Page 43 of Finally Us (Next Generation 5)

My heart warmed that he called me his girl. “It’s stupid.”

“Nothing you say, or feel, is stupid. Tell me.”

“I had a moment of jealousy,” I admitted, waiting for him to laugh at me.

“Jealousy?” He paused. “When?”

“When I heard the girl in the background and I’m also jealous of the women that you apparently didn’t date.” I braced myself. It was coming. I knew it was. He would laugh and tell me I wasn’t making sense.

“Baby, she’s a friend’s girlfriend. I only know her because of him. Trust me. It’s not like that with Tenise. Rory would lose his shit if that were the case. And those other women?” He sighed. “I wanted to start the rumor myself. I was sick of hearing about you dating Matt and how happy as a fucking clam you were. It pissed me off, so I wanted to spread a bunch of lies. I shouldn’t have even thought of doing that and I’m sorry. I promise that there are no other women.”

My shoulders slumped in relief. “Okay.”

“You believe me?”

“I do but I told you it was dumb,” I mumbled.

“Listen, I’m about ten minutes from your place and then we can talk. Okay?”

“Okay.” We said our goodbyes and I let out a sigh of relief that he never made fun of me. Placing my phone on the coffee table, I turned on the TV and laid down on the couch.

A warm mouth brushed over mine.

I sighed, a soft moan leaving me.

“Wake up, Queenie.”

“I’m having a good dream.” I rolled onto my stomach, keeping my eyes closed.

“Wake up. I have a present for you.”

I lifted my head then, my gaze landing on a box of donuts. “Are those Meadow’s?”

“They are.” Vince grinned. “I stopped off at the bakery earlier tonight and picked them up. Good thing too, since now you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you.” I sat up, running a hand through my hair.

“Here.” He handed me one of the donuts that Meadow had called a surprise when she first made them. I was so damn proud of my sister and the fact that her baked goods were now being sold in restaurants.

I took the donut from Vince and bit into it. A sigh left me as I chewed, the random fruity flavors bursting on my tongue.

Vince placed the box on the table and knelt between my legs. “I’m sorry you were jealous. But I guess I deserved that when I reacted the way I did with the twins having a key to your place.”

“You know they’ve never tried anything with me, right?” When Vince didn’t answer, I cupped his cheek. “I mean it. They had a thing with Piper. Ashton slept with my sister and wanted Luna for half a second. But they never hit on me. Never even hinted at it. It’s like they knew.”

“Knew what?” Vince asked, his gaze popping to mine.

“That I was taken,” I whispered.

“No.” He shoved to his feet, towering over me. “Youaretaken. You always have been. Always will be.”

I looked away. “Matt never counted.”

“Don’t say his fucking name.” Vince pinched my chin, forcing my head around to meet the hard impact of his mouth. “Ever.”

Desire for Vince burned through me, but it still didn’t mean that he could tell me what to do. I bit his bottom lip, smiling when he jumped. “I thought you dated girls too, Vince.”

In a quick move, he wrapped his hand around my throat, forcing me back against the couch. “Am I with them now? Are you with Matt now?”

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