“Well, there’s still time for her to realize she can do better,” Slider jokes.
“Asshole,” I mutter, although he’s not wrong. She could decide my baggage is too much and walk away. The thought makes me cold all over. “I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Okay, pal. And J-Dog?”
“What?”
“I really am happy for you.”
Warmth fills me. “Thanks, Slide.”
“Any time.”
He hangs up and I do the same.
“You do deserve me.”
Nia’s voice from the doorway has me twisting to look over my shoulder, my heart thrumming beneath my ribs.
Some former soldier you are, asswipe. You didn’t even notice her standing there.
My eyes linger on her frame. She’s forgone the jogging bottoms and is wearing just the tee I gave her. It barely hits her mid-thigh, showing off the expanse of her long legs. I force myself not to ogle, but I can’t deny how alluring she looks wearing my clothes.
“How long were you standing there?” I ask.
She dips her head, a little embarrassed maybe. “I didn’t mean to listen in. I was going to say I was standing here, but then I heard you say that.” She moves into the room and I find her in my arms and wrapped around me like a vine. “I know this is new and we’re both scared of what it means, but you have to talk to me if you start getting freaked out. Don’t bottle it up, okay? Promise?”
I nod at her and then dip my head to capture her mouth. She’s soft beneath me and I can taste toothpaste, so I guess she must have finger brushed her teeth or used mine, since I don’t have a spare toothbrush in the cabinet.
“Slide’s on his way over,” I tell her when I pull back.
“Okay. I’ll get dressed.”
“I need your apartment and shop keys.”
Her brow narrows at me. “For what?”
“Slider’s going over there to fix the door at your apartment and make sure it’s secure, and I’ve got a guy coming to fit a new security system at both the apartment and the store.”
Her eyes flare. “You have?”
“Yeah, sweetheart. I don’t like the idea of you being there with no protection. It’s not much, but this is the best I can offer—short of moving you in here.”
“How much is it costing?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
I watch the dip between her eyes become more pronounced. “What do you mean, don’t worry about it?”
“I mean don’t worry about it.”
“Jared—”
I shake my head. “This is going to give me peace of mind, Nia, so please don’t fight me on it.”
She must sense something in my tone, because she just nods. “Thank you. Truly.”
She hugs me closer and I melt into her warmth. I’d forgotten how it feels to have a woman wrapped around you and the thought of having her in my bed doesn’t scare me as much as I thought it would—or as much as I thought it should.
“Do you want coffee, food?”
“I would love a coffee.” She follows me into the kitchen. “What time do you need to pick Cooper up at?”
“I told her ten, but my mom will have him until I come. She loves my kid more than she loves me, I swear it.”
Nia grins. “Cooper’s cute, that’s why.”
I arch a brow. “Are you saying I’m not?”
Her lips fold together to stop from laughing. “I wouldn’t dare.”
I grasp the back of her neck and devour her mouth, taking, plundering, desperation and need driving me. I want her, I need her. She’s mine and I’m not letting her go. I’ll fight for her with every breath I have in my body, because I’m starting to realize that without Nia, mine and Coop’s life would be incomplete.
20
Nia
Slider arrives to pick up the keys about ten minutes later. Like Jared, he’s a big guy—all his friends are—and he fills the space when he steps into the living room. I notice his eyes slide between me and Jared, curiosity there. I don’t know what possesses me to do it, but I grasp Jared’s hand and he pulls me closer to his side.
Slider doesn’t say anything, but I can see the satisfaction in his expression as he takes us both in.
“I’m meeting the guy at the apartment first, then we’ll head down and do the store. I’ll bring the new keys back and give you a walkthrough of your security system when he’s done,” Slider tells me.
“You guys are just… wow. This is more than I expected, thank you.”
He makes a grunt sound, which I assume means don’t mention it, then takes off with both sets of my keys. I probably should feel a little weird about handing over the keys to all my worldly possessions to a guy I’ve had maybe three interactions with, but I trust Slider. I trust him because Jared does.
When he’s gone, Jared wraps a hand around my waist. “What do you want to do? Go for lunch?”
“Why don’t we go and get Coop and the three of us go for food.”
I say it slowly, a little uncertain if I’m overstepping the mark here, but this family I’m stepping into isn’t just Jared, it’s Cooper too.
“Are you sure?”
“Well, if you don’t mind. I don’t want to impose on him if you’re not ready for us to properly meet yet.”
“I want you to impose.” And he genuinely sounds pleased that I want to spend time with his son as well. I’m glad he didn’t shoot the suggestion down, but I would have understood if he had. I’d understand if he wanted to wait and make sure things were going to work out between us before bringing his kid into the equation. Most people would want to be careful when their kids are involved.
The fact he doesn’t shoot me down tells me he’s serious about us, that he’s thinking long term. That thought makes the butterflies in my stomach take flight.
“Okay then, let’s go and get Cooper.”
We finish getting ready for the day and head over to his mom’s. I have to admit, I’m a little nervous about meeting her. It’s always daunting meeting someone’s parents and Jared seems close to his mom.
She lives in a small one-story home with a neatly kept garden and an SUV parked on the driveway. As we pass it, I see a car seat in the back—for Coop, no doubt.
“Does your mom have other grandkids?” I ask as we approach the front door.
“My sister’s got two girls, but she’s in Fort Lauderdale, so we only see them on holidays and special occasions.”
“So, Coop gets the full grandma treatment.”
He snorts, running a hand through his hair. “You could say that. My mom probably spoils him too much. So do Robyn’s parents when they have him. The kid’s going to be ruined by the time he’s five.”
“He deserves it.”
“I worry they go overboard sometimes.”
“They love him,” I counter.
“Yeah,” he says, “they do.” He pushes the front door open and steps into the house, hollering a, “Mom, it’s me.”