“I can’t wait to meet him,” I said, ignoring the twists and turns happening in my stomach again.

He turned the knob and grimaced at me. “You might regret saying that.”

All week long, I had been picturing Brody’s condo in my head. Lawn chairs in the living room, the garbage can overflowing with empty beer cans and take out containers covering every surface.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Not only was it spotless, it was warm and cozy. Decorated with leather furniture, funky artwork, and of course a TV bigger than I’d ever seen in my entire life.

Jumping up from the couch, Viper bounded over to us, throwing his arms around me. A little overwhelmed, I politely returned his hug. He pulled back and looked at me. “So, you’re the girl that tamed the beast, huh?” He looked over at Brody and nodded. “Nice choice, man. I approve.”

Brody narrowed his eyes at Viper, issuing a simple warning. “Easy.”

“I’m just giving her a compliment. Here, I’ll start over.” He took my hand in his, kissing the top of it as he bowed in front of me. “I’m Viper, very nice to meet you.”

“Hi Viper.” I smiled warmly and shook his hand back. “Nice to meet you too.”

Viper was intimidating. He was as tall as Brody and muscular like him, but that’s where the similarities ended. Tattoos of dragons and snakes and God knows what else covered his arms and crept all the way up his neck from under his t-shirt, stopping at his strong jaw line. His shoulder length blonde hair was pulled back in a messy, low ponytail and his lip was pierced in two different places. Scary biker look aside, something about him was comforting. I liked him, a lot.

Brody smacked Viper hard on the back of the shoulders and put his arm around him. “He was just leaving.”

Viper looked surprised. “I was?”

“Yes, you were.” Brody walked over to the coffee table and gathered his keys and phone and handed them to him.

Viper winked at Brody. “Ooooh, I get it. You want to be alone with her. I feel ya, man.”

I laughed as Brody sighed, took his hat off and ran his hands through his hair.

Viper started past me toward the door, stopping to plant a kiss on my cheek.

Brody pushed him from behind. “Keep walking, Casanova.”

As they got to the door, Viper turned and looked over Brody’s shoulder, waving at me once more. “Dude, if it doesn’t work out, will you give her my number?” he asked.

“Goodbye.” Brody closed the door as Viper continued from the other side.

“I was just asking. She smells really fucking good!”

Brody clicked the deadbolt and turned back to me. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, really.” I laughed, “I thought he was sweet.”

“Sweet?” He scratched his head. “That’s not usually a word I hear used to describe Viper, but okay.”

He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me again. “He was right about one thing though. You do smell amazing.”

“You smell pretty delicious yourself,” I replied, feeling bolder now that we were alone. I wrapped my arms around his neck, planting my lips right on his. He responded eagerly, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth, running his tongue along it.

In that moment I wasn’t thinking about being a mom or what the girls were doing back home, nor did I care that I hadn’t studied at all since I started talking to Brody. In his arms, I floated higher and higher into the clouds, swirling around in a dizzying, euphoric haze. All that mattered was that kiss and I threw myself into it wholeheartedly, holding nothing back. His hands flowed smoothly down my back, his fingertips digging into my hips.

Our tongues continued their seductive dance as Brody walked me backward toward the living room. Giggling as I fell back on his couch, I pulled him down on top of me where I was able to feel just how happy he was that I was here. Knowing that I could do that to him only made me want him more. Slipping my hands up the back of his shirt, I ran my hands over the ripples of his strong back muscles as they flexed under my hands with each slight movement he made. He reached up and fisted a handful of my hair, gently pulling it to expose my neck. I couldn’t contain my moan any longer when his lips finally connected with my skin, kissing and sucking their way down to my collarbone.

“Can I show you the rest of my condo?” Chills blanketed my body as his lips grazed my ear. “My bedroom is just past that door.”

All at once, my senses came flooding back to me. “Wait, no … slow. Remember?”

His head dropped to my shoulder as he sighed. “I should’ve kept my mouth shut.” He sat up and grinned at me, holding his hands out. “Come on, I’ll actually give you the grand tour, slowly.”

I took his hands, stood up and adjusted my top. “You’re not mad, are you?”

“At you? Never.” He kissed my hand again and led me down the hall.

Brody’s bedroom was simple, sparse even. A king-sized bed, topped with chocolate brown and tan plaid bedding, was against the wall to the left, each side anchored with chunky black nightstands. A black leather chair sat in the far right corner next to a bookshelf that I was immediately drawn to. I walked over, eager to see what types of books would grab Brody’s attention.

“Don’t waste your time, nothing but magazines.” He sounded embarrassed. “Mostly Sports Illustrated.”

I turned and smiled at him. “Nothing wrong with that.” Half a dozen pictures hung on the wall on the other side of the chair. A middle-aged woman with Brody’s features was in most of them. “Is this your mom?”

He walked up behind me and curled his arms around my waist. “Yep, beautiful, isn’t she?”

“Very.” My fingers traced each frame as I looked at her closely. The resemblance was astonishing, from their same dark brown curls to their award-winning smiles. She was an older, softer version of her handsome son. “You have her eyes—beautiful and sincere, very expressive. You have the ability to tell a whole story with just one look. You know that?”

He hugged me tighter, resting his head on my shoulder while I continued studying the woman responsible for his existence.

My heart sank when I came to a picture of her sitting in a big chair, curled up under a blanket. She had a pink bandanna wrapped around her head and was very thin, her face drained of all its color. Despite all that, her beautiful, contagious smile spread wide across her face as she gave the camera two thumbs up.

“What about this one?” I asked cautiously.

“I took that,” he said proudly. “That was about three years ago, the morning of her last chemo treatment. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer, but she beat it. I keep that picture up there to remind me how far she’s come. I’m so proud of her.”

“You guys are really close, huh?”

He sighed, his breath warming my neck. “What can I say? I’m a mama’s boy.”

“Hope she doesn’t mind sharing.” I turned to the right and kissed his cheek. The instant my lips left his face, he grabbed my hips and spun me around to face him.

“I’m about to throw you on the bed and have my way with you. Can we please stop talking about my mom?”