Jack stood aside, another layer of contentment rolling in as Pepper paused to wrap her arms around her mother and squeeze her tight. The easy affection and the sheer-out love was so blatant it shook him to his core.
That was Pepper. Living life large, and these days she was hauling him along with her, and he fucking loved every second.
As the two women disappeared into the house, Parker drifted off to find Lynn, leaving Jack alone with Patrick Wilson. The older man flipped the row of burgers on the grill, then glanced at Jack with a warm smile.
“Come keep me company, son.”
Never in a million years would that get old. Jack settled on top of the tall stool beside Patrick, soaking in the sheer sense of belonging. “You think the ladies will ever return, or will they stay inside all night making plans to torment us?”
“Of course they’ll be back. Right in time to make sure I don’t burn anything.”
Jack laughed.
“Yep. Over forty years together, and she’s still checking to make sure I put my shoes on the right feet every morning.” Patrick’s expression softened. “And you know what? Sometimes I think I’d get it wrong if I didn’t have her challenging me all the time. Keeps me on my toes. You’ll see what I mean—you got yourself a Wilson woman now, too.”
Forty years. It sounded like an astronomical amount of time to Jack. Hell, his parents had barely made it eight years. Wouldn’t have even been that long if his father hadn’t hammered his mother into sticking around.
But damn, it sounded nice. Forty years with Pepper. Forty years of her contagious laughter and thrilling spontaneity and lust for life.
He had himself a Wilson woman, all right, and he was never giving her up.
In the end he was the one who snuck away from Patrick after receiving a final body-jarring back-pounding—the older man was damn powerful for someone who drew comics all day long. Jack slipped into the house, discovering Pepper alone at the island counter, staring in dismay at a pile of cooked cubed potatoes.
He stepped behind her, arms automatically pulling her body to his as he rested his chin on her shoulder. “Whatcha thinking about with such a serious expression?”
She leaned against him, the connection so perfect—so right. Then she spoke in barely a whisper. “They’re staring at me.”
Jack struggled to push down the laughter that wanted to escape. He glanced at the pile but saw nothing there that would freak her out. “You go ahead and put those mean ol’ potatoes into the salad. I’ll be right here to defend you.”
A giggle escaped her. “You making fun of me, Jackjack?”
“Maybe a little,” he confessed.
She twisted in his arms and smiled up at him. “I like you.”
“I like you, too, even when you’re tipsy.”
“I’m not tipsy,” she insisted seriously before cracking a huge grin. “I’m drunk. Two very different things.”
“Ah. Good to know.”
She tilted her head to the side, shining red hair tumbling over her shoulders as she examined his face. “I’m not too drunk to tell you something very, very, very important.”
Jack grinned. “But will you remember what you told me tomorrow?”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, because it’s never going to change. I love you today when I’m pissed, and I’ll still love you tomorrow. I’ll love you when I’m pissed off, and when I’m pissing, and—” She stopped and frowned. “Maybe not that last one.”
He lost it, laughter bubbling up and escaping. “You are going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow, baby.”
She swayed again, green eyes blinking brightly at him. “You’ll take care of me, though, because you love me, too. Right? Always?”
Jack brushed a kiss over her mouth, then pulled back. “Always and forever,” he promised.
DreamMakers Trilogy
Thanks for reading. We hope you enjoyed Jack and Pepper’s story. We sure had a blast writing it!
You’ve just read the second book in the DreamMakers trilogy. The full list of books in the series is All Fired Up, Love Is A Battlefield, Don’t Walk Away.
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Ready for more from Elle Kennedy? Turn the page for a brief excerpt from AS HOT AS IT GETS, part of the Out of Uniform series…
AS HOT AS IT GETS