Rolling her bottom lip between her teeth, Vista replies, “I think you might be right.”

My heart fucking soars. With a growl, I lunge, tackling her back onto the mattress. Her stomach means I can’t climb on top of her like I want to, but that’s not going to keep me from sucking on those plump lips.

Cupping the side of her neck, I pull her to me and take her mouth with force, plunging my tongue inside and swirling it with hers. She tastes like a dream, one I never want to wake up from. When her fingers tunnel into my hair, her lips and tongue dancing eagerly with mine, it’s nearly impossible to restrain myself.

I tell her I love her between each kiss, tell her how fucking sorry I am for being such a son of a bitch, and she kisses me back eagerly, telling me without words that she forgives me. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve it, but I’ll take it, because without her my life means nothing.

Drawing back slightly, Vista presses a delicate hand against my chest and peers up at me with a vulnerability I’ve never seen before. “Tell me this isn’t a dream,” she says breathlessly.

“If it is,” I tell her as I settle in beside her and wrap her up tight in my arms so that we’re facing one another, “then I don’t wanna wake up.”

EPILOGUE

One year later…

“Rotate your shoulder. Now come forward. Back. Again. Good!” I help Keyon, one of my best clients and arguably the football world’s best player, lower the weights back to the floor. He’s a big guy, towering over me by a good half foot. He hasn’t been injured—yet—and he’s hoping that by coming to me, he’ll lessen his chances of gaining any serious injuries on the field.

Smart man.

Shaking out his long limbs, Keyon strides over to the bench where he laid his towel and picks it up, swabbing the light sheen of sweat from his flawless ebony skin. “Great workout, boss.”

“I keep telling you, Keyon, I’m not your boss.” I laugh, earning a wide, toothy grin. “Are you ready for the game Sunday?” He’s the star running back for a team that is, according to Levi, headed for the Super Bowl this season.

“The other team isn’t going to know what hit ‘em,” he boasts. “Hey, are you and your husband planning to make it out?”

I promised him that Levi and I would make at least one of his games. It’s a thing I like to do to show my clients that I’m invested in them as a sort of thank you for investing in me. Marquis Rehabilitation wouldn’t be the overnight success it is today without them.

“I’ll have to talk to Levi, but I’m pretty sure we can.”

“Great, then I’ll make sure to leave a couple tickets for you at the front.”

I thank him and as he walks out, I see my gorgeous husband walk in. Levi looks damn fine in his Tuesday best—a pair of tight black jeans and black riding jacket worn over a black Henley. His beard is freshly trimmed and his sexy as sin smile is in full effect. Chase is strapped securely to his chest like a little papoose, fast asleep.

He crosses paths with Keyon, pausing to shake hands and exchange a few words before he heads my way and drops a sweet kiss on my lips. “Hey, princess. Ready to take off?”

“Just gotta grab my purse.” I pause before turning away and look meaningfully at the bundle of baby cuddled up to him. “You did bring the car, right?”

Levi’s eyes widen in mock offense. “Babe, come on. What do you take me for?”

I raise my brows, then change the direction of the conversation. “So a Mohawk, huh?” I reach out to run a finger across the blond hawk running down the center of Chase’s round head, only to have my hand slapped away before contact.

“Never mess with a man’s hair, princess.”

Shaking my head, I turn and walk away. Levi and I have been married for ten months now, and I dare say I know him better than he knows himself. Still, as ornery and mischievous as the man is, I haven’t regretted a second of our time together.

The day we said our vows to one another was the day Chase entered the world. In true Levi form, he couldn’t wait and do things in the right order or at the right time. He proposed during the most brutal contraction, citing his cleverness in distracting me from the pain, and he pulled in a man from the hospital chapel who looked the part and had him marry us as I began to push. I never thought my marriage vows would be punctuated by panting breaths or a crying baby, but I have to give Levi credit. He certainly made the event a memorable one.

Mom was right, too. She told me he was a good guy, and he really is. When I first moved in with Levi, he was the bad boy, womanizing, son of a bitch I’d pegged him for. Now, he’s the sweetest, most charming, if not completely over-the-top wonderful husband I knew he could be.

A week before our son was born, Levi announced to the world that he would be taking time off to be with us, his family. He then made it his mission to get Marquis Rehabilitation some much needed recognition. Employing his connections in the sports world, he singlehandedly shoved the business into the limelight. In a few short months, my business has reached heights I never would have imagined possible. There’s even speculation that it might make Forbes.

So I guess you can say that I’ve learned to take help where it’s needed.

So now, while I’m working to build my dream, Levi is working on becoming father of the year—his words, not mine. I’d say he has that in the bag.

We hit the road and arrive at my mother’s townhouse a few minutes later. I gather the diaper bag while Levi removes Chase from his car seat. The door swings open before we reach the sidewalk and I see Mom step out in a pair of slim fitting red capris and white, off the shoulder sweater.

She certainly doesn’t look like a grandma.

“There’s my little man!” she squeals as Levi passes her the baby. “Oh, would you look at that?” she gushes, inspecting his hairdo. “That has got to be the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life.”

“Levi’s bright idea,” I laugh. I move to step up onto the porch with her, but Levi’s hand on my arm holds me back. I pass him a questioning look as he relieves me of the diaper bag and passes it off to Mom.

“Are you sure you’re good for the night, Lara? We can swing by later on the way home?”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, confused.

“I have raised a child before. I think I’ll survive the night,” Mom cajoles. To me she says, “You two have fun tonight.”

I’m barely allowed the time to kiss Chase’s forehead before Levi is dragging me back to the car. Only it’s not the car he takes me to. I failed to notice his bike parked at the curb when we pulled up.

“What the hell is happening right now?” I ask again as Levi slings his leg over the motorcycle and hands me my helmet saying, “No time for questions, babe. Hop up on the bitch seat.”

I slap his arm is mock offense, and he smirks. “Who are you calling a bitch?”

“Not, you, princess. Never you,” he feigns innocence as he grasps my chin and draws my face to his for a placating kiss.

I shake my head when he releases me and stay put to allow Levi to adjust the helmet on under my chin…just like he used to do. We haven’t ridden this thing in…almost a year. I hadn’t realized just how much I missed being on the back of it until right this second. As confused and lost as I feel right now, because our plans for dinner at my mom’s house have apparently been cancelled, I can’t deny the thread of excitement creating butterflies in my stomach as I climb on behind him.

“Change of plans, princess.” Reaching back, Levi grabs my thighs and tugs me in for a tighter fit. “Tonight…we ride.”

I chuckle at his dramatic delivery. As he kicks his foot down and the bike rumbles to life, I decide that whatever he has planned, it’s not worth ruining the surprise. We get so few of them anymore. So I wrap my arms tight around his lean waist and hold on tight as we jet off.