Page 108 of When Ben Loved Jace

I grab his head, moaning against his lips in between kissing him. We’re still the same people we were before getting married. But as impossible as it might seem, I think I love him even more now.

My body begins to writhe. Jace’s thrusts become more forceful, easily pushing me over the edge. I make a mess of myself. Then he slows again, his eyes half-lidded.

“Wanna take a break?” he asks.

I shake my head and reach for him, pulling him close and drawing him deeper inside of me. We’ve got nowhere to go. I’m up for a long night. Forget about exotic vacations and luxurious resorts. This is the best honeymoon I could have wished for, my chest heaving with emotion when I state a simple yet undeniable truth.

“You’re all I need.”

Chapter Twenty-six

It isn’t working. As much as I adore him, and despite how patient we’ve tried to be, there comes a time in any relationship when you have to admit that it simply isn’t going well. Time to pull the plug and call it quits. No matter how bad that might sting.

“And over here,” Greg says, gesturing grandly, “is your brand-new kitchen! Just imagine your kids lined up at the breakfast bar each morning.” He plops down on one of the stools, making his voice sound higher. “Daddy! Daddy! We want pancakes!” He hops back up again. “All right, all right,” he says in a deep tone. “Geez, who knew that being a parent could be so stressful. Good thing I’ve got my ownwine cooler!” He opens the door to a small refrigerator before beaming at us. “How awesome is that?”

“I don’t drink much,” I say.

“Our kids might though,” Jace murmurs.

“All four of them,” I reply after snorting.

We’re currently being shown a five-bedroom house.Five!When we told Greg that we hoped to start a family someday, he really took the idea and ran with it. That’s the problem. His vision of our future doesn’t really mesh with our own.

Greg isn’t discouraged by our flippancy. “You can stock the cooler full of soda,” he suggests. “That’ll leave extra space in the fridge.” Which is so large that he has to spread his arms wide when opening the butterflying doors. I swear there’s more space inside than Jace’s whole trailer.

Married life is good, but not without its complications. Our living arrangements in particular. Most of my possessions remain in the two-bedroom duplex I moved into with Allison shortly after graduating. I’m still paying half the rent, because it wouldn’t be fair to stop. Not with all my stuff there. I can’t shift it to Jace’s place because there simply isn’t room. As charming as the trailer might be, I’m sick to death of living in it. And in someone else’s driveway. Jace is ready for change too. Considering that his best friend is a real estate agent, we thought it made the most sense to turn to him for help—a decision that I have come to regret.

“Time to check out your new garage,” Greg says, opening yet another door.

We stick our heads in.

“Enough room forthreecars,” I observe. “We’ll have to buy one more.”

“Hey, the little tykes are gonna grow up fast and start driving eventually. This house is what I like to call future-proof.” Greg grins at us. “What do you think?”

Jace is at a loss for words. I’m not but decide to hold my tongue.

Greg raises his hands. “Talk it over. I’ll be on the deck out back, admiring that view of the golf course.”

“Jace…” I say once we’re alone.

“I know,” he says with a sigh.

“Does he think we’re loaded or something?”

“Greg is used to catering to a particular class of clientele—” he begins.

“Yeah, rich people!” I interrupt, having heard the same explanation last night when I expressed my misgivings. “Maybe we need to find a real estate agent who caters to poor folks like us.”

Jace shakes his head. “It would break his heart. Greg was so excited when I told him we were ready to buy a house. I don’t want to injure his professional pride.”

“I understand,” I say with a nod. “We’ll take this house then. I’ll walk the streets at night so we can afford it, but hey, I won’t have far to go since the people in this neighborhood have some serious money.”

“Do I get to be your pimp?”

“Jace!”

“I’ll talk to him.”