Cuddling her into his side, he kissed her head. “Well, fuck her. We have each other.”

“You got that right, and I’m happy, Markus,” she said. “I really am, and I don’t believe anything she says.”

He smiled as he nodded. “Good.”

“Are you okay?”

He cupped her face, kissing her nose. “Yeah, I am. I’ve got a plan. I’m not letting her ruin that. I will get over this, I will be good, and I will love you for the rest of my life. No matter what.”

And for once, she didn’t question that statement. She believed him as she stared down into his eyes. They held nothing but promise and honesty. He was living by his plan, and she was so unbelievably proud of him. She didn’t want Skylar to ruin them. She had done that once, and Mekena wouldn’t let her do it again. She wanted to rise above it all and love him, unconditionally.

With a grin on her face, she reached up and kissed him. “I’m here for you,” she said against his lips, looking into his eyes. She hoped he saw how much she loved and cared for him. As he cupped her ass, holding her close, she whispered, “Always here for you.”

“And that’s all I need.”

Letting his head fall back, Markus looked to the ceiling of Epiphany Design Studio and let out a long, very obnoxious moan.

He did not want to be shopping right now.

“Get it together, Reeves,” Mekena called back to him from the white fabric sofa she and Lucy were oohing and aahing over. Groaning once more, he fell into a chair, fully intending to pout, but then he found that he liked the chair.

“Hey, I love this chair. It’s soft.”

The women both looked over, and within seconds, he knew he wasn’t getting the chair.

“It’s cowskin,” Mekena said, shaking her head. “We’re going for country chic.”

“Hey, nothing says country more than cows,” he replied, and she glared as Lucy giggled. “Moo,” he added, and Mekena’s face darkened with annoyance. He hadn’t been the easiest to shop with.

He was somewhere in the range of a toddler who was hungry with no nap.

They both rolled their eyes. “No.”

“Moo. Moo. Moo. That’s cow for I love it.”

“Markus, I can’t even with you right now.”

“Moooo, that’s cow for—”

She shot him a look that cut him off. “We are in a ritzy place. Be classy.”

He made a face as he rubbed his butt on the chair. “Moo, moo? That’s cow for what’s that?”

“Jesus take the wheel, Markus. It doesn’t go with the style, and stop mooing!” Lucy demanded, and he snapped his lips shut. “I’ll find you something just like it.”

He grumbled as he leaned back while Mekena rolled her eyes, a sneaky little grin on her face. She might think he was annoying and childish, but boy, did he love that smile on her face. As he watched her gush over the couch, he decided he didn’t want to be anywhere else but right there, watching her eyes light up as she looked at stuff to fill their apartment. It had been three glorious weeks since they had moved in, and since Mekena had gotten her signing bonus that neither of them knew she was going to receive, she wanted to blow it on home furnishings. Lord knew they needed them.

Since neither of them knew anything about decorating, they hired Lucy. Well, the term “hired” was loosely used because they were paying her back in babysitting for Angie. Perks to having a “big sister” as an interior designer, and Markus was thankful because he couldn’t contribute anything. He still hadn’t been offered a contract with the Assassins. He was playing great, kicking ass. He still hadn’t scored, but he was getting assists left and right, which was just as great. His plus-minus was rocking, and Coach and Elli Adler were bursting at the seams with happiness. Yet, he hadn’t been signed. His agent told him not to worry, but he was in full panic.

He didn’t want all this to be for nothing, which he knew it wouldn’t. He’d come and visit, stay with her, but man, he wanted this apartment to be their home. Their permanent home. It was all so up in the air, and he hated that feeling. He had told Dr. Lemiere about how he was feeling during their last meeting, and she assured him it was normal. But he felt so lost. He felt like it was all going to come crashing down on him, and he just wanted to succeed.

He wanted to make Mekena proud.

He loved her. More than he thought he could ever love another human. It was all so wonderful. They were happy, they were both doing great at their jobs, and at the end of the day, they came home and went to bed. Together. It was everything he could hope for. He just wanted it to be final. He wanted to know that nothing could change for a while. He knew there was always the chance of a trade, but before that, he wanted to be a permanent Assassin.

“Babe, do you like this?”

Looking over to where Mekena was holding a frilly lace pillow, his face twisted as he shrugged. “Do you?”

“I do,” she gushed, holding it close to her as Lucy grinned and he smiled.

“Then get it. It’s great.”

She held his gaze for a moment and then shook her head, putting it down. “He doesn’t like it.”

“I know,” Lucy said with a giggle as they moved on, and he let out a breath.

He tried.

Wasn’t his fault; he couldn’t erase his face. With a scoff, he remembered that time he yelled at Baylor to erase her face. It was when…Skylar. When Skylar was flirting hard with Jayden because they’d had a thing, but it had ended way before that moment, and Jayden was committed to Baylor. That was a funny night. A good night because Baylor finally admitted that something was going on with Jayden, that they were in love, which was the reason she almost kicked Skylar’s ass.

Wow. He had thought about Skylar, and it didn’t hurt.

Mekena looked over at him as her brows came together. “What?”

“I’m awesome,” he decided and she grinned.

“Duh, come on. Let’s look at a table!”

Letting his head fall forward, he moaned loudly as he got up and headed for her, but he paused when his phone sounded. Pulling it out, he saw it was from his mom.

Mom: Markus, are y’all coming to church this Sunday? Everyone would love to meet Mekena.

Things had been good with his parents. They talked once a week, mostly about hockey and his games, which made him feel good. They were watching, cheering him on, and even had a burger named after him. It was Mekena’s favorite burger too, which resulted in a very inappropriate comment about her loving his meat in her mouth, to which she smacked him. Hard. Probably because he said it in front of his father, not that he was listening. But at least she was trying too. She went to the restaurant with him, stood by him as they showed him off and gushed over him. Things were looking like they might work out with his parents, and that thrilled him. A lot.