Committed Passion by Bonnie Dee Page B

He’d learned a little about trusting others and allowing people to help him. From a distance, he gave me a nod and then turned and walked back toward the party.
    At last I spotted the taxi winding its way through the park toward us. With relief, I urged Peters into the back seat and gave him some cash to pay the driver.
    Before I closed the door, Clay looked up at me, his eyes squinting against the sunlight. “You think he’ll hate me?”
    “Who? Travis?” I shrugged. “I don’t know, man. When he’s older, he might understand. Someday he’ll probably appreciate you gave him the best dad you could—even if that wasn’t you.”
    It sounded good. Good enough to make Peters nod slowly as if I’d said something really wise.
    I shut the door and watched the car drive away, realizing maybe it was true. My dad had been an asshole, but he’d left me and Micah in Jonah’s care. It was the best thing he could’ve done for us.
    *
    Micah
    After the incident with Rianna’s ex and standing through a photo shoot and after J.D. returned and gave me a nod that everything was okay, the reception settled into normal rituals: food and dancing, cake and garters, happy people getting a little drunk and eager single women grabbing for the bouquet.
    But it was my girl who caught it.
    I grabbed Gina and pulled her close, nuzzling her neck. “Good job, darlin’. You beat the asses off all the other single ladies.”
    “There were only four, and Leah was pretty easy to push aside,” she joked. The bouquet was crushed between our bodies, and I inhaled the sweet scent of flowers.
    “Still, you wanted it pretty bad, didn’t you?” I asked, halfway serious. “With Leah and J.D. engaged, are you thinking about getting married?”
    “Are you ?” she shot back.
    I kissed her neck. “Thinking. Yeah.” And I had been. A lot. But it was a bigger commitment than I’d ever considered in my life. I wasn’t quite there yet. “I know I couldn’t stand it if we broke up and I never got invited to one of your mom’s Sunday dinners again,” I teased.
    She slapped my chest but gave a little sigh as I found that spot underneath her jaw that made her squirm. “You just love me for my mom. I knew it. You should steal her away from dad and run off with her. She can cook for you every day.”
    “I’ve thought of it. Asked her once. She wouldn’t go.” My mouth found its way down to Gina’s throat and headed toward her cleavage.
    She pulled my face away from her boobs. “Not in public! We’re on the dance floor, for God’s sake. If we’re gonna make out, we should go over by those trees or something.”
    She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward a thick grove away from the pavilion. I was more than happy to leave the party as the DJ had decided it was time to Celebrate good times. Come on! That old song never seems to age out at receptions.
    We left the dancers clapping and swaying and entered the quiet of the trees. There was a bench overlooking the lake, set there just for lovers to have a little privacy. I swept a few dead leaves and some bird shit off the bench, and placed my jacket over it so Gina wouldn’t stain her dress.
    Sitting side by side, we held hands and gazed at the sparkling water. Words that had been stewing inside me for a while now came tumbling out. “I want to, you know. Marry you some day. I’ve never been in love before, but I think this is what it feels like. I don’t want anyone else, and I can’t imagine not talking to you every day. You’re the first person I want to tell about anything that happens. We get each other. We’re…in sync.”
    “I get to be Justin Timberlake.” She leaned her head on my shoulder and snuggled close. “I love you too, and it’s okay if we wait awhile. I’m not in a hurry either. These crazy kids and their rushing into marriage.”
    “Not like me to be the sensible, cautious one for a change.” I stroked a hand up and down her bare arm, feeling the silken skin below