I nodded definitively. “It’s almost bizarre how sure I am of all this. The connection—we both felt it. I’m taking her out tomorrow and I’m never letting her go. She’s just… mine. And I’m hers.”
“Hmm,” Jamie murmured. “I wonder…”
I waited for her to follow up, but she just stared at me like she was trying to solve a mystery.
“You wonder what?” I prodded.
Hands on her hips, she cocked her head to the side. “What’s your gut say about a pre-nup? Yes or no?”
I glared down at her as I shook my head emphatically. “Absolutely not. What’s mine is hers. Not that it matters since we’re never getting divorced.”
“Holy shit,” she whispered, “you’re really serious and all the way in with this girl.”
“I am,” I confirmed.
I spent the rest of the night thinking about Julia. I was anxious to know everything about her. Did she like coffee, or was she a tea drinker? What was her favorite season? How would it feel to have her under me in bed? What would she want to name our children?
I barely slept a wink due to my dick being hard as a titanium rod for hours. I could’ve taken myself in hand but I knew it wouldn’t help. The only thing my dick wanted was Julia.
* * *
The following morning, I went to Emmett’s birthday party and hung out with the kids for a few hours. I was thrilled that my meeting Julia meant my sister didn’t try to hoist me off on Harrison’s friend's secretary. Like every other woman I’d ever met, she did nothing for me. Julia was the only one who had ever sparked my interest. More accurately, meeting her had started a fire inside of me.
My sister was cool about my leaving a couple of hours before the conclusion of the party because she understood why I was going. Emmett was pretty psyched that my departure meant he was able to slice into his robot cake early. True to his word, he let me munch on a fondant covered rice crispy filled leg. The cake was the best I ever had, and I planned to enjoy a lot more of Julia’s baking for years to come.
The anxiety I’d felt being apart from Julia for almost twenty hours slowly melted away the closer I got to her work. When I pulled into an empty space in front of the store I took my first deep breaths of the day. Seeing her through the glass settled me—even as it made my cock harden. Barking out a laugh of disbelief, I adjust my jeans so that the head was tucked against my waistband. Since my blue t-shirt was not tucked in, I was in the clear. No one would be any the wiser to my perpetually hard situation.
When Julia looked over and smiled the second I stood from the car, my heart skipped a dozen beats. I’d spent twenty hours thinking about her and her effect on me, but it was even more potent than I’d remembered. I kept my eyes on her as I strode across the sidewalk and walked into Sweet Like Candy.
“You’re here,” she said shyly as she came around the counter.
I grinned at her as I did what I’d wanted to do every second since I’d seen her the first time. Without hesitation I reached out and linked my fingers through hers.
“Did you think I might not show up?” I asked.
She hung her head shyly before nodding. “I started to think maybe it had all been a figment of my imagination,” she admitted.
I squeezed her fingers. “This is all real,” I assured her.
4
Julia
I was full of nervous energy the following day, something that was not lost on my boss. Gina commented right away about the extra pep in my step as well as my adorable outfit. I normally wore jeans and a shirt with the business logo on it, but I’d opted for a pair of black leggings and a floral tunic top that I’d paired with some cute ankle boots that had a little fringe around the top. I’d also styled my hair with my curling iron, so it was down and sexier looking than my usual ponytail.
“Don’t tell me you’re getting sucked into yet another blind date or one of those hellacious speed-dating things,” she grumbled.
I laughed as I shook my head. “Nope,” I assured her. “I said I was through with that nonsense two years ago and I meant it. Blind dates, matchmakers, four dating sites and one hour on tinder all failed me spectacularly. I wouldn’t go back to any of that if you paid me.”
“Then why’re you so dressed up?” she asked as we worked together on icing a four-tiered cake.
I grinned as I set my bag of yellow icing down. “Because I met the one I’ve been waiting for all of these years last night,” I announced.