planting kisses along her soft skin. “Wake up with me every morning. Sleep in my arms every night.”
She falls onto her back, and I level my palm on the other side of her, staring down while meeting her eyes.
“That’s a pretty big step … it’d make things serious.”
“I want to prove to you that I’m serious about us, baby.” I tip my head down to kiss her. “I want this. I want you.” I slide my tongue along the seam of her lips. “What do you say?”
She opens her mouth, sucking on the tip of my tongue, and the conversation stops momentarily as I make love to her this time.
With each circle of my hips, each thrust inside her, I hope to prove myself.
Show her how comfortable life is with me, how she’d wake up every morning.
She comes. I come.
She shrieks my name. I moan out hers.
“I need to make sure Grace can find another roommate,” she whispers.
“Lola?” I ask. “Cassidy mentioned looking for a place too.”
“I’ll talk to her about it. I can’t just bail on her.”
“She can’t make rent on her own?”
“She can. It’s just … complicated.”
49
Georgia
Two Months Later
It’s baby time.
Not mine, I should clarify.
Nor am I trying to make a little mini me yet.
I’m practically dancing in my chair while in the hospital waiting room. Anticipation has consumed me since Cohen called last night and said Jamie was going into labor. He asked us to wait until the baby was born before coming to the hospital since it’d just be a waiting game. An hour ago, he called and said there’s another Fox baby in the family.
I’m over the moon for them. Jamie gave my brother the happiness he’d thought he’d never have again. His trust in people was shit, especially with a woman related to the girl who’d not only turned her back on him, but also his son. Having a woman look you in the eye and ask you to give your unborn baby up can be soul-crushing. My brother was never the same after that.
This time, it’s a different experience. He’s not going in, unknowing if Jamie will want their baby girl. There will be no bittersweet day when he’s excited to meet his son yet scared of the agony of uncertainty if his child will have a mother.
“You excited?” Archer asks.
“I can’t wait to meet her,” I tell him.
He chuckles, squeezing my knee. “You’re going to spoil the shit out of her, aren’t you?”
“Damn straight.”
I’m already guilty of letting Noah sucker me into giving him extra cupcakes and sneaking him fruit snacks that have actual sugar in them.
Not only am I riding the excitement of a new baby in the fam, but next week, I’m also moving in with Archer.
Even though Archer asked a few months ago, I didn’t want to jump straight into the idea. I waited, giving Archer time. We were fresh, and my trust in him was still iffy. No way would I risk being homeless if he ran again. Our relationship has grown stronger, and I’m ready to take the risk with him.
I agreed to move in with him, and Cassidy will be taking Grace’s new roomie spot.
“Hey, guys,” Cassidy says, walking in with Lincoln behind her.
I smile and wave to them before leaning into Archer and lowering my voice. “Something will happen between them. Twenty bucks and fifty orgasms, they bang by the end of the year.”
When we’re at the bar, Cassidy flirts with Lincoln like it’s her part-time job. Lincoln tries to keep his distance, joking that she’s too young. Cassidy has had an easy life. Lincoln just got out of prison. They’re not exactly bread and butter.
But hey, look at Archer and me.
“I’ll take you up on that bet,” Archer whispers. “I’ll give you the orgasms no matter what, though. She’s too young for Lincoln’s liking.”
“She’s not that much younger than him. Their age gap is similar to ours.”
“Let’s just say, Lincoln likes them older.”
“Older? As in cougars? Like, is his type women who need to hit their Life Alert after he gives them the D?”
He shakes his head, laughing. “Jesus, what am I going to do with you?”
“Answer the question. Now, I’m curious.”
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Lincoln with a woman. I stay with Archer all the time, and Lincoln hasn’t gotten his own place yet. Not that I mind him being there.
Lincoln is good for Archer. Not only has their relationship grown but so has Archer’s relationship with his mother. He