“What’s the day ahead look like, darling?”

Cup of coffee in hand, I glanced up from the pile of documents in front of me on the kitchen table. The loft apartment in downtown Dallas that Justin and I shared was filled with its usual morning light, the traffic of the bustling streets below a mellow, urban din.

“Papers, papers, and more papers,” I said before taking another sip of coffee.

Justin slid into the seat next to mine, but not before planting a soft kiss on my forehead, a smile breaking out across my lips as he did.

“What’s the story?” he asked, picking up one of the documents and looking it over, clearly unable to make heads or tails of the corporate jargon that filled it. “Looks like Horizon are really putting you through the wringer.”

“It’s the transfer,” I said. “Turns out that I was the only person at that place that can handle the job I had all on my own.”

“You mean the non-stop, jet-setting position that you’re leaving behind?”

“That’s the one,” I said. “The one that I’m ditching to spend more time with my handsome boyfriend, along with our friends and family.”

I flashed him a wink and went on.

“I didn’t realize how hard I was working, but when I told the boss that I wanted to have something that kept me in the States, he told me that it was up to me to find out who I wanted to replace me. Then he gives me a stack of employee profiles and tells me to get picking.”

“Oh yeah?” asked Justin, crossing his leg and sitting back.

“Yeah. So I say ‘sure, I’ll have one chosen by the end of the week.’ Then the boss says ‘no—I want you to pick three.’”

He raised an eyebrow.

“And I thought I worked hard.”

“I’d say you do,” I told him. “But now I’m stuck going over all of these recent college grads, trying to figure out who I trust for the job. And, I don’t know. I’m getting all wistful and stuff, thinking about how I was at that age, ready to start my romantic career of flying all over the world, wondering if the next city would be the one where I’d find the man of my dreams.”

Justin stood up, walked behind me, and wrapped his arms around my body.

“I’m betting that when you were imagining the glamorous city where you’d find this man of your dreams, you had in mind Paris, or London, or Shanghai—”

“Or New York, or Barcelona—”

“—but most certainly not Longbridge, Australia.”

I smiled.

“I wasn’t sure of the place, but I always figured that it would have a population of more than a thousand.”

“And that you wouldn’t end up stranded in the desert, running for your life.”

“That too.”

“Well,” he went on, “I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t be any happier with how it turned out.”

Warmth filled my heart.

“Me neither.”

He gave me another kiss on the cheek before returning to his chair.

“But,” I said. “Once I get all this business taken care of, you know what that means.”

“Yes, I do,” said Justin. “You’re going to finally stay in Dallas and stop jet-setting around the world.”

I never thought I’d be so happy to hear those words. But ever since Justin and I officially began our relationship a few months back, being here and building a life together has been all I’ve wanted. I didn’t need to be flying across the globe any longer—everything I wanted was right here.

“And speaking of business,” I said. “How’ve things been going with your new enterprise?”

I wasn’t the only one who decided that I was tired of the globe-trotting lifestyle. When Justin returned from the mission in Australia, he put in a call to his superiors to let them know that he was getting out of the elite bodyguard business. I was shocked when he told me—I figured he’d need time to get everything sorted out. But as I’d already learned, Justin was a man who didn’t like waiting around for what he wanted.

“Not bad,” he said. “Already got our first clients, and the team I’ve put together are some of the best ex-servicemen I could hope for.”

So now Justin was an entrepreneur. He’d founded his own agency, specializing in the sort of work he’d become an expert in over the last few years.

“And how’re you adjusting to life behind a desk?”

“Now, now,” he said, laughing lightly. “I’m no office drone—I work wherever I need to. I give the orders, coordinate with the clients, and make sure that all’s going according to plan.”

“Ah,” I said, taking on a seductive tone. “So, you’re the mysterious voice on the other end of the line when the secret agents call in?”

A smirk formed on his lips. I think he liked the sound of that.

“That’s right,” he said, going along with the game. “I’ll be sitting shrouded in shadows, my voice masked with one of those distortion programs.”

“Oh, you should come up with a codename. Maybe ‘Mr. X’ or something.”

“Does that mean you’re going to be my femme fatale assistant?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “You might have to work on your Russian accent.”

I laughed at the mental image that conjured up.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll stick to the fast-paced world of oil investment. Less chance of ending up kidnapped by mobsters.”

“Fine,” he grinned, giving my leg a pat. “If you want to be all boring about it.”

Justin got out of his chair and I took a quick look over him. He was dressed in a pair of well-fitting dress slacks, a crisp white button-up, and some shiny shoes. An ink-black tie completed the look. I couldn’t ever imagine getting tired of seeing him all dressed up and ready to work.

“And we’ve still got our big after-work plans for tonight?”

“We sure do,” I said. “If you think you can squeeze it in.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

This had been one of the more surprising developments that had taken place since Justin and I had begun our relationship—the fast friendship that had developed between his mother and mine. The two women had hit it off instantly, both of them bonding over their shared experiences of spending decades in rural Texas.

“The whole family’s going to be there for this one,” he said, gathering up his things into his black messenger bag and preparing to head out. “You think you’ve got the stamina for that?”

“Of course,” I said. “It’s Friday. I think I can handle a little family craziness if we’ve got the weekend to look forward to.”

“Atta girl,” he said, slipping his phone into his pocket. “Not to mention I think I more than anyone should know about what kind of stamina you have.”

I liked the sound of that. Justin leaned in and gave me another kiss that turned from a warm goodbye into something else entirely. His hands moved over my body through my work clothes.

“Mmm,” he moaned, pulling his lips away and checking the time.

“What’s the matter?” I said, disappointment in my tone. “No time for the sort of breakfast I’m really interested in?”

“Can’t today,” he said. “Got a client meeting in a half-hour. Showing up late with my hair all messy probably isn’t the best way to get this working relationship started off.”

I had to agree, as much as I wanted to finish what we’d started.

“Okay,” he said, planting one last kiss on my lips before turning his body toward the door. “Time to go. For real.”

“See you tonight,” I said.

“The Westchester at seven,” he confirmed with a grin.

And then he was gone. I took my coffee and stood up, sipping it as I stepped out onto the balcony, the morning air fresh and warm. It was a lovely late-spring day. The sun was bright, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the occasional light breeze was just cool enough. The city was alive as ever, and I was eager to get the last day of the week started.

The day at the office flew by. I met with a few of the candidates for my position, and couldn’t believe how innocent and fresh-faced they were. As I chatted with them, hearing each of their spiels about how eager they were to see the world, maybe make a difference if they could along the way, I found myself unable to believe that I’d been like that at one time, so baby-faced and eager.

The day was soon over, and I was ready for the evening ahead. Justin’s family and mine were meeting for dinner, and I was strangely excited about the whole thing. Normally, such occasions were a source of stress, but with Justin, everything tended to go smoothly. He had a way with things, a way of handling situations that I couldn’t help but admire.

I left work and headed for the dry cleaners, where my outfit for the evening awaited me, all pressed and ready to go. A quick trip home later and I was changed and off. The Westchester was a lovely place, situated at the top floor of one of the skyscrapers downtown. The floor-to-ceiling windows afforded sweeping views of the twinkling lights of the evening city.

And seated at one of the tables toward the back, lively chatter springing from their direction, were seated my mother, my father, Justin’s mother Dawn, and, of course, Justin. It was always such an odd sight to see my normally-taciturn father with a wide-mouth, back-teeth-exposed smile, but that was the effect Justin and his mother had on them.

The eyes of those seated at the table locked onto me as I approached, laughter fading from the air. All four of them hopped out of their seats and greeted me with warm hugs and kisses.

“I hope I didn’t miss anything too good,” I said, sliding into my seat.

“Justin was just telling us about his trip to southern Japan,” said my father. “And some interesting food he ate down there.”

“Apparently,” my mom, Amy, said, “the live squid slip their tentacles up into your nose when you’re not paying attention.”

Justin smirked.

“They like to make you work for your meal over there.”

“Amy,” said Dawn, a slender woman with pretty features and close-cropped, dark hair. “We’re going to have to go there for our next trip!”

She gave my mom a pat on the leg.

“I don’t know,” my mom said. “I’m still recovering from our trip to Europe.”

“That’s why we need to go somewhere more exotic next time,” said Dawn. “Different is good for the soul.”

“Maybe we can even talk Tom into coming along this time,” my mom said.

My dad raised a weathered hand and shook his head.

“Nope, you girls go and have fun—farm work is enough excitement for me these days.”

The waitress stopped by and took our orders. After she left, a small silence hushed the air. Justin and I exchanged a curious look—there was clearly something on our guests’ minds.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s hear it.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” said my mother, looking away with a smile on her face. “It’s just that Justin and you have been dating for a while now. And, well, you know.”

“Mom?” asked Justin. “Are you all talking about what I think you’re talking about?”

Dawn appeared for a moment like she didn’t want to say anything. But she finally opened her mouth and said her piece.

“You two are so damn cute together,” she said. “And we all got to talking and decided that every day that passes without you two all good and married is a damn waste. Love like you two have doesn’t just show up around the block, you know.”

I was more than a little surprised to hear all of this. I took a sip of wine and let their words roll around in my mind.

“Dad?” I asked. “Are you thinking the same thing?”

Dad pursed his lips for a moment as though he didn’t want to get involved.

“Justin’s a hell of a guy—I have to admit. And I wouldn’t mind seeing you with a kid or two.”

“Is Mr. Unsentimental himself thinking wistfully about grandkids?” I asked, an eyebrow raised and a smile on my lips.

“I want you to be happy, is all,” he said. “And Justin seems like a man who’d be able to do that.”

“You’re too kind, Mr. Fenn,” said Justin. “But Delaney and I are happy taking things one day at a time. If there’s one thing I learned during my time in the service, it’s that you can’t make anything happen before its time.”

Dad nodded slightly, conceding the point. Mom soon changed the topic, and the subject of what was going to happen next between Justin and me was dropped. The conversation turned to a low whirl around me as the subject of marriage loomed in my mind. I knew that Justin was right, that we couldn’t rush things.

After all, we’d only been dating for a few months, and there was so much going on in both of our lives that adding marriage on top of it would hardly be the smart thing to do.

Right?

But sitting there, the wine already swirling a bit in my mind, I couldn’t help but think about how much I wanted Justin to be my husband. I imagined him dressed in a sharp tuxedo, waiting for me in front of the altar, our friends and family seated all around us.

I shook the image out of my head, returning to the present. Maybe Justin would want to marry me, maybe he wouldn’t. Either way, I resolved to be happy with what I had. After all, one moment you could be in a hotel bar having a drink with the most handsome man you’d ever seen, and the next you could be in the middle of the Australian outback, wondering where your next meal was going to come from.

The rest of the dinner went wonderfully, and soon Justin and I were strolling arm in arm through the streets of downtown Dallas, the evening about as pleasant as I could hope for.

“This is wonderful,” I said. “Just how it is.”

“Glad you feel that way,” said Justin.

As soon as the words left my mouth, however, I knew that I was simply saying those things aloud to hopefully convince myself that they were true. My parents and Justin’s mom had undone my carefully constructed rationalization processes for why I was “okay” with how he hadn’t mentioned anything about marriage. Now that they’d broached the subject, however, I was face to face with how I felt.

I wanted to marry Justin—there was no denying it.

But he’d said he was happy with how things were now. And in man talk, I knew that meant one thing: “you don’t want to screw this all up by getting married or anything, do you?”

My eyes drifted toward the passing traffic, and a disappointed sigh slipped past my lips. I had to learn to be happy with what I had.

“What do you say to some ice cream?” Justin asked.

I nodded. Twenty minutes later we had vanilla cones in our hand. But the ice cream didn’t taste all that sweet.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“It’s nothing,” I said. “Just a little tired.”

He gave me a quizzical look.

“Then why don’t we head back to the apartment. Might do you some good to get some rest. Busy weekend ahead.”

“Sure.”

But wait—what busy weekend? Sure, we were going to be having lunch with the parents again tomorrow, but other than that we were all free. I put the thought out of my head as we finished our cones and headed back to the apartment.

“Oh,” said Justin as he slipped his key into the lock. “We have a friend staying over for the weekend. I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

“Wait, what?” I asked, shocked. “You invited someone over without asking me?”

“I think you two will get along just fine,” he said, a playful smile on his face.

He pushed the door open, and I let out a gasp at what I saw. Plopped onto the kitchen counter was an enormous stuffed koala bear, all cute and cuddly. I rushed to it and lifted the toy up.

“Cute,” I said. “A little souvenir of our near-death experience?”

“A gift from the family we met at the oasis,” he said, standing behind me. “We exchanged emails when you weren’t looking, and we got to talking. He asked if you and I were still together, and I said that we were. Then he told me that a great girl like you only comes around once in a great while, and I’d better make sure I kept you if I were lucky enough to get you.”

Tears formed in my eyes as I looked the bear over.

“So,” Justin continued, “he told me that he’d pass along a message for me. Check under his arm.”

I gave Justin a curious look before turning my attention back to the bear. The arm was crossed over its chest, and I lifted it up to see the message.

I dropped the bear as soon as I read the message. In lovely, cursive embroidery was written: “Delaney, will you marry me?”

I turned on my heels to confront Justin, but I had to look down to see him. Justin was on his knee, a gorgeous, glittering ring in his hands.

“You’re not going to keep the koala waiting, are you?”

I couldn’t hold back any longer. Tears poured from my eyes, and my heart felt nearly ready to burst with joy.

“Yes!” I shouted. “Yes, yes, yes!”

Justin didn’t wait to see if I was going to change my mind. He stood up, slipped the ring on my finger, and placed his lips on mine. We kissed long and deep, and as we embraced, I opened my eyes just a bit to catch the sight of the stunning ring.

“I can’t believe it,” I said. “I thought you weren’t even thinking about marriage.”

“I may have let you believe that,” he said. “Sorry, but it makes the surprise more fun, I think.”

Part of me wanted to give him a playful jab, but I knew he was right.

We continued to kiss long and hard, holding each other tight. Before I knew it, our hands were moving all over each other’s bodies, first over our clothes, then under. I felt totally intoxicated by his touch, his kiss, his scent, his body, his everything. I wanted to be his now and forever, and for him to be mine.

Justin clearly sensed that I had more in mind than a kiss. His hands slipping into the fold of my dress, he undid the sash in front and pulled it open, revealing the lacy black bra and panties that I had on underneath. I wasn’t about to let him be clothed while I was stripped down bare, so I quickly went to work on his shirt and tie. Moments later, his stunning physique was on full display, just how I liked it.

“Wait,” said Justin, pulling away for a brief moment. “Maybe we ought to, you know, go all celibate until the wedding night. At least we can pretend we waited until marriage, you know?”

I shook my head and smirked.

“Can’t believe I’ve got a whole life of bad jokes to look forward to.”

“You love it,” he said. “Admit it.”

“Fine, fine,” I said. “I love it. And I love you.”

He said nothing for a moment, looking at me with wide, clear eyes as if drinking in the sight of me.

“And I love you too, baby,” he said.

We went right back to kissing. A little more work on the clothes later and we were both good and naked. I glanced down at his full, hard member, ready to feel it inside of me.

Justin lifted me up by the hips, setting me on the kitchen table.

“You ready for it?” he asked, his voice that low and breathy tone that meant he was just as turned on and ready to go as I was.

“You know I am,” I said. “And I’m going to go crazy if you make me wait another damn second for what I want.”

He smirked.

“You know I like to see you sweat a little first.”

“I prefer to see you sweat,” I said. “While you’re on top of me.”

“I think I can make that happen,” he said.

Just when I was about to lose my damn mind, Justin grabbed his erection by the base, placed his head at my entrance, and effortlessly slid inside of me.

“Oh, God,” I said, feeling every inch of him enter me until he was fully sheathed.

Justin’s expression tightened as he held fast inside of me. His hands moved down my body, starting from my shoulders, down my breasts, finally coming to a rest on my hips. Once there, he held me in place, the huge muscles of his shoulders flexing and tensing as he prepared to give me the onslaught he knew that I wanted.

His thrusts were slow at first, allowing me to savor every last sensation as he moved inside of me. I rested my head on his shoulder as he penetrated me, taking in his rich, delicious scent, my hands fixed onto the solid muscles of his back as they worked, tightening and loosening.

After a time, his pace quickened. Soon, he was driving into me with pneumatic force, filling me up over and over again, the power of his erection making me feel as though I was being split in half in the best way imaginable. Minutes into the session and an orgasm was already forming deep inside of me.

“You’re gonna make me…” my eyes winced shut. “Oh, Justin. You make me feel so damn good.”

“Yes, Delaney,” he said, his words coming out in a hard grunt. “So fucking good.”

His hands locked onto the soft curves of my hips, his member entering me at a pace that absolutely stupefied me with pleasure, my body moments from the release I desperately craved.

Then, it happened. My body tightened up as though being coursed through with electricity. I dug my nails into Justin’s back, moans pouring out of my mouth. The orgasm exploded through me, the pleasure like nothing else. Justin came next, shooting his seed good and deep.

Slowly, our orgasms faded, and Justin and I were reduced to a conjoined pile of sweaty, heaving flesh.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he said between breaths. “But my little friend was watching.”

I was confused at first, my senses still reeling. Then, I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw that the koala had been looking right at us the whole time.

“What a little voyeur,” I said.

Justin reached over and spun the bear around.

“Only one Aussie in this place gets to ogle this girl,” he said. “Well, half-Aussie.”

I laughed before pinching Justin’s cheeks in my hands and giving him a hard kiss.

“I love you so damn much,” I said.

“And I love you. I can’t wait to say it again when we’re married.”

“Hmm,” I said, looking away.

“Something on your mind?”

“Just thinking about how now we have to get everything planned. It’s going to be a lot of work.”

“True,” he said. “But I’ve only got one demand.”

“Oh?”

“The honeymoon isn’t anywhere near the outback.”

I laughed and kissed him again, my heart filled with more love than I’d ever known.