He pulled her into the circle of his arms and dropped a kiss on her forehead, then another on the corner of her mouth. “Nothing, baby, just thinking about how good this feels—you and me here together with nothing between us. Well, other than these damn clothes and my parents,” he grumbled.

   Then a knock sounded on the door and they both jumped. “Son, did you hear your mother? She won’t let me eat without you, so come on out and face the music,” his dad yelled through the door. Well, hell.

   Exasperated, he took Lydia’s hand and opened the door to find his father standing there smirking. “Guess what, Dad,” he called over his shoulder as he and Lydia walked ahead toward the kitchen. “Lydia and I are going to be coming to visit you guys a lot more in the future. And we don’t plan to stay in a hotel. No, we want to continue this family bonding, so we’ll use my old room, which is right across the hallway from your room. Just one big happy family now.” Lydia chuckled at his side while his father mumbled things under his breath that Jacob hoped his wife couldn’t decipher.

   Amazingly enough, though, even with all of the interruptions, he wouldn’t change a thing about this moment. He’d never seen this in his future when he looked ahead. An incredible woman by his side, surrounded by his family. As surreal as it was, it also felt so incredibly right. And in the back of his mind, he could almost see the caption, Whipper zipper finds a mate.

* * *

   Ada was buzzing around the kitchen when they walked in. The other woman paused to take in the way that her son was clasping his wife’s hand firmly within his own before giving a nod of satisfaction. “Glad to see you two used your time wisely.” Glancing up at her son, she added, “I assume you groveled sufficiently and promised never to be such an ass again.”

   As a burst of surprised laughter flew from Lydia, Joe slapped Jacob on the back. “You’ll learn, son. The secret to a happy life is always saying you’re sorry even if you have no idea what you’ve done. She’s always right and you’re wrong. Bring flowers home in the evening just because you might have hurt her feelings in some way that you don’t realize and never get too old to call her honey, baby, or sweetheart. You’re already parents, and someday, you’ll add more to the mix. It’s important that you remember who you are as a couple along with being someone’s mother and father. The moment you lose sight of that is the moment you’ve lost your way.”

   Complete and utter silence filled the room as everyone seemed moved by Joe’s insight. Ada walked right up to him and laid a kiss on her husband’s lips that had both Lydia and Jake averting their eyes. After that, both of Jake’s parents hugged Lydia and officially welcomed her to the family. Ada had fixed pork chops, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans for dinner so instead of using the bar as they normally did for their meals, Ada insisted they have dinner in the dining room.

   Lydia was surprised at how comfortable she was with Ada and Joe and how much their acceptance meant to her. Considering she didn’t have a close relationship with her own parents, it was wonderful to already feel like a member of the Hay family in more than name only. With a pang, she realized that she still hadn’t told Brett’s parents that she’d gotten married. She felt horrible that she’d waited this long. She would go see them over the weekend and pray that they understood. They’d always been so good to her, and to lose them would be like losing that last piece of Brett. She’d e-mailed Connie to apologize for rushing off when she’d seen her at the office, making up some excuse about a missed appointment. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to admit that she’d forgotten Brett’s birthday.

   “You all right, sweetheart?” Jake asked, apparently having picked up on her emotional upheaval.

   She put a hand under the table and lightly squeezed his leg in reassurance. “I’m fine, honey. Just thinking of a few things I need to take care of.” When he gave her a smile filled with love, she knew that no matter what happened with the Morgans, she’d be okay because Jake would be here to offer comfort and support should she need it. She had a husband who loved her—and she had to think that Brett was happy for her.

* * *

   His parents had taken pity on them and left shortly after dinner. They’d already reserved a hotel room and planned to stay in town overnight so they could see Casey tomorrow before they went home. Lydia had scolded him after they left because he’d damn near pushed them out the door. The look on their faces had said that they knew damn well why he wanted them gone. He loved them, but damn, cock-block much.

   “God, baby, you feel so good!” Jacob groaned as Lydia moved under him.

   “Mmm, Jake, you’re driving me crazy,” she moaned in response as she tried to get him to speed up. Even though it was taking everything he had to go slow, he planned to see it through. His body completely covered hers except for her legs, which were wrapped around his hips. His thrusts were shallow as he ground against her wet heat. He tangled his tongue with hers again and again as sweat began to run down his body.

   Whether she knew it or not, emotions had always been involved when they’d been together intimately in the past. No matter how he’d try to pretend that it was just sex, it was more. He’d been making love to her from the very first time—but tonight was different. He’d never discussed feelings during the act, and it was unexpectedly heady and exciting. Moving his lips to the skin below her ear, he whispered, “Love you so much, baby.”

   Her body shuddered in response as her legs tightened around him, pushing him deeper. “Love you too, Jake,” she cried out. Those words from her had him dangerously close to blowing his load before she found her release. He tried his best to disconnect the feelings in the big head from the little one while he thrust inside his wife, taking them both higher until he felt her clenching and releasing around him. “Yes, oh yes!” she moaned as she climaxed around his hard length.

   A moment later, he reached his own peak as waves of bliss washed over him. After what was very likely the best sexual experience of his life, Jacob figured some men would curse themselves for missing out for this long by playing the field. But as he pulled Lydia’s sated body closer, he knew that he’d been waiting for her all this time, even if he hadn’t realized it back then.