Unexpected Love

“Okay.” Blaire studied me closely, but I didn’t give her anything. “Well, I guess I’ll put Penny in charge of Tucker.”

I nodded and gave my boy a kiss on the head before telling him to be good and not to break too many hearts. Then I nervously handed him over to Blaire. Justice had to practically drag me from the center while I looked back and second-guessed my decision to leave him.

“You need a break, Jonah. And you’ll be right across the building.”

“Yeah, alright,” I grumbled. At that moment, I happened to glance back and see Penelope walking inside the building with a bright smile as she headed toward the daycare. I also noticed the other men in the lobby who ogled her as she went by. My hands balled into fists when I saw a few of their gazes lingering on her ass. I took a step toward the worst offender but was jerked backward by my arm. By the time I regained my balance, the man was gone.

I whipped around, ready to rip Justice a new asshole, but I was caught off guard by the way he was scrutinizing me and the knowing look in his eyes. “You are aware that she is seventeen, right?”

My face transformed into a dark scowl. “Yes,” I snarled. Silently warning him to watch what he said next.

“Stop looking at me like you want to skin me alive,” he snorted as he rolled his eyes. “I was just clarifying, not judging.”

“What does her age have to do with anything?” I attempted to sound careless, but I wasn’t sure if I succeeded.

“You’re more transparent than you think, Jonah. Especially when you look as though you’re going to rip the head off every man who looks at Penny.” He inclined his head in the direction of the gym. “Let’s go work out some of your pent-up sexual tension and irrational anger.” He began moving again and shot me another glance as he said, “Trust me, there is no one who will understand your situation better than me.”

I started to argue that there was no situation, but then I suddenly remembered that Justice’s wife had only been eighteen when he’d married her, and they’d had their first baby. Still, it wasn’t the same. I doubted he would truly be able to relate to my situation. But maybe it wouldn’t hurt to get his opinion on the situation. Despite my knee-jerk reaction, I trusted Justice implicitly, and I knew he wouldn’t pass judgment on me.

We hit the locker room and got changed, then made our way to an empty racquetball court. Once inside the soundproof room, Justice waved me over to the bench where we dropped our towels and extra gear.

Before I could move toward the play area, Justice put a hand on my shoulder. “Wait.” I turned back around, and he folded his arms over his chest, his eyes once again examining me astutely. “How much do you know about the beginning of my relationship with Blaire?”

I thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “Just that she was eighteen when you married her.”

Justice cocked his head to the side, his gaze becoming no less intense. “That’s true. But what you don’t know is that I’d known her most of her life. She lived on my floor of my apartment building growing up, and I decided to marry her when she was barely sixteen.” My eyebrows shot up so high, they probably got lost in my hairline. He nodded. “Like I said, I understand better than you think.”

“Fuck, man.” I scrubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I feel like I’m losing my damn mind. The second I met her, it was like every dirty fantasy I’d ever had, and a whole bunch of new ones, suddenly bombarded me, and she was starring in them all. But shit, I’m twenty-two years older than her.”

Justice shrugged. “And I’m almost twenty years older than Blaire. Age is just a number”—he paused and held up both hands, palms out—“after she turns eighteen. Then it’s just a number.”

“I feel like I should have guilt over lusting after a teenager,” I admitted, my lips forming a deep frown. “But I don’t. I’m too focused on the hell the next four months are going to be and dreaming about when I finally get to make her mine. Officially.”

“Fuck what anyone else thinks, or how you think things should be,” Justice growled. “If she’s yours, then wait until she’s legal and just take her. Don’t let anything, or anyone, stand in your way. I spent two years planning and waiting, and Blaire was worth every fucking minute of it.”

I groaned and dropped down onto the bench, putting my head into my hands. “I only have four months. How the fuck did you handle two years?”