Victoria
A few months had passed, and honestly, life was better than ever. Grant and I were still going strong. Sage’s fear that we didn’t know each other well enough, that the novelty would wear off once we settled back to our daily lives—a fear I shared, too, to be honest—proved unfounded. We made a great team, we made each other happy both in the bedroom and outside of it, and we were more in love with each other with every passing day.
The day we learned the verdict—that Trenton was going to jail for drug trafficking, and so was the drug lord who had threatened him—was a day full of celebration. Grant took Sage and I out to dinner that night at a super fancy place.
He grinned once the waiter left to fill our drink orders. “I’m here with the two most beautiful women in the room.”
Sage rolled her eyes. She loved teasing him every chance she got. “We’re only the most beautiful women in the room? Not in the whole world?”
“Well, I haven’t seen all of the women in the whole world, so if I had said that, you would’ve pointed out that fact, and you know it.” He loved teasing her right back.
We all burst out laughing.
“I haven’t been seeing you as much lately. Haven’t found a new guy, have you?” he asked her.
Sage shook her head. “Are you kidding me?” she just about shrieked.
A woman at a nearby table glanced over.
Sage blushed and lowered her voice. “I’ve sworn off bad boys, and since I haven’t met a good one yet, I’m comfortable staying single for a long, long time.”
“Speaking of being single, how’s Corinne doing?” I asked. We hadn’t talked much since Sage resurfaced in Corinne’s life, and to be honest, I missed our talks. Maybe I should give her a call. It couldn’t hurt any.
“She hasn’t been with a guy since Jack. I think he scarred her. She started to take an art class, and there’s one guy taking it who she won’t stop talking about, but I think she’s scared to take the plunge.”
“Corinne? Scared?” Grant shook his head. “That doesn’t sound like her.”
Corinne came over for dinner a few times in the past few months, and when she met Grant, she spent the entire time throwing me winks and nudging me. She approved. We had talked about life in general, not specifics.
“I know, right?” Sage shrugged. “Normally, if a guy caught her eye, she would have no problem being the one to ask him out without waiting around for him to do it, but she hasn’t.”
“Maybe she will.”
“I think someone got it into her head that she needs to be happy with who she is by herself before she should date a guy.” Sage grinned at me. “I wonder who put that idea there?”
I grinned back. “Someone very wise.”
The two of us laughed, and Grant had to chuckle, too.
She turned back to Grant. “On a more serious note, I haven’t been around lately because I’ve been so busy. Since I’m now a waitress, I’m trying to save up as much as I can. Any day now, I should be hearing back about whether or not I passed my GED. I’ve already done a lot of research on different schools, and I’ve narrowed down my choices. It won’t be easy, getting into a program. I know that. It won’t look good that I took a break from schooling, but I plan on being honest with my admission letters about my mom. About my moms.” She smiled brightly at me before her grin became more ironic. “Psychiatrists should eat that up, hopefully.”
“You can do anything you want,” I assured her, reaching over to pat her hand.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re my mom. You have to say that.”
“True,” I conceded, “I have to say it, but I also believe it.”
Counseling had transformed Sage. She had blossomed under it, and she had a good rapport with the counselor. By the end of the first week, they were talking more about psychology than the issues at hand, but that in and of itself was therapeutic because Sage was looking forward to the future, a future that wouldn’t involve Trenton.
Two weeks after our rescue, I hired Sage as a waitress, and she hadn’t once showed up late. She hadn’t disappointed me. Sure, there were a few minor mishaps here and there, but nothing unlike all new waitresses had to deal with. When she confided in the counselor that the kidnapping had actually been a good thing because it gave her the kick in the ass she needed, the counselor pronounced her ready to move on from counseling. I think they still talked from time to time. Sage needed all the strong female role models she could get.
“Have you asked Mrs. Franklin for help with schools?”
“Yeah. She’s been a great help. She said she would write me a letter for schools if it weren’t for it being a conflict of interest, even though I’m not her patient anymore.”
I grinned. Everything was looking up—for Sage, for Corinne, for me and Grant.
Dinner came, and we didn’t talk much because the food was that delicious. I excused myself to the restroom, and Sage came with.
“He really makes you happy, huh?” she asked.
“You have to ask?”
“I see. I do.” She washed her hands and stared at me through the mirror. “It’s good,” she said quietly.
“What is?”
“To see a healthy relationship for once. My birth mom never had one, and I don’t think any of the relationships I had been in were either. A lot of the other guys, I just used them to make Trenton selfish, and that wasn’t right to them or to me.”
I hugged her. “When did you get so insightful?”
She laughed. “I really am happy for you.”
We walked back to the table to find desserts waiting for us—a huge slice of cheesecake for Grant, an even larger slice of chocolate fudge cake for Sage, and a small dish of crème brûlée for me.
Complete with a ring on top of the burned sugar.
Tears glistened in my eyes as I looked up to Grant. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sage grinning smugly. She had been in on this.
Grant slid out of his seat and got down on one knee. A slight hush fell over the restaurant.
“Victoria,” Grant said, and my name on his lips was said like a sigh.
I felt like sighing myself. I had told Corinne she deserved a fairytale. Although our story had started out more like a tragedy, Grant and I had sure turned it around to make it a proper fairytale.
“You are a rock. You’re steadfast and loyal and everything I could want in a woman.” Grant’s eyes were smoldering, and I knew he meant a lot more than what he was saying, but considering a crowd had formed, and my daughter was right beside us, he couldn’t go into every sensual and dirty detail. “You already make me the happiest man in the world, but I want to ensure I have that the rest of my life. I want to make you my wife. I want to serve you and you me. I want us to be each other’s best friends. I want us to be husband and wife, partners for life. Will you—”
“Yes!” I squealed, and I leaned forward to kiss him and tumbled out of my seat and into his waiting arms.
Sage rolled her eyes but laughed. “You should let him finish the question before answering!”
I laughed, too, and looked up into Grant’s beautiful eyes.
He grinned. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I repeated, just as firmly as before. “Yes, of course!”
A chorus of cheers sounded from all around us. We had had an audience, but the only ones I cared about where my boyfriend—correction fiancé—and my daughter.
Several people came over to congratulate us, and when Grant asked for the bill, the waiter told us someone had taken care of it. He stood, glanced around, singled out a couple with a very young baby, and offered to pay their bill for them.
Just like that, I fell in love with him all over again.
Grant drove us back to his place, and the entire drive there, Sage kept pestering us with questions from the backseat. I had my hand on his thigh, and if it weren’t for her, I would’ve been sorely tempted to release Grant’s cock from his pants and stroke it until he came…or maybe I would’ve just taken it into my mouth and given him head. Grant was a safe driver, a little reckless at times sure, but safe for the most part. He would be able to handle the distraction, or if he couldn’t, I was sure we could find a secluded spot and make our way to the backseat and have some fun…
If it weren’t for Sage.
God, I loved her, and I did think it was perfect that he had included her with the proposal, but, man, did I just want some alone time with Grant right now!
“Any idea when you’ll get married?” Sage asked.
I glanced at Grant.
He shrugged. “We’ll need to get a license.”
“I don’t want to be too rushed with planning everything,” I said, biting my lower lip.
“We can have as big or as small of a wedding as you like.” He gave me a quick smile before refocusing on the road.
“Small,” I said immediately. I didn’t want to wait long at all to be Mrs. Reardon. “You think we could be ready by next month?”
“Anything for you, babe.”
I grinned. I’d move heaven and earth to get everything ready by then.
“What colors? Sage asked. “What theme? Are you gonna do a theme? It’ll be May so indoor or outdoor wedding? Or do you wanna do a destination wedding? Get married on an island or Hawaii! I’ve always wanted to go there! Or…” Sage never once stopped talking or asking questions, and her enthusiasm was refreshing and contagious.
When we arrived at Grant’s loft, Sage hopped out of Grant’s car and ran over to mine. “Mom, can I borrow your car? I wanna run over to Corinne’s.”
I couldn’t grab my keys out of my purse fast enough. I practically ran over to her.
She took them from me with a sly grin and a wink. “I’ll stay over,” she announced. “Don’t worry. I’ll make it into work tomorrow on time.” She pulled me close for a tight hug and whispered, “Maybe forgo the condom this time. I wouldn’t mind having a brother or sister.”
I gaped at her. She waved, climbed in, and took off.
Grant walked over and draped an arm over my shoulders. “What did she say to you?”
My cheeks had to be bright red. “Oh, ah.” I cleared my throat. “We never discussed this.”
“What? Does she want to move out?”
My chest grew tight at the thought. Yes, Sage would have to move out, sooner or later. “I won’t kick her out,” I said slowly, “but maybe she should start looking at places.”
“Oh.” He shrugged. “I didn’t mean to kick her out, and I figured that she’ll be staying on campus when she gets accepted into school, anyhow. I just thought she might’ve said something about that because you look a little flustered. What’s up, Vic?”
I stared up at him. “We haven’t talked about whether or not we want kids.”
A slow grin crossed his face. “Do you want one?”
“I love Sage,” I said slowly, “but it might be nice to have a baby. I never had to worry about diapers or teething or potty training or any of that. It would mean taking a step back from the restaurant, at least for a little while.”
“I know things were rocky at first with the whole ordeal,” he said, “but everything turned out all right.”
When the dust settled after “the whole ordeal” and I had been able to spare some moments to check out my phone, I found a ton of messages waiting for me. I listened to Heather Franklin freak out about one thing and another, her messages growing more and more frantic, until she figured out how to handle things on her own without having to rely on me, and then her last message was to let me know that everything was just fine.
I knew I had picked the right woman for the job—she just needed to realize she could do it and handle the pressure.
And if I had more time to train her so I could take a maternity leave, work shouldn’t be an issue.
But did Grant want one?
“Do you want a baby?” I asked, and held my breath. I hadn’t even thought about this before, but now I wanted it, badly.
“I only want one with you.” He lowered his arm to be around my waist and pulled me close for a tight embrace.
Together, we walked into the loft, and Grant kicked the door shut behind him. My hands hooked around his neck, and I pulled him down toward me to give him a kiss that tasted of love and lust and passion and zest. Grant ignited a fire inside of me that would never ever extinguish.
He pulled me even closer to him, so there was no space between us, the entire length of our bodies touching.
But there were far too many clothes on, and I could touch enough of his body. My hands were already pulling his shirt free from his pants, and I ran my nails up and down his back, loving the feel of his tight, taut muscles. I always felt so safe in his arms.
Immediately after the ordeal, I had been prone to taking naps to try to recover both mentally and physically, but each time, I had horrific nightmares. It was only when I slept with Grant that I slept peacefully. Even during sleep, I needed him.
I made quick work unbuttoning his shirt and ran my hands over his broad chest and his sculpted abs.
“You’re killing me,” he murmured.
“Just you wait.”
He tried to reach for my clothes, but I moved even closer to him to remove his shirt and kissed him soundly, so deeply that I felt it all the way down to my curling toes.
As we kissed, my fingers went to work on his belt, and I managed to undo his pants and shoved them down to his ankles. My nails raked against his chest, paying careful attention to his nipples and then down along the ridges of his six-pack abs and even lower to his waiting cock.
His cock throbbed in my hand, and I hadn’t even started to stroke it. I gently squeezed and looked up at Grant. His head was tipped back, slack-jawed, and he looked the picture of masculine erotic euphoria. I could stare at him forever. He was so hot.
And he’s all mine.
I would be the one to kiss his body, to touch and feel his muscles, to ride his cock. Everything—his smiles, his laughs, his mind, his body, his soul—was mine.
It gave me a heady sense of raw joy to recognize this, and I kissed the tip of his cock. Pre-cum leaked out, and I licked it.
Grant gripped my hair, guiding his cock into my mouth, and I took as much of him in as I could. He was long, eight inches at least, and my hands cupped his balls as I bobbed up and down his length.
“You’re…You’re killing me,” he groaned.
“Good,” I mumbled around him, and his cock jumped in my mouth.
For some reason, Grant pushed me away. I glanced up in surprise, but he lifted me up. I started to wrap my legs around him, but he had something else in mind.
He flipped me in his arms so my legs were pointed toward the ceiling, and he started to lick my pussy.
Oh, my God.
All the blood rushed to my head, but it felt so unbelievable and I couldn’t handle it. I gripped his ass to keep my head from swinging, and the tingling building deep within me grew and grew. His cock was right there, and I put it in my mouth.
It didn’t take me long at all to come. I would’ve screamed his name if I could’ve, but I wanted so badly to make him feel as good as I did that the more pleasure I felt, the more I sucked and kissed and sucked his cock.
Until he jerked back, loosening the hold of my mouth around his cock.
“I don’t want to come yet,” he growled.
He flipped me around, and I clung to him as blood rushed down from my head. With ease, he settled me into his arms, and he carried me off into the bedroom.
We made magic that night, unforgettable magic. And no, we didn’t use a condom. And we went at it again and again, in bed, in the shower, on the table…We had a lifetime to explore the world around us and each other, and I couldn’t wait to get started.
Sage might have sworn off bad boys, but I knew how good bad boys could be.
THE END
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