Jaq and Matt are my newest couple, and if you haven’t picked up Learned Behaviors yet, you can grab it here. But for Valentine’s Day, I thought it’d be fun to catch up with them, see how they’re doing, and get a glimpse of where the story is now. If you’re a newsletter subscriber, this will be in the February newsletter, and if you’re interested in getting the whole thing, click the button at the bottom of this page to subscribe. This excerpt catches Jaq up with his daughter Tanisha, who had a bit of a hard time in Learned Behaviors, as well as Jaq in his new role with Kingsley Enterprises. Enjoy the excerpt below!

Jaq still didn’t know all the ins and outs of her failed relationship with Angela, but it had been enough for her to pack up and move almost nine hundred miles away. She seemed happier, or at least less sad, but he knew it’d take a while for true peace to come.

“I don’t want you to overwork yourself, sweetheart.”

“But I learned from the best.” At least she winked when she said it, and Jaq couldn’t help but laugh. “Besides, aren’t you calling me from the office? At eight o’clock? On Valentine’s Day? Why aren’t you with Matt?”

Ugh, he’d planned to be. Jaq rolled his eyes. “Because Patti had an emergency she needed my help with, for patterns and a concept she needs to review tomorrow.”

T crinkled her nose. “That sucks. So you’re not gonna see him?”

Jaq sighed. “I want to. I’m tempted to finish and drive down. It might be tomorrow by the time I get there, but I’m pretty sure he’ll forgive me.”

Tanisha’s eyes narrowed and she frowned at him, looking every inch the little girl who was about to scold her father. “Daddy, don’t go driving down there if you’re too tired. Matt wouldn’t want that and it’s not safe.”

The door clicked open out front and Jaq checked his watch. Probably the cleaning crew. He turned his attention back to his daughter. “I won’t drive if I’m too tired, pumpkin, I promise.”

She nodded sharply. “Good. Matt wouldn’t want you to do that. He knows you love him even if you can’t be there exactly on V-day.”

“Damn straight I do.” Matt shood there, in the doorframe, his arms crossed and the most self-satisfied grin on his face.

Jaq’s mouth refused to close. This wasn’t real. Matt wasn’t here, in his office, looking and smelling divine. This had to be some sort of mirage. The kind that made him almost painfully hard.