Jaime’s Story by Rosa Mink

Wanting a love as sweet and comfortable as her parents is something Jaime wants more than anything. She simply isn’t as outgoing as some of her siblings so she’s certain she won’t find someone like her daddy for herself—until she meets Bryan. Now all she has to do is convince him she wants forever with him.

Jaime
I’m not even close to being as sociable as most of my brothers and sisters. If anything, I’m more like Jackie than Jillian, even if Jillian is my best friend. One place where I differ from Jackie is that she’s always known she wanted to be a wife and mother most, while I was never sure what I wanted for my future. At least not until Bryan walked into my parents’ kitchen and all I wanted was him as mine. He’s so different from the disgusting men that we meet at events who give you a slick smile and think it’ll make a girl swoon. Someone that’s just after money might go for it, but I’d prefer to make my own and use the trust for supporting my family. A family I want with Bryan more than anything, except he keeps pushing me away and I hate it.
When tragedy strikes, he’s the one next to me, and I want him to stay more than anything. I can’t imagine life without him, and when he tells me he’s sure I deserve better than him, but he wants to be selfish and keep me—well, nothing on earth is going to stop me from proving just how wrong he is, because there’s no one on earth better for me than him.

Bryan
I’ve spent the last fourteen years being a police officer and detective with the town’s police force. Just doing my best to help the community. I didn’t think it would bring me a woman I can’t stop thinking and dreaming about right to me, but Jaime Cartwright is everything a man could want. She’s sweet, caring, but rich and I’m just a normal guy, doing a sometimes-dangerous job. I can’t compete with the big-wigs she meets at functions. She needs someone more outgoing, someone from her social circle, not a nobody like me. Even if I know no one else could possibly love her as much as I do. I can love her enough to do the right thing though—let her go even if it crushes my soul to do it, right?
That’s what I keep telling myself until tragedy strikes, and nothing will stop me from being next to her as their family deals with it. If anything, it reminds me to hold onto what’s most important as much as you possibly can, and for me, that’s Jaime. Which means being selfish and loving her, keeping her as mine until she changes her mind about being able to love a poor detective—although I’m counting on that day never coming. Counting on keeping Jaime as mine for life.