Saving the Senator's Son - Jacki James Page 0,92

mind losing the space if it made him happy, but I grumbled a little just so he would think he won me over. I figured it probably wasn’t a good idea to let him know this early on that I would tear down the garage to put in his hot tub if I had to. Whatever it took to give him what he wanted was okay with me.

He glanced over my way and gave me a smile, and I felt it all the way to my toes. He had been beautiful up on stage with his father and in all the publicity photos, but that was nothing compared to when he genuinely smiled. It lit up his eyes, and knowing I was the one who put that smile on his face had become everything to me.

“Man, you’re killing me with all those heart-eye, lovey-dovey, looks and shit,” Rand said, rolling his eyes.

“Your time will come, man. Your time will come.”

“Not me, I’m a—”

“Wild mustang,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I remember.”

“Well, personally, I’m in no hurry. There are way more Angelas out there than there are Treys,” Ryan insisted.

“Dude, please tell me there aren’t any other Angelas out there, that she’s one of a kind, cause you kind of hit the crazy jackpot with that one,” Rand said.

“I don’t know. I seem to attract them. The guy I dated before her wasn’t much better,” Ryan said. “I think I’m just better off single.”

“Okay, enough of that talk. We need some music,” Rand said, standing up.

“Put on something uplifting…none of that depressing lost my dog and my woman and my truck shit.”

“Excuse me. Country music isn’t shit. It’s got feeling and story, but fine, you go choose if you don’t want me to.” He flopped back down in his chair and took a drink of his beer. Ryan glared at him but got up to go turn on the music.

“How much do you want to bet he chooses some classical shit just to get on my nerves?”

“It wouldn’t be to get on your nerves. He actually likes classical. You, on the other hand, have been pretending to love country music for years just to annoy him,” Jordan said.

“Hey, it’s a long game I’m playing here. Besides, listening to a little Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, and Colton Montgomery isn’t too much trouble if it means I get to torture my brother.”

I was laughing at Rand when Trey came over and slid into my lap. “What are you guys talking about over here?”

“Rand torturing Ryan with country music,” Jordan said. “It’s been going on for ages.”

“Oh, I love country music. Ash and I used to go to a club down in North Carolina that had country line-dancing on Thursdays. So much fun.”

“Ooohh,” Rand said, laughing. “This is going to be so much fun.”

“No, you don’t get to drag my boyfriend into your evil plots.” But it was easy to see, looking between the two of them, it was a lost cause. I gave them two weeks before they found some way to trick Ryan into line-dancing to the Cotton-eyed Joe or some other redneck song.

I shook my head and laughed. “Okay, you two are going to do what you want no matter what I say. I give up. What were you guys talking about over there?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what happened. We were talking about Ash needing furniture and where he should go to get it, then Becca started talking about some show she watches where people go to flea markets and buy old stuff and fix it up. Next thing I know, they’re planning flea market trips to decorate the house and Becca’s moving in with him as his roommate. The speed it all happened at was a little like being run over by a train.”

“Oh, okay. That was unexpected.”

“It was, but it makes sense, too. They’re actually a lot alike. They’re both really artistic and love crazy colors and patterns. They’ll probably have a ball, and your mom is crazy-excited. I guess she’s going to go to the flea market with them. She watches the same show and has been wanting to try her hand at it.”

“That would be good for both her and Becca. Mom has always wanted a daughter, and I don’t think retirement really suits her. She’s bored,” I said.

“What about you, Trey?” Jordan asked. He tried to sound casual, but I knew he was really hoping Trey would come to work with him. He wanted to start a foundation that would advocate for a wide range of people groups. His plan was bold, and he really thought Trey would be an asset. Not only because of his degree, but also because of his political connections. Trey and I had talked about it. He was excited about being able to turn all those years with his father into something good. Even if his father's cronies wouldn’t be allies, he knew who the players were on both sides of the aisle, and they knew him.

“I’m in, Jordan. I think it’s a great plan.”

Jordan whooped and held out his hand for a fist bump. I’d never seen a fist bump to seal a deal, but hey, whatever worked. Trey leaned back against me, and I tightened my arms around him.

“It’s hard to believe,” he said, looking out over the patio at all our friends and family.

“What’s hard to believe?”

“That this is my life. All of this, and it’s real. No pretending, no hiding, no performing…no judgment. I’m not really sure what to do with that.”

“Accept it, baby. That’s all you have to do. You never have to hide with me or with my family.”

“I know. It’s a gift. To be able to be yourself. Thank you for giving that to me.”

I gave him a soft kiss. “You’re welcome, but that’s only the beginning of what I want to give you. I want you to have everything you want, because you’re the best man I know, and you deserve to be happy.”

He gave me one of those smiles, and my heart melted all over again. I had a feeling it always would. “I am happy, and I don’t need you to give me anything else. All I need is you.”

“Well, that’s easy, because you have that.”

“For always?” he asked.

“For always.”

At one point Trey's father mentioned he should have sent him away the same way his friend did his son... If you want to read more about Maverick and how that turned out you can read his story here: Never Let Go.

Roman's brother Ryan's story is next in the Hart Security series. To be alerted when this book will be out sign up for my newsletter here.

Acknowledgments

This book isn't like anything I have written before, and I never would have made it to the end without the amazing Beth Bolden. She pushed me to be my best and didn't accept anything less. Thank you for that!

Also a special thank you to Reese Knightly for her suggestions and to Melissa Johnson for always loving my men.