Finding Our Forever: Single Dad Romance (Stepping Stones Series Book 1)

by Laura Riley

  I move aside and let her enter. She hurries past me and joins her sister and parents through the kitchen’s open door.

  “You didn’t have to do that.” Seth speaks from the bottom step of the stairs as he pulls ear buds from his ears.

  “I wanted to,” I say, trying to add conviction to my voice. I don’t think his sister and I will ever be the best of friends, but I’ll make sure she knows I’m here for her, if and when she wants to talk.

  He takes slow, calculated steps towards me. “Did I tell you that I love you?”

  I place my hands in his and we lace our fingers together. “All the time.”

  He bends down and crashes his lips into mine. Our lips don’t just meet, they make love. Our tongues dance to a silent melody, one to which only we know the tune.

  “Ewwww.” Hearing Ellie’s voice, we break the kiss. She and Freja are standing on the stairs. They’re wearing matching blue sailor dresses—cute. Both girls are giggling, though Ellie looks more repulsed than entertained. She’s at the age she thinks all boys are gross, and she gets awfully embarrassed seeing me and her dad kissing.

  I take a step towards them. “Have you come downstairs to play some games?”

  Ellie glances at Seth, and they share a conspiratorial look. I narrow my eyes at them, but Seth merely shrugs. He takes my hand. “She just wants to see if she’s having brothers or sisters.”

  “Or one of each,” I’m quick to correct.

  We make our way into the kitchen. Everyone appears to be having a good time eating the food we’ve prepared and participating in at least one of the games. It’s somewhat satisfying watching Darcy eat out of a nappy filled with chocolate sauce.

  An hour of small talk is drying up. Everyone’s focus turns to the two balloons tied to the ladder-backed chairs. Two balloons that Cole hasn’t moved from and has guarded with his life.

  Seth takes my hand. “Pink or blue?”

  I reach my hand out for Ellie, which she takes. “I want two sisters.”

  I smile down at her. “We’re about to find out.”

  As a family, we make our way to the balloons. Seth clears his throat and addresses our guests. “So, the moment you’re all waiting for.”

  “Here, sis,” Cole says, passing me a Swiss Army knife. He shakes Seth’s hand and steps aside. I know Cole has struggled with me and Seth being together, but he and Seth have managed to put aside their differences and rebuild their friendship.

  I glance up at the first balloon. Closing my eyes, I push the knife up. The knife doesn’t pierce the balloon, and instead it bobs from side to side.

  Seth grabs the balloon between his hands and I push the knife up. Blue confetti rains to the ground, along with something else.

  “A boy,” I squeal, and jump into Seth’s arms.

  “We’re having a boy!” Seth yells. I look around the room and everyone is clapping and hugging one another. Rick hugs my mum and Amber hugs Chelsea. Rick and Amber’s relationship ended as quickly as it began, which is a shame, but I don’t miss the way they look at one another from across the room.

  “What’s that on the floor?” Seth says, pointing to the confetti. I bend down and push the confetti aside to reveal not a key but a gold ring. I turn to Seth, who’s down on one knee.

  My heart’s racing in my chest, and in this moment I don’t see anyone else in the room, only Seth.

  “Lizzie, I love you more than you’ll ever know. I love you. Ellie loves you. You complete our crazy. You and our children are it for me. Make me the happiest man alive and be my wife.”

  Tears spill from my eyes, and I’m shaking. I jump into his arms. “Yes, yes, yes.”

  I hold out my left hand for him to slide the ring onto my finger. Seth slides the ring down my finger, it gets stuck on my knuckle. He attempts to wriggle it from side to side, but it doesn’t move. “Damn it.”

  My ring is perfect. An ocean-blue gem glistens up. “Nothing a trip to the jewellers can’t fix.” I quickly slide the ring onto my little finger and ball my hand into a fist so I don’t lose it.

  One by one, people come to congratulate us. Cole is the last person to hug me. He holds me so softly, as though he’s scared of hurting the babies. I’m so happy I could explode; I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him.

  “Don’t worry about the cost, sis, I’ll pay for everything.”

  I smile but know I won’t take him up off his offer. Truth is, as well as my job, I’m making a decent amount of money from artwork. When my studio became Ellie’s bedroom, Seth built me a summer house in the back garden—my new studio where I while away the hours lost in pastel, watercolour and chalk. Seth encouraged me to showcase some of my work at the art gallery in town. Roger, the gallery owner suggested setting up an online store, so I did. My latest piece sold for five hundred pounds and is to be sent all the way to Japan. I’m making money the right way, the honest way, which makes me question Cole’s sudden windfall.

  Loosening my hold on him, I gaze up into his eyes. “How? How can you pay for everything?”

  I’ve often asked him how he could afford to buy me the house and upgrade us to the penthouse suite in Disney World. His answer has always been the same.

  “I promise, I’ll tell you when the time is right,” Cole says, pulling away. “Now you have one more balloon to pop. I want to see if I have another niece or another nephew.”

  I love that Cole refers to Ellie as his niece. She won’t call him uncle yet, but she will talk to him now. Her separation anxiety has improved greatly since she started school, though she regressed slightly when Anna visited. Anna came to say goodbye and tell Ellie she’d got a one-way ticket to Australia. The whole time Ellie clung to me like I was her anchor and Anna was the storm. Although Ellie was quiet for the meeting, I think it sank in after what Anna said to her. Ellie was being abandoned all over again, and it took Seth and I weeks to undo the damage that one meeting had caused.

  “Lizzie, the balloon,” Seth calls.

  With the knife in my hand, I smile and look up at the balloon. I won’t miss this time; I push the blade hard and the balloon pops on impact. Blue confetti rains down on us, along with something else that falls to the floor.

  “Another boy,” we all call, jumping up and down.

  “Nice,” Cole says, high-fiving Seth. “Now, to get them to wear the blue football shirt like their uncle Cole.”

  Seth shakes his head. “No chance.”

  Whilst everyone celebrates, I fish through the confetti and pull out a tiny necklace locket. I flip open the clasp and look at two small hearts. One of the hearts has a photo of me inside, the other has Ellie. I look around the small group of people and locate the little girl peering up at me.

  I crouch down. “Come here, sweetie.”

  She walks over to me and peers into the locket. “Do you like it, Mummy?”

  Mummy? My heart’s bursting with pride. It’s the first time she’s called me Mummy, but it feels good, it feels right. We’ve had the conversation that I’ll never replace her real mum, but that’s okay. I’m going to be the best mum, the best stepmum, the best wife I can be.

  “Here, let me help you with that,” Seth says.

  I pass him the necklace, my engagement ring sliding off my little finger and into his palm.

  “Don’t lose this,” he warns, a playful smile tugging his lips. I watch as he unfastens the tiny clasp. “Turn around.”

  I do as he says. I move my hair to the side, his fingers brushing against my collarbone.

  “There,” he whispers.

  The small locket and my engagement ring are held in place by the thin gold chain. Both are resting over my heart—incidentally, the place Ellie and Seth will always reside.

  I spin around and face the two people I love most in this world. Ellie attempts to wrap her arms around my stomach, around her brothers. Seth wraps his arms around me, and poor Ellie is sandwiched between us.

  “I love you guys,” I say into the hug. My insides twist. Th
e babies are particularly active today.

  Ellie taps my stomach, then glances up at me. “Mummy, Bernard just kicked me.”

  I narrow my eyes at Seth. “Bernard is not—”

  My words are stolen as Seth’s lips crash against mine.

  Moments are like stepping stones. They form unique paths. Once started these paths cannot be erased, nor can you stop the journey, no matter how hard you fight it.

  Our future is in front of us. I can see the stones laid out, and all we need to do is continue our journey.

  Nobody said the path to love would be easy, and I’d be lying if I said it was. Nothing in life is guaranteed. You need to grab love, life and happiness with both hands. Treasure every moment. I’ve found my king and my little princess, and we’re waiting for our princes to complete us.

  This is it for me. I’ve found my forever.

  The End

  Thank you for reading Finding Our Forever.

  We hope you loved Lizzie and Seth’s story.

  If you’d be so kind, please leave a review for us on Amazon.

  Next is Rick and Amber’s story, Yours to Keep.

  Books by Laura Riley

  British Billionaire Romances:

  Charmed (co-written with April Wilson)

  Captivated (coming soon)

  Romances:

  Finding Our Forever

  Yours to Keep (coming soon)

  Laura Riley is the pen name for Laura Williams. Finding Our Forever has been co-written with Judith Brimble. I want to thank my co-author Judith—this was a fun project.

  To my besties, April Wilson and Vi Carter—you’ve always been there cheering me on, always pushed me to be a better author, always helped me believe in myself. This book wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you both. You both are fantastic authors and my very dear friends. I’m blessed to have you in my life.

  RJ for a fantastic job proofreading and editing my book. ME Kusel for my amazing cover. Wander, for our amazing cover image, and not forgetting model Dane.

  Gwen Wisdom, I love our crazy talks. My biggest fan who I annoy the hell out of by sending teasers, but never the book (until finished).

  Thank you to my beta readers and my ARC readers.

  Thank you to the members in the Laura Riley fan group on Facebook. A few of my lovely members are: Donna Fielder, Emma Westell, Zoe Braycotton, Sherry Fowler-Schafer, Louise, Julie, Anne-Marie, Sandy, Natalie, Jenny Hirst-Kelly and Kat. I love my group, our garden talk, our GIF games and book talk.

  Thank you to all the people who have supported me and made this book possible. I’m so grateful.

  CONTACT ME

  Join Laura Riley’s mailing list for news and exclusive material.

  Reading group

  Facebook

  Website

  Instagram