The reception was something out of a fairy tale.

Everything was picture-perfect and flawless, even Mekena had been swept away by all of it. Or maybe it was the hot closet-sex high she floated on through the whole event and well into the next morning. One thing was for sure, she aspired to have love and be loved the way every single one of the Sinclairs loved in that building. At one point, all the couples took the floor, swaying and looking into each other’s eyes, and all Mekena could do was stand there, fighting back the emotion that wanted to escape.

It was so beautiful. Jace and Avery, the young ones, who were totally unrestrained in their love. They were sickening but oh so beautiful. Baylor and Jayden, the reserved ones, but so much in love that no matter how much they held back, it still burned anyone who stood around. Jude and Claire, the ones who fought to make their love perfect. Nothing would come between them, not even space, and the way they looked at each other was awe-inspiring. Then Lucy and Benji, the last to be married but the older and wiser ones. The ones everyone looked up to and strived to be. They were the definition of relationship goals, and Mekena wanted everything they had.

She wanted it all.

She wanted Markus.

It was a beautiful reception that ended way too late, and Mekena was surprised she had woken so early. Rolling over in the bed, she pressed her chest into Markus’s back as she sighed softly. She felt so refreshed, so relaxed, and she knew it had everything to do with him. She had been attracted to him for a really long time, but he was the hot jock and she was the nerdy, smart girl who thought he wouldn’t even see her. But he was more than the hot jock; he was kind, smart, and he made her realize she was more than what she thought she was. She was beautiful.

The time apart had done them both good. While, yes, they were miserable without each other, they grew. The pain of the circumstances and the separation made them realize how much they really wanted each other and how much they missed each other. How she would now follow him to the ends of the earth, when before, she would have held back.

He excited her. He made her want things she hadn’t even dreamed of. She was ready to live. To love him unconditionally. As her hands snaked around his waist, tucking into the waistband of his shorts, she let out another sigh as her heart beat for him. She never wanted to leave this bed, his side, nor did she want to face the world.

In only a few short hours, they’d have to leave and go to the hotel she had booked for the remainder of the week. Since she didn’t know what would happen the following day, she didn’t want to rush to get an apartment, which was really all she wanted to do. She wanted to replant roots in Tennessee, but it wasn’t time for that yet. She had to be patient, even if she wanted to rush in and live. With Markus.

God, she loved him.

From the depths of her soul.

“Your nose is cold,” she heard him mutter against his pillow. She smiled, nuzzling her cold nose into the crook of his back as he groaned in distress, though he didn’t move away. “Why are you up?”

“’Cause I want to hold you.”

“Do that and sleep,” he mumbled and she smiled.

“I don’t want to, I want to be awake. I don’t want to sleep when I’m with you.”

He didn’t say anything, he just rolled over, taking her in his arms and wrapping them around her so that she was encased in his strength. “Well, when you put it that way, I want the same thing.”

She grinned against his chest, moving her nose along his collarbone as her eyes drifted shut. She was overwhelmed with the love she had for this man, this sweet, funny man who made her heart soar. How was it possible to love someone so much when you fought so hard not to? Fate was a funny, funny gal, but Mekena didn’t want her to change anything about herself. “Plug your nose.”

Her brows came together. “Huh?”

But before he could answer, he farted so loud she swore the bed shook, and even Mr. Right cried out in distress. “You’re so nasty!” she yelled, smacking him and trying to get away, but he held her tight, his body shaking with laughter.

“Let me go!”

“No way. We want to hold each other, spend every waking moment together. We don’t want to sleep, Mekena! We want to be together,” he teased, holding her close as she gagged from the god-awful smell.

“I take it back,” she yelled as he laughed hard.

“Bask in it, baby, it’s the smell of your lover.”

“Oh, my God,” she cried out, gagging as she smacked him, but then she couldn’t help it, she started to laugh too. He was such a dork. “I hate you.”

“You do not.”

“I know.”

“You love me and my smelly ass.”

“That’s debatable.”

“Eh, I don’t think so,” he teased, kissing her jaw and then her cheek.

She glared at him, but he grinned back as she said, “You ruined the sweet, sleepy-morning moment.”

“Who, me? With my fart?” he asked innocently, and she rolled her eyes.

“Yes.”

“Oh, my bad. Want me to do it again so I can ruin the funny, lazy fart moment?”

“No!” she cried and he grinned, cuddling her tighter into his chest. She didn’t understand it, he should disgust her, but she didn’t want anything else but these smelly moments. As long as they were with him. It was about him. About the love she had for only him. “Markus.”

“Yeah,” he said, his eyes closed as she tipped her head back to look at him.

“I’ve loved you for a really long time.”

“I know,” he said, still not looking at her.

“You did not.”

“I did too,” he said, finally opening his eyes as his lips curved knowingly. “You may think you can hide how you feel, but, woman, I can read you like a play.”

“Whatever,” she said, glaring. “You’re ruining my moment again. You were supposed to say something all sweet and innocent, like, ‘Oh, really?’”

He scoffed. “Hey, at least I didn’t fart.”

Shaking her head, she leaned her forehead to his chin. “So all the romance is gone now, I guess?”

“Hey, I don’t fart for anyone.”

“I really hate you.”

“You do not.”

“I know.”

Kissing her temple, he moved his lips along her forehead as he breathed her in. For a second, she was conscious that she might not smell all fresh. But then, the room smelled like fart, so why she cared, she didn’t know. When she felt him grin against her, she smiled too. It was nice not to care, to just be comfortable with another person completely. “Hey, Mekena.”

“Yeah?”

“I know you’ve loved me for a while, and that’s amazing and perfect and something I’ll hold in my heart forever, I will. But with me, it isn’t what I feel for you—that’s a given, I love you—it’s what I don’t feel for anyone else. I don’t want to make anyone else smile. I don’t want to make anyone else laugh. I don’t even want to cook for anyone else. Or lie in a bed and fart. Only you. I love only you, and that will never change.”

“Wow,” she breathed, and she felt him grin against her temple.

“How’s that for a romantic moment?”

“Really damn good.” Tipping her head back, she curved her lips as their gazes met. “I love you too.

He grinned. “Good. Now can I fart again? That damn chicken last night got my gut twisted.”

“I swear to God, Markus, I’ll cut you.”

He moaned. “Fine.”

“Thank you,” she said, nuzzling her nose into his neck as he rested his chin on her head. “We should just stay here all day.”

“We can’t. We have breakfast with everyone before they fly back home. Baylor asked if I was moving back in. Told her my sugar momma was taking me in.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re insane.”

“Been called worse…by you, actually,” he teased, and she laughed.

“Fine, we go to breakfast and then we go to the hotel, veg out, and watch Netflix.”

He nodded. “Sounds amazing. Did you finish Gilmore Girls?”

She giggled; she had forgotten she got him hooked on that show when they were dating. “Nope, Lorelei pissed me off. It broke me, I quit her.”

He mocked a gasp. “Mekena, give her a chance. She was lost and confused! We’re finishing it before…” He trailed off as he looked down at her. “Before we find out if we are doing this together or apart.”

She swallowed hard as she nodded. “Sounds good.”

“I’m excited, though.”

She smiled because she knew what he was speaking of. Everything. He was excited for everything. “I am too.”

“We’re gonna be happy.”

“Yeah, we are,” she agreed, closing her eyes as she held him, her fingers moving along the back of his neck. He smelled divine and all kinds of yummy. Thankfully, all the death gas was gone.

“It’s going to work out, you and me. We’ll figure it all out.”

“We will. As long as we’re together.”

“Yeah, even apart, we’ll be okay. We can FaceTime and Netflix.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Yeah, and we’ll get together on my weekends off, and it will work.” She loved how confident he was, how he was certain it was all going to work. She felt the same way.

Completely.

Moving his lips along her hair, he whispered, “Can you believe it?”

She looked at him. “Believe what?”

“That we’re here. At the beginning of the week, I thought you’d poison me. I wanted you so bad, but I didn’t think you’d want me.”

“I always wanted you, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was what happened.”

“But that’s behind us.”

“Yeah, and I hope it stays there,” she said, but something must have flickered in her eyes because his brows pulled together.

“What’s wrong?”

She shrugged. “Nothing.”

“No, something is wrong.”

She hadn’t even realized she was thinking about it until she spoke. “My parents kicked Skylar out. Apparently, she doesn’t want to get help.”

Looking away, he nodded. “Well, there is no helping her if she doesn’t want to help herself.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Oh, well, don’t worry about that. We are moving forward, together.”

“Together.”

He was holding back, though, and she didn’t like the way he changed the subject so fast. Instead of calling him on it, she gazed into his eyes. They were so dark, not their usual light caramel. His heart was in his eyes, and it was beautiful to witness. She knew he was hers. All hers. “You make me happy, Mekena. Truly.”

Smiling, she leaned her nose to his. “I feel the same way.”

His eyes turned frisky, full of mischief. “Even when I do this?”

He scrunched up his face, and she heard it before the room was filled with the most revolting smell. Relaxing his face, Markus just grinned, looking proud as Mekena glared. “Markus!”

“Chicken! It’s the chicken!”

Laughing, he covered her body with his as she tried to push him away. But really, she didn’t want him to go far.

Farts and all.

 

 

“So you have no clue what’s going to happen?”

Mekena looked up at the ceiling as she stood in the offices for the Assassins. Her meeting with Elli Adler wasn’t for a few more minutes, but she needed a pep talk. Markus was at practice and then he had an appointment with the team’s therapist, so she couldn’t call him. That left her best friend, who sounded as if she was in the middle of World War III. But Mekena needed her. She wasn’t feeling as confident as she had the day before when she was in bed with Markus and he was promising her the world.

The anxiety was eating her alive.

“No, I mean, I think I got the job, or she’s made it seem like I got the job. But what if I get in there and I don’t have it? What if she just assumes I’m gonna take it and gives me a shitty salary?”

Ashlyn screamed and then there was a crash. “I swear this kid has Jace’s temper,” Avery muttered and then cleared her throat. “Well, I mean, you’re going to take it no matter what, right? Like, you want to be with Markus, in Nashville?”

“I know. But what if I do take it, and then he gets sent back to the Ninjas?”

Avery made a sound of distress. “Yeah, this is a mess that neither of you really planned out, I think.”

That wasn’t what she wanted to hear, especially when Libby’s words still weighed on her heart. When it was just Markus and her, things were easy, she threw caution to the wind and was ready. But now, out in the real word, she needed to know what was going to happen. She needed the certainty and she hated that. Where was the carefree Mekena? Why was she so scared?

Closing her eyes, she tried to get it together as she reminded herself, “Well, we did talk about it. We said we’d be together no matter what.”

“How sweet,” Avery teased with a laugh. “I’m just kidding. That’s good. So you both know this might not be easy, that there is no certainty.”

Mekena nodded, trying to feel confident in what they had promised each other, in what she knew to be true. But still, she wasn’t. “I’m scared, Avery. I’m scared that I threw myself into this and it won’t work.”

Avery laughed. “Mekena, that’s love. It’s like a game of craps. In the end, what do you want?”

“I want him. I want us.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The world. Everything. And my sister is on my mind a lot, and it’s driving me crazy.”

Avery made a sound of disgust. “Why are you worrying about her?”

“I don’t know. I want to hate her, I do, but I’m worried. Libby said that Mom and Dad kicked her out because she wouldn’t get help. Which is great, and I hope it woke Skylar up. But when I brought it up, Markus shut it down, and I’m worried it’s giving him flashbacks or something. He says he’s over it, he’s moving on. But what if he isn’t? What if it will always be something we can’t talk about…and it’s my family. I mean, I want to have them in my life—not Skylar, but at least my parents—and I don’t think I can because she’ll always be an issue for us. I called my mom to check on her, and she kept me on the phone for an hour, talking about Skylar. She’s a mess, and I feel for her, but I hate my sister.”

“Which is understandable, Mekena, and your mom should take it easy. She knows what happened.”

“I know, and I tried to tell her that. She tried, but it’s so hard. It’s such a shitty situation. And then there’s his family. I hate them, yet he wants them back in his life. It’s logical, they’re his family. They were just so horrible to me. I’ve never in my life been called white trash until I met them. Nothing like feeling like you aren’t good enough for a guy until his parents tell you. Ugh! There is just so much that is freaking me out at this very second, and all I want is to be back in that bed with him with nothing else to worry about.”

As Avery cleared her throat, Mekena swore she could see Avery roll her eyes. “Why are you doing this to yourself? You have a meeting in minutes, and you’ve got yourself so fucked up.”

“I’m freaking out, Avery. I am.”

“I hear that. But, Mekena, what do you want? Do you want to be with Markus?”

“I do,” she said immediately, feeling it with everything inside of her. “And when it’s just us, I know that, he knows that, and everything else doesn’t matter. Not our families, not the distance that could plague us, or anything else. We don’t care. We want to be together, so we’re going to be together. But then I get away from him, and I start to worry.”

“You have to talk to him about this.”

“I know, but I don’t want to stress him out. He’s dealing with his own stuff.”

“If this is going to work, you guys are going to have to work through everything together. It can’t be his stuff and yours. If you want this to be what I assume you want it to be, then it’s y’all’s stuff, and you gotta figure it out together.” Avery paused for a second. “Wouldn’t you want him to come to you and talk about whatever he is feeling about the Skylar thing?”

“Of course.”

“Then why can’t you go to him about his family or yours? He is a really great listener, Mekena, and he is very understanding and helpful. I’m sure you guys can work out any of your insecurities because, the thing is, you guys won’t make it if you’re not confident in y’all—outside of that bedroom.”

Biting into her lip, Mekena sucked in a deep breath, knowing Avery was completely right. “Did I rush into this?”

Avery laughed. “Yeah, but it’s meant to be.”

“It is?”

“Yeah, and y’all are gonna be fine. It’s all gonna work out.”

“It will?”

“It will,” Avery said once more. “Because it’s time for some good for you two. After everything Skylar did, and then the two years of hell you two put yourselves through, it’s time. Things will work out, and you’ll live happily ever after.”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” she said confidently and then she laughed. “Don’t you think so?”

Mekena’s lips curved as she thought of his smile and how she couldn’t think of a day going by without it. Even if it was over a phone, she needed it. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Good, it will all work out. We will all be happy! Or at least that’s what I gotta tell myself because I’m pretty sure Jace is on his way out, and I can’t blame him. This terror of a child makes me crazy, and I’m crazy on him.”

Mekena rolled her eyes. “Jace isn’t going anywhere.”

“I know. But when I say it, it scares me a bit and makes me appreciate him even more.”

Mekena laughed. “That’s weird.”

“Yeah, I’m not exactly sane.”

“Is anyone?”

“Nope,” Avery decided, and then another screech came through the line.

“Jesus, she is mad.”

“I tried to give her a banana.”

“She doesn’t want it. Jeez, Mom!”

“She asked for it, and when I peeled it, she freaked.”

“Oh. Well, she takes after her mother.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

Snickering, Mekena felt better. “Thanks for being there, Avery.”

“Anytime,” Avery said, a smile in her voice. “I want you to be happy.”

“Me too, and he does it for me. We’ve been great the last couple days. The hotel is okay, but as soon as I know if I have the job, we’re going to look at some apartments and then we’ll move in.”

“See? You’ve got a plan! You’re just an overthinker, and Lord knows you don’t rush into anything, so I’m sure this is all a little much. But it’s gonna be fine. It has to be.”

Mekena nodded, feeling ten times better. “You’re right. Thanks.”

“Anytime. Now go get ’em, killer!”

Mekena laughed. “Okay, don’t feed Ashlyn any more bananas.”

Avery stopped laughing. “She’s eating it right now, Mekena, I’m not even fucking with you.”

Holding in her laughter, she glanced at the time to see that Elli would be out to get her any second. “Eh, I’m sorry? But I gotta go.”

“Okay, I’ll just be here, confused about the psychotic two-foot human who is taking over my household.”

Laughing out loud now, Mekena said, “Good luck.”

“Yeah, I need it.”

Hanging up, she went to turn off her phone, a grin on her face when she noticed she had a text message. Opening it, she saw it was from Markus. It was a picture of him with his thumbs up, along with the rest of the team behind him, all with their thumbs up and cheering on the ice. Under the picture, it read:

Markus: Good luck babe! The team is rooting for ya! Love you.

Her grin grew as she giggled softly.

He was just amazing.

“Mekena.”

Looking up, she found Elli Adler in the doorway, and for the first time, Elli wasn’t wearing a flashy outfit. Instead, she wore tight black slacks with a sheer white dress shirt that was tucked in with a thick black scarf. But then Mekena’s eyes fell to her sky-high leopard print pumps, and she smiled. Leave it to Elli Adler to find some way to be eye-catching. “Let’s get you in here, talk through some paperwork, and get you on the team! You have a passport, right?”

“I do,” Mekena said, standing and smiling really hard. Maybe too hard. Relaxing a bit, she heard Avery’s words again and smiled for real.

“Let’s do this.”

As Elli flashed her signature grin, Mekena started for her, her portfolio in her hands and her heart pounding in her chest.

Because this was the start of all her dreams.

And she just prayed so damn hard that they would all include Markus.

 

 

Wren Lemiere looked up from her notes to Markus, and he drew in a quick intake of breath. While he had rehashed everything that happened with Skylar many times before with his friends, with the team’s therapist, it was different. She didn’t know him, and a part of him worried she would tell the Assassins and they’d cut him again.

“You can’t tell anyone about this, right?” he asked, his heart pounding, and she shook her head, smiling lightly. She was a pretty woman. Long brown hair that went down her back to her waist and a pixie-like face with dark green eyes. She was short too, all in a petite package. If he weren’t already head over heels in love with Mekena, he would have found Wren very attractive, but he was, though he did think the doctor was pretty.

“No, Markus, I can’t.”

“So I can’t get fired?”

She laughed, though not in a condescending way, almost like she thought he was joking. “No.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, cool. So do your stuff. Shrink me.”

“Actually, I want to hear more from you.”

But Markus shook his head. “I’ve told you everything. I’m one of those people who needs a plan. I need you to shrink me. Give me what I need to do.”

She smiled widely at that. “Okay, from what I’ve gathered, you want to move on, which is great. Some people don’t. They dwell and self-destruct, but I don’t get that from you. I see that you want to live your life, that you want to push everything behind you, and a part of me thinks you’ve accepted what has happened.”

“I have,” he agreed. “I mean, I’m mad, but it’s not like I think of it every day.”

“Which is good.”

“Yeah, I mean, my thing is, I don’t want this to hinder me. I don’t want this to come back and knock me on my ass, and in the end, hurt my girlfriend.”

She nodded. “Which is another thing I’ve taken note of. You mention Mekena a lot, as in you don’t want her to ever hurt. But I don’t think you’re allowing yourself to worry about you. You’re so worried about hurting her, that you aren’t allowing yourself to heal.”

“But I feel healed. I’m over it.”

“Okay, but can you talk about it without getting upset?”

He paused. “I mean…kinda. I just don’t talk about it.”

“Yes, but you are dating your abuser’s sister. That’s Mekena’s family. No matter how mad she is at her, they might one day work it out. Will you be able to handle that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, right now, it’s just us.”

“I know, but that could change, and then what? Are you prepared for that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you forgiven her?”

Markus scoffed. “God, no.”

She nodded, a grim look on her face. “And that’s okay. I wouldn’t have forgiven my abuser either, especially after what happened. The anger is still there, and it’s only been a week of knowing the truth. But Markus, I need you to realize that this may take time. As much as you want to move forward and leave it behind you, you aren’t all the way there, and that is completely okay.”

He didn’t want to hear that. He wanted to hear that he was cured, that he was healthy, and that he and Mekena would be great. “So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying this is going to take time. But with that being said, you are doing everything right. You are talking about it, you are getting help from me, and you seem to have a great relationship with Mekena. It is new, I understand that, but I feel you two can use each other to heal. This affected you both, you were both broken by this person’s actions. You just need to keep communication open.”

He nodded once more as he cleared his throat. “I don’t want to lose her. I love her.”

“I understand that, and as long as you are honest and don’t let this eat you alive, you should be fine.”

“But what if she can’t handle it?” he asked suddenly. He hadn’t realized that was a fear of his until that moment.

She pressed her lips together and slowly shrugged her shoulders. “I’m here for anyone who needs me. Send her my way. But, Markus, I can’t promise you it will last. Not only am I not a psychic, I’m also not the best at believing in true love,” she added with a laugh and he smiled. “But please don’t think I don’t believe that you love her. I do. Love just isn’t for me.”

He nodded. “I can respect that.”

“Thank you. But I understand where you are coming from, and I understand your fear. This was a very traumatic event, and I need you to realize that both of you are healing. If you aren’t honest with each other, it could be your downfall.”

Swallowing hard, he looked up, meeting her blue gaze. “So when will I be over it?”

She slowly recrossed her legs as she shook her head. “I don’t think I can answer that.”

He held her gaze. “Can you try? I need a goal. Like I said, I’m a visual learner. I need to see my goals and crush them.”

She smiled, and he decided he liked her. She got him, and he appreciated that. “Okay, Markus, but you know this could take months, or even years?”

“I understand that, but I need goals.”

“Okay, so I think when you are confident in your relationship, with being honest about how you are feeling—”

“I don’t have a problem with that—”

“You do. You are worried she can’t handle it,” she reminded him, and he paused, pressing his lips together. “I know everything is a bit up in the air, love and all that, but you have to be confident in what you feel for her and what she feels for you. You can’t be scared to hurt her feelings. You have to know you two can bounce back and be stronger. So that’s the first step. The second is when hearing your abuser’s name doesn’t hurt you. And the third is when you can forgive her.”

“Okay,” he said slowly, knowing he could crush those.

That together he and Mekena could do anything.

“The thing that is hard, Markus, is that usually, male rape victims are children, not men. So the long-term effects on those victims are more traumatic because they were so young and they trusted their assailant. But it is different with you. Not only are you strong and older, but you knew this person as an adult, and she’ll be around because of who you’ve chosen as your partner.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t be with Mekena?” he asked, ready to get up and leave.

“No, not at all. I’m saying that you’ve got yourself a mess, but I have all the faith you’ll clean it up and be happy. I think you are going to be fine. But to be totally honest, I haven’t experienced a case like this, so we are both going to have to figure this out. The main thing I need you to remember is that door right there is always open for you,” she said, pointing to the door. “That I am always here for you—and for Mekena, if she wants to come.”

He nodded as he cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

Flashing him a smile, she asked, “How do you feel?”

“Good,” he said, nodding. “I’m ready to put this behind me and live my life.”

“Great, so we have goals.”

“We have goals.”

“Fabulous. So I want to see you once a week, maybe every Monday, for the next three months. How does that sound?”

He nodded. “Good. I’ll be here.”

“Awesome. I’ll have my receptionist get a schedule made for you,” she said, standing and holding her hand out to him as he stood. “If at any moment you feel you aren’t handling things, we will revisit a different treatment plan.”

“I think I’m good. I like what we’ve done. Or you’ve done.”

She smiled. “Good, but remember I’m here for you.”

“I understand that, and thank you.”

“Of course. It was wonderful to meet you, and I’m excited to watch you grow.”

“Thank you, it was great meeting you,” he said, taking her hand and shaking it. After making his next appointments, he walked out of the Assassins’ offices feeling good. Great, even. He hadn’t realized how much he needed to talk to someone who didn’t love him or care about him already. Everyone else babied him, but Dr. Lemiere was honest and gave him a plan. A plan he was going to crush.

With Mekena by his side.

As he pushed open the door, he had his phone in his hand to call Mekena, hoping she would be done with her meeting since he wanted to tell her everything Dr. Lemiere had said. He hit her name and his phone started to dial, but when he looked up, he found her in front of him, a few feet away on her phone, typing away like crazy. She looked gorgeous, like always. Wearing a tight dark blue shirt that hugged her breasts and fastened at her wrists, she’d paired it with a high-waisted floral skirt that flared out at her knees and a pair of ankle boots. Her hair was blowing in the October breeze, and she wore thick black glasses that were low on her nose as she continued to type. That was, until she saw the call from him.

Her face lit up as a grin covered her pretty lips, and she answered.

“Hey, you. I was just texting you. Wasn’t sure if you were out yet.”

“Oh, yeah? Where are you?”

“Standing outside the Assassins’ offices. I just got done with my meeting with Elli.”

His lips curved as he tucked his hand in his pocket and walked toward her, drinking in his beautiful girlfriend. “How’d it go?”

“Great! I got the job, and she’s paying me way more than I made in Florida! It’s working out. We’re going to be together.”

His face broke into a bigger grin as he hung up and then wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck as she shrieked, almost smacking him until she realized who he was. “Markus! You scared me shitless!”

He laughed as she turned in his arms, kissing him hard on the lips. Losing himself in the kiss, he closed his eyes as he held her, their mouths moving together while his heart thudded in his chest. He wanted this so badly, and everything was coming together. The stars were aligning, and damn it, he would make her happy. He’d loved her more than he loved anything else, and they would be happy.

Together.

She grinned up at him as he cupped her face. “I’m so proud of you.”

She beamed. “Thanks. I was so nervous, and when she showed me the offer sheet, my jaw dropped. Your sugar momma will be bringing home the sugar!”

He laughed. “Good, you can buy me lunch,” he teased, and she giggled as she cuddled up in his arms, kissing his jaw. “I’m hungry and poor.”

She laughed hard as she rolled her eyes. “Yes, you poor, hungry man. Then we can go look at those apartments in the Gulch. Elli gave me her Realtor’s number, and they’ve already got a list for us. We’re meeting her at three.”

Leaning his head into hers, he smiled. She had everything together; she had a plan. In a way, he was dwelling on his plan, which he hadn’t expected. Shaking his head, he knew he wouldn’t ruin this moment for her with his worries about moving forward. Clearing his throat, he said, “Sounds amazing. Where do you want to go?”

As he started to walk, she paused, pressing her hand to his chest. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he answered, trying to move ahead, but she stopped him once more.

“No, something is wrong. Shit! I didn’t ask about therapy. I’m sorry. I was excited. Was it okay? Are you okay? Do you want me to cancel the Realtor?”

He laughed, shaking his head. Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her lips before pulling back. “No, babe, don’t cancel. I’m excited. Just lots of pressure and lots on my mind. Gotta make the team.”

She waved him off. “That’s a done deal. You’ve got that. Are you okay? Did it go okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah, fine. I feel really good. I’ve got a plan.”

“A plan?”

“Yeah, why don’t we talk about this over lunch?”

“’Cause I want to talk now, I’m worried now.”

He let out a breath. He hadn’t wanted to do it now, but Dr. Lemiere had said he had to be honest. He cleared his throat. “Okay, yeah, I’ve got a plan to move forward. Dr. Lemiere doesn’t think I have fully recovered.”

“Oh, well, I wouldn’t think you would have. It was very traumatic.”

“Yeah.” He could see it in her eyes. She thought his lack of a full recovery was bad. He guessed it wasn’t all that great. “But I am, I will. I just have to get over some stuff and move forward. I have to be confident in us. I’m always worried about hurting you, and she said I can’t do that. That I have to love you and trust you love me.”

“I do.”

“I know—”

“And don’t worry about me. I’ve got this. I may be small, but I’m strong.”

“I know, babe, I just don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know, and I don’t want to hurt you. I think we’re both walking on eggshells about some things.”

“We are.”

“And that needs to change.”

“It does.”

“So we’ll change it. We’ll work through this.”

“That’s my plan.”

“Our plan,” she reiterated, and he smiled. “As long as we’re together.”

“Exactly.”

“We can do anything.”

“Yup. Like forgive her.”

Her eyes widened as she looked away, her face twisting in disbelief. “Yeah, sure.”

“We can. We will. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow or in a year, but one day, we will.”

She chewed on her lip as she let out a breath. “I love my family and I want to see them, but I’m scared you won’t because of her.”

“No,” he said, reaching out and taking her hands in his. “I want to be where you are. And if you want to see your family, I’m there. We’ll work it out.” She nodded and he smiled. “And I know you don’t want anything to do with my family, and I understand that. I will stand by you, but I want to give them another chance.”

“Which is fine with me,” she answered with a nod. “I just want you to be happy.”

“Me too. But we have to be honest with each other.”

“You’re right,” she said, her eyes wide and full of hope. “I’m scared shitless, Markus. I love you so much.”

His heart shattered in his chest and then put itself back together as he nodded, taking her in his arms and holding her close. She tipped her head up, and he pressed his nose to hers. “I am too, but I can’t lose you. Not again. You’re my best friend, my soul mate, my laugh, my smile, my heart, fuck, Mekena, my everything. I know we rushed this time, we jumped in heart-first, but damn it, I love you. I will do everything and anything to make this work.”

Her eyes clouding with tears, she nodded, her face pressed against his as she whispered, “Me too.”

And as their mouths crashed together, he decided therapy was great and it worked, but Mekena was the only thing that would help him get through it all.

Through this crazy thing called life.