AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why is everyone shouting?” my husband asked as he bent down to kiss my cheek and then bent farther to place a kiss on my stomach where our son was growing.
“Because you insisted on buying this gigantic house and we have to shout to hear one another,” I laughed as I waddled back to the kitchen and dropped most ungracefully into a chair at the breakfast table.
Once Grayson accepted my marriage proposal, he’d wasted no time rushing me down the aisle. He’d produced a beautiful square cut, solitaire diamond ring out of nowhere when we’d arrived at the hospital and had all of our family and friends celebrating while we waited for my release papers. Roe had even rolled Sam into my room in a wheelchair, a goofy smile on her face thanks to the pain medication she’d received.
Winnie and his mother had planned us a beautiful wedding in the back yard of the home that Grayson had grown up in. I kept trying to insist there was no hurry but his mother would wave me off and tell me she’d had plenty of experience thanks to Winnie and Kane’s whirlwind wedding.
She’d done an amazing job of creating the perfect intimate ceremony for us. Daisy had graciously shared the role of flower girl with her new cousin. She dropped petals as she pushed Faye’s stroller, wrapped with fresh lilies and daisies down the aisle. Grayson had finally found my favorite flowers; nothing could ever hold as much meaning for me as the flower that gave our daughter her name and the one that my own mother had given me.
Daisy was my daughter now, in every sense of the word. In a move that shocked both me and Grayson, she’d asked one night at bedtime if I was going to be her mother. I’d swallowed back tears and told her that I’d be honored if that was what she wanted. Ever since that day I’d been ‘Mommy’ and it was the best job I’d ever had.
The wedding itself had turned into an all-night party. Grayson’s parents had taken Daisy inside the house after she fell asleep, she’d be staying with them for the weekend. A move that I was sure Grayson coordinated to ensure privacy on our wedding night.
Agent Greggs had even sent his congratulations along with a lovely gift. Grayson still wasn’t all that fond of him but we were both thankful for his role in bringing me home.
One of my favorite memories of the night was introducing Benji to the man who’d kept me safe, Mick O’Conner. Benji had been twirling me around the makeshift dancefloor, making me laugh with every turn when I’d spotted him. I didn’t recognize him at first, the beard was gone and the hair was shorter and styled with gel. If it weren’t for his sheer size, I doubted I would have realized it was him at all. I’d squeezed Benji’s arm and led him over.
“Mick,” I’d said warmly, embracing him in a hug. “It’s good to see you again.” I’d been right about my assumption of how handsome he was under all that hair. Mick O’Conner was a beautiful beast of a man and it seemed my best friend agreed.
Benji was shockingly quiet as he openly gaped at him, causing a blush to steal itself over Mick’s cheeks. He cleared his throat and stuck out one of those giant hands, “Mick O’Conner,” he said in his deep voice.
Benji engulfed Mick in a hug, shocking us both. “Thank you for saving her. You have no idea how much she means to me.” He released him just as quick and took a step back, now Benji was blushing, something I’d never seen before.
“I’m Ben-Benjamin, I mean Benji. Well, it’s Benjamin but it’s also Benji. Shit, I already said that.”
Mick smiled at my flustered friend and I was practically giddy with the way he was looking at him. “It’s nice to meet you, Benji. Would you like to dance?” Mick closed the distance between them that Benji had created.
“Holy shit, this is really happening, I feel like Jane Bennet,” Benji whispered as he stared in awe at the titan in front of him. I coughed to cover my laugh and elbowed him in the ribs. “Yes! Yes, a thousand times yes, I would love to dance with you.”
Mick guided Benji to the dance floor with a giant hand on his lower back and Benji threw wide eyes at me over his shoulder. “He’s so hot!” he mouthed at me. “I know!” I mouthed back.
I never in a million years would have expected that the stoic giant who’d been my savior would end up with my outgoing, crazy best friend but it just goes to show how easy Benji is to love.
Mick had officially retired from undercover work and was happily sitting behind a desk now. Grayson had been trying to recruit him over to Falls Security and I had a feeling he’d give in eventually, especially since his husband worked next door.
Benji and Mick had returned last month from their honeymoon and they were getting settled into their new home on Main Street about a two-minute walk from the bakery. No one deserved a happily ever after as much as my best friend and I’d go through it all again just to give it to him.
“You need to take it easy, sweetheart,” Grayson chided as he knelt beside my chair and began massaging my sore feet. “Stephanie and Benji have the store handled, you don’t have to worry.”
I moaned as he found that perfect spot with his thumb. He was right, of course. Benji kept our bakery running like a well-oiled machine. I’d offered him a fifty-fifty partnership in Sweet Cheeks and we’d signed the paperwork a few days ago.
Stephanie had stayed in Little Falls just liked I’d hoped once she was released from the hospital. We’d moved her into the loft across the hall from us and she’d become my first apprentice baker. She was a natural and I swear she could decorate a cake better than me now. Stephanie was like a little sister to me and another aunt to Daisy. I’d gone from having no family at all to having the most beautiful one I could have ever dreamed of.
“You’re right,” I pulled my foot out of his hands and leaned forward as far as I could without my uterus being pushed into my throat. I let my fingers roam in that perfect hair until it was mussed in the way I loved so much. “I was thinking about taking tomorrow off completely. I thought maybe the two of us could get some alone time before the baby shower on Saturday.”
Grayson’s eyes had heated when I mentioned us being alone but he groaned at the mention of the baby shower. It was being planned by all of the people I loved with Jo taking the lead. She was once again furious that her bachelorette party plans had been thwarted by another ‘Falls Security Alpha-hole’ and had insisted that everything for the baby shower be a surprise, much to Grayson’s dismay.
“Don’t be that way,” I playfully tugged his hair.
“I just wish I knew the location. It better not be that fucking so-called spa, none of those fuckers are touching my wife,” he growled and I clenched my thighs at his possessive tone.
“Don’t worry, handsome. There’s only one man whose hands I want on my body and he’s right here.” I pulled him forward and licked the seam of his mouth, longing to taste him. He released a very different groan as we kissed and his hands slid up my dress, parting my legs as they went.
“I’m ready!” Daisy came bounding down the stairs and Grayson slipped his hands out of my dress reluctantly. He helped me to my feet before scooping up our daughter in one arm and her ballet bag in the other.
“We’ll be revisiting this later, Mr. James,” I assured him.
He gave me another breath-stealing kiss, “I can’t fucking wait, Mrs. James.”
