Authors: Laura Drewry
How Forever Feels (27 page)
“Come on, Snip.”
She pulled the tissue-wrapped plastic wand out of her purse and set it flat against his palm, then just watched his expression for a second as he tried to figure out what it was. Finally, with a deep breath, she nodded.
“Okay, look.”
He opened his eyes slowly, took a second to focus, then all of a sudden his eyes flew wide.
“Is thisâ? Are youâ?
Are
we
â?” He didn't seem to know where to look, at her or at the big pink positive sign in his hand. “But how? We burned through that box of condoms.”
“We are, and I'm guessing because there's about a twelve percent failure rate.”
He started to smile, his mouth wobbled, and before she could say anything else, he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her against him, so tight, as his whole body quaked around her.
She tried to ease back, but his arms were like a vise around her and even when she finally managed to pull away a little bit, he kept his head down, until she cupped his face in her hands. As she eased his face up, he tried to swipe his hand over his cheek and managed to stab himself with the end of the wand.
“Those better be happy tears, buddy, or I'm going to ram that wand right through your chest.”
“Are these?” He brushed his thumbs under her eyes then leaned his forehead against her.
“What are you talking about?” she choked. “I don't cry. I'm tough, remember?”
“Me too.” He tossed the stick on the desk then set his hand over her still flat stomach. “We're going to have our own little snippet.”
“Looks like it, yeah.”
His grin suddenly got even bigger. “Griffin's gonna be so pissed; good thing he already signed the contract.”
Using her sleeve, she wiped his cheeks dry, then leaned in and kissed him again, slowly, pulling a long groan from somewhere deep in his chest.
“Jack?”
“Hmm.”
“Is there anything else I don't know?”
“No.”
“Will said you were ready to walk away from all of them.”
“Mm-hmm.” The way he looked at herâit was like he'd never seen her before and he was worried he'd never see her again so he had to take in as much as he could. “I love you.”
Would there ever come a time when that didn't make her smile? She hoped not.
“You love the Carsons, too.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“And with them in our lives, are we going to be able to do this?”
He exhaled slowly, his grin widening. “As long as you keep using the word âwe,' I'm pretty sure we can do anything.”
“I hope so.” She trailed her fingers across his Adam's apple then curled them around the neck of his shirt. “Because there's something I really want to do right now.”
“Anything,” he groaned. “Whatever you want.”
Leaning in, she pressed a soft kiss under his ear and whispered “Let's go to the gum wall.”
“Thanks, but I'm okay, really. I've got magic beans.”
Rachel Green,
Friends,
“The One with George Stephanopoulos”
By Jayne standards, Christmas Eve dinner had been a fairly subdued affair. Instead of inviting everyone she knew, it was just the eight of them, and together they'd put together one of the best meals ever, which was great, but now they were relaxing in Jayne and Nick's game room, too full to move.
Most of them were relaxing, anyway.
“Come on, Ponch, let's show them how this is done.” Ellie pushed up off her chair and pulled down a couple pool cues. “Who's in?”
“Don't you ever just sit still?” Nick asked over a groan.
“You're just saying that because you know Ponch and I'll kick your ass.”
Nick and Carter turned to look at each other, grinned, and reached for their own cues.
“It's on, Ellie.”
Regan and Jayne settled in at the far end of the huge sectional couch, feet up, drinks in hand, while Maya stayed right where she was, curled up against Jack with her glass of sparkling water and Pete lying on the floor next to them.
“Jayne?” Maya tipped her head a little and pointed to the speakers in the ceiling. “That doesn't sound like Springsteen. Or Mellencamp. And it doesn't sound anything like Bon Jovi.”
Nick laughed from his position bent over the pool table. “Great, isn't it?”
“No, it's not great,” Jayne grumbled. “But it's Christmas, so I'm humoring him with some of his hillbilly crap.”
“Hey!” Nick stood straight up and pointed his pool cue at Jayne, grinning all the while. “George Strait is not a hillbilly.”
Jayne snorted over an exaggerated eye roll. “Yes, dear, you're right, I'm sorry.”
As soon as he looked away, she stuck her finger in her mouth and pretended to gag.
“I'm heading to the kitchen,” Regan said. “Anyone want anything?”
Carter didn't even look up from his shot when he chuckled. “Yeah, but Jayne says her kitchen's off limits for stuff like that.”
A chorus of groans erupted in the room from everyone but Regan; she just grinned and wagged her brow at him.
Ellie flagged Regan just before she disappeared. “Can you grab Ponch and me a couple more beers please?”
Jack shifted position behind Maya a little so she could scooch in closer to him.
“Why âPonch'?” he asked. “I get that he's a cop and what-all, but wasn't Baker the blond one on that show? Wouldn't it make more sense to call him that?”
Nick and Carter groaned, but Brett stood up a little straighter, and for a second there it almost looked like he was going to smile.
“Tell him, babe.”
“What?” Ellie asked, then shrugged dismissively. “Ponch was the sexy one, everyone knows that.”
Jack's laugh, from deep in his chest, rocked Maya, making her laugh, too. It was even enough to pull Brett's twitching mouth up into an actual smile.
“Here y'all go,” Regan said, handing over the fresh drinks. “Don't forget to tip your waitress.”
“Here's a tip.” Carter took the bottle from her, set it on the ledge behind him and dragged her in for a long slow kiss.
“Mmm.” She grinned, heading back to her spot beside Jayne. “You should see how much he tips me when I cook for him.”
Everything about that room, and the people in it, warmed Maya. A few years back, she never would have imagined any of this was possible, and yet there she was, there they all were.
They'd all started out as friends first and had become each other's family.
In another couple weeks, Carter and Regan would finally have a child placed with them; Jayne and Nick hadn't said anything yet, but Maya had seen Jayne pour her wine out and replace it with grape juice when she didn't think anyone was looking; and as for Ellie and Brettâ¦they were still trying to figure out if they should elope or have the big cop wedding complete with members in Red Serge, so for now they were just happy being happy.
Maya leaned back against Jack's chest and sighed. If she'd ever been this happy or this content before, she couldn't recall it. It was so much more than she ever expected it to be, and sitting there with Jack's arms around her, she just knew.
“You okay?” Jack asked, murmuring against her neck. “Can I get you anything?”
“I'm good.” Turning her face up, she pressed her lips against his in a small slow kiss then pulled his arms tight around her. “This is it, Jack. This is how it feels.”
He didn't even have to ask what she meant, because he knew it, too.
This was forever.
For Junessa and Holly
First and foremost, enormous thanks go out to you, the readers. Without you, none of this would be possible, so thank you thank you thank you.
It takes a whole team to bring a book to life and it's always an amazing thing to watch it come together. Thanks go to my editor, Junessa Viloria, for loving Maya and Jack so much. I'd also like to thank Gina Wachtel, Erika Seyfried, Ashleigh Heaton, Matt Schwartz, Lynn Andreozzi, Evan Camfield, and each of their teams (many of whom I've never met), who do such an amazing job on each and every book.
Thank you to my agent, Holly Root, who's put up with my special level of crazy for a lot of years now.
Thank you to Heidi Kuran, Cheryl Sayle, and Tammy Hinsche, who graciously answered all my questions, some of which were perhaps a little odd. Not all the information made it into the book, and bits of what did may have been tweaked for my purposes, so any mistakes or errors are mine and mine alone.
Thank you to Ann Christopher, Kristi Cook, Lori Devoti, Caroline Linden, Sally MacKenzie, and Eve Silver for the years of support and encouragement, and to Maggie McGinnis and Sidney Halston for helping me through the time crunches.
To Ron, Thomas, Michael, and John, who didn't complain too much when I hung a blanket in the doorway of my “office” to try and block out the world while I wrote this book: I'm fairly certain I don't deserve any of you, but I'm incredibly grateful that you're mine and I hope you know how much I love you. xoxo
And finally, a big thank-you to John Hughes, whose movie
Some Kind of Wonderful
made me love the idea that two people can start out as friends first and end up being perfect for each other.
Y
L
AURA
D
REWRY
Plain Jayne
Prima Donna
Accidentally in Love
How Forever Feels
L
AURA
D
REWRY
had been scribbling things for years before she decided to seriously sit down and write. After spending eight years in the Canadian north, Laura now lives back home in southwestern British Columbia with her husband, three sons, a turtle named Sheldon, and an extremely energetic German shepherd. She loves old tattered books, good movies, country music, and the New York Yankees.
Another month of new Loveswept romance books is here! I know you'll adore this selection of stories chosen just for youâ¦.
USA Today
bestselling author Claire Kent continues her emotionally charged story of longing, betrayal, and insatiable desire with
Darker the Release,
sequel to
Sweet the Sin
. Another Loveswept
USA Today
bestseller, Lauren Layne, introduces her new Oxford series with
Irresistibly Yours
. Wendy S. Marcus's latest sexy yet sweet military romance,
All I Need is You,
releases this month as well. Then there's another Friends First story from
USA Today
bestseller Laura Drewry,
How Forever Feels
.
USA Today
bestseller Stacey Kennedy finishes up her successful BDSM Club Sin series with
Mine,
simultaneously introducing her next series of erotic play, Dirty Little Secrets, and hot hero Micah.
We're back on the ice with the first in the Aces Hockey series from Kelly Jamieson,
Major Misconduct.
Ladies, hold on to your hearts, the Caldwell Brothers are hereâ
USA Today
bestselling author MJ Fields and Chelsea Camaron want you to meet
Hendrix,
the first book in a series about three alpha men who live up to their legendary names. Lastly, something a little differentâbear-shifters, anyone? An alpha hero to the extreme, hot highlander Ronan is all that you could want in
Bearing It All
by Vonnie Davis, perfect for fans of Jennifer Ashley and Shelly Laurenston.
Fabulous variety with a book for everyone, yes? I hope you've found your book boyfriend in this month's releases. However, if you haven't, fear not, as November's hot lineup is just around the corner. Until thenâ¦
Happy Romance!
Gina Wachtel
Associate Publisher
