I gave him a playful slap in the chest and he acted offended. “You hit me!”
It was my turn to smirk. “I can hit a lot harder than that.”
“Don’t tempt me with a good time,” he said with a wicked grin, wrestling me to him again.
A quiet settled between us, and I basked in Jack’s glow, his warm skin and his soft breath against the top of my head. “So, if we’re not getting married tomorrow, when?”
I twisted my lips to think. “Are you here the day after Thanksgiving?”
He cocked his head. “Here, no game.”
“It would be appropriate for two ex-emo kids to get married on Black Friday,” I pointed out.
“Ooooh, I like that,” Jack said, then gasped. “Should we get tats?”
I flinched. “Maybe let’s start with getting married and make sure we don’t kill each other.”
“Fair. But that means you can come with me to Thanksgiving,” he said. It seemed important to him since he’dbrought it up more than once. It was cute that he cared, and I wasn’t about to shut him down again. I was going to be joining his life. May as well start right away. That was only four days away.
I stuck out my pinky. “Black Friday,” I said.
He linked his pinky with mine. “Black Friday.”
We each kissed our thumbs to seal the deal, and I yawned. “Let’s get some sleep, sweetheart.”
I grinned. “I like when you call me that.”
“I like calling you that,” he said, looking over my face. His mouth quirked up, and he whispered, “One more.”
“One more wha—” The questions was stolen from my lips when Jack leaned in to kiss me again. He might have just meant it to be a sweet goodnight kiss, but I’d almost died in the last few days. I kissed him back like I meant it. I let his warm skin radiate into mine. I soaked up the feeling of our lips sliding together, his beard against my chin, his arms wrapping me up.
Then, I fell asleep in my future fuck buddy husband’s arms.
TWENTY-EIGHT
JACK
NOVEMBER
I woke up warm.
Mara O’Connell was tucked into my side, her head on my shoulder. Somehow she was even dainty in sleep, her breath only escaping her nose in tiny puffs against my pec. Her skin was so velvet-soft against mine.
The first time waking up with Mara in my bed.
The whirlwind of the last few weeks swept over me.
What the fuck was I doing? My mouth felt dry as I reflected on everything. How was this any different from Sydney? I mean, Mara seemed like a better person than Sydney, by a lot. And I was the one who asked her to be here, not her chasing after me. Was I that desperate for someone to live life with?
Was I out of my mind? This was Harper’s best friend’s mom, a woman I met because our kids mutually got in trouble at school.
But I couldn’t stay away from her. She had some false perception that I was some good guy. I’d let her believe it only because I knew I could give her what she needed.
Well, anything but love.
This was an arrangement. Nothing more.
Otherwise, why the hell would she be with me? We could each give something to the relationship. It was a transaction.
