“Aidan. Fuck, man, this isn’t your fault. You’ve done nothing but try to help Cassie. Monique played us all. I had no idea what she was up to, either. I figured she was just playing games as usual. I certainly never guessed what was really going on.” Now it makes sense why she sought Lia out at Leo’s that night. How does someone become so evil? I put a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him, but he’s rigid—filled with inner pain and rage. I’ve been there. My brother…
A throat clears nearby and I look over Aidan’s shoulder to see Max. “Everyone is ready. Shall we?”
Aidan looks at me with pain-filled eyes, and I feel conflicted knowing he is in a terrible place and I am, once again, moving forward. I know he wouldn’t want me not to go to Lia now, but I tug him to me for another brief hug, hoping he understands that I feel his pain. Thus, in solemn joy, we walk quietly toward my future with Lia. With Aidan, Max, and Sam at my side, I await the mother of my child and promptly lose my breath as she steps into the room. She is beautiful, elegant, and kind. She is the words to every love song I’ll never be able to write. She is the sun rising in the morning and the moon that lights the blackest of nights. She is my greatest strength and my worst weakness. She is everything I’ll never be, but together we are one against the world and today she’ll take my name forever. The beast in me roars in pleasure—the man in me wants to fall to his knees and thank her once again for loving someone who didn’t deserve a second chance. Through her, I’ve been granted salvation and I will gladly worship at her altar through every season—as our love eclipses that of even the brightest star.
Lia
I am Mrs. Lucian Quinn, and I am loved beyond measure by my husband—a true fact since he told me that very thing only moments ago. We were married in front of a handful of our closest friends in an intimate ceremony at Lucian’s family home. With so much pain all around us, this moment stolen in time seems to have affected everyone deeply. Debra is still dabbing at her eyes as Martin rubs her back soothingly. Rose and Max look very much like a couple as she curls against him in the circle of his arms. She told me earlier that nothing had been resolved between them and she would be going home for a while after today. She is troubled and I wish desperately she would let me in, but her feelings are as closed off as Lucian’s once were.
Fae was escorted today by her work colleague and friend, who, incidentally, was also instrumental in helping Lucian battle his addiction to cocaine. It makes me wonder if she wasn’t able to allow herself happiness until her beloved nephew found his own. I’ve come to associate just that type of selfless devotion with her.
Sam and Cindy are also here as a couple. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to attend their wedding in the near future. Lucian says it still gives him the creeps to ponder what goes on behind closed doors between two of the people he loves the most—but I know he’s secretly happy they’ve found each other.
And a joy I never could have imagined—my father being here to walk me down the aisle. Lee Jacks came into my life such a short time ago, but he has quickly become so very important to me. It hurts him deeply that he wasn’t able to save me while I was growing up. I know he battles both sorrow and rage over losing those years with me. For a man still so young, he looked close to tears earlier when I hugged him and called him Dad. He’ll always mainly be Lee to me, but sometimes I think he needs to hear me call him my father and I vow to do that more often as we continue to grow closer.
My uncle Peter is also here today with his wife Charlotte, and daughter, Kara. Their son, who I’ve only met once, was unable to come due to some schedule conflict. It feels better than I could have imagined having my own small family in attendance. People who I’m growing to love as we try to make up for the years lost.
Arms come around me from behind and I snuggle into the firm body of my husband. His hands cup our daughter through the fabric of my simple, white gown, and he nuzzles into my neck. “Hey, baby, what’re you doing over here by yourself?”
I put my hand over his and we both stare out the glass wall at the lone figure in the distance. “I’m worried about him,” I admit softly.
“Me, too.” He sighs. “He doesn’t want to talk about it, and I’m not going to push him. I was surprised he even showed up today. I certainly wouldn’t have held it against him had he not.”
I turn, looking up at him. “He’d do anything for you, Luc. As deeply as he’s hurting, you’re still his brother and he loves you.” We stand for a moment, both lost in thought as Aidan stands with his shoulders slumped and his head bowed.
When another arm encircles my shoulders, and a voice says, “I thought you’d be all over that big cake by now,” Lucian and I begin laughing. Leave it to Rose to break the melancholy mood.
I glance at the elaborate red velvet cake and feel—nothing. For once, I’m not starving. I feel kind of full, even though I haven’t eaten for hours. I shrug my shoulders and say, “I can’t believe it, but I don’t want a piece right now.” And then it happens—the ultimate humiliation. Pregnancy has me peeing constantly and there have been a few close calls, but I’ve never actually lost control and certainly not in public. And on my wedding day. OH, MY GOD! I begin backing up, trying to free myself from Lucian and Rose’s arms. “I…er…I’ve got to go inside for a moment.”
They’re both staring at me now. I keep walking backward, giving them both a bright, reassuring smile when Rose suddenly looks down and cringes. “What the hell is on my shoes?” Lucian automatically follows the direction of her stare and appears to notice the puddle they’re standing in.
Mortified, I stutter, “I’m sorry, I didn’t even know it was coming.”
Lucian looks bemused while Rose throws her hands up in the air. “You peed on my new Jimmy Choos? Shit balls, I’d shoot you right now if I didn’t love your leaking ass so much.”
I have to give Lucian credit for keeping a straight face. He comes toward me, looking as if he’s biting his lip to keep from grinning. “Come on, baby, let’s go inside and get you changed.”
A smile pulls at my lips just as intense pain stabs through my back. “Ugh,” I shriek as I bend over. “Ouch, that hurt,” I muse as I rub at the now aching spot.
All humor has fled Lucian as he runs the last few feet to reach me. “Baby, are you all right?”
“My back kind of hurts,” I admit. “Maybe I’ve overdone it a bit today. I’ll get into some new clothes and sit down for a bit.”
Rose walks up in time to hear our exchange and puts her hands on her hips. “Wake up, you two. That wasn’t pee; that was that fluid stuff. Your water broke and you’re in labor.” She gives a huff that says, must I do everything? before ushering a stunned Lucian and me toward the house. “Hey, everyone,” she yells as we pass the pool area, “Lia just drenched us and she’s having a baby. We’re just gonna go to the hospital now. You’re welcome to join us.” After that, it was sheer pandemonium.
Before I could blink, I was in a delivery room and Lucian was at my side. As I labored to bring our daughter into the world, I alternated between telling him how much I loved him and how much I hated him and his big pecker. The nurses got a kick out of that one. Since they were already staring at him, I’m sure they were thrilled to have an excuse to drop their eyes below his waist. “I love you,” he says again as sweat soaks my brow and I take a moment to regroup before pushing.
“I know,” I rasp out, “and you damn well better never stop.” And that was the moment Lara Anne was born. Right as I was throwing a profanity at her father, and he was simply staring at me in adoration as if I were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
Epilogue
Lucian
My tiny baby daughter is snuggled in my arms while my wife sleeps next to us. She was exhausted, but still didn’t want to miss a moment of our first night as a family. I never would have guessed I could love someone so much at first sight, but this little girl owns me much the same as her mother. I had hoped she would be a miniature version of Lia
, but instead, she looks so much like me. Her hair is dark and full and even though I argued with Lia about it, she does indeed have my nose and mouth. Her vibrant blue eyes are all Lia’s though, which I adore. That she is a combination of us cannot be denied.
“Well, well,” drawls Rose as she walks in with Max. “Papa Quinn is on the job I see. Have you even let poor Lia hold the baby yet or are you still hogging her?” I pull Lara closer to my chest and Rose gets the message that she won’t be holding her tonight. I’m possessive of my girls and not ready to share yet. Rose walks over and drops a kiss on my cheek before doing the same to Lara. “Just wanted to say goodbye. I’m heading out now. Tell Lia I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Max steps up next to her and claps me on the shoulder. “Congratulations again, Luc. I’m really happy for you and Lia.”
“Thanks for being here,” I tell them both, grateful for friends who are always by our side no matter what.
I watch them curiously, as they turn to leave. Max pauses at the door and looks at Rose. She raises a hand as if to touch him and then lets it fall back to her side. He walks off to the left and her to the right. Whatever has been going on between them, it’s glaringly obvious they are once again going their separate ways.
I get to my feet to put Lara in her bassinette since I promised Lia I wouldn’t fall asleep while holding her. She’s a protective mother lion and I don’t want to piss her off—for now. I’m patting her back to soothe her to sleep when Aidan appears at my side. I hadn’t even heard him come in. “She’s gorgeous, Luc,” he says wistfully as he lowers a hand to stroke the back of her head.
“She is,” I agree, and for a time, we stand there staring at Lara. I know he’s thinking of Cassie, as am I in a way. If those who speak of the circle of life are to be believed, then might Cassie’s death have been the catalyst for Lara’s birth? Did her tortured soul depart this Earth to make way for an innocent one to take its place? It’s a rather deep thought, but I like to think that in a strange way, it’s brought balance to the world once again.
“I’m leaving,” he finally says as he turns away.
“All right,” I reply, “I’ll talk to you sometime tomorrow then.”
He grabs my arm, getting my attention. “No, Luc. I’m leaving town. I don’t know how long—or even if I’ll be back. But I have to go.”
My heart squeezes as the pain bleeds through his words. He’s so lost and I don’t know how to reach him. “Aidan, please stay. We’ll find a way—”
“I can’t,” he says simply. “I need to get far away from here. I don’t know who I am anymore and I won’t find that here…with her all around me.” Before I can protest, he adds, “I’ll be disconnecting my number so don’t bother calling it. I’ll keep my email though and check it sometimes. Please don’t use it unless it’s an emergency.”
I pull him into my arms and feel his shoulders shaking along with mine. Lesser men I know would hate me right now, but not Aidan—my brother for life. Even though I want to beg him to stay, I know he needs to go. “I love you,” I say, almost choking on the words. “No matter how long it takes, your family will be here waiting for you.” He turns and leaves as silently as he arrived.
I pick Lara up, bringing her back into my arms. She lies against my chest as I cry. A new door has opened for Lia and me today, but another has closed…and my heart breaks. I allow myself this time to grieve and to pray Aidan will find what he seeks. Tomorrow I’ll move forward, being the best husband and father I can be. However, as each day passes, I know there will be countless moments when I’ll look at the doorway praying to see my friend there—coming home to stay.
The End
Acknowledgements
A special note of thanks to my wonderful PA Amanda Lanclos.
A thank you to Kim Killion with Hot Damn Designs for your wonderful cover. And to my editors: Marion Archer and Jenny Sims with Editing 4 Indies. Love you ladies!
And to my blogger friends, Catherine Crook with A Reader Lives a Thousand Lives, Jennifer Harried with Book Bitches Blog, Christine with Books and Beyond, Jenn with SMI Book Club, Chloe with Smart Mouth Smut, Shelly with Sexy Bibliophiles, Amanda and Heather with Crazy Cajun Book Addicts, Stacia with Three Girls & A Book Obsession, Lisa Salvary and Confessions of a Book Lovin Junkie.
Coming December 2015
The next book in the Lucian & Lia/Pierced series, Rose. This is a standalone novel.
Available for pre-order now from select retailers.
Please enjoy this special preview of
Watch Over Me by Sydney Landon
A Danvers novel ~ Now Available for pre-order
Chapter One
“Well, this officially goes down as my crappiest birthday ever. Hands down,” Gwen Day moaned. She looked up to meet the sympathetic eyes of her friends, Mia Gentry and Crystal Webber. “I’m finished with men. I mean, what do you even need them for anymore?”
Crystal, who was newly divorced, nodded her head in agreement. “You got that right, girl. I have a vibrator that’s always hard, doesn’t talk back, leave the toilet seat up, or dribble toothpaste in the bathroom sink. I’ve come more in the last six months with my plastic boyfriend than all my combined years with my ex. If I’d had one of those suckers when I was twenty, I’d have never gotten married.”
Beside Crystal, Mia gave them a sheepish look. “Um…well…I like my man just fine and trust me…he’s always hard whenever I want it.”
“You suck,” Crystal grumbled. “The rest of us don’t have a perfectly wonderful, hottie boyfriend like Seth Jackson. You could at least share him, you know. Have you two considered broadening your horizons with a threesome? Because I’d totally be up for it.” Wiggling her brows, she added, “I seem to remember you mentioning a certain threesome fantasy featuring Suzy Merimon and her hubby, Gray.”
The conversation between her close friends had distracted Gwen momentarily from her pity party but she soon returned to brooding. She had no interest in her vibrator, although she agreed with Crystal that men were completely overrated. She had thought all of that was changing for her when she met McKinley Powers. His company handled the security for Danvers International where she worked. He was drop-dead handsome with his short military haircut he still favored even after leaving the Marines, not to mention his rock-hard body that never failed to make her heart race and knees tremble. The fact he was a genuinely nice guy was an added bonus.
When they had first started dating, Mac had been more than content with her “taking things slow” request, which maybe should have been her first red flag. After they’d been going out for a month, he still hadn’t put any type of pressure on her to move beyond kissing. By the end of the next month, she was horny and frustrated. It had seemed like he was the one now wanting to take it slow when she was ready to rip the clothes from his buff body.
They had engaged in some make-out sessions that never progressed past second base. He always pulled back when he got too close to third base, and dammit...crossing home plate had become just a distant dream.
Gwen knew all of the books said never let a man determine your self-worth, but she had been really struggling with that one after Mac’s silent refusal to have sex with her. Until she finally put all of the pieces together and figured out that it might not be who she was that was the problem, but more importantly, who she wasn’t—Ava Stone.
Mac was good friends with the Stone siblings who also worked for Danvers. There was Declan, who had served with Mac in the military, Brant, who was Declan’s older brother, and then there was Ava. She was an attractive blonde who Gwen had seen around the office on several different occasions. She had come to understand that there was possibly something more than friendship between Mac and Ava when she witnessed Mac completely losing it because his co-worker and good friend, Dominic Brady, had given Ava a ride on his Harley. Mac had been so upset that warning bells had gone off in Gwen’s head.
From that point on, her relationship with Mac was on borrowed t
ime and she knew it. He had become more distant than ever. He forgot to call her, didn’t return her calls, and was just generally unavailable, physically and emotionally.
So, one evening she had gone to his house to talk and just to spend some time with him, and he’d taken off almost immediately after receiving a call concerning Ava. Gwen had decided to wait it out and see if he came back home. When he finally did, hours later, they had ended it. There was no fight, no ugly words, or insults. It was very civilized. Gwen might not be happy with Mac for dating her while he was hung up on Ava, but he had been honest with her in the end and she knew it had really upset him to hurt her.
Her self-esteem had been limping along since that evening—until Mia had dropped her bombshell this morning. Mia had heard from her friend Suzy that Mac and Ava had gotten married over the weekend in Las Vegas. Gwen definitely hadn’t been expecting that blow. She had figured she would be tortured for a while seeing them as a couple around the office. She had never expected Mac to break up with her and then almost immediately tie the knot. God, was she now the woman who men dated right before they found “the one”?
She had been so lost in thought that she almost jumped from her seat when Mia’s hand landed on her arm, shaking it excitedly. “I know, let’s have a girls’ night tonight! Seth’s leaving this afternoon on business for a few days so I’d love to go out. How about you, Crystal?”
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