Giving In(74)

“I think it sounds like a great evening,” she said, smiling up at him.

Jensen turned back to Dash. “Then we’ll see you there. What time? And does Joss want us to bring anything?”

Dash rose, making it obvious he was returning to his own office and leaving Kylie and Jensen alone.

It should be awkward as hell that one of her bosses was leaving her office so she could be alone with her other boss. Oh well. She guessed any prickliness from her was truly gone. Who knew she could be so easygoing and accepting?

“Just yourselves,” Dash said. “If I know Joss she’ll go completely overboard in the food department. She’s already planning her menu. So I’d come with an appetite if I were you.”

With that he left Kylie’s office and Jensen turned, leaning his behind against the edge of her desk so he faced her.

“Come here,” he said gruffly, pulling her up and out of her seat to stand in between his thighs.

He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. Then he pulled away, kissing her long and lingeringly. By the time he drew away, she was breathless, her face flushed and her hormones running amok.

“I’ve missed you,” he murmured.

She laughed at that. “You just saw me half an hour ago when you invited me to go to lunch with you!”

His expression was utterly somber. “It was the longest thirty minutes of my life.”

She rolled her eyes but settled into his arms, leaning against his chest. She emitted a contented sigh, marveling at how light she felt. So much freer. The past wasn’t weighing down on her, an unbearable pressure that she’d lived with for so long.

Her dreams had been devoid of nightmares. Every night she went to bed with Jensen, a solid barrier to the outside world and to her past.

And he loved her.

Every day that passed, she became more convinced that they were in this for the long haul. She hated the thought of jinxing them with her newfound optimism and confidence, but for the first time she could look ahead and actually see a different future for herself than what she’d always imagined.

A man who loved her, issues and all. Good friends. A challenging promotion.

Her life was finally coming together.





TWENTY-FOUR


KYLIE and Jensen got out of his car at Dash’s and Joss’s house and Jensen met her halfway around the hood, extending his hand out in an automatic gesture she loved. She slid her hand into his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

She wore a ridiculously goofy grin that was not typical of her at all. Good God, one might even say she was chipper. She shook her head at that thought. Maybe Chessy was rubbing off on her more than she realized.

Or perhaps she was just that damn happy.

“You look beautiful,” Jensen said after he rang the doorbell.

His gaze stroked over her like a painter’s brush, not missing a single inch in his perusal.

“Know what else I look like?” she asked with that same goofy grin.

“What?”

“Happy.”

There was a smugness to her voice that couldn’t be missed. She felt positively cocky, and boy was that a novel feeling. Happy, confident and cocky? The world had to be coming to an end.

Jensen smiled warmly at her and then brushed his lips across hers, just as the door opened.

“Hey you two!” Joss greeted, her face and eyes glowing with the same happiness Kylie was marveling over. “Come in, come in. Now that y’all have arrived we can start dinner!”

Kylie stepped inside and pulled her sister-in-law into a hug. Joss seemed surprised and then delighted at Kylie’s spontaneous show of affection. The old Kylie was reserved and rarely sought out physical contact. The new Kylie was going to work harder at letting her friends know what they meant to her.

“You look gorgeous, Joss. Marriage agrees with you so well,” Kylie said.

Jensen leaned in to kiss Joss’s cheek. “I have to agree with Kylie there. You look positively radiant. There’s nothing more beautiful than a happy woman.”

Joss flushed but seemed delighted with Jensen’s compliment.

“I agree wholeheartedly,” Dash said as he walked to where the three stood.

He wrapped his arm around Joss, pulling her into his side. The love the two shared was so obvious, and before, it would have made Kylie uncomfortable. Seeing her friends so happy and in love had only reinforced the fact that she’d never had that. Had thought she never would.

“A happy woman is a beautiful woman indeed. I’m just fortunate that I make her that way,” Dash added with a smile.

They entered the living room where Chessy and Tate were sitting. Chessy rose and hurried over to hug Kylie.

“You look amazing!” Chessy exclaimed. “And oh my God, look at your shoes! Someone get a camera and quick! This has to be documented. Kylie is wearing heels!”