Her jaw dropped, and her lips formed a perfect O, but no words followed. God, I hoped that was a good sign.
“You barreled into my life, and shook me to my core, Jaci. How could I trust my feelings for you when I’d always believed I was broken? And yet, I couldn’t stop thinking of you every minute of the day. And then every time we were together, like the night your car died, or on the back deck in the middle of the night? My inner voice screamed at me to stop questioning myself and just allow our connection to grow. To accept that there are things in life that don’t have to make sense or follow a prescribed schedule.”
Heart in my throat, I made the final leap. “I’ve fallen fast and hard for you, Jaci Cain. I love you. And I haven’t been able to eat, sleep for days. I can’t leave without letting you know.”
“Who are you right now, and what have you done with Major Lucas?” Jaci croaked.
“He’s officially retired and now just Rafe. Come with me? You and Simon. The three of us—well, four counting Duchess—we can start something grand together.”
The sound of pounding feet reached us seconds before Simon burst into the front room, a huge smile on his face. “You didn’t leave?” Wiping the remnants of sleep from his eyes, his lop-sided smile filled his face. “Hey, you’re hugging my mom.”
“Yeah, buddy. How do you feel about that?” Jaci buried her head against my shoulder. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to hide her tears or what until I heard her sigh and felt her arms winding around my waist, drawing us closer.
Suddenly, Simon’s opinion about his mother and me being together became just as important as Jaci’s answer to the question still hanging in the air. I’d never been so damn nervous in my life.
“Well, I guess…yeah, it’s okay.” Simon scratched his head. “Wait, does that mean you like each other? Like more than just friends.”
“Well, that’s why I’m here instead of on my way to Idaho. I just told your mom that I think of her as more than a friend, but I’m still waiting for her to tell me how she feels about me.”
Simon walked over to us, stopping next to his mom. His expression was a bit confused until something seemed to dawn on him and his eyes went wide. “Are you guys gonna get married? Whoa, does that mean Duchess would be my dog too, huh?” He started hopping from one foot to the other. “Mom, tell him. Please, I wanna know too because this is turning into the most awesomest day ever!”
Jaci lifted her head, tears now steadily falling onto her lovely face. “Yeah, Mom, make it the most awesomest day ever. Please?” I mimicked, putting all my emotion behind the words. Simon’s blessing put me one step closer to getting everything I never thought I wanted but now couldn’t see myself living without, Jaci and her son.
“You going to keep us in suspense or are you going to meet our demands?” I teased.
“I’ll make it even better. Today will be thebestest-most-awesomest day ever because I love you too, Rafe. And Simon, if you really want this too, it means not only will you get to live with Duchess, but it means moving again.” His enthusiastic whoops and hollering were answer enough.
Jaci turned her attention back to me. “Right? You’re asking us to move with you to Cedar Ridge?”
“I’m not looking for a long-distance relationship if that’s what you mean. I’m all in, Jaci. But there’s still one thing I need to hear before any other decisions are made. Actually, it's something I want to hear again. What you said to me the other night when we were, uh…together.” Simon was still busy celebrating to understand what I was really referring to.
Jaci in my bed, screaming my name and then saying she loved me. That’s all I wanted to hear now. Three little words.
She was blushing, her tears had stopped, a twinkle now in her eyes. Then, lifting onto her toes, she kissed me. Kissed me until Simon started making gagging sounds. Laughter ended our kiss, but I knew there’d be plenty of time for more. Later, without a certain eight-year-old hanging around.
“I love you, Rafe.”
EPILOGUE
NINE MONTHS LATER, CEDAR RIDGE, IDAHO
JACI
He thought he was going to get the last word in, but he’d never dealt with a pregnant woman at the end of her third trimester with a nesting instinct the size of the Grand Canyon.
“I will finish this custom order, and I will wash the bedding for our daughter’s crib, and I’ll do it on my head if I have to. Now, please. Go. Play with Archer and the boys. Don’t you have a meeting scheduled today?”
I was looking forward to some alone time today and had just a few more hours before Simon came home from school. I had a list of things to get done before this little miss made her debut. Why couldn’t men understand that? But luckily for me, my man made up for it in many delightful, inventive ways. Like last night, when he showed me that my nonexistent waist and added pounds did nothing to curtail his need to be inside of me.
Just thinking about how he’d carefully arranged my legs and placed a pillow under my hips to ease my discomfort while also amplifying my body’s need for him, my nipples puckered and anaftershock tugged low in my belly. It had been just what we both needed last night.
The stress of his new job, although he loved it, and the impending birth of our little girl, which we were both excited for, had us needing the release. In fact, maybe I had some time and he could be late to his meeting.
“Yeah,about that. Archer’s on his way over. He says he has a gift for the baby and wanted us to have it before she’s born.” Rafe had the good sense to back up as he made his announcement.
I mean, I liked Archer, and his brothers. But the man had no personal life. He spent more time here than at his own home. Often when they were in Rafe’s office discussing new ideas for training, I’d catch snippets of conversation that interestingly included Kelee Johansson’s name, who’d been our realtor.
There was definite history between them, and I’d wondered why he’d chosen her brokerage firm for his adjacent affordable housing project if they didn’t get along. I thought she was a lovely person, but she seemed to bring him nothing but aggravation. Then, there was every time I suggested having a group dinner, she’d beg off.
