Defending Hayden (Second Chances #7)(70)

I walked inside, and as soon as I turned toward the kitchen, I ran right into Jax’s sweaty chest. Lifting my lab coat, I used it to wipe off my face. “Yuck, that’s just gross.”

Jax laughed and guzzled his bottle of water. “Most women wouldn’t agree.”

Derek strolled in and looked at us, his chest bare and slick with sweat. I couldn’t help but be turned on. “Am I missing something?” he asked.

Laughing, I scrubbed my face again with my coat. “Yeah, your friend rubbing his nasty-ass sweat all over my face. I think I need to take a shower now.”

Jax tossed Derek a bottle of water. “Aw, come on, Hayden, I’m not that bad. At least I don’t stink.”

I winked at Derek and waved a hand in front of my face. “Wrong there, buddy,” I teased.

The guys chuckled and I took a seat beside Derek at the bar while Jax stood, facing us. Placing his hand on my thigh, Derek leaned over and kissed my cheek. “How did work go?”

Grinning, I turned to face him. I had some news that I couldn’t wait to share with him. “Pretty well, actually. I hired another doctor.”

“Oh yeah?”

I nodded excitedly. “Yep, and he’s amazing.”

His eyes narrowed. “Who is it?”

“I know,” Jax exclaimed.

I pointed at him. “Hush, this is my conversation.” I knew Jax would know because Michael had told me he and Aaron were friends, and Aaron had told Jax he was dating my friend.

Jax bit his lip and stepped back with a smile on his face. Derek’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Michael?”

“Yep, he’s moving in with Aaron at the beginning of the year. He said he didn’t like it in Raleigh, but I think we all know the real reason.”

Derek pulled me into his lap and held me tight. “I’m excited for you, love. I know this makes you happy.”

“You have no idea. I’ll have my best friend back.”

He kissed me on the lips and Jax groaned. “Guys, I’m going to head out,” he said, heading toward the door. “Nobody wants to see that shit.”

“Bye, Jax,” I hollered, waving.

“See ya, losers,” he said, laughing.

Once the door had shut, I straddled Derek’s lap. “Now that he’s gone, we can have some fun. Do you know how hard it is to come home with you looking like that?”

He pressed me down onto his growing cock. “Very hard.”

I thrust my hips against his. “What are we going to do about it?”

“You’re about to find out.”





Epilogue





Hayden


Standing at the window, I gazed out at the snow-covered mountains. They were beautiful, almost like a painting; I could see why Derek missed his home. Two months had passed, and everything was as it should be. It was Christmas, and I was spending it with Derek’s parents at their farm in Tennessee. His family made me feel at home, and I couldn’t help but feel like I belonged. Derek and I got closer every day, always learning more about each other. The more I was with him, the harder I fell in love. Stonebrooke was mine, and Michael had just moved back to town. It was nice seeing him happy with Aaron. Of course, a lot of the ladies around town were upset to see Michael not available anymore. He still had women throwing themselves at his feet.

“Hayden, you okay?” Derek asked.

“Yes,” I blurted, jerking my head toward him. “I was just thinking.”

He helped me into my jacket. “About what?”

I zipped up my coat and slid a toboggan over my head. “You, this place, life. Do I need to go on?”

Chuckling, he opened the door, and we stepped out into the foot of snow that had fallen overnight. His parents wanted us to eat breakfast with them, and since Derek’s old apartment was over their spare garage, we had to walk a ways to get to the main house.

“And what kind of conclusion did you come to?”

“No conclusion necessary. Just enjoying what I already have.” He walked a little ways ahead of me and I smiled. Bending down, I picked up a handful of snow and hurled it at his back. It hit him on the head instead.

He froze midstep and I prepared myself to run. It’d been years since I’d had a snowball fight. Going against Derek was a losing battle, but I was determined not to go down easy. Derek glanced at me over his shoulder and then turned around. His body tensed and I knew he was about to attack.

“You just messed up, love.”

“I got at least one good hit in, so I’m good,” I teased. It was the wrong thing to say. His reflexes were so fast that I barely saw him grab the snow before I felt it splatter against my chest. Snow blasted up into my face, which gave him the seconds he needed to tackle me to the ground.

We rolled around in the snow and I could barely breathe from laughing so hard. “What now?” he challenged.

“I still got you. That’s all that matters.” Luckily, my jacket was thick and covered me past my waist or I’d have snow down my pants. With Derek’s body covering me, I couldn’t even feel the bite of the wind.

Though his fingers were cold, he brushed the hair off my face and kissed me. “Merry Christmas, Hayden. I’ll give you your present when we get back home.”