He chuckles and rises to his feet. “I think it’s time for Grace to go to bed for the night so I can take my eager, long-suffering girlfriend to bed.”
I kick off my shoes and toss my sock-covered feet onto the coffee table. “You’re going to find out how long-suffering I can be. Maybe I won’t put out until there’s a ring on it.” I wiggle my fingers in front of him.
He tips his head down, catching my gaze. “Are you sure about that, Pretty Girl?”
The cocky, smug expression on his face makes me want to toss a pillow at him, but I might wake Grace up and then….
He winks. “That’s what I thought.”
Shit. Never mind. I can’t even wait an hour for her to go back to sleep. “Asshole.”
“Baby, don’t lose that look.”
“Which look?” It takes effort not to pout. “The one where I’m imagining clubbing you over the head?”
“Yes, that one. It makes me hard as granite.”
My core turns molten at the low growl of his voice. Yeah, I can’t wait five minutes for him to get back into the living room.
Chapter Seventy
Jake
Several Days Later
Thunder claps in the distance as I stop in front of Xavier’s house. The house he shares with his best friends. I roll down the window as Ben, one of Bella’s brothers, approaches, dropping a black duffle bag at the edge of the sidewalk. Ben’s long jeans covered legs eat up the distance in two steps.
“Hey.” I tip my head toward him.
“Hey, bud.” He nods and rests his hand on the doorframe of the cruiser, while angling his long frame so he can meet my gaze. “How’s Em and the baby?”
“Good. She’s gaining weight and about to bust out of those newborn onesies.”
He grins as lightning cracks through the sky. “Who would’ve thought? Jake, the family man.”
“Not me.” I rest my arm on the window ledge. “At least not this soon, but I’m not complaining. Court is next week so we’ll see how that all goes. I know if she goes somewhere else, we’ll both be lost.”
Iris has assured us that if things continue to go the way they have been, there will be no issues with us adopting her after parental rights are terminated for abandonment.
It happened so fast. It shouldn’t have been possible to fall for both of them in a blink of the eye, but there’s no turning back.Hell, it only took a second for me to be wrapped around Grace’s finger, and I’ve spent the last four years wishing I had my fingers and everything else on Emily.
He steps back and crosses his arms over his chest, causing the fabric over his biceps to strain with the movement. “Everything will be fine. Bella was telling us last night that no one’s come forward claiming paternity, and there’s no one better suited to raise a child than a police officer and a paramedic. That kid is going to be encased in bubble wrap.”
Iris contacted Mackenzie, but she denied being Grace’s biological mother. If she’s the mother, she’s not budging whether Chad is in jail or not.
“You’re not wrong.” Although I chuckle over his comment, he’s not far off base. I’ve taped bubble wrap on the edges of everything at both our places, and she won’t walk for another nine months.
I’d prefer we only had my place to focus on, but with court around the corner, we don’t want to mess anything up.
“Where’re you head off to?” In the distance, rain pelts the ground in waves. It won’t be long.
“I’m headed to Vegas for a cooking contest. The top prize is 50k. Several top chefs are coming from around the world to judge the event.” He drops his arms to his sides and glances at his wrist. “I’ve got to go. My plane leaves in a couple of hours. I hate rushing around when I get there late.”
I tap two fingers to my forehead in a salute. “See ya around.”
Lightning glitters across the darkening sky, causing the ground to jolt. “This shit had better get through quick, so I don’t get grounded.”
Ben becoming a chef and going to Vegas for a cooking contest with a chance to win 50k? Who would’ve thought the skinny kid with the cowlick would work at a 5-star restaurant and mingle with the rich and famous? Not I.
