Crazy for You Page 21
Jake knelt on the floor. “Angel. You are the smartest, kindest, and most resilient person I know. I wake up thankful you’re in my arms. I love the life we are creating and, most of all, I love you. Would you please do me the honor,” he reached into the pockets of his jogging pants, “of becoming my wife?”
Her mouth gaped open, but nothing came out. Fear curled his stomach. Too aggressive? Too quick in asking her to marry him?
I should’ve given her more time. He cleared his throat. “Or . . . or not.”
“Not?” Her glazed-over eyes cleared. “No.”
“No?”
She shook her head. “No, I mean yes! Of course, I’ll marry you. I’d be crazy to say no!”
“Thank God. I was all out of moves.” Releasing a breath, he slid the ring onto her finger. “I love you, angel. I’m crazy for you.”
She grabbed his face and kissed him. “I’m crazy for you, too.”
Epilogue
Six years later
The kids ran around outside the five-bedroom house in the Hamptons. Damien, Nathan, and Jake were on grill duty, while Melanie, Tiana, and Charlotte were on relaxing duty. Little Alexander, Jodie, Ramona, and Layla squealed as they chased each other around the yard.
Alexander—aka Alex, formerly Bean—was now five and a half years old and proudly boasted that fact to anyone who would listen. Pivoting on one foot, he nearly trampled Jodie, Tiana and Nathan’s daughter.
“Be careful!” Charlotte yelled. “She’s smaller than you. You can’t be rough.”
Jodie pushed Alex from behind. “I not small!” the four-year-old yelled.
“Stop it, stupid!” Alex yelled back, scrambling to his feet.
Melanie, who’d been telling the ladies a story, paused to gush at the kids. “Ah, true love!” Tiana and Charlotte nodded. All three women agreed that Jodie and Alex were meant to be.
Melanie and Damien’s daughters, three-year-old Romana and two-year-old Layla, toddled behind the older pair.
“Finish up the story. Tell me you didn’t invite the terrible duo to our cookout?” Tiana asked.
Melanie had run into her and Damien’s former childhood best friend Terrance, Damien’s former fiancée Vanessa, and their twin boys. They’d broken ties with the couple after Vanessa had cheated with Terrance.
“I was going to, but Damien clapped his hand over my mouth, told them I had the flu, and didn’t want them to get sick.” She rolled her eyes and shrugged. “It’s been like eight years. I’m over it. And to be honest, they looked good together. They seemed like a normal, happy family.” Mel bounced from her chair. “You ladies want a margarita? I think we waited a respectable two hours since we’ve arrived.”
“Umm . . . I’m not really in the mood for a margarita.” Charlotte’s voice was high-pitched.
“I’m just going to keep my water for now,” Tiana added and then sipped hard from the bottle.
Cocking her hip, Mel stared at both of them as if cross-examining a witness on the stand.
“Wait a minute. Since when have either of you turned down a margarita? Don’t tell me you both are preggers.”
Charlotte averted her eyes and pretended to watch the kids. Tiana looked at the sky.
“Both of you? At the same time? God help me. How many months?”
They both were silent. “C’mon, spill it.”
“Ten weeks,” Charlotte confessed, secretly thrilled to tell her friends. She’d wanted to wait a few more weeks, but Melanie had guessed it. After Alex was born, she’d gotten her blood glucose to a healthy range and now could have a normal pregnancy this time around.
“Fourteen weeks.” Tiana sighed. “Nathan wanted us to tell you tonight. Act surprised, will you?”
Melanie’s eyes went wide. “Why didn’t you both tell me sooner? We could’ve coordinated our pregnancies. Now I’ll be the lone unpregnant woman.”
“You and Damien already popped out two. No offense, but you are the worst pregnant person ever.”
“Am not!” she whined.
“Are, too,” Tiana shot back. “You bellyached about your swollen feet, you demanded fresh fruit every morning, and you wanted shoulder rubs . . . from everyone!”
“Defamation!” Melanie raised a pointed finger into the air.
Tiana gave her a bored look. “Use it in a sentence, crazy lady. Otherwise, you won’t get points for word of the day.”
“I will sue you for defamation of character due to your malicious and unfounded lies.”
“Ten points, Melanie.” Charlotte joined in on the game. Melanie and Tiana had allowed her to join the word game a few years ago, with a lot of pomp and circumstance surrounding it. In other words, with copious amounts of nachos and margaritas.
“What are you going to do about the agency?” Charlotte asked Tiana. Tiana and Nathan had started their own marketing agency a few months ago.
“Oh, I’ll still be involved up until I pop and we just hired a junior account manager to help with our workload. I can’t let Nathan have all the fun!” She smirked.
Damien, Nathan, and Jake walked toward them in the front yard.
Jake bent over, lightly touched Charlotte’s stomach, and then kissed her lips. “Food is ready.” His deep voice sent delicious tingles up her spine. “Gotta feed the baby,” he whispered.
Smiling, she grabbed his hand. “C’mon, Alex. We’re moving the party to the backyard.”
Alex rushed to his father, baseball cap on his head. “Daddy!” He hopped into Jake’s arms.
Jake hugged him and gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek.
“Yuck, Daddy!” Alex giggled.
“Fine then. I’ll just kiss Mommy. Mommy loves my kisses.” Jake bent down and gave her a sensual kiss.
“Ewww . . . yucky, Daddy!”
“Not yucky. Mommy is the yummiest thing I’ve ever tasted.”
Melanie giggled from behind them. “And that’s how Mommy and Daddy made another Bean!”
Acknowledgments
Wow! I can’t believe this series has come to an end. I can’t lie; this is bittersweet. Melanie and Damien, Tiana and Nathaniel, and Charlotte and Jacob have become my friends. I have real friends, I promise, but it’s so hard to say good-bye. In fact, I’m listening to the Boyz II Men song right now.
The Crush On You series wouldn’t exist without the help of others, and as I close out this series I have a lot of people to thank, so bear with me.
First and foremost, I’d like to give honor to God. Without his added strength, I would’ve given up on my dream of being published a long time ago. Thanks to the Crimson Romance family for giving me a chance. Jess, I’ll miss your hilarious comments on tracked changes.
To my husband, Jason—thank you for believing in me. To my mother, who cultivated my love for reading and writing.
To my critique partners (I have a lot of them) Connie Gilliam, Ison Hill, Mary Marvella, and Pamela Varnado— thanks for making me a stronger writer. Thank you, Annie Oortman, for encouraging me to dig deeper.
To my cousin and number one beta reader, Charidee—thank you for being honest and making my stories better.
To my family, who harasses their coworkers and friends to buy my books. Special shout-out to my father and stepmother. And to my cousins, Shameka, Brittany, and Gia, and my aunts Wilma, Shirley, and Laine.
To all my family and friends who supported me through social media, word of mouth, or just checking in on me—I love and appreciate all of you.
And last, but certainly not least, thank you, dear reader. Your kind words, feedback, and reviews fuel me to keep going. I hope you were entertained!
About the Author
Rina Gray writes romance and women’s fiction. She is also a digital marketing professional who explored her love of writing a few years ago. Writing has always been Rina’s passion, though initially, she tried to deny it. In college she served as the copy editor for the entertainment magazine and newspaper. During her tenure, she had the opportunity to intervi
ew various talented entertainers. Rina has always been an avid reader, sneaking to read her mother’s books she had no business reading, which sparked her love for horror. As a preteen, she received a load of romance novels from a family friend, and from that point, she devoured any book related to romance or horror.
Rina tweets about her writing journey and her unhealthy obsession with the NBA @rinagraywrites. Feel free to connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRinaGray. Her website is www.RinaGray.com.
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