Code Name: Ghost - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,86
a bit of a war cry as I twirl her around and around. She tips her head back, laughing.
When I come to a dizzying stop, I note several people out in the pit area watching us. Giggling, Anna says, “Secret’s really out now.”
“Fuck the bro code,” I mutter, then dip my head to kiss her hard.
My life is beginning now. I’m never going to waste a single moment worrying about anything other than making Anna happy.
EPILOGUE
Anna
“Can you admit it’s a little cramped?” Malik mutters as we gaze at the small Christmas tree we’d just finished decorating in my apartment.
“I can totally admit it.” No sense in starting a fight over something we agree on. There was only one spot available to place the damn tree. When we unfolded the bed from the living room couch, the bottom corner actually pushes into the prickly plastic tree branches.
Of course, that’s Malik’s side of the bed so his feet are going to be hitting them tonight when we go to sleep.
“But it’s… cozy, right?” I offer instead.
“We’re getting a bigger place,” he insists as he turns away from me and walks into the kitchen.
It was just five days ago when we declared our love for each other. Tonight is Christmas Eve, so I’m trying not to push his buttons too hard. For the past five days, he’s been wanting to move things along quickly. His first order of business was to demand we move in together.
I really didn’t have an argument about that, and I didn’t feel it was too soon in the slightest. Jameson apartments were out of the picture. I was not about to raise Avery in an apartment on the top floor of the place I worked. Not to mention there was no more room there than here.
And, in all honesty, I don’t have a problem with moving out of this place. Getting something bigger, maybe a little bit outside of the city with a yard would be nice.
But it’s Christmas, and we have plenty of time to decide where to go and when. For now, I’m enjoying the fact it’s snowing outside, and Malik, Avery, and I will be spending our first Christmas together.
I follow him into the kitchen, only to find him pulling milk out of the fridge. He next grabs some cocoa from the cupboard, and I know he’s going to make us two mugs of hot chocolate so we can settle into our first Christmas Eve together.
It’s so sweet and thoughtful that I decide to stop pushing his buttons about the living situation. I move in behind Malik, wrapping my arms around him. Because he’s so tall and there’s no hope of me putting my chin on his shoulder, I merely press my cheek into the middle of his shoulder blades. “How about we go out to look next weekend after we get back from Montreal? Maybe find a house with a yard?”
Malik turns to face me, putting his arms around me as he grins. “You’re not handling me, are you?”
“Just a little,” I admit with a smirk. “But we do need a bigger place.”
“I could cancel the visit home,” he suggests. “And we can start looking right away.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “Not about to cancel a visit with your parents.”
“No, that wouldn’t be a good thing,” he agrees before pulling away so he can finish making our hot chocolate.
Malik and I had made plans to take Avery to Montreal as the entire Fournier family is going to manage to be home at the same time. His mom called me herself with the invitation, and she insisted I bring Avery as long as I didn’t mind traveling with her.
I don’t, and I’m excited to meet what I’m sure is going to become my family by marriage. That might seem as if I’m a bit sure of myself, but the last five days have produced more than just talk about a bigger place to live. We’ve talked about our future, which has included discussions about marriage and children and whether we’re dog or cat people.
We’re both actually, and we intend to have a house full of furry kids as well.
No one at Jameson seems to think it’s odd, either. Malik is a bit put out his supposed bro-code theory was a bunch of hot air, but, secretly, I think he’s relieved he doesn’t have to defend his own honor over loving me.
“I know some of this seems fast,” he says quietly before bending to pull a pot from the bottom cabinet. When he rises, he glances over his shoulder. “I’m going to take my time, though, before I propose.”
My body locks tight. Even though we’ve talked in loose terms about living our lives together with children, I haven’t even considered an actual proposal. All of this just seems so natural and right—mainly because of the horrors Malik and I have shared—that I never thought twice about the solemnity of how we get from being in love to hitching ourselves together figuratively, spiritually, legally, and such.
“I have nothing holding me back,” I say. It’s an assurance I need to give him that my period of mourning for Jimmy is complete. Now he’s in a place I’ve reserved for him in my heart. A very special place where I can talk to him—almost daily—and keep his memory alive for both Avery and me.
But the rest of my heart is ready to be occupied by Malik—full time.
When he’s ready.
“I have nothing holding me back either,” he assures me. “I just want you to know that it will come when the time is right for us both. I’ll know it’s the right time for me to ask, because I’ll know, deep in my heart, that you’ll say yes.”
“Then I trust you to know when that is,” I murmur.
Malik smiles—and I know we are on the same page.
From the nursery, Avery lets out a small cry. We both go still, listening to see if it happens again.
It does, so I start that way.
But Malik stops me. “Let me get her.”
For a moment, we just stare at each other before I incline my head. Malik steps into me, then hands me the pot. I’m now officially on hot-chocolate duty. He dips his head, kisses my mouth, and then moves off to the nursery to get our daughter.
So, one day, when he does ask me to marry him, I know the answer will be a yes without any hesitation.
Can Cage Murdock save his marriage? Their whirlwind romance led to a quickie wedding, but the honeymoon is about to be cut short when she finds out he’s been keeping a big secret. Click here for details on Code Name: Rook
Want more from alpha hero Cage Murdock? Before coming to Pittsburgh, he worked with the Jameson team in Vegas! Click here to read Wicked Choice
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About the Author
New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.
A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.
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