dad going to be there?”

  I bite the inside of my cheek. “He’ll be nice. He said he was going to apologize to you.”

  “That’s kind of what I’m afraid of,” he says with a grunt. “It’ll be so awkward. I might prefer it when he’s being an asshole.”

  Oh, for Pete’s sake. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. What am I getting myself into here? I’m imagining having to continue playing mediator between these two men for the foreseeable future, and my life flashes before my eyes.

  “You’ll live,” I tell Jay impatiently. “Might as well make peace with him sooner rather than later. He’s going to be your father-in-law.”

  While he chews on that in silence, I replay my last sentence in my head. It sounds weird and crazy and wonderful, and I suddenly couldn’t care less that the two of them are going to drive me nuts.

  Jay heaves a sigh. “I’m going to need a reminder of why that’s worth it.”

  I kick aside the sheet, curl my leg around him, and slide my foot down to his crotch. Under the rubbing pressure of my heel, I can feel him hardening, and I flash him a grin as I say, “Pretty sure I can manage that.”

  “Jesus, Mia,” he groans out.

  And then he climbs back into bed, hovering above me with dark desire glittering in his eyes, a look that feels like a reflection of the hunger that winds and coils itself through me, tightening every muscle in my body.

  Guess my phone’s going to stay muted a little while longer.

  Jay

  Foreboding gnaws at me as I park my rental car in the Waters’ driveway and leave the engine running while I stare at their large, fancy house.

  It’s stronger than ever, the sense that I don't belong here. Inserting myself into this family’s midst as Mia’s friend is one thing. Showing up like this, with her wearing the same clothes as yesterday, and stepping through those doors to tell them she's mine and I'm one of them now seems...presumptuous. Ridiculous. Maybe even a little bit insane.

  I blow out a sigh as I turn off the ignition, and I hear Mia unsnapping her seat belt, and then I feel her head against my arm and her fingertips stroking the back of my neck, sending tingles down my spine.

  “Hey,” she says in that half-teasing, half-serious tone of hers. “Don't worry. I won't let anything bad happen to you.”

  Twisting my head toward her, I find her watching me with amusement tugging at her luscious lips and twinkling in her beautiful green eyes.

  Did I really ask her to spend the rest of her life with me? And did she really say yes?

  It’s not that my memories of last night are fuzzy; it’s that all of it seems too good to be true. Even with the apprehension that’s trying to choke me right now, it just takes one look at her to know that everything about keeping Mia forever is right and perfect and that I’m never going to regret it.

  “You realize,” I tell her lightly, “the last time I talked to your dad I came really close to punching him in the face, right?”

  With a burst of laughter, she says, “Happens to me all the time.”

  Her hand on the back of my head, she pulls me down and presses a soft kiss against my lips.

  Which reminds me that less than an hour ago I was inside her. With her on top, giving me a full and staggering view of her toned and curvy naked body as she straddled me, rode me, fucked me with so much heat and urgency I almost lost my mind.

  She shoots me a playful smile as she pulls away and leaves the car. Before I join her, I take a few moments to close my eyes, brace myself for what's ahead, and wipe anything involving Mia and sex from my thoughts. Which is easier said than done, because apparently there's no end to how much I can lust after her.

  All right. Time to get this over with. I get out of the car, and then we walk up to the house while Mia digs around for her keys.

  “You're wearing the ring,” I say as she unlocks the front door. It hits me that we haven't discussed what or how much we’re telling her family right now, but apparently she's not planning on keeping anything a secret.

  “Yeah,” she replies, glancing at me before dropping her keys back in her purse. “Everyone will love the story of how Freya gave it to you.”

  Sure, but the ring was pretty much just a joke. She gets that and is wearing it, anyway. I don't know that her parents will think it's funny, though. Especially Frank.

  I had no idea I’d even see her last night—though I guess I had a faint glimmer of hope after telling Paige my hotel room number—and I definitely hadn't planned on asking her to marry me.

 

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