He laughed against my skin. “You have a point.” Then he moved his head, finding my lips and kissing me. “I won’t be long.”

“Uh-huh.”

Jax took showers longer than any girl I ever knew. I was constantly amazed that there was any hot water left when he got his ass out of there. But whatever. A cold shower might be a good thing at the rate we were going.

So I lay there, drifting in and out of sleep, letting myself go to that warm and fuzzy place where I totally admitted that I was madly, deeply, and maybe dumbly in love with him. But whatever. I didn’t care about potential heart-destroying, end-of-the-world heartbreak during post-sex bliss.

When Jax was finally out of the shower, it took me a little longer to get ready. I was moving at turtle speed. As I blow-dried my hair boringly straight, because I was beyond the point of putting any effort into it, I wondered how work would be now that we had totally done it. Like multiple times. All over the house. Sex exploding everywhere kind of done it.

I was a wee bit anxious about that as he drove us to Mona’s. I was doing everything not to worry about that when I heard my phone ding in my purse. Happy for the distraction, I reached inside and pulled it out, discovering I had an e-mail from the financial aid adviser at Shepherd.

My heartbeat stuttered. “Oh God.”

“What?” Jax asked, glancing at me as he hit the main road.

“I have an e-mail from my financial adviser. It has to be about the student loans, if I got my application in on time,” I told him.

His gaze moved back to the road. “Well?”

“I’m afraid to read it.”

“Want me to read it?” he offered.

I could’ve hugged and kissed him then. “Yes, but you’re driving, and if it’s good or bad news I don’t want to die in a fifty-car pileup.”

He snorted.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the e-mail and waited for the damn message to download. Of course, it took freaking forever and I was close to slamming my head against the dashboard while I waited, but the message finally appeared. I hastily scanned it, looking for key words. When I found the word congratulations among other things like loan amounts, I let out an excited squeal and twisted toward Jax so fast I almost choked myself with the seat belt.

His full lips curved into a wide smile. “I’m assuming it’s good news.”

“Totally! I got approved. It’s enough money. The aid is going to go ahead and push my classes through,” I told him, practically bouncing in my seat.

He reached over, placing his hand on my knee, and squeezed gently. “That’s great news, honey.”

It really was. “That’s one giant stress off my shoulders. At least I know I’ll be able to finish up school. That’s huge.”

“It is. I’m thrilled for you.”