Love and Chaos: A Growing Pains Novel (42 page)

“That painting is called
Love and Chaos
. Ben got the idea after he had a dream about Cassie. He started watching her then. Noticing her. She’s insane most of the time. Limitless energy, all over the place—but she has an extremely deep and caring heart. She loves hard and chaotically, and Ben decided that any man strong enough, and steadfast enough, to return that love would be in for a wild ride. You’re the only person to step in front of it like this and stare. That includes some of her other…male friends. The only one.”

Sean turned
to Jace with that focused look. “I am extremely protective. I wasn’t kidding—I will not allow any harm to come to those I love.”

“I’ll take care of her.”

They held gazes until Sean finally cracked a smile. Just like that, his demeanor melted into a relaxed stance. “Good luck, man, you’re going to need it. If you ever have a problem figuring her out, talk to Krista.”

Jace couldn’t help a laugh. Sean matched it as he
held out his hand. Jace took it, accepting Sean’s approval.

No more brick walls. He had the girl.

Hell, that wasn’t so bad.
Jace had been harder on Cassie when he thought she was with Peter.

“You can have that painting, by
the way,” Sean added. “If you’re anything like me, you’ll want it as close as its subject.”

Cassie could barely breathe as she waited. Krista sat next to her silently, awaiting the judgment. Sean had taken a walk with all her boyfriends throughout her life. Every one. The guys that she’d tried to hide from him, he’d randomly show up and assess them without her knowing it. He was her protective big brother ‘til the last, and while sometimes it infuriated her, she’d always liked that he cared that much.

This was the first time she was terrified. Literally terrified.

“He’s going to let that painting be the judge, I bet,” Krista said quietly.

“So, if Jace
doesn’t like Ben’s painting, he’s not good enough for me?” Cassie scoffed, wringing her hands.

“He’s solid, Cas
s. Sean’s going to like him. And you know Ben’s paintings after he has one of those feelings—that painting is totally you. He did a great job with it.”

“Yes, he did, and I love it. We all love it, but it’s not really a love defining thing, you know? It’s just a painting.”

“He’ll probably love it.”

“This is stupid.” Cassie got up with a flurry of anxious movement and stalked toward the sliding glass door. She pushed aside the curtain and looked out at the
lengthening shadows. “I don’t care, Krista. I honestly do not care what Sean thinks about this one. I love him. I’m ridiculously comfortable with him, I trust him implicitly—I see a family in him. A good dad, a good husband. Sean can suck goats—I’m going to stick with Jace regardless, and I’ll
burn
that stupid painting if it causes a problem.”

“Cas
s—“

Cassie spun around at Sean’s disapproving voice. He walked into the room with a put-upon expression, but his gaze held a relieved twinkle. His bearing had relaxed and his shoulders dropped a bit—he approved! He approved of her choice!

A rush of intense joy and butterflies flooded her ribcage as Jace walked in a moment later. He had a twinkle in his eye and a faint grin. He winked. “I hope you don’t burn that painting—it’s the best of Ben’s I’ve seen.”

Her breath gushed out. She couldn’t help the beaming smile, or the quick footsteps toward him so she could throw her arms around his shoulders. “Oh thank God—I really didn’t like the prospect of years of dealing with a disappointed Sean.”

“You guys are going to have to get a bigger place, though,” Krista said, smiling at Sean as he sat beside her. “With all of Cassie’s personalities, and Jace’s size, there’s no way you’re going to fit in her place.”

Cassie couldn’t even spare her friend the eye roll Krista deserved. Instead, she cuddled close to Jace on the couch, her fingers entwined with his, her family in the room, and her life so sublimely happy she almost couldn’t stand it.

Epilogue

Jace stepped out of his truck with his computer bag in hand. He’d just finished setting up the new facility to his growing business and wanted nothing more than a cold beer and his spot on the couch next to his beautiful wife and
new baby boy.

It had been three
years since he’d met the love of his life, and he had never been happier than he was that day. And the day before. And the one before that. Even the sleepless nights didn’t get him down—he finally had what he’d wanted since adulthood— a loving wife to partner in their growing family.

He grabbed the mail on his way into their house, a place too large for their needs, but down the street from Sean and Krista
, where Cassie insisted on living. Jace hadn’t minded the somewhat remote location at all—he and Sean had turned into great friends, often hitting the golf course together when the wives wanted some time on their own, or hanging out when they got bored.

Jace flipped through the bills and paused on a purple
, square letter. His mom’s return address was in the corner. It must be the invite for their yearly meet up.

As Jace had suspected, his dad had never properly resigned himself to Peter’s being gay, but he did keep silent about it, making sure Peter knew that he was welcomed at the house. The next year Peter hadn’t invited Marcus, but the year after, he had. They’d stayed in a hotel, and being that Marcus was probably the most relaxed and easygoing guy in the world, he’d been an instant favorite with all the women, and often join
ed in the reindeer games with the guys. In other words, gay or not, he fit, and only their dad continued to be tight lipped about it.

Jace walked in the house
and put his keys in the bowl by the door. He’d proposed to Cassie six months after they’d gotten together and they’d had the wedding in that winery they both loved. And while they’d had their fights, like any married couple, they tried to never go to bed angry. His love for Cassie had only intensified, each new year making them more solid than the one before. He was so damn thankful for finding her, he didn’t really know how to express it, other than to say he loved her constantly.

“Hon?” he called, hitting the kitchen first to grab a beer before going into the living room.

He stopped dead with what he saw, his chest getting a warm feeling. Cassie lay on the couch, their baby son on her chest. The sun sprinkled in the windows as both mommy and baby slept, so beautiful and peaceful. Angelic.

A smile on his face, something moved deeply in his chest. He took a step closer
and stared down at them, his fantasy having finally come true. He had everything he wanted, and he knew it would only get better from here.

The End

~*~*~*~

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Growing Pains (Contemporary Romance)

Lost and Found:

On the tail-end of her ex-boyfriend crashing through a restraining order and putting her in the hospital, Krista realizes that the only way to effectively escape her past is to put distance between it. She gets her life back on track in San Francisco with a job that has limitless potential.
Unfortunately, to achieve her dreams, she must brave the star of the company; a charming and handsome salesman that isn’t used to the word no. Krista tries to run from him at every turn, but his pull continually sucks her back in; her hesitancy to trust the only thing saving her from being another notch on a bedpost.
Sean never has to try with women. He's the type of guy to jump in with both feet, get bored, and sprint right back out. But when a geeky new hire stumbles through the company, befuddling him with a keen intellect he doesn’t expect, he starts to lose his way. Before he knows it, all his efforts are concentrated around trying to capture the interest of the only woman to run when he tries to deliver a line. As she opens up, so does he, landing him in a terrain as disconcerting as it is invigorating.

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