CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Brian woke up in Paige’s arms. He pressed his nose against her neck and inhaled deeply as he ran his finger down the length of her leg. Paige stirred slightly, but she didn’t wake up, giving Brian a chance to continue his exploration of her body. His hand glided over her hip, up her side, down her spine. She opened her eyes and smiled at him. Brian couldn’t wait until they woke up this way every morning.

“Good morning,” he said before kissing her on the chin. 


Paige moaned slightly as she stretched. “Good morning is right.”

Brian cupped her face in his hands and stared into her golden eyes. His heart swelled as she smiled up at him. He hadn’t thought his heart would ever allow another woman inside, but Paige had driven into his life and planted herself firmly in his heart.

“What?” she asked.

“I can’t wait until we make this official,” he said with a smile. “You waking up in my arms, falling asleep in my arms.”

Paige locked her fingers with his. “What time is Mickey coming back?”

Brian looked over at the clock on the nightstand. It was after little at eight A.M. “Not for hours. Why?”

Paige pounced on top of him. “Because,” she gently bit Brian’s bottom lip, “I want to practice for our honeymoon.”

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Brian said as he wrapped his massive arms around Paige, flipping her over so that he was on top.

“I love you so much.” Then he captured her lips with his, gently biting her full bottom lip. Brian used his tongue as a tool, examining the inside of her sweet mouth. He savored the taste of her.

His dick hardened as she thrust her naked body into him. Like a jigsaw puzzle, they snapped together—a perfect fit. Brian felt Paige envelop him in her warm valley. The sensation of her tightening against his cock nearly brought him to climax. Closing his eyes, he threw his head back in ecstasy as Paige locked her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper and deeper into her pool of desire. She bucked underneath him, taking every inch of his throbbing manhood.

She nearly brought him to climax again, but Brian reached down and gripped her hips to slow her down. Brian had never felt more connected with another person, never had such a soul tie with someone. What he’d thought was love with Olivia didn’t compare to what he and Paige shared. When he looked into her eyes, he knew she felt the same way he did. He didn’t have to guess how she felt.

Paige wore her emotions on her sleeve and after his relationship with Olivia, he needed that kind of woman. A woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, a woman who’d let him know when she was happy, angry, or sad.

That was Paige Grayson and that was the woman he was going to marry.

Paige nibbled on Brian’s ear as he leaned in to kiss her on her neck. She touched one of his most sensitive spots and sent him over the edge. Brian exploded inside of her, collapsing on top of her. He exhaled loudly and shifted his body so that he and Paige lay spooned together on the bed. She reached back and stroked his face.

“I know you don’t want to talk about this,” Paige began. “But when do you go to court again about Mickey?”

Brian sighed. “You’re right, I don’t want to talk about that, not right now.” He ran his finger down her spine. “I haven’t heard from Gerald.”

“Maybe you should call him. The sooner you get that taken care of, the sooner we can plan our wedding,” she said. “We can’t get married in turmoil.”

“I know,” Brian said as he held her a little tighter. 


“Wet blanket?”


“What?”


“Did I just throw a wet blanket on the moment?” she asked.

Brian shook his head. “We have to think about this, even if it isn’t pretty. Olivia is going to try to fight this, even after all that she did.”

“She won’t win. Mickey could’ve died because of her.”

Brian could tell she was getting emotional. He stroked her back.

“Baby, calm down,” he said. “You know what? There are three things that are important to me in my life. I’m holding one of them in my arms right now. The other two are at my parents’ house. I’m not going to let anyone take anything from me. Now, why don’t we shower and have breakfast?”

Paige turned around and smiled at him. The devilish look in her eyes told him that food was the furthest thing from her mind. She brushed her lips against his. “Why don’t we make it lunch,” she whispered.

After making love all morning, Paige and Brian finally pulled themselves out of bed and together cooked a brunch of scrambled eggs, fried chicken breasts, pan seared potatoes, and fruit salad. Brian found a leftover bottle of champagne from a past New Year’s Eve celebration. He grabbed two flutes and made mimosas. Before they ate, Brian called his sister.

“How’s Mickey?” he asked.

“He’s fine. We’re about to have some pizza. Do you and Paige want to join us or do you have other plans?”

Brian looked at Paige, who was dressed in one of his Elmore Police Department tee shirts. “Oh, I would say we have other plans,” he replied.

“All right, but I will bring Mickey home at five.”

“Thanks, sis,” Brian said. 


“Did she like the ring?” Gabrielle asked. 


“Loved it,” he replied. “We’ll talk later.” Brian hung up the phone and watched Paige as she set the plates on the table. 
 The phone rang before Brian reached the table. He didn’t want to answer, but he figured it was Gabrielle or Gerald. “Yeah?”

“Brian, it’s Gerald. We have a court date,” he said. 


“When?”


“Three days from now.”


“I hope the judge will have sense enough to give me sole custody this time,” he said. 


“I don’t see that as a problem. Olivia really stepped in it. I tried to talk to her attorney and get him to just agree to our terms, but she wants her day in court.”

“She can have her day in court, as long as Mickey comes home with me when all is said and done,” Brian growled.

“I’m sure that’ll be the case this time. I have to call the Atlanta Police Department and see if I can get a copy of the police report. I need to see you in my office first thing in the morning so that we can go over a few things,” he said.

“I’ll see you then,” Brian said and hung up. Paige looked up at him.

“Was that about Mickey?” she asked.

He nodded and sat down at the table across from her. “Olivia is still trying to cling to custody after she nearly killed my son. It’s amazing he didn’t end up in child protective services.” Brian banged his hand against the table. “I don’t get her.”

Paige placed her hand over Brian’s. “There isn’t anything you can do about Olivia, all you can do is love and protect Mickey. And I’ve got your back. We’re not going to let her take that little boy away from us.”

Brian smiled brightly. Hearing Paige talk about Mickey as if he were her son too was heartening. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

“Thank you,” he said.

Paige decided to go home after they ate, so that she could do some laundry before she, Brian, and Mickey met for dinner. She planned to cook meatloaf, cabbage, and macaroni and cheese. For dessert, she was going to try her hand at baking a chocolate cake.

When she and Brian got married, Paige was going to make sure to have a Sunday dinner for her family, just like TV. She smiled as she walked through the door of her home, fantasizing about walking into her home after work. Mickey and Brian would have prepared dinner for her and have the table set. Since she’d be late, she would have to bring their favorite ice cream as a peace offering. Before they ate dinner, she and Brian would help Mickey with his homework. Then they would sit down to a nice family dinner.

And after Mickey went to bed, she and Brian would work on giving him a little sister or a little brother.

Paige knew their marriage wasn’t going to be easy. Olivia would rear her ugly head at some point and try to cause problems, but she wasn’t going to let that woman stop her from being in love. She’d had her chance to be Brian’s wife and she’d blown it. Finally, Paige was secure in Brian’s love and knew there was nothing Olivia could do to come between them. But she was going to have to be cordial to the woman because she was Mickey’s mother. Paige knew the importance of a child having both parents in his life. She often wondered what her life would have been like if she had her father in her life. Maybe she wouldn’t have been so angry as a child.

Maybe she wouldn’t have carried a chip on her shoulder for so long if she had known that her father actually cared about her.

Paige shook the thoughts of her childhood out of her head as she began loading her laundry into the washing machine. Mickey was lucky, she surmised. He had what Paige considered a perfect father.

Brian would do anything for his little boy and made no apologies for loving his son. The last thing she wanted to see happen was for Olivia to get another chance to take that little boy away.

I know Brian loves me and if we get married before his court case, that won’t change how he feels about me. It will just change how he looks to the judge, she thought as she absentmindedly dumped washing powder in the machine. Paige made up her mind— she and Brian were going to get married sooner rather than later.