by Tina Beckett
“You’re the one who made me think it was possible.” A thought came to him. “Your house is up for sale.”
“Yes. I’ve made peace with my past too. And I’m getting rid of the parts that no longer fit.”
His heart chilled. Was he one of those parts? “I need to know how you feel about me.”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Maybe to you, but not to me.”
She let go of his good hand, fingers curling around his damaged one. She held it tight. “I love you, Garret Stapleton. I think I have since that first day on the beach—when you tried the pop up, even though it hurt this hand so badly. And you kept on trying. You didn’t give up. After I realized I was pregnant, I hoped and prayed that you wouldn’t give up on me either. On us.”
“Never.” A stream of pure hope rushed over him, peeling away the fear and doubt. “And then there were three.”
She smiled. “Unless there are four.”
“Four?”
Before the panicked thought could fully take root, she shook her head. “I’m kidding. I just wanted to make sure you were serious about the not running part.”
“I am not going anywhere.”
“Even though this has all happened as quickly as it has?”
He smiled. “Well, you took the quick route with your last marriage and I took the slow route, and neither of those worked. Maybe it wasn’t a matter of timing. Maybe it was a matter of finding the right person at the right time.”
“That means you’re willing to give us a try? All of us?” She slid closer, linking her arm with his.
“You coaxed me into the water. And onto a surfboard. I think after those two things, this ‘rest of our lives’ gig might just be a piece of cake.”
She tilted her head to look at him. “Garret, I think, just this once, you might be right.”
EPILOGUE
THIS LIFE WAS a piece of cake. Literally.
She blew out the single white candle and made a wish. Except all her wishes had already come true. So she had to settle for a silly one about her baby taking after his handsome daddy. The sonogram had revealed their child was going to be a boy.
And he was all alone in there, much to Garret’s disappointment. He had whispered late one night as he’d held her that maybe they should have a second one. She was fine with that, but she would really rather they had them one at a time.
He came up behind her and curved his hands around her midsection. Eight months along and she felt huge and unwieldy, but Garret made her feel beautiful, even when her feet swelled and she had to fan herself against the South Beach heat and humidity.
“I have a present for you.”
She leaned her head against his chest, reveling in the fact that this man was hers and hers alone. “You smell good.”
He chuckled. “That doesn’t track with what I just said. At all.”
“It tracks in my head—that’s all that matters.”
He kissed her temple, then took her by the hand. “Come on. I’ve been keeping this a secret for far too long, and, let me tell you, it hasn’t been easy.”
“A secret?”
“Yep.”
He led her to the spare bedroom that would soon be the baby’s nursery. Garret had been in there for a long time yesterday painting and getting things ready.
Or so he’d said.
Addy was happier than she’d believed possible.
“What is it?”
“Open the door and see.”
Giving him a puzzled glance, she turned the knob and pushed on the door. At first all she saw were the same furnishings and ocean motifs that Garret had worked so hard on. Then, against the wall, she spied a large curved board. A surfboard.
No. Not just a surfboard—a longboard.
Her breath caught in her lungs. “I know this board.”
Making her way toward it, she ran her fingers down the warm glossy wood and closed her eyes, trying to remember where...
It came to her in a flash.
“The auction. This is the board from the beach cabana.”
“I hoped you’d recognize it.”
“I remember wanting that board.” She turned toward him. “But how? I was there when the bidding was going on. I saw the man with the paddle.”
“He’s a hospital employee. I asked him to bid on it for me.”
“You bought this for me? All the way back then?”
He stood in front of her and cupped her face in his hands. “I knew I loved you all the way back then. I just had to grow into it.”
“Grow into it. I like that.” There was no hint of Garret giving up or backing out. He’d told the truth. He was done running. And so was she.
She looked wistfully at the board and gave a huge sigh. “I wish I could use it, but I’d have to do a backstroke to get it to go anywhere. And I’m afraid my pop up might turn into a pop out. And I don’t think South Beach is quite ready to see me give birth on the beach.”
“I know of a doctor who would be nearby to assist.”
Garret was still the hospital administrator. For now. But he’d kept his promise to himself. He was doing some consulting on the side, and, a year from now, he was going to be employed by the hospital as its very first neurological diagnostician, working with a team of other neurologists.
She was ecstatic, even as Garret remained cautiously optimistic. But she loved that about him.
“I happen to know that doctor. And he’s excellent at a lot of things. But I would rather have this baby in the comfort of the hospital. Our hospital.”
She twined her arms around her husband’s neck and lifted her face for a kiss. It lingered, and then deepened until Garret finally pulled away with a shaky laugh. “I do not want to be the cause of that baby coming before he’s ready.”
Arching, she pressed her hands against the small of her back. “But what if I’m ready?”
He gently turned her so that she was facing away from him and massaged the area he knew bothered her, his right hand cupping her hip and using his thumb to apply pressure to her sore muscles.
“Mmm...that feels so good.”
“Come to bed, Addy, where I can make you feel even better.” The murmured words were said in that sexy baritone that made her knees knock. He wasn’t talking about sex. Or even about making out. He really did just want to make her feel better, and if that wasn’t love, she didn’t know what was.
“Cake first?”
“Of course. What was I thinking?”
Giving the board one last look, she linked arms with her husband and closed the door, heading into a future that promised to be filled with plenty of surf therapy, a little bit of cake and a whole lot of love.
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Tina Beckett
The Billionaire’s Christmas Wish
Tempted by Dr. Patera
The Doctors’ Baby Miracle
From Passion to Pregnancy
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Friend, Fling, Forever? by Janice Lynn.
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Friend, Fling, Forever?
by Janice Lynn
CHAPTER ONE
“BUY ME AT the charity auction.”
Nurse Kami Clark didn’t look up from the computer screen where she keyed in vital signs on the patient in bay two of the Knoxville General Hospital’s emergency department.
Doing her best not to let her eyes veer in Dr. Gabriel Nelson’s direction, she made a nurse’s note on the normal results. “Not happening.”
Wearing his favorite blue scrubs, Gabe moved into her peripheral vision. She didn’t have to look to know the color paled in comparison to the brilliant hue of his eyes.
“You know you want me, Kam. Here’s your chance.”
“Right,” she snorted, keeping her voice flippant despite how his accusation almost sent her into a choking fit. “Keep dreaming, lover boy.”
Most straight women did want Gabe. Not that he typically encouraged their desire. He didn’t have to. Not with his looks, personality, and quick intelligence. The fact he was a successful emergency-room physician didn’t hurt. Women flocked to him.
But not Kami.
Oh, she thought he was all that and more. The man had the biggest heart of anyone she knew and seemed to always be able to make her laugh. But she knew better than to get caught up in his revolving-door love life that left a long line of broken hearts. She was immune to his love-’em-and-leave-’em charms. Mostly.
“More like I’m trying to escape a nightmare in the making.” He gave a frustrated sigh that was almost believable as he plopped down into the chair next to hers. “Debbie is planning to buy my date.”
Ah. Debbie. The latest ex-girlfriend who didn’t want to admit it was over and had been finished for a month or so.
No wonder Gabe was in such a tizzy. Debbie had stuck like glue even after he’d told her point-blank on several occasions that their relationship was finished. The poor woman must be hoping to rekindle a spark. Good luck with that.
Gabe never dated the same woman for more than a couple of months and never went back to the same one. Not once. He was a move-on-and-never-look-back kind of guy.
“You have to rescue me.”
“Says who? You got yourself into this mess,” she reminded him, fighting back a small smile at her friend’s overly dramatic tone. She could almost buy into his angst. “It’s only right for you to face the consequences.”
“I was roped into this charity fund-raiser and you know it. Not only do you know it—” he leaned close enough so that his words were just for her “—you’re the one who convinced me to say yes.”
“I meant the Debbie mess, not the auction,” she clarified, fighting the urge to look his way. Better not to look into Gabe’s eyes when he was trying to convince you to do something. Staring into those dazzling blues got women into trouble. Immune or not, she wasn’t taking any chances.
“Besides,” Kami continued, “even if you had to spend a week with your beautiful and persistent ex, if it raised money to help Beverly’s family and others like her, then so be it.”
Anything any of them could do to raise money for their coworker’s seriously ill infant daughter needed to be done. Although their medical insurance was covering many of the expenses, there were still co-pays and deductibles. Not to mention Beverly had been out of work since giving birth, as had her husband, most of it as unpaid leave of absence. Even after Lindsey got her heart transplant, months would pass prior to Beverly leaving her baby’s side to return to work. Their friend had enough worries without having to be concerned about how she and her husband were going to pay their bills.
“Easy for you to say,” Gabe pointed out. “You aren’t on the auction block.”
Yeah, as one of the fund-raiser’s organizers she’d dodged that bullet.
“I’ll be working the night of the auction, but not by being auctioned.” Thank goodness. Kami would have been a statue. Not her scene at all.
“Not the same,” he pointed out.
“You love the attention and you know it,” she accused, closing out the patient’s chart. Fun-loving Gabe would work the stage and have a blast.
She glanced at him for the first time since he’d barged into the nurses’ station located across from the patient bays.
Her incorrigible playboy friend actually looked a little frazzled.
“Fortunately for you, it’s not a week, just one night where you have to show Debbie—I mean, whoever wins your date—a good time.”
Okay, that was bad but she couldn’t resist teasing him. It was so rare to see him off his game. Actually, she couldn’t recall having ever seen him off his game. Not during any crisis that came through the ER doors. Given he was such a goofball at times, Gabe was one coolheaded dude.
Plus, she wasn’t buying his woe-is-me-buy-my-date-package-so-Debbie-can’t act.
“You’re real funny, Kam.”
“Come on. That was a good one.” Kami had thought so. He didn’t look convinced. “I’m sure you’ll manage one night with Debbie if needed.”
After all, he dealt with situations and people a lot more intense than the Z-list television actress he’d been involved with still obsessing over him. Debbie might be crazy over Gabe, but the woman didn’t have any real psychiatric problems.
“And risk encouraging her nonstop calls and texts continuing?” He winced. “Thanks anyway.”
Kami raked her gaze over his six-foot frame. “You’re not that bad, Gabe.” She patted his hand as if reassuring a small child. “There will be other bidders.” Faking a look of uncertainty, she shrugged. “Well, hopefully.”
One side of his mouth cocked upward. “Gee, thanks for the compliment, friend.”
“Anytime,” she assured him, her lips twitching. “What are friends for?”
Eyes sparkling, he gave a pointed look. “To rescue each other when one’s relentless ex plans to buy her way back into your social life.”
He had a point.
If Kami believed he was in real need, she’d probably empty her house-deposit fund to bail out his butt. Good thing he wasn’t because she’d been hoarding every spare penny for years, had a hefty down payment saved, and would hate to have to start over to make her dream of owning a home come true just as she finally had enough saved to actually start looking for the perfect house.
“Just because Debbie plans to bid doesn’t mean she’d be the winner,” she said on a more serious note. “Stop worrying.”
He didn’t look assured. “Debbie doesn’t like to lose.”
Kami gave a semi-shrug. “Who does?”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “Come on, Kam. Place the winning bid and I’ll show you the night of a lifetime.” He waggled his brows. “We’d have fun.”
Kami laughed. As if. “You must have me mixed up with one of the other women running around the hospital who actually wants you to show them a ‘night of a lifetime.’ I’ve better things to do than mess with the likes of you.”
Looking as if she’d said exactly what he’d expected her to say, he chuckled. “Or maybe I want you to buy my bid because I know I can ask this huge favor and not worry about you freaking out down the road when I break things off.”
Yeah, there was that. She wouldn’t freak out over a ma
n. Never had. Never would. She’d watched her mother do that one time too many.
This time it was she who gave the pointed look.
“If I ever gave you the privilege of dating me—” she stared straight into his blue eyes, held her chin a little higher than normal “—who says it would be you to break things off?”
Although she adored his friendship, his arrogance irked. Then again, was it arrogance if it was true he’d been the one to end every relationship he’d had during the time he and Kami had worked together? Probably his whole life?
Gabe chuckled, then surprised her by tweaking his finger across the tip of her nose.“You might be right, Kam. Only a fool would break things off with you. Speaking of which, how is Baxter?”
Ha. Talk about turning the table.
“Our breakup was a mutual decision,” she reminded him, not that she hadn’t already told Gabe as much a dozen times previously. “We aren’t talking much these days, but he’s fine as far as I know.”
Just as she was. Baxter had been sweet, only she’d realized continuing their relationship was pointless. When he kissed her, she felt nothing. No sparks. No butterflies. Nothing.
Kami wasn’t so delusional she thought someone would come along, sweep her off her feet, and give her a fairy-tale romance. But she wasn’t going to settle for nothing, either.
Good friendship and sparks—it could happen.
Not that it had, but she was only twenty-seven. There was plenty of time for someone special to come into her life.
And, if not, she’d rather be alone than like her mother and with the wrong man over and over.
“Keep telling yourself that he’s fine. Dude was devastated last week when I bumped into him.”
Baxter hadn’t been devastated. When she’d broached the subject of their relationship not working, he’d seemed relieved. Obviously, he hadn’t felt any sparks, either. On paper they were a good match. In reality, there had been little chemistry beyond their initial attraction.
“When did you run into my ex?” Baxter, an accountant for a law firm, and the usually laid-back man in front of her didn’t exactly move in the same social circles.
