Page 26 of Delivery After Dark (Gansett Island #28)

“You need regular treatment to deal with your stress.”

“Are you offering?”

“We can work something out. A quid pro quo, perhaps. Electrical work for massage treatment.”

“Deal.”

“You’re easy,” she said with a laugh.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to have more of this.” He kissed her neck and then raised his head to kiss her lips. “All of this.”

“I’d be down with that.”

He kissed between her eyes. “What’s with this frown I see forming?”

“What frown?”

“This one.” Morgan kissed the spot again. “What’re you thinking about?”

“Oh, well, let’s see… I just had the best sex of my life with someone who may or may not be punching out of here before too much longer, and you know… I’m trying to keep this casual, but that’s turning out to be easier said than done. Other than that…”

Morgan wanted to reassure her, to tell her there was nothing to worry about, but the truth was, he didn’t know what the future held for him.

Everything was upside down at the moment, but this…

He hadn’t felt this good in a long time, and all he wanted was to hold on to the person who’d given him respite from the nightmare his life had become lately.

“I’m not going to say what you want to hear for the sake of saying something,” he said after a long pause.

“Thank you for that.”

He loved the refreshing way she said whatever she was thinking. “Tonight was amazing for me, too. And not just what happened here. All of it. Dinner, the talking, the laughing… I needed it more than you could ever know.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I did, too. And for the record, I haven’t done this on a first date since I was twenty and made a vow to never let that happen again.”

“So you broke a vow for me?”

“A solemn vow.”

“I’m honored.”

“You should be. Thanks for making it worth it.”

He grinned. “Glad to be of service.” After another soft kiss, he said, “Should I go?”

“Only if you want to.”

“I don’t, but feel free to kick me out.”

Sierra curled her arms and legs around him, trapping him in her soft sweetness. “Just relax and get some rest.” She ran her fingers through his hair, making his scalp tingle as he exhaled the horror of the last few months and turned himself over to her care.

For now, anyway.

What tomorrow would bring was anyone’s guess.

“I can’t believe it’s over.” Hours after finishing her last exam and turning in her final assignment, Janey Cantrell still couldn’t process that she’d finally completed veterinary school.

She’d celebrated with her husband, Joe, and their kids, PJ and Vi, at dinner and had cake at home afterward, and now that the kids were asleep, she was in bed with Joe and trying to process this moment. School was really over. Forever.

“I’m so, so proud of you, Dr. Cantrell.”

“I’m proud of us , because none of this happens without you.” She turned on her side to face him. “For the rest of my life, I’ll never have the words to thank you for everything you did to make this happen.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Janey. Seeing you achieve this goal is as thrilling for me as it is for you.”

“I honestly thought it was never going to happen until you showed me the way forward.” She had tears in her eyes as she looked at the man who’d made all her dreams come true, not just the professional one.

To think, for the many years she’d been with David, Joe had been right there waiting for her to realize they were meant to be.

“We also got Seamus out of this adventure,” Joe said.

“I remember a time when you weren’t sure that was a good thing,” Janey said, smiling. “I was afraid you might kill him.”

“That seems like a long time ago. Now it’s like he’s always been there, making my mom happier than she’s ever been.”

“It’s crazy to think how everything happened. If David hadn’t gotten in the way of me going to vet school after college—and if he hadn’t cheated on me—I might’ve been somewhere else and missed this with you, and your mom never would’ve met Seamus.”

“I guess things work out the way they’re meant to, even if it’s not as smooth as we’d like it to be.” He turned to face her and put his arm around her. “Did you tell Doc you finished?”

“I texted him, and he sent me the hourly countdown until my arrival and his retirement.”

“He’s as excited as we are.”

“I can’t wait to be home to stay.”

“Me, too. It’s been fun to live here in Ohio for a while, but Gansett is where we belong.”

“We’ll have four new nephews waiting for us, along with Dylan and Adrian and the ones soon to be born. Lots of excitement to look forward to.”

“PJ was saying today that he can’t wait to play with his cousins every day.”

“I’m glad we’re getting them home when they’re young enough to grow up together.”

“Me, too.” He kissed her as he ran his hand down her back to cup her ass. “You know what I’ve never gotten to do?”

“Whatever it is, you should do it because of everything you did to make my dream come true.”

“That works out well, because the thing I’ve never done is make love to a veterinarian.”

She laughed. “Wow, I walked right into that trap, didn’t I?”

“You sure did. Now what are you going to do about it?”

“I suppose that since you moved heaven and earth for me, I should do the same for you. And PS, you know I never mind making love with my handsome, supportive, sexy husband.”

He placed his hand on her face, caressing her cheek with his thumb. “I’ve never been prouder of anyone than I am of you, my wife the doctor.”

“And I’ve never been prouder of anyone than I am of my husband, who shouldered far more than his share of the parenting load these last few years while teaching classes and helping to run a business from afar. You made it look easy, when I know it wasn’t.”

“It was so worth it. Every second was leading us to this day. I can’t wait to see you running your own clinic on Gansett and living the dream.”

“Just so you know, I’ve been living the ultimate dream with you for a while now. This is just frosting on the cake.”

“I wish you could see how happy you looked today when you came home and started dancing with the kids.”

“I loved their posters and the balloons and dinner, the cake. All of it.”

“We had fun planning a Mommy’s Done With School Party.”

She pushed a hand under his T-shirt, encouraging him to remove it.

He pulled it over his head, tossed it aside and then did the same to hers. “Mmm, hello, Doc.”

“Um, we call Doc Potter that…”

“So what you’re saying is that’s a mood killer?”

“Sorta.”

“Hello, Dr. Janey. Better?”

“Much.” She slid her leg between his. “Joseph…”

“Hmm?”

“I love you so, so much. Thank you for everything.”

“No need to thank me for anything when being married to you has made my life perfect.” He turned them so he was on top, gazing down at her with his heart in his eyes, the way he always did. “My dream girl.”

Smiling, Janey put her hands on his face and brought him close enough to kiss as he pressed into her.

“God, there’s nothing better than this,” he whispered.

“Nothing at all.”