Page 48 of Moving to Love
“I love you, Joci. I did have a talk with her. I swear it.”
“I believe you, baby.” Joci sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around Jeremiah.
“You don’t sound sure.”
He pulled away and looked at her. She closed her eyes and sighed again.
“I just hate having to deal with her every time we do something with your employees. How much temptation can you handle?”
“She’s not a temptation to me. I couldn’t give a shit. You’re the only woman I want. You’re the only woman I will ever love. Ever.”
Just then, the door opened up, and JT, Ryder, and Gunnar walked out onto the deck.
“Everything okay out here?”
Joci and Jeremiah smiled at them.
“Yes, everything is fine. How about in there?” Joci said with a smile.
Gunnar was the first to make a comment. “I would like to wrap my hands around her throat. She is such a piece of trash, and I hate how awful she is to you. When Chase said she wasn’t riding with him, I had hoped she wasn’t coming at all. Then she showed up with Boyd, a guy she met in a bar last night.”
Joci looked at Gunnar, then at JT, and finally at Ryder. “I’m okay. I don’t like it either, but it is what it is at this point, so we have to suck it up and deal with it. Only Jeremiah can change the situation.”
* * *
Ouch, that stung. Talk about being sucker-punched. But she was right. He just felt like he owed it to Lance to make sure LuAnn had a job. Never in his life did he think he would find a woman like Joci and have a woman like LuAnn try to fuck it up for him. He would never try to harm another person’s relationship—ever. It was beyond him that someone would do this to him.
“I’ll take care of it. Right now, let’s try to enjoy the weekend and not let one person ruin it. If we all stick together, we can have a great time,” Jeremiah said.
JT nodded. “How about we talk about the house then?”
A grin grew across his face. He looked at Gunnar, who smiled.
“We’re excited to move in. Now that I know the house is available, I can hardly stand to stay in my shitty apartment,” Gunnar stated.
Joci said, “Jeremiah and I finished moving today. I’ll go over next week and clean so it’s ready for you guys. You can move in any time after that. If you don’t want the furniture I left there, we can get a storage unit and move it there.”
JT let out a whoop, then high-fived Gunnar. People started filtering out on the deck to see what was going on. Gunnar and JT told them they were moving into Joci’s house next week, and they were excited. They talked excitedly when LuAnn had to get her two cents’ worth in.
“Can’t you afford to live on your own anymore, Joci?”
Joci looked at LuAnn and took a deep breath. “I certainly can. After all, I have a house that I bought on my own. What do you have?”
LuAnn lived with her sister in her sister’s basement. She turned and walked back into the house to make herself another drink. JT smirked and high-fived Joci.
Conversation resumed, and the mood lifted. They were going to be okay. They were okay. The remainder of the evening, everyone had a great time. LuAnn was quiet and drank heavily, to the point that Boyd had to carry her to bed around ten o’clock.
Joci seemed to enjoy herself, which helped Jeremiah enjoy himself. Later in the evening, Jeremiah sat in a big brown leather chair and winked at Joci as he patted his lap, knowing the little joke was not lost on her. She gladly climbed on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned into him and whispered in his ear.
“Dog, you know you want me.”
Jeremiah squeezed her tight and kissed her on the lips. “You’re right about that. More than I can get my mind around.”
Chapter 19
On Saturday morning, Joci woke up to Jeremiah sliding into her. She was lying on her back, with her arms over her head. She felt him push himself into her, and she moaned. He kissed her neck and nibbled her earlobe.
He swirled his tongue around the shell of her ear and whispered, “Good morning, gorgeous. I love waking up with you.”
