Page 107 of Love Without Demands

Kassie and Monty‘s wedding was six weeks away, but Kassie had a big case coming up and was trying to get as much done early as possible.

The bride nudged me with her shoulder. “How are things going with you and Cruz?” she sang.

I couldn’t help the smile that broke across my face. “So good. He’s just the perfect man.”

“He’s a sweetheart,” Gianna agreed. “So much better than the last one.”

I laughed. “Speaking of him, you'll never guess who showed up at my apartment today.”

“No!” Gianna practically shouted. “Did you punch him in the face?”

Taking a sip of my champagne, I shook my head. “No. I should have though. He said he moved here so we could try again.”

“Oh, puh-leeze,” Gianna groaned, scrunching her nose up. “Like you would give up a man like Cruz Estrada for the titty-sucking mama’s boy. I mean, Cruz absolutely adores you.”

That made my heart so happy. “He does,” I agree.

“He has for a while, obviously.”

“You think?”

“Oh, for sure,” Gia replied, tugging at a very crooked bow before untying it and trying again. “I’ve known ever since he arranged for Auburn to help you out with the apartment.”

Hold on… he…

“What?” I screeched.

Kassie’s eyes were as big as bowling balls and bounced between us.

Gianna bit her bottom lip and muttered, “Um, oops. You didn’t know that?”

“No,” I said weakly, pressing my hand against my chest as I thought back. That had been right around the time I had told Cruz that I was being kicked out of my apartment. “You have to tell me everything right now, Gianna Bouvier.”

She rolled her pretty green eyes. “Fine, but you didn’t hear this from me. Cruz called Auburn and told him that you were having housing issues and needed a new place. He wanted to see if there was any availability here in our building. He even offered to pay for it.”

“He did not!” I exclaimed before downing a big slug of champagne.

“Oh yes, ma’am, he did,” Gia drawled. “Auburn had already decided to offer you a raise so he thought he would see if you wanted the apartment as part of your salary. But Cruz was definitely the catalyst behind it. Auburn never would have known you needed a place if he hadn’t told him.”

“Awww,” Kassie cooed, “that’s really sweet.”

“Well, now I feel bad,” I lamented. “Did Auburn just give me the apartment because he felt sorry for me?”

“Not at all,” Gianna said, shaking her head vehemently. “I swear he had already talked to me about giving you a raise. He wanted to make sure I was okay with you being his assistant after my dad retired.”

“Awww,” Kassie said again. “That was really thoughtful of him to consider your feelings about it, Gia.”

“It was, but of course I told him I had no problem with it, even though Lehra is freaking gorgeous.”

“Well, thank you,” I told her, “but trust me. The man only has eyes for you.”

Her green eyes sparkled with mischief. “His eyes and every other part of him belong to me. Including his big—”

She stopped talking when three little ones entered the room.

“Mommy, we’re done with the menu for the wedding,” Kassie’s son, Sully, said, handing her a sheet of paper with boxes check marked in blue crayon. Gianna and Auburn’s twins, Jaxon and Jane, followed with proud smiles on their faces.

“She let the kids pick the menu for the wedding?” I asked Gianna from the corner of my mouth.

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