To Dillon and Jasmine, and Lewis Sporting Goods, may they eventually take over the world,” Gabe said, raising his glass as Dillon and Jasmine grinned happily.

“Well, maybe not the world … just the U.S.,” Dillon amended. “We don’t want to be greedy.”

We were at the bar, celebrating the fact that Lewis Sporting Goods was expanding to Chicago, Boise, and Seattle. Dillon and Jasmine had been working their tails off to make the expansion happen, and we were all excited to see their hard work paying off.

Jed was talking to Reardon, so I made my way to the bar to refresh both of our drinks.

Things between us had been going great. We’d both been working on our communication, and so far, it had been working beautifully.

I was knee deep in showcases at the gallery, and Jed was finishing up his latest construction job.

We spent our days working hard, and our evenings cooking together and unwinding. Sometimes we’d break apart and each go work in our separate studios, or we’d relax on the couch and read, talk, or watch television.

“Hey, gorgeous, what can I get ya?” Shane asked as I leaned against the bar.

“Hi, Shane, can I get a beer for Jed and a dirty martini for myself?”

“Sure thing, sugar,” Shane said with a wink.

As he went to work on my order, I turned back to look around the bar. Jasmine was talking to some guy I’d never seen before, and I made a mental note to ask her about him later.

I heard Shane make a grunting sound behind me. I looked to see he was following my gaze to Jazzy and the strange guy, a frown on his face.

“She brought that root rat around the other night. I could tell right off he’s only after getting in her pants,” Shane informed me.

“Like, on a date?” I asked, wondering why she hadn’t told me she had one. We usually told each other that stuff.

He nodded and grunted again.

Before I could express sympathy or ask him about his situation with his visa, he stormed off and walked into the back.

I watched his retreating back with a frown, then picked up the drinks and went back to join Jed.

“Here you go,” I said, handing him a beer.

“Thanks, babe,” Jed said, leaning down to give me a kiss on the cheek.

“What, no drink for me?” Reardon asked.

“Sorry, two hands,” I replied with an innocent grin, then laughed when he scowled.

“Fine, I’ll go get my own,” he said, and turned with a huff.

“Drama,” I called out after him, to which he responded by turning his head and sticking out his tongue at me.

“Hey, Rena, I’ve been thinking,” Jed began, pulling my attention off my cousin.

“About what?” I asked as I took a sip of the dirty martini.

Delicious.

“About our current situation.”

“What situation?”

“Our living situation,” he replied. “What do you say we give up our houses and move into something else. Something bigger, on some land?”

“Really? You want to move in together?” I asked, my heart leaping into my throat.

“Just picture it. A pretty house on a couple acres, with a workspace in the back with enough room for both of us to have space to work. That way, we don’t have to leave each other when we want to create, and we’d have room to grow, eventually … if we want to.”

I did just what he asked, and pictured it while he spoke, and what I saw I really, really liked.

“I would love that,” I admitted.

“You would?”

“Absolutely. I like the thought of never having to leave you to go home and change, or paint. And, I’ve always wanted to have some land of my own. We could get a dog,” I suggested with a happy smile.

“I’d like that,” Jed said, lowering his lips to mine.

He kissed me until I was dizzy, then lifted his head and looked into my eyes.

“So, we’ll find a realtor and get our houses on the market … start looking for the perfect place for us?”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “And, if we can’t find it, maybe we can build exactly what we want.”

“I do know someone in construction,” Jed teased. “So, if we find the perfect house, in the perfect spot, I could always build us exactly the kind of studio we want.”

“You sure are handy to have around.”

“You should probably keep me then,” he said, brushing his lips across mine again, oh so softly.

“Oh, I plan to, don’t you worry about that. You’re the kind of man a woman holds on to with both fists. Handsome, built, good with your hands,” I leaned in and whispered, “and, you’re tongue.”

Jed chuckled.

“And you’re the kind of woman who keeps a man on his knees. Gorgeous, talented … too enchanting to let go.”

“Well, it looks like we’re both stuck then.”

“We sure are,” Jed said softly, running his tongue over my lower lip. “There’s no one I’d rather be stuck with.”

The End.