“I love you.” I had more words in mind but those three were the most important. Those three meant we had a chance to build a life together.
“I love you, too,” he said, kissing me one more time before turning his attention to the dog trying to crawl between us. “Brick, would you knock it off. Sit down.” He pitched the command low, and the dog reluctantly complied, his butt barely skimming the ground. “I’m sorry.” He pushed the hair out of his eyes and blew out a frustrated breath while the dog vibrated at our feet. “He’s a work in progress.”
“He’s in good company; so am I.” I let go of Jake just long enough to drop to my knees beside the dog and give in to exuberant puppy kisses.
If he was always going to be this excited to see me, I’d find a way to make my peace with dog hair and anything else heneeded. It could give me insight into how to design functional spaces for pet parents.
“Come on.” I took Jake’s hand and got to my feet. “I want to show you something.” I flipped the lock closed and tugged his hand, leading him and the dog toward the back of the studio and the door to my apartment.
“Are you sure?” Jake glanced from me to the dog at his feet. “He can be a lot.”
“One more thing we have in common.” I leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, fighting the urge—for now—to melt into his arms when I got close to him.
I led them through the studio and up the narrow set of stairs to my apartment. The dog stayed glued to Jake’s thigh, but I could tell everything about the new space made him nervous. He relaxed slightly when I opened the door at the top of the stairs, and we stepped into the living area.
“This is beautiful.” Jake glanced around, taking in the details of the space with his laser focus. “It looks like you if you were a room. That doesn’t make any sense, does it? I only meant it’s lovely too.”
“It makes perfect sense to me, and it’s high praise.” I squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. “I’m sorry I never brought you here before. I was hoping we could spend some time here together. The three of us.” I took a step toward the couch and the custom dog bed spread out at the bottom.
“You got him a bed?”
The wonder in his voice thrilled and hurt at the same time. I loved how much the simple gesture seemed to please him and hated that the idea of me making space for him in my home seemed so unexpected. I knew we’d never reached the level of sharing drawers in each other’s homes, but it still felt wildly imbalanced, because it was. He’d opened everything to me, and I‘d kept myself and my space walled away from him. Choosing tobuy the dog bed was a small symbol that meant so much more. I wanted to let Jake and his dog all the way into my life.
“I hoped you guys would want to spend some time here with me. I thought it would be easier if he had his own things. I was going to get him food and some toys and treats, but I know people can be picky about those kind of things, and I didn’t want to overstep.”
The last word barely made it out of my mouth before Jake pulled me into his arms and covered my lips with his kiss.
“I love you so much.” He pulled me tight against him, as if he couldn’t bear to let me go.
The dog had taken the opportunity to collapse onto the bed I’d gotten for him. As if he was exactly where he belonged.
Because he was. We all were.
EPILOGUE
PART 1
Islid onto the bar stool, smoothing the very short skirt over my thighs and hooking my ankles together. I didn’t need the mirror behind the bar to know I looked like very expensive sex. I’d sleeked my hair into a smooth bob and concentrated my makeup on my lashes and fuck-me red lipstick. The silk of my blouse was cut low enough to promise but never deliver a glimpse of my breasts.
The bartender appeared in front of me like a genie eager to make my dreams come true. I smiled and caught a picture of myself reflected back, looking like a woman who’d already had all her wishes come true. Almost all of them.
“What can I get you?”
“The lady will have a Knob Creek Manhattan, and I’ll have a Glenfiddich on the rocks.”
The man slid a black Amex across the polished wood surface of the bar, revealing an exceptional watch and even more exceptional cufflinks in what had to be a bespoke cotton French cuff shirt. I knew the hand, strong and tender, without having to glance back at the owner. That hand had touched every inch of me and brought me to orgasm more times than I could count.
I nodded my approval to the bartender, who reached for the top shelf bottles and began to prepare the drinks. “You seem very sure of yourself.” I spun just enough to meet Jake’s gaze and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning up at him like I’d just been given a bowl of my favorite ice cream.
“You look like the kind of woman who drinks bourbon.” He slid onto the stool next to me, and I ignored that he ordered my drink exactly the way I liked it in order to pay attention to the suit he wore.
I’d never seen him in it or anything like it before, and for a moment, I wondered if Jake called Jackson. If he did, I hadn’t had anything to do with it. He looked like sex and power and matched my businessman in a bar fantasy perfectly.
“Lucky guess.” I twisted to face him and tipped my head, letting the sleek curtain of my hair fall to the side. The position allowed me to look up at him and gave him a spectacular view of my breasts and the jeweled clips adorning them.
Or it would have if he’d taken his gaze off mine. Instead he kept me pinned in place, the command in just his look enough to send heat spiraling through me. His hazel eyes held so much confidence, so much surety that he’d get exactly what he wanted and enough heat to make it clear what he wanted now was me.
“I don’t guess. I know.”
