Hold on to Her (Only Her Series Book 2)

by Olivia Stephen

  The reports she is getting from the doctor are wonderful, and she’s progressing with this pregnancy beautifully. With each visit, she relaxes more and more, and is beginning to enjoy this wonderful time in her life.

  Mom and Dad are on their way to visit, and we’re all headed to the Italian place where Sarah and I had our first official date.

  I’m stunned when I see her coming out of the bedroom, where she spent the last three hours getting ready. Fucking gorgeous. The loose-fitting top camouflages the tiny baby bump that has developed. One thing is for certain, her tits aren’t tiny bumps. So far, that has been the best side effect of Sarah’s pregnancy.

  Without even looking in her room, I know all her clothes are strewn across the bed, and most likely, six pairs of shoes are out of their boxes and laying on the floor. She’s nervous, I get it, and she wants everything to be perfect when she meets my folks. What she doesn’t understand is that it’s all those little imperfections that make her absolutely perfect to me.

  She stares at me with a reserved look in her eyes.

  “You’re stunning,” I whisper, pulling her close to me and running my finger down her cheek. “My beautiful girl.”

  As sensual and physical as Sarah can be in the bedroom, she shocks me when she stands on her tiptoes and places the gentlest, most tender, kiss on my lips. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be better than this right now. This is my Heaven, right here on Earth.

  “We better get going,” I say, Sarah still in my arms. “Mom and Dad are already at the restaurant.”

  “Liam, what are they going to think of me?” I feel the soft exhale of her breath.

  “What will they think? They will think you are the most beautiful woman in the world and that you make me ridiculously happy. That’s what they’ll think. They’ve already heard so much about you from Brooke and Tatum. They’ve wanted to visit and meet you sooner. But with Dad being sick, they just couldn’t.”

  “I do love you. It wasn’t easy to admit that, but I do.”

  “I know, baby. Resistance was futile, though,” I say with a smile. “You didn’t stand a chance.”

  I’m blessed with a shy grin and her gentle lips on mine one more time before she backs away, grabbing her coat.

  Dinner was amazing, as usual, and Mom and Dad fell in love with Sarah. How could they not? All through dinner, she was completely herself...stubborn, gentle, kind, funny, sometimes quiet, most of the time not. Everything that made me fall in love with her in the very beginning.

  I squeeze Sarah’s hand as we walk into Sam’s a short while later, so Mom and Dad can catch Cole and I performing a few sets tonight. It’s been a long time since they’ve been able to visit me here as busy as they’ve been with work, and with Dad getting over a nasty case of the flu. Our usual table near the small stage is open, so I situate Mom and Dad there with Sarah. Zane and Raina are at the bar, ready to watch the show because it’s going to be a special one. It’ll be the one performance that will always be the most memorable.

  Cole and I hop onstage as he introduces us to the audience, although most everyone here knows who we are.

  “Liam here has a special song he’d like to start off with tonight for a very special woman. Sarah, can you come up here?”

  Instantly, her eyes search mine for an answer. She points to herself and mouths, “Me?”

  “Honey, how many other special Sarah’s does Liam have? Get your sexy ass up here, babe. We got shit to do.”

  A complete lack of filter is Cole’s specialty, so why I’m surprised at his comments, I have no idea.

  I pull a chair over close to me as Sarah winds her way through the crowd and onto the stage. Zane and Raina are standing at the bar, Raina’s back to Zane’s front, more in love now than ever before. Looking over at them, I see a thumbs-up from them both. All of a sudden, I’m nervous as shit.

  Taking the microphone, I begin.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I have a special song I’d like to dedicate to this beautiful woman sitting here beside me, most definitely my better half. And I’d also like to announce that we’re going to have a baby.” Before I can even continue, whoops and hollers rise up from the crowd. There are tears in Mom’s eyes, a smile on her face at hearing the news her first grandchild is on the way. “Yes, there’s a future little Liam on the way. Or maybe a Liamette. Don’t know yet.”

  “Dude, if you name your baby Liamette, we’re through. That’s not even funny, man.”

  Chuckles and laughs can be heard coming from the crowd as Cole gets his two cents in.

  “As I was saying, we’re going to have a baby. And I have a very important question I need to ask. But before I do...Cole, let’s play the song.”

  Cole begins picking the strings and strumming, and I join in after a few notes. With my heart and soul in every word, I sing “Marry Me” by Train, to the woman I want to marry, the very best part of me.

  With tears in her eyes, Sarah watches as I lay down my guitar and pull out the perfect diamond ring from my jeans pocket. Kneeling down on one knee in front of her, I hold up the ring, watching it catch the light and sparkle like the light in her eyes. The ring that she will wear for the rest of her life. A life with me by her side.

  “Sarah, you are, by far, the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. You’ve challenged me in ways no one else has, not even my two sisters. And you’ve wormed your way so far into my heart, so deep, that without a doubt, you’ll be there forever, and I couldn’t be happier. I love every single part of you. Every smile, every tear, every breath, every heartbeat...I want them all for me. I’ve found my forever in you, baby. Will you marry me, Sarah?”

  Sarah’s right hand covers her mouth in surprise as I take her left hand, sliding the ring on her finger.

  No words are spoken, but I see all I need to in her eyes.

  She stands, throwing her arms around me. I’m just hoping a nod of the head counts as a yes.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Sarah

  Six months later...

  I can’t get up. I can’t even get up out of the damn tub. It’s like I’m an overgrown, water-retaining sea cow.

  “Liam!” Oh shit. I didn’t mean to be quite that loud.

  “What? What’s wrong?” he asks, breathless from running in from outside.

  “I can’t get the hell out of this tub. All I wanted was a damn bath. One simple thing, and I can’t do it.”

  “Ah, there’s my gentle, peaceful baby mama.”

  “Liam, I swear if you don’t help me out of this tub now, I’ll...”

  “...you’ll what? Honey, there’s no room to pull me in, so I’ll take my chances.” He’s such a shit. Cracking jokes about this.

  “You do realize you’ll have to go to sleep sometime, right?”

  Obviously, that was funny to him because he throws his head back, laughing, all the while lifting my pregnant ass from the tub. And if that wasn’t sweet enough, he wraps me in the oversized towel I had to buy to dry my overly large, pregnant body. He rubs my protruding belly and sings a lullaby to our baby while he dries me off.

  Okay, so I won’t murder him in his sleep.

  “Mrs. Reynolds, you are, by far, the most gorgeous pregnant woman on this planet. Not only was I lucky enough to knock you up, but to persuade you to marry my sorry ass? I couldn’t be happier.”

  “Mr. Reynolds, just when I think you couldn’t be any more romantic, you go and spew shit like that.”

  “Baby, you’re worth it.”

  “Liam...”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “I think we have a bit of a problem.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, I can fix anything. What’s wrong?”

  “The water running down my leg isn’t from the tub.”

  “You should pee in the toilet, Sarah...oh, shit. Did your water just break?” Here’s the part where my normally calm, reserved man begins to hustle around the bedroom, grabbing the suitcase he packed two months ago, swearing that it can’t be time alre
ady, while I stand in the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, water running as if it’s coming from a wide-open spigot down my leg. He takes off down the hall, and then sprints back, taking my hand to hustle back down the hall with him.

  He turns and simply stares at me.

  “You aren’t even dressed yet, Sarah. What are you waiting for?”

  “Christmas, Liam. I’m waiting on Christmas. What in the hell do you think? And why the hell did you drag me to the door when I was still stark naked in the bathroom? Focus, Liam!”

  I hurry back to the bedroom and quickly throw on a jersey knit maternity dress and the biggest underwear known to man, with two large pads to try to catch the fluid. Liam piles towels on the passenger seat of the car and helps me in, tossing my suitcase in the back seat.

  I shoot off a short text to Mom and Sydnee, and their return texts come quickly. They’re on their way. My heart swells a bit when I see how excited they are. It’s been a long road getting our family back on good terms, a lot of arguments and tears, but sometimes you just have the let the past be in the past and move on. The relationship with my sister is stronger than it’s ever been. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing.

  Sydnee, however, says she will never forgive Daniel for what he put her through. He still goes to meetings at the rehab center, and is trying to clean himself up, but the damage is done. Supervised visits with Londyn is the only kind of relationship Daniel will ever have with his little girl. The divorce was finalized yesterday.

  “You were a million miles away, sweetheart.” Liam leans over the console, seemingly calmer now, to kiss me. And he kisses me like he always does, like he’ll never get enough. The entire way to the hospital, he holds on to me. That’s what he does. He holds me, calms me, and keeps me grounded. We joke with each other, take care of each other, and love each other more than I thought two people possibly could. He’s my solid, the one man who made me believe I deserved to be happy.

  And we’re having a baby.

  Epilogue

  Liam

  It’s been three months since Sarah gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Isabelle, and four months since Raina and Zane had their son, Zander. Tonight, we’re all sitting around our backyard fire pit for a quiet Saturday night in, having a few drinks and roasting marshmallows. Mom and Dad stopped by for a while, but decided to leave when I announced that Mom was hogging the babies. She just laughed and handed Isabelle back to me...where she belonged.

  Cole and Samantha have been taking over the bar on Saturday nights so we can have some family time together. We all seem to find that odd considering she can barely stand to be in the same room with him. At least that’s what she wants us to see anyway. Cole and I still play at the bar occasionally, and I see the longing in her eyes when she’s looking at him. Whether she realizes it or not, I know that look. I used to look at Sarah the same way.

  The bar continues to do well, and we’ve got a bid in to buy the empty lot alongside the bar to open an outdoor section, which would include an additional bar and tables, and a killer fire pit. It seems like a perfect complement to what we’ve done inside.

  We still meet with Chrissie in Nashville once a month. Writing songs and hearing them brought to life by some of the best musicians and singers in the business is a very humbling experience. The passion and emotion they put into our lyrics and stories is nothing short of amazing. Seven months ago, we learned one of our songs was nominated for Song of the Year. Even though we didn’t win, it was a true honor to be nominated with some of the best songwriters in the country.

  Strangely, Cole seems more than satisfied with this arrangement. I thought for sure he would consider going out on his own, to try his hand at recording. He sang at my wedding and ever since then, he’s seemed different in some way. Certainly, he’s still the fun-loving, ever inappropriate, seemingly immature guy he’s always been, yet somehow, he’s settled. Don’t know what happened, or who happened, but he’s my best friend, so whatever, or whoever, makes him happy, is what I want for him.

  Right now, my hand caresses Isabelle’s fuzzy little head as she’s cradled into my chest, and my fingers trace small circles around her chubby pink cheeks while I sing to her, and to Zander, both wrapped in blankets to ward off the chill of the night air. Pink and blue blankets. The color of cotton candy. Looking at my wife as I think this, I can guarantee she has never been more beautiful, more amazing, than she is right now.

  She gave birth to our baby, my Isabelle, and I chuckle when I see her little eyes fighting to stay open. She’s got her momma’s stubborn streak, which means I’m in for an exciting eighteen years with this one. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  There’s nothing like this in the world. My little Isabelle. The night she was born, I made a promise that I will always hold on to her, just as I will her mother. They are mine to care for, and love and protect. They will always be my girls.

  The End

  Also by Olivia Stephen

  Only Her Series

  Watch Over Her

  Hold on to Her

  Acknowledgments

  A huge thank you to so many people who continue to help me on this amazing writing journey. First and foremost, a massive, over-the-top thank you to my family. I am so blessed to have a wonderful support system cheering me on and encouraging me to continue this dream of being a writer.

  A big bear hug to my wonderful friends, Pam, Susan, Debbie…my phantom sisters. Miles may separate us, but friends forever, right? Also, many, many thanks to my new-found friend, Valerie. Your humor, kindness, thoughtfulness and all-around compassion have helped me in ways you’ll never know. I just hope you always stay comfortable in your tent.

  More thanks than I know how to give to my editor and beta readers. Jenn, Melissa, Kristen, Valerie and Jeannette, your guidance and feedback helped me to craft a story that I am proud to publish. You were gracious enough to stop what you were doing to help me each and every time I messaged. I am so thankful to have your support and friendship. My story would not be what it is without you.

  Huge hugs to my reader group and ARC team! You all really do rock and it has been humbling to know so many people are looking forward to reading my stories. I appreciate your encouragement and enthusiasm, your humor and kindness.

  Thank you to all the bloggers and readers for your excitement about Liam and Sarah’s story. I deeply appreciate each and every review you left for this book, and for every time you shared their story.

  Finally, and most importantly, thanks be to God for His never-ending grace and love.

  About the Author

  Olivia Stephen was born and raised in the mountains of Western Maryland and still resides there with her husband and two children. She is a teacher/literacy specialist, an avid reader, a wine lover, and enjoys trips to the beach with her family. Hold on to Her, Only Her Series, book 2, is Olivia’s second full-length novel.

  You can find more information on upcoming novels or follow Olivia Stephen on social media here:

  www.facebook.com/groups/oliviasrockstarreaders