CHAPTER ELEVEN
As best man, Gabe insisted he be the one to notify the guests that Eric had been “delayed.” That there would be no wedding that day. He then continued, “The family and the rest of the bridal party ask, however, that you all join us for dinner, dancing, and a whole lot of fun in the ballroom as planned.” His words were gracious, but the expression he pinned on the crowd communicated loud and clear that he wasn’t asking, he was telling, so they damn well better do as he said or face his imminent wrath. Mutters from the crowd began immediately, but Jamie and his friends, along with his parents, went into damage control and directed everyone to the ballroom.
Lucy followed the rest of the guests as they filtered into the ballroom where the reception was being held. As she stepped through the ballroom doors, she couldn’t help gasping at the elegantly decorated room. She wasn’t easily impressed, but with this place, and this party, she was. She doubted that she’d ever get married, but if she did, this might be how she imagined it. The tables were draped with floor-length tablecloths, some in burgundy and some in black. Linen napkins were folded on top of china plates and set in front of stylishly draped chairs. The centerpieces were crystal and all contained fresh orchids and burgundy lilies that you could actually smell in the air. The lighting was bright over the dining area but more subdued near the stage where the band was setting up in front of the maple wood dance floor.
What Lucy loved the most was the dazzling chandeliers, shaped like crowns, that hung from the ceiling.
“Hey, there you are,” Jamie said from behind her. When she turned to face him, he immediately took her hand. “I’m sorry for abandoning you.”
“Don’t be silly. How’s your sister?”
With his free hand, he rubbed the back of his neck, then looked at his sister, who was standing by the ballroom doors, greeting guests with a strained smile. “I’ll explain later, but she insists this is a good thing. I’m just worried she’s in shock and the fallout isn’t going to be pretty.”
“Then go be with her. I’ll be okay on my own.”
He shook his head. “I have orders to show you a good time. And right now, whatever Bri wants, I’m going to give her, even if that means leaving her alone. Here, why don’t you sit and I’ll grab you a drink.”
She was about to take the seat Jamie pulled out for her at the head table when she sensed someone standing to her right. She turned and saw Diana, Mason’s sister.
“Hi, Lucy.”
She nodded warily. “Hello.”
“I just wanted to congratulate you both,” Diana said. She looked at Jamie. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen legally, but if you’d like…I can try to make time for you both to visit with Milly.”
Lily didn’t miss the implication that Diana didn’t want Lucy to visit the baby on her own. For a minute, the words threatened to fall from her tongue: So now that I’m engaged to a billionaire, I’m suddenly good enough to visit my own niece? Why don’t you go—
She suddenly felt Jamie’s arm around her shoulders. He gave her an encouraging squeeze. “We’d love that, wouldn’t we, Lucy?”
She looked up into Jamie’s brown eyes and took a calming breath. “Yes. That would be wonderful, Diana. Thank you.”
“Good,” Diana said with a wide smile that Lucy suspected she’d practiced all day; she should know, considering she’d been practicing the same smile. Then Diana looked at Jamie and said, “I also wanted to let your family know how thrilled we were to be included on the guest list today and what wonderful accommodations we’ve been given here on the Island.”
“I’m glad you could make it. I’ll pass that on to my sister and parents. Thank you.”
“It’s a shame about the groom. Frightfully embarrassing. But your sister is a trooper.”
Jamie’s smile stiffened at the mention of the missing groom, but he simply nodded and said, “Thank you.”
As Lucy watched Diana walk away, she growled low in her throat. “Frightfully embarrassing, my ass. I’ll show her something frightening—”
“Hang on there, spunky pants,” Jamie said, laying his hand on her shoulder. “Diana only spoke the truth. Despite the act she’s putting on, Brianne is embarrassed. Who wouldn’t be?”
“Still, Diana didn’t have to bring it up. She only did it to…to make herself feel superior.”
“Or maybe she’s just feeling awkward and uncomfortable and isn’t as good in social situations as you’d like to think,” he said.
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re giving her too much credit.”
“Yet how well do you know her, Lucy, that you don’t think she deserves some credit?”
“I know her well enough that she’s trying to stop me from getting custody of my niece. Or are you saying that’s some kind of misunderstanding, too? Have you changed your mind about helping me?”
He gripped her arms and shook her slightly, looking as close to pissed as she’d ever seen him. “Stop it! Of course I haven’t changed my mind about helping you. I was simply suggesting you not be so quick to assume the worst of people. Yes, some people, like my cousin Gretchen’s dickhead of a husband, deserve your censure. But even now, even when I’ve done nothing to make you doubt me—”
“I’m sorry,” she said, placing a hand on his chest and standing on tiptoe to kiss him. “You’re right. She just…threw me. Made me feel out of place. And I hate feeling that way.”
“I know. But you’re not out of place, Lucy. You’re fitting in beautifully. And she’s already agreed to let you see Milly. Don’t you think that’s a good enough sign that you can just relax and enjoy the rest of the evening with me?”
She nodded. “I’d like that. Let’s just put it all away for tonight and have fun.”
Jamie grinned. “Yes, let’s,” he agreed.
They were served a delicious dinner of salmon and rice pilaf and fresh vegetables. Jamie’s sister, who’d left the reception briefly to change into a cute cocktail dress, sat with them and bantered with Jamie and the groomsmen, hardly seeming like a girl who was just dumped at the altar.
Jamie’s parents were great, too, though Lucy could see the edge of worry beneath their determined-to-give-the-appearance-of-having-a-good-time demeanors. The person who seemed to be having the most difficulty, however, wasn’t Jamie or Brianne’s parents, but Jamie’s friend, Gabe.
After dinner and dessert was finished, Brianne took the stage and used the microphone to announce she wanted everyone to have fun. That no one should worry that she was sad or heartbroken. To Lucy’s surprise, even though a couple of the bridesmaids looked like the girls Lucy remembered from her private school days—rich and spoiled and just looking for someone to “mean girl”—they obviously had Brianne’s back. They were already encouraging guests to find their dance partners with the enthusiasm of soldiers carrying out a beloved general’s orders.
Brianne thanked everyone for their generous gifts but said that she would feel better if they would take them with them when they left. Laughing, she said, “I don’t want to keep anything I didn’t earn.”
A curse came from across the room followed by a crash. Lucy turned just in time to see Gabe’s back as he stalked out of the room. An awkward silence followed, then Brianne said loudly into the microphone, “Looks like the party’s gotten started!” Music began to play and the bridesmaids practically dragged couples onto the floor as Brianne hurried off the stage.
Jamie stood.
Suspecting that Brianne and Gabe would be having a word or two, Lucy grabbed Jamie’s hand. “Why don’t you give her some privacy?”
When he looked like he was going to protest, she said, “Come on. Your sister wants everyone to dance. So let’s dance.”
After a brief hesitation, he nodded and squeezed her hand, then followed her out onto the dance floor. The band was playing an upbeat Latin style instrumental and the few couples already on the floor were doing varying versions of the tango. Cole and Luke were each dancing with a bridesmaid. Jamie’s parents were dancing, too, as was Diana and her husband.
“Do you know how to tango?” Lucy asked Jamie when they made it to the middle of the floor.
He grinned and said, “Are you kidding? I was born doing the tango.”
“I can’t say the same.”
“Just follow my lead, sweet thing. I won’t steer you wrong.”
He wrapped one arm around Lucy’s waist and with his arm outstretched in front of him, he took her hand in his. He used the hand around her waist to pull her up flush against him, and her nipples rubbed against his chest through the thin material of her dress. Little jolts of electricity traveled down to her nether regions, and she immediately felt her panties get wet.
As they danced, Lucy quickly discovered Jamie had been telling the truth. He was the best dance partner she’d ever had. Effortlessly, he led her so that their dancing seemed more like floating…and foreplay. As she stared into Jamie’s face, she knew he felt the same way.
Another sure sign was his hard cock rubbing against her belly.
Wanting to tease him to even greater hardness, Lucy waited until they were tucked into a corner, mostly hidden by the dancers now crowding the dance floor, then slid her leg slowly up his body until the split along the side of the dress opened up, exposing her leg and thigh until just a hint of her lacy panties were visible.
Of course, Jamie noticed. He grew harder, and his cheeks flushed with color. She leaned forward to give him a kiss but he pulled back and grinned.
“So you’re in the mood to tease, are you?” she pouted.
“Maybe,” he told her, still grinning.
“I know how to play that game,” she said.
The band switched the tempo from the quick and intense tango to a slow, romantic love song. Jamie wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her hips into his as she slipped her arms around his neck. As they swayed in time to the music, Lucy felt a sudden rush of warm air against her ear; Jamie was blowing into it, and sending waves of goose bumps down each of her arms.
She arched her back slightly so that she could get a better angle, then ground her pelvis against his erection. Jamie groaned, leaned his forehead against hers, and said, “I’m not going to be able to walk back to our table without drawing a lot of attention, you know.”
“Then we’ll just have to stay here until you can.”
“If we stay here, if you stay in my arms, that’ll never happen.”
“Would you care? If others knew how badly you want to fuck me?”
Jamie’s hips jerked and he pulled her even tighter against him. “They’d think I was an eunuch if I didn’t get hard from dancing with you like this.” When she ground against him, he slid his hands down from her waist, grabbed an ass cheek in each hand, and squeezed.
Lucy let out a little gasp and then giggled. “The professor is getting a little wild on the dance floor. I like it.”
“Former professor. You know what you’ll like more?”
“What?”
But Jamie didn’t answer. Instead, his gaze moved over Lucy’s shoulder. When she turned her head, she saw his friend Ryan dancing with a pretty blonde with the bluest eyes Lucy had ever seen. They weren’t dancing like strangers, but they weren’t dancing like lovers, either. It was easy enough to see from Ryan’s expression that he wished that wasn’t the case.
“Another case of unrequited love?” she said softly as she turned back to Jamie.
“Can one unrequite a love one doesn’t know exists?” he asked in return.
“He hasn’t told her?”
“She’s his best friend, and he has it in his head that if she knows how he feels, he’ll lose that.”
She nodded. “Sex can mess up a friendship.” She bit her lip. “I—I don’t want it to mess up ours.”
He squeezed her. “Stop it.”
“No. Because you are my friend, Jamie, and I don’t want that to end. I hope—I hope even after all of this, after you’re done with me—”
He let her go suddenly. “You mean after you’re done with me.”
“What?”
“I’m not the one who’s made it impossible for us to be together, Lucy.”
She looked around, afraid that others would hear them. “Jamie…”
He pulled her back in his arms. “Jesus, I’m sorry. Forget I said that. I just…Looking at Ryan and Annie made me lose my head for a second. It’s okay, Lucy. I know what we have …and what we don’t have. I hope we can remain friends, too.” He leaned down and kissed her. “For a while longer I’m hoping we can remain friends with benefits,” he joked, but his voice was strained.
She didn’t know what to say. What to do. His implication that they could have something special…maybe something permanent…but for her own cowardice made her heart clench. As she always did when she didn’t know what to do, Lucy faked it. “That sounds good to me. More than good.” She stopped dancing and grabbed his hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
“I’m thirsty. Let’s go get a drink.” She started to pull him off the dance floor, but Jamie pulled her back in.
“Wait, haven’t you forgotten something?”
“What?”
“I can’t walk across the floor like this. It looks like a huge snake got loose in my pants.”
Lucy laughed, then glanced down at the distinct bulge in his pants and murmured, “Huge, huh?”
“What? You don’t think it looks like one of those thirty-foot pythons?”
“I—”
“Jamie! Lucy!”
Lucy turned to see Brianne rushing toward them. Gabe was close on her heels. From behind her, Jamie said, “Well, if that’s not enough to put a giant python to sleep, I don’t know what is.”
Snorting, she elbowed him. “Quiet.”
“Nice dancing, you two,” Brianne said. “You’re good for my brother, Lucy. Can I steal him for one dance while you dance with Gabe?”
Lucy smiled even as Gabe frowned and Brianne looked at her with pleading, desperate eyes.
Just then, another romantic song perfect for slow dancing came on.
“Wait a minute,” Jamie said. “I definitely want to dance with my sister, but that doesn’t mean I want my girl slow dancing with Casanova here.”
Gabe rolled his eyes and held out his arms. Lucy stepped in and wiggled her fingers at Jamie.
Gabe took one of Lucy’s hands in his, and she draped her other arm around his broad shoulders. They swayed together for several seconds and Lucy noted that Gabe’s eyes never once left Brianne. “So…Brianne’s taking Eric’s absence pretty well, huh?”
Gabe glanced down at her and frowned. “Too well,” he practically grunted.
“I admire her. She’s a pretty amazing girl.”
“She is,” Gabe said. He tipped his head to consider her. “I heard about your sister, Lucy. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“Even though I know what’s going on, I also want to say, if you let Jamie walk away at the end of all this, you’re a fool.” He smiled then, his face going soft. “A cute fool, though. Jamie always had excellent taste.”
Lucy was staring at him open-mouthed when the music stopped. Gently guiding her by the arm, Gabe dropped her off at the head table. A minute later, Jamie joined them.
“Thanks for the dance, Lucy,” Gabe said. He turned to Jamie. “You’re a lucky man, Jamie.” And with that, he was gone.
“He’s right. I am a lucky man to be here with you.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “You know, our room is just two floors up. We could take a little time for ourselves, re-group, and make it back for more reception fun before the bar closes.”
“And what would this time for ourselves entail?”
“You know how Gabe said I was a lucky man? Let’s just say you’re about to get lucky, too.” Jamie grinned. “But only if you admit there was a boa constrictor in my pants earlier.”
Surprised, she laughed and said, “I thought you said it was a python.”
“I changed my mind. Boas are longer. And thicker.”
“Hmm,” she murmured. “You’ll have to let me take a look. So I can tell you whether it’s a boa or a python. But either way, it’s all mine for the night…and I don’t want to tame it. I want it to be as wild as it possibly can be.”
She heard his breath quicken. He searched the room until his gaze landed on his sister, who was talking to Ryan and Annie. Apparently satisfied that his sister was in good hands, Jamie turned to her, his expression one of utter carnality, and said, “Let’s go.”
* * *
Jamie waited until they’d entered the old-fashioned cage elevator before finally kissing her. God, Lucy tasted good. So good. He held her pressed up against the wall so she could hardly breathe or move.
When he came up for air, Lucy said, “Wow…just wow! You might have to carry me to the room now. My legs feel like spaghetti.”
“Have I ever told you what a pasta lover I am?”
Just as the elevator doors slid open, he swung her into arms and kissed her again. Then he carried her to their room, putting her down only long enough to unlock the hotel room door before picking her back up again.
He headed straight to the bedroom, where he placed her in the middle of the huge bed.
As he pulled off his jacket and tie, he didn’t take his eyes off her. Then he leaned down and caught the bottom of her dress in his hands. Sitting up, she let him pull it over her head. He nudged her until she was once again lying back, then he pulled her panties off. A shiver ran through him when he felt how wet they were. He tossed them to the floor and then pulled off his shirt. Bare-chested but with his pants still on, he put one knee on the bed and pulled her higher so he had more room to maneuver. After climbing on top of her, he took both of her wrists in one hand and pushed them up over her head. He kissed her hard, using his free hand to trace his fingers down her cheek, along her neck, and then around her hard nipples.
Lucy let out a delighted sigh and squirmed underneath his weight. He took one of her nipples between his thumb and forefinger and gave it a gentle tug. When she moaned, he reached over and gave her other nipple the same attention until she moaned even louder.
"You like that, baby?”
“You know I do, but I’d like it even more if you were inside me."
“Not yet,” he said. “I want to play first. Are you going to be a good girl and go along with it?”
In a breathless voice she said, “Depending on what’s at stake, I can be very good… Or very bad….”
"Hmm, that’s what I wanted to hear,” he said. “I hope you’re ready, because I’m going to make you writhe and moan and scream. No holding anything back…”
“I never hold back,” she said with a naughty grin.
Jamie leaned down and licked one nipple, and then the other, before finally sucking one all the way into his mouth. Then he scraped his teeth against her—not enough to hurt, just enough to have her gasping and clutching at his head to urge him even closer.
“Oh fuck, Jamie! You’re going to kill me. At least touch my clit.”
“Grab the headboard with your hands.”
She didn’t question his command, just did as she was told. Stretching her arms up and over her head, she grasped the headboard.
“Now spread your legs wide for me, baby.”
Again, Lucy did as he asked.
“The anticipation is killing me,” she said, “I need to see your python.”
He laughed. “It’s a boa constrictor. And in due time, my sweet Lucy.”
“Hurry, please. I need you."
He made her watch as he slowly unzipped his pants, then slid them off with his boxers before straddling her once more. His cock pressed hard against her stomach as he leaned forward to kiss her. Lucy let go of the headboard and reached down to take him in her hand. She stroked him gently against her soft thighs and wet slit even as she sucked on his tongue and bottom lip. Knowing she was inciting him to take her and that she was close to achieving her goal, he broke away and kissed her neck, softly and slowly at first, but then he quickened his pace and began using his tongue and his teeth as she continued to stroke him. Her movements got quicker each time he nibbled at her tender flesh.
“Oh Jamie, oh God…how the fuck did you get so good at this?”
He pulled his head up and looked into her eyes. “I’m not that good. We’re that good,” he clarified. He bent and nipped the top of her shoulder before running his tongue along her collarbone. Then, unable to keep away, his returned to her nipples, circling one playfully with his tongue and then sucking it into his mouth as he caressed the other one with his hand.
While he pinched and played, he could feel her squirming and quivering underneath him. He lifted his head again and said, “Does it feel good, Lucy? Do you like that?”
“It feels so good,” she said breathlessly, “Don’t stop! Suck the other one. Please, suck it hard…”
He smiled and moved on to her other breast. Once again, he circled, tasted, and sucked. He loved the way she moaned and moved all over the bed. She was so fucking sexy. His cock was throbbing, aching to penetrate her, but he didn’t want the playtime to be over just yet.
He lifted his head to look at her even as he continued to tweak and pull at her nipples. She had her eyes closed and a fine sheen of sweat covered her pretty face, giving her a glow under the dim lights.
She opened her eyes a slit to look at him and said, “Please, touch my pussy.”
The urgently dirty plea had his hips jerking with need.
He dropped his hand down to her mound and covered it, using one finger to part her lips and feel how wet she was there
“Mm, Lucy…you’re so wet.”
“You make me wet,” she groaned.
He slipped a finger inside of her, plunging it into her warm wetness, taking her by surprise. She began to writhe against his hand, begging his finger to go deeper. He withdrew it then gave her what she needed, going so deep she whimpered and arched her back. “Don’t hold back, Lucy. Give it to me, baby. Give me all you have and let everyone in this whole fucking hotel hear how good I make you feel.”
He swiped her clit with his thumb. Then did it again.
“I’m going to come, Jamie. Oh God, I’m going to scream so loud.”
“Let’s ensure that happens, okay?”
He withdrew his hand and she immediately cried out. “What are you doing? Don't stop! Why are you—”
She stopped speaking when he positioned his face between her thighs.
“Oh God, yes,” she cried out in a hoarse voice.
When he spoke, he made sure his breaths landed right on her engorged clit. “What do you want, Lucy?”
She moaned again, loud enough that anyone in the hallway would hear her. Then she said, “You know what I want. Please, Jamie…stop teasing me…I’m going to explode.”
“I do know what you want, but I want to hear you say it. I want to hear it coming from your sexy, pouty lips.”
“Suck me, Jamie. Lick me. Make me come. Oh God I need to come…please!”
Before she got the last plea out, his mouth was on her.
She opened her legs wider as he spread her lips with his tongue. She reached back and grabbed hold of the headboard again so that she could bring her hips up and give him better access. He lapped at her clit hungrily, sucking on it, nibbling on it, causing her to cry out loudly, begging him not to stop.
“Oh God, yes, Jamie…Oh God, that feels so good. You’re so good. Please don’t stop.”
“I want to hear you scream,” he said. “I want to make you come so hard that you shake the rafters with your pleasure.”
Jamie plunged a finger into her again as he tongued her clit. She was so wet he didn’t have a problem slipping two more fingers into her, plunging in and out as he continued to savor her.
He got his wish as she began to scream out, “Don't stop! Please don't stop!”
The edge of the abyss was so close that even he could feel it as he plunged his fingers in and out—faster, harder and deeper, tongue flicking and sucking her clit until her moans sounded almost primal.
He could tell by her expression and the way her pussy wrapped itself tightly around his fingers that she was ready to step off the edge of the cliff.
He pushed her over.
She screamed again. “Oh my God! Oh Jamie!”
Her body shook uncontrollably with her release, the spasms that wracked her body progressing from tremors of earthquake magnitude to aftershocks. He took a moment to sheath himself with a condom, then climbed up her body, watching her the entire time as her expression shifted from intense desire to contented bliss. Lowering his head, he kissed her, forcing her to taste herself on lips. It was obvious that didn’t bother her and in fact revved her up when she began licking and sucking at his lips with renewed vigor.
He couldn’t wait a second longer.
Bracing himself with straightened arms, he plunged his long, hard cock deep inside her.
She gasped, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around her waist, using the muscles in her legs to pull him in tighter.
“You feel so good, Lucy. You feel like you were made for me…so fucking good….”
He pumped in and out with long slow strokes that progressively got faster. Harder. Easily keeping up with his quickening his pace, she thrust her hips up to meet him. He felt his balls tighten up and his cock throb.
He knew he was about to come but he wasn’t ready for it to end.
Abruptly, he stilled, eliciting a loud groan of protest from her before he pulled out completely. Taking her by the hips, he flipped her over. As he leaned forward to whisper into her ear, his cock brushed up against her ass and he shuddered. “Put your head on the pillow and your ass in the air. Now.”
* * *
Lucy did as she was told, waiting in anticipation until suddenly she felt Jamie plunge inside of her, taking her breath completely away, reaching places inside of her she hadn’t even known existed. The force of his movements threatened to throw her forward, forcing her to lift up and take hold of the headboard again. She grunted each time he entered her. Felt him begin to thicken and elongate. Taking one hand from the headboard, she reached underneath herself, massaging her clit with her own fingers as he pounded at her from behind.
“God, that’s so pretty,” he said. “I love when you touch yourself even as I’m fucking you.”
She shuddered, clenching hard around him.
“I'm going to come, baby,” Jamie said.
“Yes!” she breathed. “Come for me, Jamie. Fuck me harder, deeper, and come for me.”
His fingers tightened painfully on her hips and he shouted, “I’m going to—”
His hips jerked erratically as he began to come, and at that exact moment, Lucy began coming again, too.
They shivered and shook as the orgasms tore through their bodies.
Finally, Jamie collapsed down next to her and pulled her in against his bare chest, his twitching cock still pulsating inside her.
* * *
Sometime during the night, Lucy woke up disoriented, unsure where she was or whom she was with. The room was dark but as she felt around the bed for her phone, her hand came into contact with Jamie’s warm body and it all came back to her. She found the phone and checked the time; it was just after three a.m.
They’d gone back to the reception until it was all over, then promptly returned to the room and had sex again.
Then again.
Who’d have thought that with all the bad boys she’d dated, it would be the nice guy professor—and despite everything, despite all his money, despite his new position, that’s how she continued to think of Jamie—that would blow her mind in bed. Everyone who came after him would be measured by his skill and sheer passion.
And she knew they’d come up lacking.
The thought of sleeping with other men, which of course meant she’d no longer be sleeping with Jamie, caused a pang in her chest. It’s how she felt anytime she thought about their silly pretend engagement coming to an end, when all she should be focusing on was winning custody of Milly and the changes having a baby in her life were going to bring.
She was going to be a single parent. Unlike Melina, she wasn’t going to have a wonderful man like Rhys to help her raise Milly. She couldn’t forget that. She couldn’t forget who and what she was.
She’d played the game well so far. She’s managed to get along with Jamie’s family and friends, and while she’d tolerated her “proper” clothes in the beginning, she’d actually started to feel comfortable and sexy in them before the night was over. But she wouldn’t be able to keep up a charade like this for long. She just hoped she could keep it together long enough to get Mason’s family to withdraw their objections to her gaining custody of Milly.
She sighed and burrowed underneath the soft comforter, breathing in Jamie’s scent and the scent of their lovemaking. Neither of them could get enough of each other, and just thinking about it now gave her a tickle deep down inside. Needing to be closer to him, she shifted until she pressed again him, skin to skin. Even that wasn’t close enough, so she put her arm across his chest and her leg across his legs and snuggled in.
Jamie made a happy, sleepy sound and pulled her in even tighter. He kissed the top of her head before she heard his breathing become slow and even once more.
Lying in his arms, feeling his heartbeat and listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing, she realized how incomparably happy she was. The only other time she’d been this happy was when she’d been teaching, or hanging out with Melina and Grace. It was at those moments she knew she could be completely herself.
Apparently she’d found one more such place—in the safe haven of Jamie’s arms. So she’d enjoy the feeling for as long as she could. She’d enjoy the rest of their time together and deal with the rest only when she had to.
She placed a gentle kiss on Jamie’s shoulder.
And then fell back asleep, a contented smile on her face.