Page 74 of The Candle Palace (Jamison Valley 6)
“Good. He fell asleep about an hour ago.”
I hated missing bedtime with him, but I’d needed tonight at the spa and an evening away. Besides, Hudson would be up at about two for his middle-of-the-night feeding and I’d have cuddle time with him then.
Kicking off my boots, I followed Milo into the living room. He had a basketball game on the TV and the lights off. He sat on the couch and I dropped into his side. “I don’t like fighting with you,” he said.
“I don’t either.” Even telling the girls about us hadn’t helped erase the sick feeling in my stomach. But now that I was in his warm arms, the stress was melting away. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Milo dropped a soft kiss to my lips. There’d been countless kisses like that in our years together and they always made my heart skip a beat.
We snuggled on the couch, the lights from the TV flickering over the walls. Milo watched the final minutes of the game while I let my gaze wander. Next to the TV was a tall bookshelf. On the middle shelf, a tea light.
The same one Luna had given him the day we’d met.
He’d turned it on tonight. That tea light hadn’t been on in years, but tonight while I’d been gone, he’d turned it on.
Maybe to remind me how much he loved me. Maybe to say sorry.
“I told the girls about us tonight. How we met.”
“They didn’t already know?”
I shook my head. “Gigi did. Maisy too, for the most part. But Emmeline, Felicity and Sabrina had never heard the whole story. It was kind of fun, telling them. It was like going back in time.”
He grinned. “To the Candle Palace.”
“It feels like a different life.”
“It sure does.” He held me closer. “Do you ever miss it?”
“Never.” I didn’t hesitate.
I belonged here with Milo. Our son belonged here. They owned my heart.
And the Jamison Valley owned my soul.
Preview to Gypsy King
Enjoy this preview from Gypsy King, book one in the Tin Gypsy series.
BRYCE
“Morning, Art.” I saluted him with my coffee as I walked through the glass front door.
He returned the gesture with his own mug. “Hiya, Bryce. How are you today?”
“Fantastic.” I shimmied my shoulders, still feeling the dance party I’d had in my car on my way in to work. “The sun is shining. The flowers are blooming. It’s going to be a great day. I can feel it.”
“I hope you’re right. All I can feel at the moment is heartburn.” Art chuckled and his protruding belly jiggled. Even in a pair of cargo pants and a light blue button-up, he reminded me of Santa Claus.
“Is Dad here?”
He nodded. “Been here since before I showed up at six. I think he’s trying to fix one of the presses.”
“Damn. I’d better go make sure he hasn’t gotten pissed and dismantled the whole thing. See ya, Art.”
“Bye, girlie.”
At the Clifton Forge Tribune, I was girlie, dear and the occasional sweetheart, because at thirty-five, I was the youngest employee by thirteen years. Even as part owner, I was still seen as the boss’s kid.
