Fate Actually: Moonstone Cove Book Two
Page 25
“And you told her…?” Katherine reached for the steamed artichokes in the middle of the table. “Did you know that Romans preserved artichokes in honey and vinegar so they could enjoy them all year round? They were considered an aphrodisiac.”
Toni frowned. “Are we talking about artichokes now? Because I’m fine with skipping over the marriage thing.”
“Nope.” Megan patted the table. “Focus. What did you tell your mom?”
“I told her that we’re waiting until after the baby is born to decide anything.”
“And she was fine with that?”
“I mean… no. But she knows if she lectures me, I’m just going to dig my heels in. I think she’s probably going to switch focus and work on persuading Henry.”
Megan laughed. “That sounds like a mom thing to do.”
Katherine frowned. “And that doesn’t feel manipulative to you?”
“If she were trying to be sneaky about it, it might feel manipulative, but she’s just so obvious.”
Toni relaxed in her newly painted garden chair, watching her nieces, nephews, and little cousins running around her house while the women gathered under the lit-up oak trees and the old men walked around the house, pointing out all the things that still needed fixing up.
Ah, her crazy, wonderful, nosy-as-hell family.
Mixed in with the gossip and shared news, Toni also heard her aunts talking about how thrilled they were about the baby and how well Toni was balancing her work and her personal life. She heard her uncles talking about what they could help fix before the baby came so she and Henry wouldn’t have too much to do.
And of course her male cousins were already scoping out where they could fit in a horseshoe pit at her place.
Henry walked over, his long legs eating up the distance between the grill and the patio. He was holding a tray of steaming tri-tip and another bottle of red wine.
He set both in the middle of the table and pointed at Toni. “Tell me when you’re out of cider and I’ll get you more.”
Toni couldn’t help smiling when she looked at him. “Hey, handsome. You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
His cheeks turned a little red. “Let me guess, because I feed you meat and keep you supplied in sugary, carbonated beverages?”
“Naturally.” Toni crooked her finger at him, and he bent over and gave her a proper and full kiss on the lips, right in front of her friends and her entire family. “Best boyfriend ever,” she whispered.
“Hmmm.” He licked his lips and stood up. “I better get back to work.”
“You’re not gonna say I’m the best girlfriend ever?”
He pursed his lips and wiggled his hand in a so-so gesture as he backed away. “I mean… you’re getting there. You’re a little rough around the edges, but you’re getting there.”
Megan and Katherine started laughing.
“I’m making you pay for that later.” He was so adorable, but she couldn’t let him get away with too much or she’d turn into a hormonal pile of mush. “You’re getting a little sassy, Durand. Don’t make me sic the cat on you.”
He winked at her. “I think I can handle it.”
Megan snorted. “He’s got your number, Toni.”
“He thinks you’re all talk,” Katherine said. “Which you are. You are very much in love with that man, and I predict you’re going to marry him.”
“I might consider it.” She sipped her glass of sparkling cider. “After all, he’s useful to have around, and I am really busy. Plus he knows how to garden.”
“I see.” Megan nodded. “So it’s a time-saving feature, living with Henry.”
“Obviously.” She rolled her eyes.
“It’s efficient,” Katherine said. “Sure. That makes sense.”
They were both laughing at her, and Toni didn’t care.
Her life was full.
So very full.
Too full?
Toni watched her friends talking and laughing under the oak trees, watched her man smiling as he served a mountain of food to her enormous family. She watched dogs and children running through the vines, and she caught her breath when she felt the tiny flutter of a kick in her newly rounded belly.
Too full? Impossible.
* * *
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Afterword
Dearest readers,
When I set out to write six books in one year, I did not realize that 2020 would shortly usher in a global pandemic, worldwide recession, and countless personal and national challenges.
In retrospect, maybe not the best idea!
On the other hand, being able to focus on this goal and this new genre has given me a lifeline. Not only has paranormal women’s fiction been far more successful than I could have imagined, it’s been creatively fulfilling, deeply meaningful to readers, and so much fun. For that, I will always be grateful.
I’m so pleased to end this year with Toni’s story. She’s a character I feel very connected to, a woman who has found success through hard work, juggled family and professional life, and handled big surprises with unimaginable grace—after the initial shock wore off, of course. I think a lot of working women can relate to Toni; I hope she’s touched your heart in some way.
As I type this, my home state of California is deep in the worst wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our hospitals are crowded and stretched to capacity. Our healthcare workers have been challenged beyond their training. Our communities are reckoning with loss on many levels.
Yet in the middle of it all, we find happiness. Love finds space in people’s hearts. Children are born. Pets are adopted. Home is found. Milestones are celebrated. Life, both beautiful and awful, happens all around us in the non-stop parade of time.
And so, we live.
We live and love and thrive and pass through this world, leaving our mark on the people around us. Our footprints leave tracks of hope, joy, or pain on the map of other peoples’ lives.
I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. I write this only in the hope that in my own small way—through telling stories—I’ve left gentle footprints that have brought you joy. That you’ve found light when the world felt dark. That you’ve been warmed by happiness or laughter when circumstances stretched you to your limit.
If I have one wish for you at the end of this challenging year, it is this: I hope you do not feel alone. If my books have given you any kind of happiness, solace, or comfort this year, I consider that the best measure of success. If you have felt connected to my characters, then you have connected with me, and I am grateful to know you.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for loaning this book to a friend or a colleague. Thank you for giving it as a gift or reading that funny part to a friend over the phone. Thank you for the countless acts of good will I have witnessed in the reading community.
Some day soon, I will see you at a signing or a convention, and I will shake your hand or hug you, and we will know that we got through this time together. As readers. As writers. We found laughter and love in the pages of a book. We visited Moonstone Cove or Glimmer Lake or the Elemental universe or any of the countless fictional worlds out there that have given us joy.
We met there for a few hours or a few days, we found our friends, and we thrived.
Be well, stay safe, and have a delightful holiday season.
And from the bottom of my heart, I wish you a happy new year.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Hunter
December 6, 2020
About the Author
ELIZABETH HUNTER is a USA Today and international best-selling author of romance, contemporary fantasy, and paranormal mystery. Based in Central California, she travels extensively to write fantasy fiction exploring world mythologies, history, and the universal bonds of love, friendship, and family. She has published over thirty works of fiction and sold over a million books worldwide.
She is the author of the Glimmer Lake series, Love Stories on 7th and Main, the Elemental Legacy series, the Irin Chronicles, the Cambio Springs Mysteries, and other works of fiction.
ElizabethHunterWrites.com
Also by Elizabeth Hunter
Glimmer Lake
Suddenly Psychic
Semi-Psychic Life
Psychic Dreams
Moonstone Cove
Runaway Fate
Fate Actually
Fate Interrupted (Spring 2021)
The Cambio Springs Series
Long Ride Home
Shifting Dreams
Five Mornings
Desert Bound
Waking Hearts
Dust Born
(newsletter serial)
The Elemental Mysteries
A Hidden Fire
This Same Earth
The Force of Wind
A Fall of Water
The Stars Afire
The Elemental World
Building From Ashes
Waterlocked
Blood and Sand
The Bronze Blade
The Scarlet Deep
A Very Proper Monster
A Stone-Kissed Sea
Valley of the Shadow
The Elemental Legacy
Shadows and Gold
Imitation and Alchemy
Omens and Artifacts
Obsidian’s Edge (anthology)
Midnight Labyrinth
Blood Apprentice
The Devil and the Dancer
Night’s Reckoning
Dawn Caravan
The Bone Scroll
(Summer 2021)
The Irin Chronicles
The Scribe
The Singer
The Secret
The Staff and the Blade
The Silent
The Storm
The Seeker
Linx & Bogie Mysteries
A Ghost in the Glamour
A Bogie in the Boat
Contemporary Romance
The Genius and the Muse
7th and Main
INK
HOOKED
GRIT