Hotbox (90 page)

“
I can’t believe you’re here
!” I
exclaimed. I hugged my
mom
, and of course
she started to cry. I hugged my brother as well, and
then ushered them
inside. I formally introduced them to Jayden, and my
mom
hugged her without hesitation.

Trevor held an eager smile when he asked, “Do I get to hug her, too?”

“Be my guest, bro. But if you hold her
for
more than three seconds, we’re gonna have a problem.”

Jayden rolled her eyes
and
then
gave him a hug.
“Ty doesn’t get jealous very easily,”
she told him sarcastically.
Once
we were all sitting in th
e living room she said, “Wow,
I
can
tell that you’re brothers.”

It was so nice to not only be in the same country as my mom, brother, and fiancée, but to be with all of them in the sam
e
room. I no longer felt like something was missing, like when I was separated from any one of them.

We
spent the next few hours
talking about anything and everything
. Kristof had arranged for them to leave Latvia soon after Meinikov was dead and the threat was over. My mom and brother were living in a hotel for the time being while arrangements for a house were in the works. She claimed she couldn’t wait any longer to see me
, so they left before plans were
even
finalized
.

It was midnight when my mom and Trevor headed back to their hotel.

“How does all this feel?” Jayden asked once we were alone again. “You have a mom and a brother,” she softly laughed, shaking her head. “
How amazing
.”

“Yeah,
I’m still trying to get used to it. But I’m so glad to have them here in the states—for good.” I took a deep breath
and exhaled
. “
I think my life is finally coming together. At least I hope it is. I don’t know if I can take any
more unexpected twists or turns anytime soon.” I placed my hands softly against her neck. “I also don’t know what I would do without you, Jay. I love you. Thank you for…putting up with my
truckload of
extra baggage.”

With a smile she replied, “I’ll take your extra baggage any day, sport.”
She slid her arms around my waist and kissed me passionately
. “It’s been a really long week. I’m sure you’re pretty tired.”

“Not when you kiss me like that. What you’re really telling me is that
you want to spend eternity with me.”

She raised her eyebrows at me with a smile. “You got that from a kiss?”

“Oh, yeah. It also tells me how anxious you are to beco
me my wife
in another eight days
.”

“Both are definitely true,” she smiled.
“
You’ll never get rid of me again
,
Tyler Matthew Huntington.
”

Kissing her hand I said,
“I’ll love you forever
,
Jayden
Joelle
Adams.”

I had finally made it home.

And I was safe.

The End of the Beginning…