Authors: Christina C Jones

Save Me If You Can (24 page)

BOOK: Save Me If You Can

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Harrison nodded as they separated again, and the four men headed down the hall, to where they were supposed to be getting dressed. Quentin smiled as he slowed his steps, letting the other three move ahead of him. His friends. His
brothers
. The family he’d gained to make up for the family he’d lost, and he was marrying the love of his life in just a few hours.

He was beyond grateful for the peace he’d finally found.

Amazing.

That was the only word Marcus could come up with as he watched baby Niara suckle at Naomi’s breast. Her eyes were wide open, staring at her mother in wonder, and Naomi stared right back, with the same sense of awe in her eyes.

She was only two months old, and already, she’d changed their lives so much.

But Marcus wasn’t complaining. Not at all.

The last year had brought about a
lot
of change. Their lives, compared to a year, or even two years ago, were unrecognizable.

He was still with the FBI, but had moved out of his specialty division. The job he worked now kept him behind a desk more often than not, but that was okay. Being behind a desk made him much more likely to make it home to his wife and child.

True to her word, Naomi had
not
gone back to a life of government-sanctioned crime. After everything with Barnes was revealed, the higher-ups were so embarrassed that they let Naomi
and
Quentin off –
after
ironclad nondisclosures were put in place. Quentin moved on to his teaching job, and Naomi went right back to her classroom, doing what she loved.

That is, until they discovered she was pregnant, about a month later.

There had been many,
many
happy tears, from both of them, and a whole lot of worry throughout the pregnancy. But they’d made it through, and baby Niara – one with high purpose – had turned six weeks old just in time to make her debut public appearance at Quentin and Renata’s wedding.

Marcus watched with a barely contained smile as his daughter slowly closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep when her tummy was full. Naomi watched her for a little longer, then looked up to Marcus, who quickly stood to help.

He took Niara from Naomi’s arms so she could stand, carefully covering her breasts again and then adjusting her dress in the mirror.

“You know she gets that from you, right?” Naomi asked, turning to smile at them as Marcus put Niara up on the blanket covering his shoulder, hoping she would burp, but not spit up.

“What?”

Naomi giggled, softly. “Being picky about her meals.”

Marcus laughed as he shook his head. He’d retrieved his screaming daughter from his twin sister, Meagan, as she waited in the audience. Naomi had pumped breastmilk for the baby so Meagan would have what she needed, but Niara had refused the bottle.

“What can I say, she wanted the real thing,” Marcus chuckled. “I’m gonna go ahead and take her back, so we can get into place. Just thirty minutes until we’re supposed to start. You ready?”

Niara finally let out a loud burp, and then promptly fell asleep on Marcus’s shoulder. Naomi smiled. “Yes. I’m
so
happy for them. They deserve this, after everything they went through.”

“Yeah,” Marcus agreed. “They do.”

She smiled at him, and then turned to walk away, rushing to get back to Renata, and Marcus’s chest heaved as he reached into his pocket. Why
now
, he had no idea, but as he dropped onto one knee, carefully balancing Niara on his shoulder, it just… felt like the right thing to do.

“Naomi,” he called out, and when she turned around, he held a ring between his fingers up toward her, taking a deep breath to still his shaking hand.

She turned around, and froze when she saw him.

“Come on, girl. You know you’ve never seen a diamond you didn’t like. And… you don’t have to steal this one.”

Naomi covered her mouth, letting out a sound that was half-sob, half-laugh. She made her way back down the hall, stopping in front of him. “Marcus… what are you doing?”

He shrugged. “What does it look like, gorgeous? I’m… asking you to marry me, with your baby in my hands. You can’t say no to that… can you?”

Again, Naomi laughed, then shook her head as she carefully dabbed tears away from her eyes. “No. No, I can’t.”

She held her hand still for Marcus to slip the ring onto her finger, then helped him balance Niara as he stood again. Marcus let out a breath of relief as Naomi hugged him tight, and he placed a kiss at the top of her head.

“Go,” he said, gently easing her back. “We can talk in a little while. You need to go be there for Renata.”

Naomi nodded. “Yeah. Yeah,” she said, then looked down at the ring on her hand with a teary smile. “I love you.”

“I love you too.
Go
.”

He playfully pushed her toward the hall, and she kissed him, then Niara, then rushed off, probably excited to share her news with the other girls. On his shoulder, Niara shifted, then grunted, and then Marcus’s nostrils filled with a smell that made his lip curl.

“Definitely time to take you back to Auntie,” he muttered, then headed to where the guests were waiting for the ceremony to start.

Soon, he and Naomi would be having a ceremony of their own, a celebration of their love just like this. Their friends would attend, and family as well, and… right there… was that going to be a problem?

Just after Niara was born, a card had come in the mail, with a check written for an amount that made him choke on his tongue attached.
“Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful daughter. We wish her our absolute best, and because we know exactly how much that’s worth to you… we also send cash.”

Neither he or Naomi had needed to look at the name to know it was from Damien and Noelle, and as ambivalent as he was about those two… he and Naomi had shared a laugh. As toxic and ridiculous as they were, at least they didn’t pretend otherwise.

And really… that was the
least
they could do, after the damage they’d wrought in all of their lives. True to the promise they made, they’d stayed away, except for retaining a – minimal – role in Taylor and Kennedy’s lives. They hadn’t been happy about it, especially Damien, but he didn’t have much choice.

Only
because of Renata’s wishes had they spared his life.

Not that it was a competition, but the collective agreement had been that he’d done Renata the most direct harm. And being who she was, she hadn’t felt comfortable making the decision to end his life.

And so, there was a compromise.

In exchange for
no
retaliation of any sort against Harrison for his interrupted attempt on Wolfe’s life, Renata granted him permission to remain alive. Far, far away from all of them, but alive. The girls got to see them through video calls and chats, which was acceptable to everybody. Kennedy had the option of going to live with them, but had decided, once everything came out, that she’d rather remain close to her sisters – Taylor and Naomi.

Marcus was almost sure he’d never really forgive the man who’d killed his father, just like he would never forgive that bastard Barnes, though he was dead. And well… he just wasn’t sure what to think about Noelle.

Naomi’s feelings about her parents were still… mixed, as far as Marcus knew. Still largely negative, but for whatever reason, she opted against completely shutting them down. Maybe it was the pregnancy, and the baby, that had softened her. She’d sent a few pictures, done one live video call, but drew the line at visiting. When they suggested it, badass Naomi had come back out, and she swore if they came within a thousand miles she’d hang
both
of them by Damien’s balls.

So maybe his concerns about them being at his wedding were misplaced, after all.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

Meagan frowned at him as he handed Niara back with a dirty diaper, but Marcus smiled. “She said yes,” he whispered, and Meagan’s frown disappeared.

“Seriously!? You asked her just now?!”

He nodded. “Yep. Tell Sophie she’s gonna get to be a flower girl again, with Niara.”

Meagan grinned. “Congratulations, Marcus. I
knew
that girl was it for you, and Sophie did too, remember?”

Marcus shook his head, remembering the moment when, before he could even really stomach Naomi’s presence, Sophie had asked him over breakfast if he was going to marry “Madame Mimi”. It seemed like a lifetime ago instead of just under two years.

“Yeah. I do.”

He bid his sister goodbye, then rushed back to the room where the other guys were. As he headed down the hall, the warmth in his chest was almost overwhelming. He’d spent years chasing Naomi, before he even knew who she was.

And finally… he’d caught her.

– the end –

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th
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Christina C. Jones is a modern romance novelist who has penned more than 15 books. She has earned a reputation as a storyteller who seamlessly weaves the complexities of modern life into captivating tales of black romance.

Prior to her work as a full time writer, Christina successfully ran Visual Luxe, a digital creative design studio. Coupling a burning passion to write and the drive to hone her craft, Christina made the transition to writing full-time in 2014.

With more than 17,000 books sold or borrowed, Christina has attracted a community of enthusiastic readers across the globe who continue to read and share her sweet, sexy, and sometimes scandalous stories.

Most recently, two of Christina’s book series have been optioned for film and television projects and are currently in developmen
t
.

Other titles by Christina Jones:

Standalone Titles:

Love and Other Things

The Trouble With Love

Mine Tonight

Friends & Lovers:

Finding Forever

Chasing Commitment

Strictly Professional:

Strictly Professional

Unfinished Business