Free Valentine Next Door by Willa Edwards

stories from his mother over the years. The bad jobs he’d accepted to work his way up, the crummy motels he’d stayed in and the days he’d spent lying in wait for the perfect shot, all to become the best.
    She shook her head. He didn’t know what he was talking about.
    “You love your job. You can’t give that up so easily.”
    “I can take photos anywhere. It doesn’t matter to me. As long as I’m with you, the rest is just details.”
    “How can you say that after one night? How can you give up so much for me, after so short a time?”
    He grinned, pressing his lips to her hair.
    The small gesture sent shivers through her.
    “It hasn’t been just one night for me. Spending the night with you only confirmed what I’ve always known. You’re the one behind in this relationship. “
    “And how’s that?” She joked back.
    “That you’re the only woman I could spend my life with. I’ve been in love with you for over ten years.”
    How she wanted to believe him. To be like Jeremy and see how perfect and happy their life together could be. But all she saw were roadblocks across their path. She hated to put him through all that, even if he wanted the same, but he was right. He was old enough to decide for himself. To determine what he wanted, who he wanted, and what he was willing to deal with to have it all.
    But she couldn’t stop herself from bringing those obstacles to his attention.
    “What about your parents? Do you think they’ll be excited for you to be a husband and a dad so quickly?” She stared up in him in earnest, even as she realized it didn’t matter. Not anymore. If having a life and family together was what she and Jeremy wanted, everyone else would just have to deal with it.
    “Are you kidding? My mom’s been begging me to stop traveling on all these long exotic shoots and get married. She told me just yesterday she’s afraid she’ll be a hundred and two before she gets a grandbaby.” He chuckled, a deep rumbling sound that filled her with warmth. “Won’t we give her a shock?”
    Miranda smiled too. They’d be shocking a lot of people. “They won’t mind that you’re settling down with a woman who’s almost a decade older than you? Or that you’re having a baby with the woman next door, the one who watched you grow up?”
    “I don’t care what they think,” he responded simply. “If they can’t see how much I love you, how happy we make each other, then it’s their loss.”
    How could she argue with that? She looked up into his eyes, the honesty within them so true and right.
    Before she could even think about it, Miranda captured his head within her grip and pulled his mouth down to hers. The second their lips touched, pure bliss filled her. How had she survived six whole days without his touch, without his kiss? It didn’t seem possible.
    Jeremy responded in turn, threading his fingers through her hair. He deepened the kiss. His tongue probed her mouth, sweeping across her teeth and along her tongue. He tasted so good, sweet and dark at the same time, like his chocolate eyes. His woodsy male scent floated along her senses, and her legs became unsteady. She could easily get addicted to him. To his taste, his touch, his smell. How she wanted this for the rest of her life.
    He pulled back from her, his deep breaths wafting against her face. “I love you, Miranda,” he stated the words, so matter of factly, as though he’d said them a million times before.
    She froze, her heart skipping a beat. She looked up into his eyes and had no choice but to reply. “I love you too.” Her chest tightened at the avowal—the truest words she’d ever spoken. She did love Jeremy. More than she’d ever thought possible. And he deserved to know.
    “Good.” A huge smile spread across his face.
    An expression she wanted to see a lot more of.
    “Now that we have everything cleared up, why don’t we get started on this baby plan?” He crooked an eyebrow at her.
    She giggled back