Chapter 12
“Good morning.” Jax stood beside the bed, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.
Gabby lifted her arms above her head and stretched. “Morning.”
The action caused the blanket to inch lower, exposing her breasts, and his gaze followed.
His pupils dilated and her nipples began to harden in anticipation.
But they couldn’t go there. Taylor would be up soon and Gabby didn’t want to start the morning by trying to explain the birds and the bees.
Pulling the cover up and tucking it under her arms, she propped herself against the headboard. “You’re up early.”
Jax shrugged and went to the backpack he’d retrieved from the trunk of his car the night before to dig out a clean pair of jeans and underwear. “It was either get up and take a shower or ravish you again.” He shot her a glance over his shoulder, his eyes still smoldering. “I decided to be a gentleman and let you sleep.”
She felt her inner muscles clench and release.
“That,” he said, “and we have to talk to Taylor this morning and figure out how to explain the new living arrangements.”
That sobered her up. Of course they needed to talk to their daughter about Jax moving in. Gabby didn’t think Taylor would have a problem with her father being here full time. In fact, she was guessing Taylor would be thrilled about it. But one could never tell with a three-year-old. Sometimes what Gabby thought wouldn’t be a big deal ended up in an epic tantrum and vice versa.
Gabby threw the covers off her, got out of bed, and went to get her robe. There was no sense in getting dressed until after she’d had a shower. She smelled like sex and Jax. Not that she was complaining, but she needed to be in mom mode this morning and that meant putting her needs as a woman on the back burner.
She secured the robe around her middle and padded across the room to her dresser to get some clean clothes. When she turned around, clothes in hand, Jax was standing there looking as appealing as ever. He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a long-sleeved shirt that had her wanting to run her hands over every inch of him.
Without a word, he cradled her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers.
It was a simple kiss, but it left her insides tingling.
He ran his thumb along her cheek and stared into her eyes. “I’ll make us some breakfast while you shower. Eggs and bacon okay?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Jax grinned and gave her another quick kiss before he dropped his hand and moved away. “Don’t take too long or I might be tempted to come help you.”
She chuckled and headed for the door. “Somehow I doubt you’d speed things along.”
His laughter filled her ears as she entered the bathroom.
Gabby hurried through her morning routine, but she was still drying her hair when a soft knock sounded on the bathroom door. “Mommy?”
She opened it to find her sleepy-eyed daughter standing on the other side in her pajamas. “Good morning, sweetheart. Did you need to go to the bathroom?”
Taylor nodded.
“Okay. I’ll be outside if you need help.”
After bathroom rituals were taken care of, Gabby and Taylor made their way into the kitchen where Jax was plating the eggs. He looked up at their arrival and smiled. “Perfect timing, ladies.”
“Smells good.”
Taylor must not have been fully awake before, because it was only when she heard her father’s voice that she lit up. “Daddy! You’re here.”
She launched herself across the room and into his arms. “Morning, Pumpkin.”
That feeling of rightness filled Gabby’s chest.
“Are you hungry?” Jax asked.
Taylor nodded.
He set her on her feet and picked up the plates containing the eggs and bacon, taking them over to the table.
“Do you want milk or juice, Taylor?” Gabby asked, going to the refrigerator.
“Juice, please.”
“Jax?”
“Juice works for me, too.” He shot her a grin before he sat down.
After pouring everyone some juice, Gabby sat down at the table and they all began to eat the food Jax had prepared. About halfway through, Jax and Gabby looked at each other. It was time to address the elephant in the room.
Gabby dove in. “Taylor? What do you think of Daddy being here this morning? Do you like having him here eating breakfast with us?”
The reaction from Taylor was unmistakable. Her eyes sparkled and she nodded as she chewed on her bacon.
“How would you feel about Daddy living with us?”
Taylor thought about it for a moment. “Would Daddy have breakfast with us every morning?”
Jax answered. “Yes. That means I’d have breakfast with you and Mommy every morning.”
“Okay.”
She went back to eating her food as if one of the most pivotal conversations of Gabby’s life hadn’t just happened. It had to be one of the easiest conversations she’d ever had in her life.
After breakfast, Jax cleaned up while Gabby got Taylor ready for preschool. She had to say it was nice having another adult around to help. Cleaning up the kitchen was one less thing she had to worry about before leaving the house.
“Ready for preschool?” Jax asked when they emerged from Taylor’s bedroom.
She hoisted her backpack on her shoulders. “Are you taking me to school, too, Daddy?”
“Not today. I have a meeting this morning.” At her disappointed look, he added, “Maybe I can take you tomorrow.”
That cheered her up. “I can introduce you to Mrs. Von. She’s really nice.”
He ran a hand over the top of her head. “I can’t wait.”
Jax gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek then turned to Gabby. She saw so many things in his eyes as he looked at her—things that made her wish they didn’t have an audience. “I’ll see you tonight. If you need me or can’t find something, you have my cell. And there’s an extra key in the nightstand beside my bed.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” He took hold of her free hand and brought it to his mouth, letting his lips linger on her skin. “Have a good day at work, honey.”
She laughed, breaking some of the tension. “Thanks. You, too.”
The rest of the day seemed to drag since all she wanted to do was be home with Jax. Gabby kept wondering what he was doing. She must have thought about calling him at least a dozen times, but she’d resisted. He’d call if he needed something.
When she walked in the front door later that evening with Taylor, Jax was sitting on the couch, glasses on, his feet propped up on the coffee table, and his laptop resting on his lap.
Neither Jax nor Gabby got a word out, however, before Taylor was running across the room and jumping onto the couch beside him. He almost dropped his laptop on the floor when she plopped onto his lap and threw her arms around him.
Gabby chuckled as she removed her coat and hung it up in the hall closet. It didn’t seem as though their daughter would have any trouble adjusting to her father being there all the time.
That night after putting Taylor to bed, Gabby tidied up the house while Jax loaded the dishwasher. In some ways, it was as if no time had passed and they’d picked up where they’d left off three years ago. Could it really be that simple?
“I stopped by my apartment earlier and picked up enough clothes to last me till Saturday,” Jax said as he wiped off the counter.
She straightened the rug by the front door and joined him in the kitchen. “Do you think your mom would want to watch Taylor Saturday while we get you moved?”
He stopped what he was doing and focused on her. “Are you ready for that?”
“I asked you to move in, didn’t I?”
“Yes. But if you’d rather me keep the apartment for a while, I can. There’s no rush.” He made sure he was looking her in the eye when he said, “I’m not going anywhere.”
For the first time, she didn’t have that voice in the back of her head pinging her with doubts. “I know. And, yes, I’m ready. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have asked you in the first place. Taylor needs stability. It would be confusing for her if you moved in one day and then moved out the next.”
Jax hung the dish towel on the front of the oven and came to stand in front of her. The look in his eyes was full of love—a love that her heart echoed. He took both her hands and began walking backward, toward the bedroom.
“Where’re we going?” she asked.
“To bed.”
“We should turn off the lights, then.”
He looked around and nodded. “You’re right.”
As swiftly as he could, he ran to every light and switched it off before returning to her. But this time, he picked her up and swung her around. “Now, where were we?”
Gabby giggled. “I do believe you said we were heading to bed.”
“Ah. Yes. Bed.” With that, he swung her up into his arms and carried her down the hall toward their bedroom. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She didn’t want to wake Taylor.
***
Bright and early Saturday morning, they dropped Taylor off at Jax’s parents’ house and drove to his apartment to pack things up. He’d already started loading the boxes during his trips home over the last two days, so there wasn’t all that much to pack. It didn’t take more than a few hours to gather up his belongings and load them into his vehicle.
They headed back to her house—what would now be their house—and carried the boxes inside. As they were sorting through his things and putting them away, Gabby noticed he had very few books, a huge contrast to when he’d left. Jax used to have an extensive science fiction collection. She broke down the box she’d been working on, the last one apart from the one Jax was unpacking, and asked, “What happened to all your books?”
He looked up at her for a brief moment and then went back to what he was doing. “I gave most of them to a community center.”
“Why would you do that?” He’d loved his books. She couldn’t understand why he’d given them away.
“I was in a rehab facility for a while after my surgery. It didn’t make sense to keep them when I didn’t really have a place for them. I kept five of my favorites. The rest I gave away.” There was sadness in his voice and she didn’t know if it was because of the books he’d given up or because recalling that time in his life caused him as much pain as it did her.
Not wanting to go there again, even though that’s exactly where her mind went, she turned her attention to his clothes that they’d draped over the bed. Going to her closet, she moved everything to one side, creating room. “Do you think this will be enough space for you?”
Jax walked over to where she stood. He put his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him. “I don’t have all that much to hang up, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
She nodded as the heat from his body already had her girl parts standing at attention.
“Why don’t we take a break and go grab some lunch? All this work has made me hungry.”
Twisting around so she could face him, Gabby stood on her tiptoes to give him a soft yet lingering kiss on the lips. “I’ve worked up quite an appetite as well.”
By the tone of her voice it was obvious she wasn’t talking about food. Jax closed his eyes and groaned. “You’re killing me.”
“What? Not in the mood?” She stared up at him with a mischievous look on her face.
He opened his eyes again and backed her against the nearest wall. Pressing their lower bodies together, she could feel every inch of him against her belly. “I think you’ll agree that’s not an issue.”
She reached for the button on his jeans.
His hand covered hers, halting her movements. “Tell me what you were thinking about before.”
Gabby knew what he was referring to and it wasn’t how much she wanted him. As much as she didn’t want to talk about it, she knew if they had any hope of making this relationship work long term they couldn’t keep secrets. That was what had gotten them in trouble the last time. His secrets. But that didn’t matter at this point. She’d agreed to move forward. “I hadn’t thought about what it was like for you when you left.”
Her voice cracked on the last syllable.
Jax ran his hand up the side of her arm and back down again. She knew it was meant to be comforting, but all it did was stoke the fire that was already stirring in her belly. “I don’t want you to hurt for me. I’ve caused you enough pain already.”
Placing a hand on his chest, she held his gaze. “If we’re going to move past this, then we’re going to have to forgive each other. And you’re going to have to forgive yourself. Otherwise, this isn’t going to work.”
He covered her hand with his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “When did you become so wise?”
“Hmm.” Gabby looked up at the ceiling as though she were contemplating something profound. “I don’t know.” She looked him in the eye again, the heaviness of the previous moment’s mood gone. “It just sort of happened.”
Then he was tickling her. She gasped for air as she tried to get out of his reach.
He pinned her against the wall with his body and captured her mouth with his own. A sigh escaped her throat as any thought about trying to get away fled from her mind. She sank into the kiss, letting her tongue mingle with his as he cupped her ass and lifted both her legs to encircle his waist.
The next thing she knew, they were moving. Seconds later, she fell onto the mattress.
They were both breathing hard as he peered down at her, his eyes less troubled than she’d seen them since he’d been back. “I love you.”
Her chest clenched. She would never get tired of hearing him say that. Especially since she thought she’d never hear it again.
Gabby reached for him, pulling him down until his lips were a breath away from hers. She looked at his mouth and then in his eyes. “We have to make this work.”
His elbows were braced on either side of her head as he held his position with their lips so close yet not quite touching. “We will. We’ll make sure of it.”
There was no doubt he believed every word he was saying, and for maybe the first time, she believed it, too. The future wasn’t so scary. Not if they were in it together.
“I think we should get married.”
He froze above her.
It took a full thirty breaths for him to respond. She knew because she’d counted. Counted and waited with growing anxiety to see how he’d react. He’d said he wanted to marry her in the future, but maybe he’d meant far into the future. Maybe—
“I thought you said you wanted to wait a while . . . have us try living together again first.”
She lifted one shoulder, or at least tried to given their position. It was kind of hard to shrug when they were pressed together from chest to hip. “I changed my mind.”
Jax was quiet, his brow furrowed. She knew he was thinking. What if he said no?
“When?”
“What?” She’d been so focused on what was going on inside her own head that his question threw her off.
He didn’t seem the least bit fazed by her question. “When do you want to get married?”
“Um. I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it.” She didn’t want anything fancy. Something small with their friends and family would be perfect in her opinion. “What about Christmas Eve?”
“As in next week Christmas Eve?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She paused. “Unless you think it’s too soon.”
A slow smile spread across Jax’s face. “Not at all. I’d marry you tomorrow. Today, even. I just always thought you’d want a big wedding. The dress. The cake.”
Gabby shook her head. “I don’t want any of that. All I want is you, our daughter, our family and a few friends.”
His fingers played with the hair near her temples. “I think that sounds perfect.”
“So I guess that means we’re engaged.” She went to pull him closer to seal their engagement with a kiss, but he began to move away. “Where—”
“Hold on. I need to get something.” He went over to the backpack he had sitting in the corner—the one he’d been ferrying his clothes back and forth in for the last two days—and began rummaging through it.
She propped herself up on her elbows so she could see what he was doing.
“Got it,” he said and returned to the bed.
Instead of climbing back onto the mattress with her, he stood off to the side and reached to help her sit up. It was then she saw he had a small box in his hand and realization dawned.
With her sitting on the edge of the bed, Jax took her left hand and knelt down on one knee. “Gabrielle Lewis, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Gabby couldn’t contain her smile. She should have known Jax would want to propose to her properly. “Yes.”
Jax opened the box, revealing a simple ring with three diamonds. He beamed as he slipped it onto her ring finger.
“It’s beautiful.”
He threaded his fingers through her hair at the back of her neck and brought her in for a kiss.
She went willingly, the feel of the ring on her finger at the forefront of her mind. And as his lips shifted to her neck, all the implications of what they’d talked about started to form even as her body was becoming more and more aroused. “We’ll need to find a place to have the wedding.”
Grabbing the hem of Gabby’s sweater, he began inching it up her torso and over her head. “Uh-huh.”
“Maybe we could have it at your parents’ house. Or if they’d rather not, we could have it here.”
He released the clasp of her bra and nudged the straps off her shoulders.
“I wonder if we will be able to find a minister at such short notice.”
“Gabby?”
She looked down at him. His eyes were dancing with amusement.
He cupped one of her breasts and began to massage it, sending a jolt of electricity to her core. “Can we talk about this later?”
“Sorry. All these things started popping into my head.”
Jax stood. “And we’ll figure it all out. I promise.” He lifted her and tossed her farther back onto the bed. “Right now I’d really like to make love to my beautiful fiancée.”
Before she could think of anything else to say, he’d joined her on the bed, his mouth latching on to one of her nipples and his hand snaking its way into her jeans to stroke her. Later suddenly sounded like a very good idea.