Piper shrugged her shoulders, “Like you said, he’ll come. I just gotta dust my shoulders off and try again. You did and look, you’re happy. Mine will come. I just can’t give up.”

“That’s right. Don’t give up.”

Audrey hadn’t and she might have found the real deal. It may have taken a hundred jerks, but she had finally found a good guy. One who rocked her world and was waiting for her at that very moment. But she couldn’t leave Piper yet. Even if she seemed a little better than she had been when Audrey arrived, she knew that Piper still needed her.

“Wanna go for dinner?”

“Didn’t Tate just get home? I know Jakob did. That’s why I have Allison, so Harper and Jakob can enjoy each other for a moment.”’

“Yeah, but he’s taking a shower and stuff,” Audrey said with a wave of her hand. Tate would understand; she would text him and tell him she was going to be late.

As Audrey knew she would, Piper nodded, “Thanks, Audrey, that would be great.”

~*~

Spending time with Allison and Piper probably wasn’t Audrey’s best idea. It helped Piper a lot. Audrey could tell that it had, but as always, when she spent time with little kids, she yearned to have her own. It was something about their little faces, hands and toes that got Audrey every time. She wondered what it would be like to feel a baby move inside her, to see it come into the world and then help it grow. As she drove home, the tears sprang to her eyes. Audrey shook her head, hoping to shake the thought away. There was no reason thinking of things that she couldn’t change, not when there was a man at home who was waiting for her.

When Audrey pulled into her driveway, it was already dark, but she could see Tate sitting on the porch with a mug in his hand. Audrey’s face felt like it was going to break she was smiling so widely as she rushed to get out of the car and into Tate’s arms. Moving around her car, he was already making his way to her, and then she was in his arms, his lips on hers. Lifting her from the ground, Tate deepened the kiss, his beard tickling her chin. She had missed him so much. When they parted, he smiled down at her, his grin so wide it made Audrey breathless.

“I have missed you,” he declared, still holding her off the ground, his forehead pressed to hers.

“And I’ve missed you,” she said back, stroking her fingers along his jaw, “so much.”

“I have something special for you in the house,” he whispered against her nose. “I hope you don’t have plans tonight because I have a date set up for us.”

Audrey smiled, “I love presents, and my whole night is yours.”

“Good. I like these pants,” he said, running his hands down her butt and squeezing. She had loved the grey wool pants when she saw them too. Pairing them with a yellow sweater and Kate Spade heels, she hoped that he would like it. Giggling, she tightened her arms around his neck.

“I got sexy, just for you.”

“You are always sexy, love,” he whispered before kissing her nose. Audrey couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off her face if she tried. This man drove her wild, and she couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have found him.

Or really, he found her and made her see that he was the one for her.

Tate set her down on her feet and then took her hand in his. “Come on,” he said leading her towards his truck.

“Oh, we’re leaving?” she asked, pointing back to her car, “Let me get my purse.”

“No, we aren’t leaving,” he said bringing her around to the back of his truck. Letting down the tailgate, Audrey saw a pile of blankets and pillows, along with two mugs and a canister in the back of the truck. Audrey looked over at Tate, and he smiled, “You said you liked to star gaze in the summer but I can’t wait that long, so I thought we could tonight.”

Audrey couldn’t breathe as she glanced up at her gorgeous giant of a boyfriend. She shot him a grin before climbing up into the bed of the truck. He followed behind her as she sat down, pulling the blankets over her legs since it was the beginning of December. When her heel got caught in the blanket she let out a curse, slipping them off as Tate reached behind her. When he handed her a balled up pair of socks, she knew from that moment on she was going to love this man forever. “I figured you wouldn’t want to wear your heels with the blankets on you.”

“You are pretty awesome, Mr. Ooooodder.”

Tate flashed her a grin showing his gap, before nodding to her, “I think you are too, Ms. Parker.”

Audrey laid her head on Tate’s chest, looking up at the sky as his arms snaked around her, holding her close. Nothing was said as they just held each other, enjoying the night and each other. But then Tate spoke, interrupting their peaceful silence, not that she minded, she loved his voice.

“Hey, you haven’t told Fallon about us?”

Audrey shook her head, “No, I didn’t know if we were official.”

Tate raised an eyebrow, “Why wouldn’t we be official? I don’t understand.”

Audrey smiled, “Well, we kinda just started sleeping together and you declared me as your woman, but you never really asked. I guess we both just assumed.”

A grin tugged at Tate’s mouth, “So I have to ask you for this to be official?”

“It would be nice,” Audrey said narrowing her eyes, “but I mean if you are cool with me hollerin’ at other guys, we can go on the way we’ve been.”