Mr. Judge: A Man Who Knows What He Wants

As we walk over to the trees – my hand on the small of her back – I think about how good these past three days have been in other ways, not just the sex. We spent an afternoon where Piper showed me a lot of her graphic design work, beaming as she presented the first pages of her graphic novel.

“These are the finished ones,” she told me. “But they’re not completely done yet.”

“They’re amazing,” I told her honestly, as I stared down at the confidently drawn pictures, the dialogue making me laugh. “You’re so talented.”

We’ve spent a lot of time with Bones, training him, helping him to get used to the everyday existence of a regular dog. Bones is the most impressive dog who’s ever lived. If I didn’t know that before, I know it now.

His legs must be trembling with excitement to leap out at us, but he’s being a good boy. He’s helping me.

“Bones?” Piper calls as we walk into the denser part of the trees. “Bon…”

She trails off, taking a few steps ahead of me, looking around at the scene. There’s a table and chairs in the middle of the small clearing, a non-alcoholic bottle of champagne sitting on ice too.

“What is this?” Piper murmurs, turning to me.

I walk forward, stopping when I’m close enough to kiss her.

But I can’t, not yet, not until I’ve done what I brought her here for.

Taking her hands, I say, “I love you, Piper.”

She gasps and I go on, the words tumbling out, all the more passionate because I’ve been withholding them in.

“I love you more than I thought I could. I love you so much it almost hurts from how intense it is. I love you and I’m always going to protect you, always going to be there for you, for our family.”

“I love you too,” she whispers, blinking away tears. “So much, Pearce. I’ve wanted to say it ever since… I think ever since I first saw you. But the past few days, heck, it’s been so difficult not to.”

“I know,” I say. “It has for me too.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I wanted to get your mother’s blessing. And I needed some time to train Bones.”

I fall to one knee, twigs crunching, looking up at my woman as I clasp her hand tightly in both of mine.

“Piper Davis…” I raise my voice. “Will you marry me?”

She turns as Bones darts out from his hiding spot, a big cheeky grin on his face. She laughs and claps her hands together as he pads over to me, sitting like a proper little gentleman.

Reaching forward, I take the ring box from his collar.

I open it, presenting the diamond to Piper. It’s elegant and bright, the perfect combination, just like her.

“Yes,” she says, rubbing the tears from her cheeks. “Yes, oh, heck. Yes, Pearce.”

I grab the ring, laughing in pure delight, and then slide it onto her finger. She lets out a cry, somewhere between a scream and a laugh.

I cut it off with a kiss.

She moans in that way I know well – but will never grow tired of – looping her arms around my shoulders.

I press our bodies together, the vital heat of them, the closeness solidifying our connection, our love.

“Look at you, boy?” Piper smiles, kneeling to scratch Bones behind the ears. “What a clever boy. Were you waiting that whole time?”

“He’s a fast learner.” I grin as I stare down at them. “I only needed to bring him here twice, an hour each, before he got the point.”

“He just needed a chance,” she says softly, stroking him as she beams up at me. “I think, maybe, we both did. Just a chance.”

“And now we’re going to make the most of it. Come here.”

She stands and I pull her into an embrace. “I love you, Piper.”

“I love you too, Pearce. So, so much.”

EPILOGUE

THREE WEEKS LATER

Piper

I sit on the couch, Bones in my lap, his snout pushed against my belly as though he can already sense something.

I know that’s unlikely.

He’s not going to be able to sniff anything yet, but there’s a part of me that truly believes it.

Bones is the most special doggie who’s ever lived. I won’t hear any argument about it.

I know every dog mom says the same, but Bones has grown more in a month than most people do in their whole lives. In the space of a week, he went from a scared abused little dog to the ball of mayhem and fun and intelligence he is now. During the past three weeks, he’s only become braver, more vocal, more comfortable.

He looks up at me with his bright, smart eyes.

“Maybe we should go through the plan again,” I murmur.

My laptop and my sketchpad sit on the couch next to me, but trying to focus on work has been a mammoth task today. Every few minutes, or sometimes seconds, I look at the clock, as though time is magically going to move faster and Pearce will arrive home.