He lifts his glass, and we all follow suit.

“To Amelia and Wyatt.”

“To Amelia and Wyatt!”

Joy sighs just before she takes a sip of her champagne.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Oh, nothing.”

“I’m sitting right here,” I remind her.

“I’m sorry, but it’s Will Montgomery.”

I take a sip of my drink, watching her over the rim. Finally, I lean in and whisper in her ear, “In about two hours, I’m going to strip you naked and fuck you so hard you won’t remember your own name, let alone Will Montgomery’s. You’ll be screaming and begging for more.”

“If this is the response I get from a harmless crush, I’ll do it more often.”

“What are you two whispering about over there?” Mom asks from across the table. She’s happy today, with a perma-smile on her pretty face. “You should share with the table.”

“This isn’t your classroom,” I remind her. “And I’m not a fourth-grader.”

“Jace was just telling me that you might actually retire this year, Melody,” Joy says with a smile and lays her hand on my thigh. She gives it a squeeze, and I’m grateful that the table’s there to hide my hard-on.

“This is the year,” Mom says with a nod. “It’s time. Thirty years as a teacher is plenty.”

“You’ll be missed,” Joy replies.

“But I’ll be happy to have her home with me,” Dad says, pulling Mom in to kiss her cheek. “It’s time to start traveling and enjoying our nest egg.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Joy says with a smile. “Enjoy each other. That’s what it’s all about.”

“How is your practice going, dear?” Mom asks Joy.

“It’s great. I brought in two more doctors last year because I just couldn’t keep up with it by myself anymore.”

“Her office is awesome,” I add, proud of the woman next to me. “She remodeled the place, and it’s gorgeous. Also, she makes fresh cookies in the lobby for the clients.”

“I need to get myself a dog,” Levi says with a wink.

“The cookies make the place smell better,” she insists. “And, sometimes, a girl needs a chocolate chip cookie.”

“Makes sense to me,” Mom says. “And I just want to say, it’s nice to see you two together. Levi tells me you’ve been spending quite a bit of time together.”

“We’ve been friends for years,” I remind her softly, but Mom just shrugs a shoulder.

“I’m not getting any younger,” she says. “Would it kill you to marry this girl and make me happy?”

Joy spits out her champagne, and I just hide my face in my hand.

My mom doesn’t have an issue with saying what’s on her mind.

I never had a problem with that until today.

I glance over at Levi, who’s laughing and eating his prime rib, happy to be out of the line of fire.

“Are you dating anyone?” I ask him.

“Nope.” His grin is smug.

“Let’s work on that and get them off my back.”

“No way, this is way too much fun.”

~Joy~

“I forgot to tell you,” I say the next morning as we’re cozied up in Jace’s bed, drinking coffee and enjoying a lazy start to the day, “Meredith Williams invited you, me, and Levi to her house this afternoon for a BBQ. I said yes. It sounds fun.”

“Okay,” Jace says, reading an article on his iPad.

“Whatcha reading?”

“An article on bloodless open-heart surgery in infants,” he replies as calmly as if he’d said, “I’m taking a quiz on my personality type based on my favorite color.”

“What are you reading?”

“I’m looking at Amelia’s Instagram,” I inform him. “She already put up a couple of photos from yesterday. Did you know she has like two million followers on here?”

“Yeah,” he says and takes a sip of his coffee. “It’s pretty cool.”

“Her feed is beautiful,” I say and smile at a photo of her and Wyatt as the pastor said, “you may now kiss the bride.”

“I have to admit, I’m surprised your brother got married again. I’m happy for him.”

“Mm-hmm,” Jace says, still reading his article.

“I mean, his ex was a grade-A bitch from Hell. I never did like her. And after everything that happened with catching her fucking that guy, and the way she acted all through the divorce, I wouldn’t blame Wyatt if he swore off marriage forever.”

“He did,” Jace reminds me, “until he met Lia.”

“Exactly.” I sip from my mug and set my phone aside. “I like her. She seems sweet.”

I glance over and find that Jace is still reading his article, and I’m beginning to feel ignored.

So I lie back on the bed and pull the covers down to my waist, exposing my naked breasts. My nipples pucker from the cool air.

I raise my arms over my head, thrusting my chest into the air a few more inches and sigh dramatically.

“What should we do before we go to the BBQ?” I ask, hoping he looks down at me and does me.

“Whatever you want,” he says, his eyes still glued to his iPad.

I want you to fuck me seven ways to Sunday.

But rather than say that, I decide to be a little more . . . subtle. I drag one hand down my face, my neck, over my breast and belly, diving under the covers and finding my already hard clit.

I close my eyes and imagine that it’s Jace’s fingers tickling the nub, sending zings over my skin. I sigh, dip my fingertips into my wet pussy, then return to my clit, making slow, smooth movements back and forth. My hips move as if I were riding him.

Suddenly, Jace latches his lips around my nipple, and I open my eyes, smiling at him.

“Well, you are paying attention.”

“I never stop paying attention to you,” he says before kissing his way over to the other breast and sucking it hard into his mouth, then pulling up with a loud pop. “I heard every word you said. And I’ll never complain about this kind of a show coming from you. It’s fucking hot as hell. Do it every day if you want.”

“It’s your turn now,” I say, pulling my hand away, but he shakes his head.

“No, I like watching you pleasure yourself.” He tugs my nipple through his teeth, making me gasp, then goes back to kissing and sucking the underside of my breast, which is, coincidentally, more sensitive than the nipple itself. “I fucking love your nipples.”

“They’re too small.”

“Not from this view,” he says and rubs his nose back and forth over it. “Keep touching your clit. I want you to make yourself come.”

My cheeks flush, and I’m suddenly shy. This was a bad idea. I just wanted to catch Jace’s attention and let him take it from there.

The plan backfired on me.

He peels the covers off me and holds my thighs open as he watches my fingers move over the most sensitive part of myself.

“You’re too nervous,” he says and leans in to kiss my thigh, right next to my pussy. “Close your eyes and imagine that it’s me. Just do what you’d want me to do.”

That’s easy. That’s what I was doing to begin with. So, I follow his instructions and close my eyes. Now that I’m not watching him watch me, it’s easier. My muscles loosen, and my thighs fall apart effortlessly.

“Gorgeous,” he whispers before planting a wet kiss on my belly. “Put a finger inside.”

I comply, but it’s not enough. It’s not Jace, so I add another finger and sigh, biting my lip.

“You like that?”

I nod, but he bites my side, hard. It makes my pussy squeeze around my fingers. “Words, Joy.”

“I like it.” My voice is breathy and needy. I’m chasing a killer orgasm.

“What do you need?”

“You.”

I feel him smile against my skin, and it ticks my arousal up a notch, approaching unbearable.