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Jonas nodded and kept his mouth shut as his friends lambasted him with their best shots at his character, the depths of his betrayal and the shallowness of his definition of the word vow. He took it all with grace because he didn’t blame them for their anger. They just needed to experience the wonders of the right woman for themselves and then they’d get it.
When they were mostly done maligning him, Jonas put his palms flat on the table and leaned forward. “No one is more surprised by this than me. But it’s the truth. I love her and I broke the pact. But it’s not like it was with Marcus. She loves me back and we’re happy. I hope you can be happy for us, too. Because we’re going to be married and in love for a long time.”
At least that was his plan. And by some miracle, it was Viv’s, too.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this to us,” Warren shot back as if he hadn’t heard a word Jonas said. “Does keeping your word mean nothing to you?”
“Integrity is important to me,” he told them without blinking. “That’s why I’m telling you the truth. Lying about it would dishonor my relationship with Viv. And I can’t stop loving her just to stick to a pact we made. I tried and it made us both miserable.”
“Seems appropriate for a guy who turns on his buddies,” Hendrix grumbled.
“Yeah, we’ll see how you feel after you get married,” Jonas told him mildly. Hendrix would come around. They both would eventually. They’d been friends for too long to let something like a lifetime of happiness come between them, strictly over principle.
Warren griped about the pact for another solid five minutes and then blew out a breath. “I’ve said my piece and now I have to go deal with a distribution nightmare. This is not over.”
With that ominous threat, Warren shoved out of the booth and stormed from the restaurant.
Hendrix, on the other hand, just grinned. “I know you didn’t mean to break the pact. It’s cool. Things happen. Thank God that’ll never be me, but I’m happy that you’re happy.”
“Thanks, man.” They shook on it and drank to a decade of friendship.
When Jonas got home, Viv was waiting in the foyer. His favorite. He flashed her the thumbs-up so she would know everything was okay between him and his friends—which it would be once Warren calmed down—then wrapped Viv in his arms and let her warmth infuse him. “I have another favor to ask.”
“Anything.”
No hesitation. That might be his favorite quality of hers. She was all in no matter what he asked of her—because she loved him. How had he gotten so lucky? “You’re not even going to ask what it is?”
She shrugged. “If it’s anything like the last favor, which landed me the hottest husband on the planet, by the way, why would I say no? Your favors are really a huge win for me so...”
Laughing, he kissed her and that made her giggle, too. His heart was so full, he worried for a moment that it might burst. “Well, I’m not sure this qualifies as a win. I was just going to ask you to never stop loving me.”
“Oh, you’re right. I get nothing out of that,” she teased. “It’s torture. You make me happier than I would have ever dreamed. Guess I can find a way to put up with that for the rest of my life.”
“Good answer,” he murmured, and kissed his wife, his lover, his friend. His everything.
* * * * *
If you loved this story, pick up these other sexy and emotional reads from USA TODAY bestselling author Kat Cantrell!
TRIPLETS UNDER THE TREE
A PREGNANCY SCANDAL
THE PREGNANCY PROJECT
FROM ENEMIES TO EXPECTING
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
Available now from Harlequin Desire!
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Keep reading for an excerpt from DOWN HOME COWBOY by Maisey Yates.
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