Curvy Valentine Match

“I love you, Xander. That seems crazy to say when it feels like I hated you only a few weeks ago, but it’s true. I still love you and I trust you, and I’m ready to give us a second chance.”

“Good God, woman, it’s about damn time!” He cupped my face again and kissed me hard and hungry, like he was afraid I might disappear at any moment. “I love you too, Mara. I never stopped and this time if you leave, if you run, I’ll follow you.”

I looked up at him with an unstoppable smile and arched a brow. “Sounds like a threat, Sheriff.”

“Then you’re not listening, babe, because that’s a promise.”

“A pinky promise?” I held up my pinky that way we used to because it was better than a contract.

Xander bit the tip of my finger and laughed. “Even better than a pinky promise, it’s a forever promise.”

“Forever?” I shook my head, smiling so wide my jaws ached. “That’s a mighty long time.”

“It’s almost long enough to make up for the time we lost.”

Damn, the man had a way with words. “Love you, Xan.”

“Love you too, babe.” Then, because he could, he kissed me.

Again and again.

Slow and sweet.

Hot and hungry.

Raw, intense and needy.

It was the first kiss on our road to forever, and that made it the most special kiss of all.

Epilogue

1 year later ~ Mara & Xander

“Stop scowling, babe, this is a photo shoot.” At my words, Mara looked up at me with an even deeper scowl that would’ve knocked me dead if she hadn’t told me she loved me before we showed up at the park.

“I didn’t say I loved you. I said ‘you’re lucky I love you otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed to this damn photo shoot’.” Not that I didn’t love the man, I did. With my whole heart. That’s why I’d shown up in a dress and smiled prettily for the camera.

“All I heard was, you love me.” I shrugged and grabbed her wrist before she was able to smack my rock hard abs.

“Okay people, look alive!” Eva clapped her heads, always the bossy one in any group. “This is a photo shoot for couples in love, so act like you’re in love.”

“No, no,” Olive interrupted, holding her belly, swollen with baby number two. “Don’t act like you’re in love. You are in love, so show it off for the cameras. Show the world how TFL helped you find your person.”

“Um, not to be a nitpicker, but you didn’t help me find Xander. I avoided him just perfectly for years.” It was probably not the smartest thing, goading the three stressed out women as the prepped for the big statewide marketing campaign, but what are friends for.

Sophie stopped right in front of me and growled. “But Eva’s advice was instrumental in getting your head out of your backside, wasn’t it?”

“She’s got you there, babe.” Xander whispered in my ear, his voice full of amusement.

“If you call ‘go big’ advice, then sure.” I shrugged. It was no hardship, not really, to help out my friends but if I didn’t give them a hard time, they’d have me signing up to run adoption in the park and all other manner of small town activities. “Are you part of the campaign too?”

Eva, Sophie and Olive all looked at each other, confusion written all over their faces.

“Oh come on! Eva and Oliver literally met through TFL and now you’re married. Sophie, you tried to set Stone up with other women, through Time for Love, and now you’re engaged and expecting a kid any day now, and Olive is already halfway done baking baby number two with her husband.”

“For the record,” Olive said with an exhausted smile. “We didn’t meet through TFL either.”

“Ha!” I pointed at her and smiled. “So you agree that TFL isn’t the reason Xander and I are together?”

“No.” Olive continued to rub her belly with one hand and pat at her forehead as the midday sun burned bright. “I don’t agree. Xander came to us for help and we matched you through Sophie’s patented algorithm. That match is ours, Mara. Deal with it.”

“Fine,” I grumbled. “But Joss and Ben just got married and they have a baby on the way. Chris and Tara are also married now, so we don’t seem like such a success by comparison, right? Takes down your average?”

Sophie glared at me and turned to Xander. “Handle your woman, please.”

Xander laughed. “Gladly,” he said and grabbed me in his arms. “Come here woman so I can get a handle on you.”

“Back off, Sheriff, or you’re sleeping on the couch.” Six months ago, I moved into his house, saying goodbye to my little rental with tears in my eyes.

“Where I sleep, you sleep. Remember?” I knew she wouldn’t appreciate the reminder of what she’d said one night after a particularly exhausting round of loving, but the new sofa was comfortable as hell, as long as you weren’t forced to sleep there.