Epilogue
CHANCE
I’m in the living room, flipping through a thousand channels and not finding a damn thing to watch.
There are plenty of recorded shows on the DVR, but I won’t watch any of them without Jane, and she’s not home.
She’s having a GNO with Addison for the first time in forever, so it’s just me and Romeo chilling together.
He keeps kneading the couch next to me, which has become Jane’s spot since she moved in a few months ago, and giving me his whining meow, like if he acts pathetic enough I can magically make her appear.
I pick him up and set him in my lap, scratching him behind the ears in a feeble attempt at consolation.
“I know, buddy, I miss her, too. But we’re gonna have to pretend like she doesn’t have our balls tucked under her pillow and suck it up for the next few hours, all right?
” He answers in the same whine, and I’m about to lecture him when I hear the front door open and shut.
Romeo bolts off my lap and rushes to the front hall.
I mutter “traitor” and turn the TV off so I can focus on my girl, who walks into the room carrying said defector a second later.
“Hey, baby,” I say, folding her into my arms as she sits in her spot next to me. I kiss her slow and deep like I do every time we’ve been apart for the day, then pull back and tuck her head against my shoulder. “Girls Night Out a bust?”
She sighs and nods under my cheek. “Yeah, Addie ended up having to work late. Again. That guy she works for is such a misogynistic asshole. I keep telling her there are other firms out there who would be happy to have her and who wouldn’t treat her like such shit, but she feels obligated to stick with them because they gave her the internship when she was still getting her degree. ”
“Didn’t she used to give you shit for working all the time and not taking breaks for fun?”
“Yeah, ironic, right? That’s why she sent you over, though, so I can’t be all that upset at her tactics,” she says with a laugh.
“Maybe you should repay the kindness.”
Jane pulls back to look at me, her brow furrowed, making that adorable crinkle above the bridge of her glasses. “What do you mean?”
A wicked grin hitches up the corner of my mouth as a plan starts to formulate. “I mean, what if we send over someone to help shake her loose, like she did you.”
One of her eyebrows arches toward her hairline. “If you’re talking about coming out of handyman retirement, Chance Danvers, so help me God I’m going to smack you.”
I chuckle, loving the glimpse at the jealous streak that reminds me of why I gave up the stripper life and never looked back.
The only woman I ever want to take my clothes off for is my Jane.
“No, I was thinking more along the lines of another lawyer. One who could schedule a meeting in a conference room one of these nights when she’s working late all by herself.
One who might start loosening the constraints of his suit during the meeting to get comfortable and then might end up with it off all together. ”
Her beautiful brown eyes grow wide with excitement. “Oh my God,” she says. “Roman.”
“Not Roman,” I answer with a wink. “Ruthless.”
She claps her hands and nods. “Yes! Holy shit, that’s pure genius.” She grabs my face and plants a smacking kiss on my mouth. “One way or another, you always find a way to fix things. The handyman strikes again.”
I shrug and grin as I pull out my phone and scroll for my friend’s name. “I guess it’s just in my nature.” A couple of seconds later, with my girlfriend bouncing excitedly in my lap, Roman picks up. “Hey, Reeves. How’d you like to do me a favor?”
Thank you so much for reading Shameless!