Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (56 page)

Jamison’s grin grew wicked around the edges. “Are you asking me to be gentle?”

Maddie narrowed her eyes at him, fighting a grin. “This isn’t funny. And yes, I would want you to be gentle.” She shifted closer, letting her hand slide down to cup the strong muscles of his ass through his jeans before she continued in a husky voice. “Until I say I don’t want you to be gentle anymore.”

Jamison’s breath rushed out with a curse. “You drive me crazy, you know that?”

Maddie bit her lip. She was already tingling all over and she and Jamison hadn’t even kissed yet. “And you make me want to play with toys.”

Jamison’s eyes darkened. “I’m clear to grab the blindfold?”

Maddie nodded. “As long as you promise these toys aren’t going to hurt, or leave scars, or go anywhere near the forbidden escape hatch of doom.”

Jamison cocked his head. “The forbidden…” Understanding dawned and Jamison threw back his head and laughed before scooping her up in his arms and spinning her around until she giggled.

He planted a rough kiss on her cheek.

“What was that for?” she asked, still laughing as he set her back on her feet.

“For being you,” he said, eyes twinkling. “And for being the only person I know who could make anal sex sound cute.”

Maddie’s face scrunched like she’d bitten into a lemon. “Oh god, don’t even say it. It’s so gross I can’t handle it Jamison, seriously.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I don’t have any designs on your forbidden escape hatch.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “At least not tonight.”

Maddie shot him a narrow look. “Or any other night.”

Jamison shrugged, dimple popping as he fought a smile. “We’ll take things slow, but there’s fun to be had with the escape hatch.”

Maddie made a gagging sound.

“Like butt plugs,” Jamison said, grinning when Maddie stuck her tongue out and did a full body shudder. “Or light anal play.”

“Stop! I’m getting ready to be so grossed out I will never recover my frisky feelings,” Maddie threatened. “Tread carefully, Mr. Hansen.”

Jamison nodded, obviously trying to look contrite though his eyes were still sparkling. “My apologies, Ms. Whitehouse. I promise not to offend your delicate sensibilities again tonight.”

“That’s better,” Maddie said, smiling as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her slowly and sweetly, but with enough passion to send her frisky feelings surging back with a vengeance.

“Though someday I’m going to lay my claim on that beautiful ass,” he whispered against her mouth in a voice so sexy Maddie could only sigh and shake her head.

“You’re impossible,” she said.

“I try.” He grinned until their teeth bumped together through their lips as he kissed her again. They kissed until Maddie’s head spun and her heart raced and every cell in her body felt like the lit end of a sparkler.

And then Jamison ran inside to grab the blindfold, Maddie locked up the bakery, and Jamison drove her out into the country with all the windows down. As the wind rushed through her hair and the sweet smell of impending summer swept through her head, leaving her breathless with excitement, Maddie decided a night like this was worth fighting through her fear.

What was fear compared to kisses that made your bones melt and a man who turned your insides to mush with one long, lingering look.

CHAPTER TEN

One Week Later

A WOLF WHISTLE GREETED Jamison as he stepped out of his car in front of Summerville Catholic Church on the evening of the christening, making him spin to find the source of the sound, half-hoping it was Maddie, though he knew it wouldn’t be. She still wanted to keep their relationship a secret until after the wedding—despite the fact that they had both fallen so hard it made an avalanche look tame by comparison.

But Jamison wasn’t worried that they were moving too fast.

He wasn’t worried about a damned thing. He was happier than he’d been in years. He finally understood why Jake had that goofy, half-wasted look on his face all the time. Love packed a punch like a fifth of Jack Daniels, except better—pure intoxication, without the hangover. It was Jamison’s new drug of choice, and he didn’t plan on getting on the wagon any time soon.

“Looking good, J,” Faith said with another whistle as she crossed the parking lot toward him, shaking her head as if she couldn’t quite believe her eyes. “What did you do to yourself?”

Jamison glanced down at his new suit a little self-consciously. “New suit? Shave?”

Faith narrowed her eyes. “No. It’s something more than that. You look different.”

Jamison shrugged. “Maybe you’re finally realizing how damned sexy I am.”

Faith snorted. “Gross. You’re like my brother. I’d rather kiss a goat.”

“I’d rather be kissed by a goat.” Jamison grinned as he slung an arm around Faith’s shoulders and gave her a good, hard hug. “How was work?”

“Good, but that weird guy called for you again and still wouldn’t leave his name. Did you ever figure out who he might be?”

Jamison shook his head. “Guess it could be one of Dad’s old buddies from the department. Sometimes they call looking for me or Jake.”

“Or maybe whatever hoochie you’re dating has an angry ex,” Faith said, making Jamison laugh at the thought of Maddie’s gay ex-husband suddenly developing a jealous streak.

“Not a chance,” he said. “And she’s not a hoochie.”

Faith perked up, blonde brows lifting. “Oh, yeah? Well who is she? When are we going to meet this mystery woman who makes your voice sound all smooshy?”

“Soon,” Jamison said vaguely, grinning despite himself. “Where’s your better half?”

“Mick’s already inside,” Faith said, falling in beside him as he started toward the front of the church. “He came early to help Naomi hang ribbons or something while Maddie closed up the bakery.”

Just the mention of Maddie’s name made Jamison’s chest warmer and his smile take up more real estate on his face.

“So what did you get them?” Faith asked, starting up the stairs leading to the massive wooden doors. “I got bedding to go with the crib Mick made, but now I’m worried that’s lame.”

Jamison pulled a face. “It’s not lame. Besides, Jake and Naomi don’t care about the gifts. They already have everything they ever wanted.”

Faith shot him a strange look.

“What?” he asked, holding the door open for her.

“Nothing, you just sound so happy for them.”

“I am happy for them. And for you,” Jamison said, punching her lightly on the arm as they entered the dim front hall of the church, a place that always smelled like a mix between a library and his aunt’s moldy drawing room, but in a comforting kind of way. “I’m glad you found someone who loves you so much.”

Faith grinned a smile that definitely had a hint of goofy, love-buzz in it, though she was better at hiding it than Jake. “Yeah. He’s so great. I love the shit out of him.”

Jamison laughed. “Cursing in church. Nice.”

Faith shrugged as they made their way past a group of older women clustered around the entrance and into the left side of the nave. “It’s a Catholic Church. All you have to do is confess your sins if you’re Catholic, right? And then everything is all good?”

“Something like that,” Jamison said, pausing to dip his fingertips into the font of holy water near the door and cross himself. “But I haven’t been to confession much since my aunt stopped forcing me and Jake to come to mass every Saturday night in high school.”

Faith clucked her tongue as they moved deeper into the church, past stained glass windows that painted the wood floor in rainbow colors as the sun streamed through them. “That’s a shame. Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me.”

“Then maybe you should convert,” Jamison said, lowering his voice as they moved toward the front of the church where most of the family was already gathered in the small pews near the ceremonial baptismal font.

Jamison scanned the assembled company, but Maddie wasn’t there. He would have spotted her instantly. She stood out in a crowd. When Maddie was in a room, he couldn’t seem to look anywhere but directly at her.

“I am converting,” Faith said, surprising him. “I mean, I was raised Assembly of God, but it wasn’t really my jam, and Mick’s Catholic so…”

“So, what?” He glanced down at her profile, wondering why she sounded so cagey all of a sudden.

She rolled her eyes. “Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s going to be a surprise for, you know…later.”

“How much later?” he asked.

“After the wedding later,” Faith said. “So keep your lips zipped.”

“I don’t know anything, so how can I—”

“Exactly.” She nudged him in the side with an elbow before hurrying ahead of him to slide into the second pew back from the font, beside Mick, who immediately turned and put his arm around her, drawing her close.

Jamison smiled. Apparently he and Maddie weren’t the only ones keeping secrets until after Jake and Naomi’s wedding. He had an idea what Faith and Mick’s surprise might be—there were only so many things in life that dictated a change of religious affiliation—and an engagement would certainly help take the heat off of him and Maddie. The announcement that they were dating would pale in comparison to the twenty-somethings deciding to get married after dating for a mere five months.

Pleasantly uplifted by the thought of sliding in under the radar, Jamison circled around to the front pew. Jake stood up to give him a quick hug, while Naomi smiled up at him from where she sat with Noelle sleeping in her arms next to the aging Father Seamus, who looked perilously close to sleep himself.

The baby was wearing an antique christening gown that hung far past her curled toes and a tiny crocheted cap, her blue eyes closed and her tiny fists thrown up on either side of her head as she slept. With her brown curls and wide, cupid-bow mouth, Noelle was already a beauty, and looked like she could be Naomi’s biological daughter.

Or Maddie’s.

The thought of Maddie holding a baby with her blue eyes and dark curls drifted through Jamison’s mind unbidden, stirring up a strange feeling somewhere behind his ribs. Before he could sort out what the feeling was, Maddie’s perfume drifted to his nose, smelling like wildflowers and springtime and a dozen other wonderful things all rolled into one light, floral scent.

“Oh, she looks so beautiful,” Maddie whispered from behind him.

Jamison turned to see her standing a few feet away, happy tears shining in her eyes, looking so stunning in a royal blue dress with ruffles above the knee that it was all he could do not to reach out and pull her into his arms. His chest went tight with the need to hold her, to say how glad he was to see her after a long day apart. He’d gotten off work yesterday at noon, but he’d had errands to run and then she’d had to go into the bakery at four this morning. He hadn’t gotten a full twenty-four hour Maddie fix, and he felt it.

“Hi,” she said as she came to stand beside him, shooting him a quick smile that warmed him all over.

He could see how glad she was to see him—she was a bad actress, and hopeless when it came to concealing her feelings—but Jake and Naomi would likely be too wrapped up in the christening to pay attention to the fact that Maddie and Jamison couldn’t keep their eyes off of each other.

And if they weren’t…well who really cared? Jamison was ready to claim Maddie as his, to shout her name from the church rafters and let everyone know he was completely gone on the woman standing beside him.

“So who’s going to hold the baby?” Jake asked as Father Seamus stood with Bible in hand, clearly ready to get things started before he fell asleep.

“I don’t know,” Maddie said, glancing up at him. “We hadn’t talked about it.”

“I think you should,” Jamison said. “You’ll feel more like her mama, so if she wakes up, hopefully she won’t get scared.”

“Okay.” Maddie smiled, a beautiful smile that broke his heart into pieces.

Until Maddie, he’d never known that happiness could shatter you the same way sadness could, or that he would come to crave that sweet, pleasure-pain like nothing else. He didn’t want to stay whole when he was with Maddie, he wanted her to come in swinging and break him apart just for the bliss of being put back together with her touch, her kiss, the way she said his name when there was no one else around to hear.

He was in love with her, hopelessly in love, but he hadn’t let himself say the words again yet. Things had been good since their talk in the alley behind the bakery—better than good—and he didn’t want to rock the boat.

They’d had a night to remember camping out on his aunt’s property with the blindfold and a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs Maddie had laughed at until she found out how much fun they could be, and spent every night Jamison wasn’t working together since. They’d watched old action movies, made caramel popcorn, and drizzled the leftover caramel all over each other before licking it off. They’d crept up to the roof of the bakery with their sleeping bags and slept out under the stars, waking to make love as the sky was turning a rosy pink the same color as Maddie’s lips. They’d even donned hats and glasses as disguises and caught a movie at the newly reopened drive-in, making out in the back seat during a midnight showing of
Grease
like they were in high school.

Almost every night, the “L” word had threatened to escape Jamison’s lips again, but never so much as when Naomi shifted the sleeping Noelle into Maddie’s arms and he and Maddie went to stand together beside the priest, next to the font of water sparkling in the late afternoon light. Now, he felt a rush of feeling unlike anything he’d felt before, almost as if God himself were looking down and giving him a kick in the ass, telling him to grab onto the woman beside him and never let her go.

And maybe He was. Jamison had had his ups and downs with his spiritual journey, but Maddie was teaching him to believe in miracles, and he knew nothing had ever felt more holy than holding her in his arms.

“If you’ll put your right hand on the baby, Jamison, we’ll begin,” Father Seamus said with a smile before turning to face the small group of family and friends who had gathered for the ceremony.