Middle of Knight

It seemed Luke had passed her father’s test and everyone relaxed, except Jude. The thing she loved most about him was also the thing she hated the most. He believed no man would ever be worthy of his “little” sister. There was a better chance of San Andreas making Vegas a beach town than Jude accepting Luke as a worthy man.

“So … we have a bit of news.” Taking a breath of courage, she forced an uneasy smile.

“You’re getting married?” Su

“Uh … no.” Jessica gave Luke an apologetic look. They had never discussed marriage. He almost went down that road, and perhaps he didn’t care to do it again. It didn’t matter to Jessica. She would take him however she could get him. Everything else was inconsequential details.

“You’re pregnant?” Jude crossed his arms over his chest, a devilish grin on his face. The smug pot-stirrer knew better. He just liked fishing for a reaction. Some things never changed between them.

Su

“No! Jesus, Jude. Stop being such an ass.”

The urge to stick her tongue out at him overwhelmed her. Another habit that felt impossible to break. However, the one thing she wanted more than to be that childish twin was to make Luke proud, so she pulled on her big girl pants to regain her composure.

“Luke got me a dog, Jones. He’s amazing.”

The frown on Luke’s face showed his objection to that statement, but he didn’t say anything so she continued.

“He asked us to move in with him and I said yes.”

“You live in a safe part of town?” Grant asked.

Jessica rolled her eyes. It was a ridiculous question. In all his background checks, Luke’s address had to be at the top of the list. It was possible he had a satellite put in space just to follow his daughter.

“Yes. It’s a newer building with underground parking and video surveillance.”

Jessica opened her mouth to speak, then closed it before the words came out. She wanted to remind her father that she had the skills to take care of herself, but once Claire died her father trusted no one, not even his own daughter.

“Well, I hope you two are happy and maybe someday you’ll make a real commitment beyond just playing house.” Grant tipped back his tall glass of beer, keeping his eyes on Luke.

“So … shall we get the waiter back over here to take our order?” Su

*

They survived di

“I’m going to marry you.” Luke kept his eyes trained on the parked car in front of them.

“You don’t have to say that. It doesn’t matter what they think. I’m not waiting for you to get down on one knee.”

He climbed out of the car and opened her door, offering his hand. She took it and let him lead her up the stairs. Before she could fish out her keys, he kissed her. His touch healed her more than anything. Luke gave her strength, he gave her hope, he gave her life.

“I won’t get down on one knee,” he whispered over her lips. “I’ll get down on both knees because I won’t ask you to marry me, I’ll beg you to marry me.” Feathering his lips down her neck, he continued to whisper, “But for now, I need to give you back the life you lost. I want you whole … complete. When I marry you, I don’t want to share you with your past. I want it to only be us and our future.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him like her life depended on it, and maybe it did. “I love you … I love you … oh my God I love you so much.” She hung from his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.

He chuckled and kissed her on the lips at the same time. “Pack an overnight bag and we’ll get the rest tomorrow. We need to get home and let your mutt out of his ke

Home.

They were going home. Really, Jessica was already there. Luke was her home. He would forever be her home.

Chapter Thirteen

Knight

Forty.

Over the hill.

The view was good from the other side. The forty-something had a birthday date with her twenty-something daughter and thirty-something boyfriend. Boyfriend? While the term implied something more than friends, “boy” screamed cradle-robbing cougar.

Jackson Knight had become more than a fun-banter-role-playing fantasy. She fell for him for one reason: he loved his sister. Who falls for a guy because he loves his sister? Someone who lived her entire adult life wishing a man would wrap her in his protective arms, kiss her on the head and say, “You’ve got this,” in her darkest hour.

That man deserved to see Ryn in a new dress, one that said, “This is how sexy you make me feel.” As an unexpected gift, Maddie rearranged her work schedule to spend the day with her. Though instead of a spa day, they decided on shopping, but only after Ryn agreed to buy Maddie a new dress as well.

The new adult age was a difficult time. She remembered it all too well. The early twenties felt like legal freedom without the maturity to go with it. Too old to justify holding onto the selfishness of adolescence, too young to really let it go. At least that’s how Ryn saw it from the outside. She went from child to mother and skipped the wild freedom of her twenties.

“So tell me about this Jackson guy,” Maddie asked as Ryn slipped into her black strapless dress that showed a lot of leg and too much cleavage that was not perky enough to hold it in place well. Maddie assured her she looked hot “for a mom.”

As expected, she regretted caving to Maddie insisting she buy that dress. It didn’t make her feel young, it made her feel like a forty-year-old woman trying and failing to hold onto her youth. But once she saw past her insecurities to the woman in the mirror, she had to admit the reflection had a little sex appeal going on in that dress.

Ryn turned, letting Maddie zip it for her. “He’s from New York and he teaches piano lessons.”

“Piano lessons? Really?” Maddie wrinkled her nose. “What is he like … eighty?”

Nerves hijacked her body, starting with her heart pounding in her chest. They’d had di

“Actually, he’s a little younger than I am.”

Maddie applied a thick coat of dark purple lipstick that looked quite hideous, but Ryn didn’t dare say anything.

“Is he weird?”

Ryn laughed. “I don’t know how to answer that. I’m not sure how your generation defines ‘weird.’”

“Well, what kind of car does he drive?”

“A PT Cruiser.” Ryn’s voice bubbled with amusement.

Maddie paused mid stroke, wide eyes looking at Ryn’s reflection in the mirror. “You’re kidding.”

Ryn shook her head.

“Oh my God, only old people drive those things. Is he short and suffering from male-pattern baldness? He wears plaid pants pulled up to his armpits with a bowtie and a fedora, doesn’t he? Oh, Mom, you can do better than that.”

“He’s good looking. Just keep an open mind, okay?” She slipped into her black heels.

“Have grandma and grandpa met him?”

“No. This will be their first time meeting him as well.”

“I’m sure they’ll love him because he sounds nothing like Dad, which is unfortunate because all my friends think he’s hot. It’s pretty weird hearing that because he’s my dad, but it’s kind of cool too.”