I pull him up by the collar of his shirt. “Don’t you dare say another word about my wife.”
I hear Jessa gasp behind me but I don’t care. I’ll explain to her later how this is going down. She is mine now, heart and soul, and there is nothing that will keep me from her sweet little muffin.
“She fucked me over, lost me my job. She’s a—”
“We’re done here,” I shout, dragging him to the first security guard I see, not giving a flying shit that we are making a scene. I’ll do anything to protect the woman I love.
I explain to the guard that we need this man dealt with. He seems to understand that this jackass threatened my girl because he calls for backup.
But I don’t stay and watch. I have no time for that piece of shit. Instead, I grab my woman’s hand and hold on tight. We’re in this together now, till death do us part.
Jessa
Wife?
The word should send alarm bells ringing in my ear, but instead it does just the opposite. A deep sense of longing sweeps through me as I consider what it would mean if I was truly Josh’s wife.
Happiness. Security. Devotion. Desire.
He may have just said the comment to get Tim away from me — but I think it was more than that.
At least I hope it was.
Alone in his car, I tremble. He notices and reaches for the seatbelt, securing it for me. He takes my hand. “You’re shaking,” he says. “God, I hate what just happened.”
“It’s okay. I’ve dealt with him before.”
“What do you mean?” A dark streak covers his eyes.
“He was the loan officer at the bank when I opened Treat Yourself. He made some really inappropriate comments… and Val encouraged me to report him. I’m glad I did. I needed to stand up for myself… but it sounds like he lost his job over it.”
Josh clenches his jaw, angry. “I should have punched him when I had the chance.”
I shake my head, cupping Josh’s cheek. “No. You did the exact right thing. It’s not our fight.”
“If I hadn’t been there… shouldn’t have left you alone.”
“You can’t protect me from every asshole. The world is filled with them.”
“I know, but if anything happened to you… God, Jessa, I love you. I want to keep you safe.”
“Life is filled with unknowns. I figure we just need to do our best to hold onto the things we do know.” I blink back tears. “I meant it when I said I loved you,” I tell him. “I don’t want to lose this. What we just found.”
Josh’s frown fades and he draws me to him, kissing me softly on the lips. I melt into his kiss, my eyes closed and my heart open. I love him.
“Well, I meant what I said about you being my wife,” he says, trumping my declaration of love.
I laugh. “You don’t know me.”
“I know you make great muffins,” he says with a smile. “And I know what your other muffin tastes like, too.”
“Is that enough to build a life off of?” I ask, incredulous.
He nods. “The moment I saw you, something stirred in me, Jessa. Something I can’t bear to lose. I love you. And I want to marry you. Maybe it’s too fast and if that’s how you feel, I’ll wait. I can be patient, I can—”
I cut him off.
“I’ll marry you,” I say. His eyes widen in surprise. “I mean it, Josh. I want to marry you. I don’t want to wait.”
He pulls me in for a kiss. “Damn, you made me the happiest man in the world.”
I grin, knowing this is fast, but I am not scared of speed. I’m only scared of losing what I love.
“I think I know what would make you even happier,” I say with a smile.
“What’s that?”
“I promised you dessert, didn’t I?”
Epilogue 1
Jessa
One year later…
After the Ferris wheel — a date that will forever be the best of my life — I didn’t think things could ever get better.
But I was wrong.
So very wrong.
Turns out when you let go and let love, incredible things start to happen. I stopped trying to protect myself and instead of getting broken and bruised, I had a champion. Josh became my knight in shining armor. But not because he thought I was a weak princess who needed saving — no. Josh simply wanted to hold the shield I’d been carrying for so long. He wanted to lighten my