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“Unnecessary roughness!” he called out playfully the moment the door latched. She was already dressing and enjoying this whole event so much… including the banter that seemed to be coming so easily between them now that they were finding their footing.

“You play hockey – not football.”

“True… ICING!”

“That’s better,” she chuckled, yanking the shirt over her head a moment later before opening the door… and seeing his expression as it melted.

“Perfection,” he whispered and then leaned forward to pat the bed where he wanted her to sit.

“Uniform, huh?”

“I do love you in pink, my sweet Nutella.”

“You’re crazy sometimes,” she chuckled, taking her seat and then leaning forward to kiss his cheek where it wasn’t marred. “But I like it.”

“I’m glad,” he replied tenderly, his eyes meeting hers as she backed away. “Do you like your ring? It dawned on me that we didn’t have one when we got married, and I wanted to surprise you.”

“Oh, I’m completely surprised,” she admitted as he picked up his coffee cup and did the same, looking over the edge. “It’s perfect, and I love it.”

“Good.”

Both of them took sips of their coffee, looking at each other over the rim of their mugs. She could see his affection for her, his playfulness, and her heart celebrated in the understanding that they had something special between them that would only grow and grow.

“ This is what is perfect,” she admitted.

“Girl, I know you,” he bragged, scoffing with an arrogance that was almost unbelievable – but not to her.

“Best coffee date ever,” she murmured, taking another sip as he puffed up his chest slightly, looking pleased. “I guess I’ll hang onto you for a while longer.”

“Well, don’t put yourself out, ya’ know,” he retorted – met her gaze – and they both took another sip. “You’re okay for a wife, and maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe I will hang onto you for a while longer.”

“You just have to have the last word, don’t you?”

“See?” he exclaimed, chuckling and pointing at her. “That’s why I’ll keep you – you’re learning.”

“Don’t press your luck with this,” she warned softly, looking at him and seeing him immediately fold as his arrogant look melted, giving her a shy smile.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied softly – and then winked. “You look beautiful in pink.”

“Are you trying to butter me up now?”

“Is it working?”

“No. I think I might need a little more,” she scoffed loftily, testing him to see if he had something else up his sleeve waiting to be unveiled.

“How about a kiss, someone to top off your coffee, and two tickets to the museum today, followed by a romantic rendezvous in a private garden overlooking the city?” he offered, his smile knowing as she met his eyes, marveling at the man before her.

“That sounds amazing.”

“Your husband is amazing,” he corrected softly, leaning toward her for that kiss – to which she happily met him halfway, pausing just before their lips touched. She wanted to be careful, to acknowledge how much she appreciated all of this effort and how touched she was.

“Yes, he is,” she breathed softly, brushing her lips against his tenderly, almost like the brush of butterfly wings, afraid to hurt his wounded lip. “I think I’ll keep you.”

“I’m yours,” he promised, kissing her once more – regardless of his injury.

S tanding in the museum beside Jett, Karen clasped his arm as she gazed in disbelief at the soaring ceiling and the textiles carefully preserved behind clear cases.

All of this was right up her alley: drinking in every single moment, reading every plaque, listening to every audio description that played as you pressed a button.

She was in heaven – and bless Jett, he held her hand and feigned interest at every single pause in her exploration within the building. As she gazed at the worn jacket that had epaulets stitched with care, holding them fast to the shoulders, she felt Jett’s presence as he leaned in.

“This dude must have been tiny,” he whispered quietly. “I’d have busted those seams with these ‘ guns ’.” He curled his arm, kissed his bicep, and winked at her.

And she held back a chortle of amusement as she turned her face slightly, smiling at him. He hadn’t moved an inch and was still infinitely close, definitely in her space – and so, so very welcomed. His eyes held hers for what felt like forever before he spoke again.

“My, my… you sure have beautiful eyes, Nutella. Wanna get outta here?”

“Are you finished already?” she whispered, her eyes dropping to his lips and wishing he’d kiss her again like he did this morning.

“Is there a broom closet near here?” he breathed, his own gaze resting on her mouth.

“Why?”

“Kids shouldn’t see the amount of kissing I wanna do to you right now.”

“Probably not – it’s a museum,” she chuckled softly, reaching up to gingerly touch his face – only to have him turn into her hand, kissing her palm. She marveled at the way he closed his eyes and seemingly melted at her touch like it meant a lot to him. “We can go.”

“Good. Let’s go do some serious ‘necking’ in the car. The windows are tinted,” he invited, muttering the words into her palm before sliding a look toward her and smirking. “Interested?”

“Very,” she confessed breathlessly and saw a flicker in his eyes. “What’s that look for?”

“I just think you are amazing and boring at the same time,” he chuckled, waving a hand at the coat nearby that had held her fascination, giving her enough warning to brace herself for whatever iota of wisdom he was about to impart.

And she wasn’t disappointed as he openly spouted off for everyone within earshot.

“Bringing my wife here is like ogling a supermodel who wants to count birdseed in a feeder… sheesh.”

Jett uttered it in French, loudly , and while she was stunned at his words – she was just as shocked that he referred to her as a supermodel. He was proclaiming her a supermodel for anyone else to hear, praising her publicly, while at the same time calling the museum boring.

Several people chuckled and looked their way as his gaze held hers. He stepped back, looked her up and down, and nodded.

“You need a pink string bikini because I could see you on the cover of the swimsuit magazine. I swear on all this junk and ancient trash in here that you are the hottest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on…”

Again – in French, so everyone understood – creating a scene.

“Enough,” she whispered, tugging his hand and pulling him out of the room. “You’re embarrassing me,” and hesitated as it hit her what he was doing for her benefit – “and flattering me at the same time. I don’t know whether to get angry or shove you into the wall and kiss you senseless right now.”

“Do I get a vote?” Jett exclaimed, raising his hand, his eyes wide with interest and excitement.

And she laughed.

“Let’s just go to the car… okay?”

“Gimme the keys,” he immediately prompted, holding out his hand. She reached into her purse, and paused, looking at him.

“Why? Are you driving or am I?”

“Heck no – we’re kissing.”

“I thought you were joking,” she chuckled as he began to pull her quickly along, making a beeline for the car.

“I don’t joke about kissing you.”

“But your poor bruised face, your busted lip, your…” her words died as Jett turned on her the moment they exited the building, almost bumping directly into him.

“Just so you know,” he began in a hushed voice, his eyes intense and searching hers.

“I could break every bone in my body, and I’d still want you to kiss me, touch me, or hold me against you.

Don’t ever hesitate or hold back because the pain of you not being close to me is far worse than anything I could ever deal with. ”

Karen’s lips parted in surprise at his open admission and the raw emotion in his words as he continued, speaking straight to her soul with an intensity and passion that was telling as his voice broke.

“I would rather my lip split and ache if it meant that you gave me a sudden kiss straight from the heart,” he uttered, taking her wrist and putting it on his chest. “If you wanna kiss me, then do it – but don’t ever hesitate, wonder, or look back wishing things were different.

Live in the moment with me – and savor everything that this feels like, that we feel like when we are together. ..”

His words were everything.

“Now, I’m going to the car and taking you with me,” Jett whispered passionately, his eyes glittering with emotion.

“And prepare yourself, woman, because I’m about to kiss the stuffin’ outta you for hours – because if we dared to go home right now, there is no coming back from that particular ‘cliff’ in our relationship. You got me?”

Her heart slammed into her chest at his words, and the ones she was about to utter directly to his bruised face.

“Then let’s jump.”

Her words echoed between them and she saw the effect it had. He swallowed, his eyes holding hers, searching.

“Are we doing this?” he whispered hoarsely. “Because if you are joking, it’s not even funny and…”

Karen moved forward and kissed him. Her fingers sank into his hair, pulling his face to hers, and she understood what he meant about needing, craving, or wanting something so badly that it was worth any discomfort.

His arms wrapped around her as he made a small noise in his throat before kissing her back. She was choosing them, choosing him, and this weird man was the one partner she wanted to walk the road of life with – except, knowing him, he’d make a scene.

Jett would probably sashay or strut, making a display of himself along the ‘road of life’ just so everyone knew that the Actons had arrived. She broke the kiss, only pulling back slightly, needing to say the words burning within her soul.

“I choose you…” she breathed against his lips. “And I’m choosing us .”

And relished his response as he trembled in her arms, nodding erratically, putting his forehead against hers as he tried to calm himself.

“My soul chose you the moment I laid eyes on you,” he admitted emotionally, his breath ragged. “The second I saw you, I knew nothing was going to be the same.”

“Same,” she confessed, baring her heart to him. “I need this. I need you in my life…”

“I can’t function without you anymore.”

“Can you function long enough to drive us home?” she teased, chuckling tearfully as his words burned their way into her heart and soul.

“Duh, Nutella,” he drawled and held up the keys, wiggling them – and then chuckled. “Why do you think I have the keys?”

Karen melted against him, laughing. He tightened his arms around her, hugging her close.

She felt him dropping little kisses on her hair, her temple, her shoulder like he couldn’t get enough of her, and she knew this was the right decision, the right moment, and the right time to step forward once more.

Together.

“Shut up and take me home.”

“Heck yeah, babe.”

I t had only been three days since they had ‘ jumped.’ They had come back to the condo, and Karen didn’t even remember walking into the door – just Jett.

He had whispered so many sweet words between them, made her laugh at the most inopportune times, and nearly brought her to tears with the beauty of the love they made together, welcoming the other deeply into their hearts, their lives, their universe.

Neither of them were alone anymore. They were a couple.

Sure, there had been bumps along the way.

Some of them felt like mountains, but this was her husband, her partner, and her best friend…

and she never expected someone like him.

Waking up to that crooked, infuriatingly sexy smile of his was everything. There was nothing better than cracking open an eye, seeing him there, and knowing that his heart belonged to hers – not in words, but in deeds.

What exactly was ‘I’ ‘love ’ and ‘ you ’ but eight weird letters thrown together to make a pattern of sounds and meanings – kinda like her precious hieroglyphs she’d once tried translating.

Sometimes, there was just no describing it or the words felt paltry to the meaning that was behind it… and that was Jett.

Karen couldn’t be more in love with him.

The word obsessed didn’t even begin to cover it.

No, what she felt was deeper, more consuming than that.

It wasn’t just his looks or the way he touched her like she was something fragile and precious.

It was everything—his soul-deep kindness, the way he lit up a room simply by walking into it, the way he could be sweet one minute and so ridiculously loud and obnoxious the next that she wanted to throw a pillow at his head or kiss him senseless.

Jett was outrageous in the best possible way—he was sunshine and thunder, a walking contradiction of chaos and charm.

And still, he always found little ways to show her how much he cared.

From surprise flowers on her nightstand to warming up her coffee just the way she liked it, from his open, shameless affection in public to the way he looked at her like she was the only thing that ever mattered.

He made her feel adored.

He made her feel seen , treasured.

But tonight?

Tonight was different.

Tonight, it was her turn to make a show of things.

She was doing something so out of character for her, something just for him, something to make him feel even a fraction of what he made her feel every day.

The man who had burrowed so deeply into her heart she wasn’t sure where he ended, and she began.

This was all about telling the man she admired that she ‘saw’ him too – and was ready to take up the mantle.

And the best part?

Jett had absolutely no clue what was coming.