I’d almost made it to the elevator when a light from an open door down the hall caught my eye—an office I was very familiar with. I strode down and peeked inside. She was standing but looking down at some papers on her desk. She brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear, but it just fell forward again. It was such a familiar move, I chuckled.
Her head jerked up and her blue eyes locked on mine. “Hey, Jake.”
Her lips tipped up in an easy smile. A smile that spoke of years of friendship and not the heartbreak at the end of our engagement. I was lucky she forgave me because I wasn’t sure what I’d do without her in my life. Other than Jackson, no one knew me better than Carina—the woman I was supposed to marry until I fell in love with Jackson.
“What are you doing here on a Saturday?”
She stood upright, her hand immediately going to the soft curve of her belly. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“Jackson got called in and I figured I’d log a couple hours before meeting him for drinks.” She nodded in understanding. We were set to run the company our fathers had created, and I was sure we had a lot more Saturdays ahead of us.
“I’m just finishing up. Got a few more emails to get to.”
“Well, don’t stay too late.” I went to step out when I turned back. “Hey, you should come meet us later at the bar.”
She made it a point to look down at her stomach and back up to me with an eyebrow cocked. “A pregnant woman walks into a bar. It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke.”
I laughed because Carina could always make me laugh. When I should’ve walked away, I stayed and took her in. She was always beautiful, but the pregnancy really made her glow. Marrying her would have been a mistake for both of us, but I would always love her and because of that, I’d always worry about her. “Are you happy?”
She closed her eyes and sighed, a content smile slipping across her face. “Very.”
“You’re going to make a great mom.”
“Thank you, Jake.”
“And you’ve been quiet about who the father is, but I hope he knows how lucky he is.”
She dropped her gaze back to the desk for a moment before smiling back up at me.
“I’ll see you Monday, Carina. Don’t stay too late.”
And with that, I left my ex-fiancée behind to go join my current fiancé.
Jackson
Jake walked into the bar, and like a magnet, my eyes locked on him. It was easy with his blond hair and tall height. He caught my eye and smiled, stealing the breath right from my lungs.
He made his way through the crowd to where I sat at the bar already nursing a beer with my brother. A replacement came in not too long ago, letting me off the hook for the night.
“Hey, Andrew,” he greeted without taking his eyes off me.
Before Andrew could acknowledge his greeting, Jake had already moved on to grip my face, pulling me in for a deep kiss. I couldn’t stop the groan working its way up my chest. Every time he claimed me in public, my love for him grew. I knew how hard it’d been for him to come out as loving another man and pride swelled through me that he did it so openly—that he did it so openly for me.
“Yeah, baby. Get it on,” my brother catcalled beside us.
“This isn’t Voyeur, so I suggest you keep it PG,” Daniel—the owner of Voyeur and the other co-owner of this bar—joked from where he sat on the other side of Andrew.
Jake lingered a moment longer before pulling away and doing the manly back slap with Daniel and sitting down with his own beer.
“How was your date, Andrew?” Jake asked across me.
“So good,” he replied as he was winking at a girl across the bar. She ducked her head with a smile.
“So good you’re already looking for another?” I asked.
Andrew slapped me on the back. “Too many fish in the sea, brother, to just settle for one.”
I rolled my eyes while Daniel chuckled.
“How was the venue search today?” Andrew asked.
“Good. Gorgeous place. We’re just taking our time and looking around,” I rushed to explain before Jake could bring up the whole date issue.
“So, will you be the bride all dressed in white?” Andrew asked, a smirk firmly in place. “Do you want me to give you away? I can lift your veil and kiss your cheek. Maybe even shed a tear at how much you’ve grown.”
I gave him my best dead-panned stare and he just laughed.
A rough hand slid over mine, pulling my attention away and saving me from responding. Jake’s lips moved right by my ear. “Dance with me.”