Page 18

One year Later

“I’m so nervous,” she says as her leg shakes next to me.

Placing my hand on her leg to help calm her, I say, “Why are you so nervous? You’ve met my parents before.”

“Yes, but I’ve never been to your childhood home or met your brothers, and you said they didn’t like your last girlfriend,” she explains.

“That’s true. But it will be fine, my brothers will like you. The fact that you care is different,” I tell her as I pull into the driveway. “Welcome to the Mitchell Family Farm.” I give her a wink. “Come on, let’s go inside so you can meet everyone, then I’ll take you on our Valentine’s date.”

Opening the car doors, we both get out. As Janae comes around the front of the car, she says, “You’re not going to tell me where we are going?”

“Nope. It’s a surprise.”

“You know I don’t like surprises,” she groans.

“I do. So I’ll give you a hint…it’s one of my favorite places in town,” I tell her.

“That’s not fair. I’ve never been to Rose Valley,” she whines but intertwines her fingers in mine as we make our way to the front door.

I open it, not even knocking. My brother, Taylor, knocks and has done so since my dad and him got into it when he moved out, but not me. My brothers claim that it’s because I’m Dad’s favorite, but it doesn’t feel like that.

We step into the house and my mother comes around the corner right away, greeting us. “Shane. Janae. Welcome! Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mary,” Janae says back as she steps into my mother’s arms. They’ve met a few times since I moved to Las Vegas, and they hit it off right away. Which I knew they would. They’re very similar.

“Did you hear?” my mother’s question brings me back to the conversation.

“I don’t think so. What?” I ask.

“Taylor and your dad are going to build a house at the back of the property for him and Mya. That way they’re closer to the farm for him. You know he took over full time now,” she says proudly.

“Actually, I did know that. I talked with Taylor about it the other day,” I tell her. That’s another thing Janae has done for me. With her encouragement, I started calling my brothers more often and now we’re closer than ever. Another reason I know they’re going to love her.

“Come on, everyone is in here,” my mother says as we move into the kitchen area. Looking around, it looks like we’re the last to arrive. My brother Taylor and his wife are sitting at the table. He’s holding his one year old son, Sebastion.

Janae focuses on them and instantly makes her way over. She loves to be in control and since she’s so nervous, that’s what she’s doing. Placing her hand out, she introduces herself, “Hi. I’m Janae.”

Mya is the first one to grab her hand and shakes it, smiling at her. “I’m Mya. This is my husband, Taylor.”

“Nice to meet you,” he rumbles out.

Janae then squats and tickles my nephew on his chest. “And who is this cutie?”

“This is Sebastion,” Taylor says proudly.

“Well, aren’t you so handsome. You must take after your mommy,” she says, pulling a laugh from everyone in the room.

Taylor looks at me smiling. “I like her. Good job, Shane.”

And even though I didn’t need them, those words make me puff out my chest with pride. I walk up next to Janae and wrap my arms around her shoulders, replying, “She’s the best.”

“Sorry to interrupt the party,” my brother, Cliff, says as he places glasses of champagne down on the table. “But before we get carried away, I want to make a few introductions.”

My gaze goes to behind where he is standing and there are two people standing in his shadow. The woman looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Cliff then calls our attention to him again, pointing to the man who looks to be about Taylor’s age. “This is Hunter. We met when he came to Rose Valley looking at an athlete. He’s the one who helped me get a job at Elevate Sports Agency.”

Everyone cheers and smiles, congratulating him. Cliff puts his hand up and we all fall silent. Turning toward the young lady who has now moved to sit next to Mya. “And this is Jade, she’s Mya’s sister.” It dawns on me as to why she looked so familiar. I can see the resemblance now. “Okay, grab your glasses.” We all do as instructed. “Jade was just drafted to the Los Angeles Stars, and she chose me to represent her as her manager.”

With his words, all hell breaks loose. Placing my glass down on the table, I engulf him in a hug. “Congrats, man. If I’d have known, you could’ve represented me.”

He slaps me on the back. “I know, man, but I wanted my first client to be someone other than my brother.”

“I get it. But the moment my contract expires, I’ll be contacting you,” I tell him.

Janae slides up next to me with her glass hiding her mouth. Leaning in, she whispers, “Who are the Los Angeles Stars?”

A laugh bursts from me, but Janae just shrugs her shoulders. “What?”

“You’re cute,” I say as I bop her nose.

“I told you I don’t know any sports,” she says.

“It doesn’t matter. But the Los Angeles Stars is a women’s basketball team.”

“Wow, that is amazing,” she says, her eyes going wide before walking off to talk with Jade.

We stay at my family’s house for about an hour, talking about Cliff and his new job. When I notice the sun start to set, I grab Janae and whisper, “Hey, let me show you my favorite place.”

We get in the car and start driving toward town. She looks out of the window, taking it all in. “I love your town. It’s got perfect small-town vibes.”

“That’s because it is a small town,” I tell her as we pull into the high school parking lot.

Janae looks around, then she pulls her eyebrows together, asking, “Your favorite place is your high school?”

“No. Come on, I’ll show you,” I say as we get out of the car. Taking her hand, I walk her over to the bleachers of the football stadium. “ This is my favorite place,” I tell her as we sit down in the front row.

“This is where I got away from all the bickering between my older brother and Dad. Or the perfectionism everyone expected from me.” Pointing to the field, I continue, “Out there is the only place I could be free.”

She turns and wraps her arms around my neck. “I’m glad that you had football for all of that.”

I nod. Then I decide it's time to tell her. She has broken down enough walls for me and is ready. Sliding my hand into her hair, holding her possessively at the base of her neck, I say, “Janae Levine. I love you. The moment I saw you, I knew.”

Her eyes go hooded, and they move to my lips as she whispers back, “I love you, too, Shane Mitchell. I’ve just been too scared to say it.”

With her confession, I crash my lips to hers and as always, we enter our own world where no one else exists, just us two. Pulling back, I look deep in her eyes. “This used to be my favorite place, but now it’s anywhere you’re at.”

“You are my home,” she whispers.

And she’s right. No matter where we go, as long as we are together, we will be exactly where we need to be.

***

Get a sneak peek of the unedited version of The Pump Fake from the Sexy as Sin series, coming March 13th. Preorder it today.