Her Best Friend's Proposal #SYTYCW15 #Special Edition Suzanne Swartz

Chapter 13 #SYTYCW15 #Specialedition

For the next week, aside from her working hours, Tess and Jack had been nearly inseparable. Each evening when she finished with her clients, preparing for the following day's appointments, and editing the multitude of photographs she'd taken, either Jack would have dinner prepared for them or they'd go into Beaumont or one of the other neighboring towns to eat.

After, if they ate at home, they'd clean up the dishes together, and if they went out, they'd return to his house. Either way, they generally ended up snuggled together on his couch watching TV or just talking until it was time for bed.

Since it was increasingly more difficult to keep their hands off each other, bedtime came earlier on some nights than others. Sleep, however, often came later and later on those particular nights. Neither of them seemed to mind, and for some odd reason, they weren't any more tired than usual the next day.

In fact, some mornings after less time asleep the night before, Tess felt more energized and ready to take on the day.

She liked waking up beside Jack. With his arms wrapped around her. Listening to his deep, even breathing. Inhaling the scent that was simply Jack – sometimes spicy, sometimes musky, but always purely all man.

In the mornings, they'd shower, sometimes together. Then they'd have breakfast before Tess headed back to her house to start a day full of appointments. When she wasn't actually in the studio with clients taking pictures, Tess was editing and processing, preparing prints for review and selection, and sizing and duplicating for final review and delivery. Even Penny was lending a hand with more of the behind the scenes work as well as the handling of the clients either in preparation for their shoots or in the pick-up of their prints.

It was saving Tess an enormous amount of time as well as freeing up more time to spend with Jack.

Tess still couldn't believe how easy things were between them now that they'd taken their relationship to a whole new level. As each day passed, she felt less and less anxious about risking their friendship, and more and more comfortable becoming Jack's significant other.

Still, as much as she hated to admit it, Tess sometimes found herself worrying that the newness and novelty of their relationship would begin to wear off. That the blinding passion would eventually burn itself out. That one day they'd wake up and wonder what the hell they'd been thinking.

Whenever those concerns, or were they really fears, came to the surface, Tess valiantly tried to tamp them down, not wanting anything to tarnish what she and Jack were creating and building together. She didn't want to be ruled by doubts. Didn't want to be apprehensive about opening herself up to him fully.

Didn't want to miss any of the beauty and magnificence of their relationship because she was too worried with what might happen or with the dreaded "what ifs."

"What time's your first appointment this morning?" Jack asked across the round table in the breakfast nook.

"Nine," Tess answered, glancing at the clock on the wall above his head. "Guess I'd better get going, huh?"

He swallowed a forkful of eggs. "Or you could let Penny handle it." He grinned at her over the rim of his coffee mug.

"You're so bad." Rising, she started to pick up her dishes.

"I'll get them," he assured her, leaning back in his chair.

He looked so sexy sitting there all sleep rumpled, his moss green Henley shirt hugging the muscles of his wide shoulders and his faded Levi's molded to his lean hips and strong thighs like an old friend. Tess felt the heat start down deep and spread out in a slow burn.