Page 3 of Lyrical

I love you.

“Is he telling you about all the freaky stuff he wants to do to you tonight?”

I looked up. “What? No. He’s asking about going ice skating with Hazel.”

I shot off a quick reply:I’m in. Can’t wait. Love you too.

“It’s fine for her to be doing that stuff with her globamacallits?”

“It’s glomerulonephritis, and she’s doing great. It hasn’t progressed.” That little girl we’d practically adopted made me walk on sunshine. There could be no option where she wasn’t doing great. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“You’re really happy, Jills. I love seeing you like this.”

“Yeah, me too.” I placed my phone back on the table. Nowadays, I was walking around with a heart the size of Perry’s box of orgasms.

“And fuck, I can’t believe we’re going to be official sisters soon.”

“Fuck is right, so let’s get this wedding planned, okay?” I slapped aModern Bridemag on the floor. We were so behind schedule it was laughable. If it weren’t so nerve-racking. With the icy winds and the poor little trees that looked like they’d snap under all the heavy snow, it was easy for Perry to be in denial about how quickly the day was creeping up on us. “Now, about that officiant. Did Stephen ever—”

Ding.

That time when I glanced over, my lips curved high for a different reason.

“Chase again?”

I looked at Perry, feeling like my heart had just grown another fifty sizes.

“No. Daniel’s coming home.”

Strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind, catching me off guard. I let out a tiny yip as he kissed the side of my neck.

“Jillian?” the voice echoed through the phone.

“I gotta go, Mike. Sunday’s all set.”

Chase squeezed me tighter, and I leaned back into his chest. “Mmm….” I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but my body often took over when he was pressed against it.

“Jillian?” the irritating voice repeated.

“Just call when you’re on your way, please.”

“What are—”

I disconnected the call. We’d already gone over every minute detail regarding Daniel’s arrival, and I didn’t need to give my ex-husband any additional time to get in a few cracks. It irked the shit out of Mike that Chase and I were still going strong. Since I’d kicked Mike out five months ago after begging me for a temporary place to stay, we only had contact when we needed to discuss our son. But after that was completed, he never could seem to resist digging in some cougar barbs. He hadn’t even known that frickin’ word before, and now it was at the top of his vocabulary list.

I tossed my phone on the bed and turned to a raised eyebrow. “Problems?”

“Just going over plans for Sunday. When Daniel comes home.”

I felt like my face was going to crack in two. God, it was really happening. Each time I said it out loud, it became more real.

He brushed his lips against mine. “Which are?”

“Mike has this thing with Candace that he can’t get out of, whatever that could be.” His mouth found my neck again. “Mmm… so I’m picking up Daniel at the airport. His plane comes in at….” His tongue circled the sensitive area behind my ear. “Mmm… 5:10. Then I’m bringing him back to Mom’s for family dinner. Mike will pick him up there later.”

I pushed him away while I still could. “God, Chase. Why do you do these things when you can’t finish them? I’m going to be walking around a throbbing mess now.”

“Who says I can’t finish?”

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