“I get to come back to Port Grandlin. Maybe long term.” Our conversation was cut short when my phone rang from the floor by the bedroom doorway, where my pants had ended up. “I should get that, just in case.” I scrambled up to retrieve my phone and a tight knot gripped my chest. “It’s Doug.”
Jake sat up in bed, furrowing his brow and frowning anxiously.
I put the call on speakerphone. “Hey, Doug. You’re on speaker, just so you know. What’s going on?”
“I’ve been in meetings all day aboutHeartland Overhaul, that’s what’s going on. I wanted to call and update you. Do you have a minute?”
I raised my eyebrows and glanced at Jake, whose eyes had widened. “Yeah, sure. Of course.”
“Good. Listen, the launch numbers are great. Better than expected. The board execs were really impressed. Between that and your excellent production values—you really chose the right team, by the way—they’ve given the green light to a series. You’re going to spread the work over ten episodes for each location. You’ve been approved for five more jobs sites. How does that sound?”
My heart was soaring, adrenaline pumping through me. I glanced up at Jake again, whose lower lip was pinned between his teeth. “That sounds great. Yes, I’m definitely on board, one hundred percent.” A vibrant smile broke on Jake’s face, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
“Great. Tell your team. We’ll talk logistics early next week.”
“Sure thing, boss.” We ended the call and Jake let out a whoop of joy, pumping his fist in celebration. I laughed, tension draining out of me. “Well, that was perfect timing, huh?” I climbed back into bed and Jake pulled me into his lap for a celebratory kiss.
“Move in with me,” Jake murmured when we parted.
My eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”
He nodded and pulled me closer. “Yeah. Seriously.”
“Okay.” I laughed again, joy rushing through me.
Jake kissed me again, deeply, plundering my mouth with his tongue, and as he did, his cock thickened between us, until he was pressing a very obvious erection against my pelvis. I didn’t mind—in fact, my cock wasn’t far behind. When we parted, he dropped his voice to a low, husky whisper, his broad hands tightening on my back. “Now, how should we celebrate?” He rocked his hips against me again.
“I think we can find a way,” I murmured before sliding my hand to the back of his neck to hold him in for a blistering kiss. And sure enough, we did find a way to celebrate, without even leaving the bed.
Epilogue - Nine Months Later
Jake
Max had been in work meetings all day, locked away in the guest bedroom we’d turned into an office for him while production of the series was ongoing. Filming on the final episode had wrapped up the previous week, and since then, my stomach had been in knots, worrying that our happily ever after was rapidly coming to its end. I’d spent the day working at various job sites, but the occasional text from Max let me know he hadn’t had more than a quick bathroom break all day.
I pushed our front door open, arms weighed down with grocery bags, and nudged it closed behind me. No matter what the outcome of the meetings happened to be, I was prepared to cook Max’s favorite meal—a big platter of oven-baked nachos—either in celebration or sorrow.
“Max? I’m home.”
There was a pause before he answered. “Five minutes.”
I nodded to myself and set the bags in the kitchen before busying myself making dinner. I also prepped the blender with Max’s favorite margarita ingredients, just in case, and pulleda beer out of the fridge for myself. While I waited, I chopped veggies for the nachos and cooked ground beef in a pan. More than five minutes passed—a lot more—and I tried to tell myself it meant nothing. Everything would turn out fine. Probably. And if it didn’t, we’d face it together. I hoped.
Finally, the office door opened, spilling light into the hallway, and Max emerged. “Babe?”
“In the kitchen.” I spread lettuce, tomatoes, and onions on the chips for our nachos.
When Max entered the kitchen, his cheeks were pink and his dirty blond hair was tousled as if he’d been running his fingers through it relentlessly. “Well, I’ve got something to tell you.”
“Yeah?”
“I quit my job.”
I did a double take at him. “Wait. Why? What happened?”
Max leaned against the kitchen island, a piece we’d installed together a month after he’d moved in. “Doug said there weren’t enough opportunities here. He wanted to call me back to New York. The whole production team, really.”
I frowned deeply. “So you quit.”
