Delicate (Sublime Series Book 1)

by Michelle Everett

  Tobie and I decided to start trying right away since I was older and after a few months we hit the jackpot. We both were elated but Tobie said he was a little upset that we didn't get to practice more. Men.

  I was due any day now and felt like I was getting larger by the minute. My feet were swollen and my cheeks looked like I was a chipmunk storing up for the winter. Sarah and Hannah were helping me stay occupied in the last few days. Our office had started a betting pool to see when I'd deliver and most of the money was riding on today. Apparently Sarah had thrown a rather large sum into the pot; hence, why we were at a cheeseburger joint and she was shoving greasy food at me.

  "Let's head to the mall for a walk when we're done," she suggested.

  I groaned at the idea. Exercise was not something I looked forward to at this point, especially when just rolling over in bed was enough to make me break a sweat.

  "Yes!" agreed Hannah, "There's one more thing I want to get for the baby before she gets here."

  "Han, you've already bought so much stuff! What else could you possibly want to get?" I asked.

  "Pft," she waved me off. "Consider it an investment."

  "An investment?"

  "Yeah," she explained, "anything I get for you I'm expecting to get back when I have a baby."

  "Good grief, Hannah. You would expect that."

  "What!?" she shrugged, "What's wrong with that?"

  Sarah laughed and adjusted the blanket over Brady's legs. I prayed that our little one would be as easy-going as Sarah and Eric's. I think that little guy could sleep through a tornado. Sarah began packing up all the items from her diaper bag and Hannah went over to pay the check. As soon as I stood up, I felt the telling gush of liquid soak my pants.

  "Uh... guys?" my voice shook.

  "What?" Sarah asked, still gathering items.

  "I don't think we need to go walking anymore. My water just broke."

  Tobias

  "Miller!" I yelled at the receptionist, "Amber Miller!"

  "Room 434. She just got here. The elevators are down the hall and to the right."

  "Thanks!" I bolted down the hall with Adam hot on my heels. I shoved my way into the elevator and pressed the four button over and over before the doors finally closed.

  "Holy shit!" I gasped. "Holy shit!" I grabbed Adam's big shoulders and shook him, making him fill the elevator with his infectious laugh. "I'm gonna be a dad!"

  We were in my office reviewing some plans when Hannah called my cell in a panic. They'd been at lunch when Amber's water broke. Thankfully the work site was only twenty minutes away from the hospital and every guy on my crew knew that this moment was imminent.

  Adam drove my truck because otherwise I would have run every single car off the road trying to get here. Thank God we've become such good friends because I'm sure the horrible names I was calling him for not driving fast enough would roll off his back like water off a duck's.

  The elevator doors slid open and the nurses standing at the station in the middle of the hallway dropped their mouths open. It's not everyday that you see two men the size of Adam and myself come barreling through your doors.

  "Four thirty four!" I shouted

  "To the right, just down the hall," one of the nurses pointed.

  I burst into the room to find Amber already in the bed wearing a hospital gown and her hair pulled up high on her head. Sarah and Hannah were flitting around her like hummingbirds. A smile spread across her face as soon as she saw me. "About time you got here," she teased.

  "How are you? How's the baby? How far apart are the contractions? What do you need? What do I do?"

  "Whoa... slow down there, handsome." Amber reached for my hand. "I'm fine. Contractions are about three minutes apart. The doctor says I'm about seven centimeters and fully effaced."

  "I don't remember what any of that means," I panicked. "What does that mean!?"

  "It means you'll have a baby soon!" Doctor Hammond added, stepping up to the bed on the opposite side of me. She examined the monitors and adjusted some of Amber's medications. "I'm going to check you again, hon, but it looks like you're progressing pretty quickly for a first timer. It’s a good thing you got here as quickly as you did. You feeling ok?"

  "Yeah," Amber's voice shook, "I'm ok... just really nervous." Her face tightened and she squeezed my hand tightly.

  "It's ok, love," I reassured her. "Remember to breathe... just breathe..."

  Doctor Hammond went to examine her again, "You're doing such a great job already, Amber. Ok... We're at nine centimeters now. Go ahead and start pushing as soon as you feel the urge, ok?"

  Amber nodded her head and looked at me. Her face was a mess of nervousness, excitement, pain and joy. I leaned down to kiss her forehead. "You are the bravest, strongest, most amazing woman I know, love. You can do this."

  She smiled up at me as the tears began pouring out of her eyes. Her face tightened again and she began to scream, pushing as hard as she could.

  If you'd asked me before today what it was like to love, I would have given you a different answer. I undoubtedly love Amber more than anyone I have ever loved in my entire life. More than myself even. She is my whole heart, my whole being. But with one simple sound - my daughter's cry - I instantly knew that the heart has an infinite capacity for love. Because when I held Alice Elizabeth Miller in my arms, and kissed my wife's lips, there was so much love in my heart that I was pretty sure it would burst.

  Keep reading for a sneak peak at Book Two of the Sublime Series:

  Divine

  Michelle Everett

  Prologue

  Adam

  Hannah was running around the apartment, scooping up a bunch of papers and books off of the coffee table. Her eyes darted around to search for other items and both of our eyes landed on a men’s jacket draped over the back of the kitchen chair at the same time. She grabbed it quickly and balled it up, shoving it into a tote bag that was sitting next to the couch along with all of the other books and papers.

  “Han?”

  “Yeah?” she answered anxiously.

  “Why is there a guy’s jacket here?”

  “Oh. Um…” she shoved her hair back behind her ear as she caught her breath, “it’s Jeff’s.”

  “Jeff’s.” I repeated, scanning the rest of the apartment and spotting two used wine glasses sitting by the sink. I felt an unfamiliar feeling of bitterness and jealousy boiling up inside me. Who the fuck is Jeff?

  Reading my pissed off expression, Hannah attempted to explain. “Jeff is from work.” I continued to glare. “He’s helping me, um… do some research.”

  “Research.”

  “Yes. Research.”

  “With Jeff. From your office.”

  “Yes.”

  “Forgive me if it takes me a second to digest the fact that my girlfriend is doing “research”” (yes, I did make finger air quotes) “and drinking wine in her apartment with a guy named Jeff from her office who also has a habit of leaving his clothes here.”

  “No, Adam, hang on. It’s not like that.”

  “I’m sure it’s not,” I spat, my tone soaked in sarcasm.

  “But that’s why you wanted me to stay in the hallway, isn’t it? So you could clean up the evidence of your “friend” being here?” More air quotes.

  Hannah opened and closed her mouth as if she were just learning to speak but nothing came out. No explanation. No excuses. Not even an apology. All of her insecurities in our early stages were flooding the forefront of my brain. All of her struggles, all of her doubt, her walls and barriers were connecting together like a dot-to-dot.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked, staring at her.

  “Doing what?”

  “Why are you still pushing me away?”

  “I’m not pushing you away, Adam. Jeff and I are just…”

  “Stop it, Hannah.” I threw my hands up in the air, “Just stop.”

  I fell back into one of the kitchen chairs - not the one that Jeff�
�s jacket was draped over - grabbed my hair and tugged at the roots, falling forward with my elbows resting on my knees. Another emotion began brewing deep inside me. So thick and sloppy that it began to spew out of my mouth like acid: Anger.

  “Ya know… everyone told me that this was a great idea. ‘Yes, Adam! Go surprise her! How romantic!’ Everyone. My sisters, my mom… even Amber. But you know who didn’t? You know who said this was a terrible idea, Hannah?"

  Her eyes were welling up with tears. Her lower lip was quivering as she fought to hold back her emotions.

  “Tobie. That’s who. Tobie said that you don’t like surprises. I was a big enough idiot to argue with him. ‘No way,’ I said, ‘Hannah loves to be spontaneous. She’ll love this.’” I stood from the chair, slamming my hands down on the table. “He was right. The only time you like to be spontaneous is when it’s your idea. It always has to be your idea, doesn’t it, Hannah? Isn’t that right?”

  She was actually crying now. “I’m sorry, Adam.” She sobbed, “I’m sorry!” She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know how to do this. I’ve never been in a relationship like this before. I’m fucking it all up!”

  My world was shattering around me. I was such a fucking idiot. I jumped on a plane on a whim and flew across the country under the assumption that this woman, the woman I so proudly called my girlfriend, would be happy to see me. That she would have been just as excited to spend time with me. That this weekend would have been filled with love and affection and stolen kisses and time with her wrapped in my arms.

  But I was wrong.

  While I had been pining over her from two thousand miles away, she was busy drinking wine with with Jeff from work. Everything about the last four months of my life seemed to tilt off kilter and slide off the edges of my heart like a Salvador Dali painting. How can this be happening? I was so sure… so certain about how she felt.

  “Do you even want to be with me?” I whispered, terrified to know her answer. She stared into my eyes, long and hard. Searching.

  “Yes,” she finally whispered. My shoulders sagged, my heart cracked, my stomach sank. I could feel the tears in my own eyes now. Stacking up, filling up my vision, threatening to pour out in a massive tidal wave of pain.

  “Why did you have to think about it?”

  “I didn’t! Oh, God, Adam. Please… I didn’t… I want to be with you!”

  The tears were flooding her face now, pouring out in a heavy stream. She buried her face into her hands again to cover her sobs. I knelt down in front of her, reaching to pull her hands away from her face. I wanted to believe her. Every cell in my body wanted to. But the look in her eyes. The hesitation. It spoke louder than any words she could have ever said.

  I loosened my grip on her arms. Slid my hands into hers. Kissed them softly with my lips. “I’m sorry, Hannah.” I rose from my knees. “I can’t do this.”

  She sucked in a quick gasp of air, “Adam, no. Please, no. Please don’t do this.”

  “I can’t. I can’t sit here and try to convince you to love me back.” I let her hands slide out of mine. “I’m sorry I did this.”

  I took a deep breath, wiped the tears from my own cheeks and took the three steps to her front door. I paused when I placed my hand on the knob, praying that she would call me back. But she didn’t. So I opened the door. And walked out.

  Get ready! The Second Book of the Sublime Series is due for release in July 2019!

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  Acknowledgements

  Oh, my goodness. Where do I even begin!?

  Thank you to my wonderful husband who encouraged me to take on the endeavor in the first place. Your faith in me has blown me away. Thank you for being understanding when I slacked on housework, for welcoming me into bed in the wee hours of the morning when I was up so very late writing and for helping me create such fun characters and storylines.

  Thank you to my bettas (aka my besties): Sarah Hobbs, Heather Fox, Frankie Saucier, Carrie Holland, Linnet Kazemi, and Lisa Warner. You guys provided me with so much insight and support through this crazy process. To Karleigh Jackson for designing such beautiful covers and for humoring me when I didn’t want to take a picture of my face. And to Karen Spears for all your editing help - I’m sorry your eyeballs popped out of your head and I promise to get better at past vs. past perfect tenses!

  Thank you to my kids who were so understanding when Mommy was staring at her computer so much and I apologize that you will never ever ever be allowed to read this!

  And to God, Himself. Thank you for the creative abilities you've bestowed upon me. May I forever glorify you and your desire for each of us to experience true love.

  With love and blessings,

  M.E.

  About the Author

  Michelle Everett is native to Atlanta, Georgia where she lives with her husband, two kids, two dogs and three chickens. She loves getting lost in a good book, pinning exercise routines that she’ll never try and drinking wine. When she’s not writing or juggling her time between work and kids sporting events you can find her hiding in her closet. The Sublime Series is her first published work.

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  Michelle Everett