Still Fine at Forty

by Madison, Dakota

  I waited for him to grab something for himself but he just stood there. He was in a T-shirt and jeans. “Aren’t you going to put on a jacket?” I asked.

  “You’re wearing it,” he said.

  “You only have one jacket?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t buy a lot of clothes. I have stuff for work and that’s about it. All my money goes toward the gallery.”

  “And let me guess, I’m wearing your only sweater, too?”

  He nodded.

  “Do you at least have a sweatshirt?” I asked.

  He dug around in the back of the closet and pulled out a tattered I Love Sedona sweatshirt. “It was a freebie.”

  I shrugged. “It’s better than nothing.”

  He pulled the hideous thing over his head and we walked outside with Pugsy.

  Pugsy was thrilled to be on a walk even though the air was much chiller than Phoenix. I was immediately put at ease when Cody grabbed my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine.

  “This is nice,” he said as he pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed my fingers.

  “You’re going to marry me,” he said and it wasn’t a question. “I want my baby to have parents who are married. It’s important to me. It’s something I never had.”

  I stopped and looked into Cody’s eyes. “I want to marry you. I’m not scared anymore. I love you and I know we can make this work.”

  Cody grinned. “If I knew all it was going to take to get you to marry me was getting you knocked up, I would have done it sooner.”

  I playfully hit him on the shoulder.

  Cody stopped in front of me and took my face into his hands. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? With having my baby?”

  “I’ve wanted a baby for a long time,” I admitted. “I can’t think of anyone who would make a better father.”

  Cody kissed me. When he looked at me again, he had a serious expression. “I’m going to ask Jim about releasing the money from the account we set up for the gallery.”

  “No!” I said. “You can’t do that.”

  “I told you I want to take care of you and the baby. We can use the money to buy a house.”

  I shook my head. “There’s another way. I’m going to sell my house. I don’t have a mortgage and I’ve got a bit of equity in it. It will be enough for a significant down payment on a place here.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked. “I know how much that house means to you.”

  “I want to, Cody. I want to move here to be with you.”

  “Have I told you how much I love you, beautiful Jenny?”

  “Every time we’re together,” I replied as I leaned up to give him a kiss.

  Epilogue

  Eighteen Months Later

  Lucia started to get fussy when I tried putting her black patent leather baby shoes on. I knew she probably didn’t need them with the number of people who would want to hold her and dote on her, but they looked so cute with little black dress and white tights.

  Cody hurried over and took the shoes from me. “Let me get that,” he said. He looked stunning in his new black pin stripped suit, white shirt and black tie. He was so good with his daughter and she always behaved for him. At ten months, she was already a daddy’s girl.

  I smiled as I watched my beautiful husband put the tiny shoes on his baby girl. He adored and treasured her. When he turned to me, he let out a little whistle. “Don’t you look hot,” he said as he admired my knee length sundress. He leaned down and kissed me. “I have the most beautiful wife in the entire world,” he said, his eyes glistening with happiness.

  Even though we had already celebrated our one year anniversary and were hardly still newlyweds, I never got tired of hearing him call me his wife. And every time I looked down at our simple matching wedding bands, it reminded me of our wedding day.

  It was an intimate ceremony at Jim’s lovely home. His backyard had an awesome view of the red mountains. My sister agreed to be my maid of honor and Mel walked me down the aisle in place of my parents. My wedding dress was loose fitting to accommodate Lucia, who was still growing inside me. It was one of the happiest days of my life. The only one that was happier was the day Lucia was born. We were in the same hospital Cody had taken me on our first date, when I injured my hand hiking. When I saw the joy in Cody’s face when he got to hold his daughter, I knew marrying him was the right decision and I knew he was going to make an excellent father.

  Cody kissed me cheek and whispered in my ear, “We have to go. I don’t want to be late to my own opening.” Then he pointed at Lucia and I knew why he was whispering. She was getting drowsy-eyed and would probably fall asleep. She was much easier to handle when she was snoozing.

  Cody grabbed Lucia in her carrier and I grabbed the diaper bag and we were off. I locked the door to our lovely new home and we walked next door to Cody’s gallery.

  The gallery ended up looking much like he had envisioned and exactly as he had drawn in the sketch he showed me on our first date. People were already starting to mingle about as we headed inside. Jim was doing some last minute adjustments to some lighting. Mel and Marvin were fussing with the punch and snacks and Lizzie was placing programs around the gallery.

  As I looked at all Cody’s artwork on display, I was overcome with emotion. My man had fulfilled his lifelong dream. He had overcome a childhood of abuse, worked through his twenties with a singular goal in mind and entered his thirties as the owner of his own art gallery and a devoted husband and father. I was so proud of him. And here I was in my forties, the happiest I had ever been in my life and apparently still fine.

  Additional Titles by Dakota Madison

  SLOW NO WAKE

  After finding her sister in bed with her fiancé, 25-year-old Lexie Wilkins decides to relocate to southwest Florida to start a new life and escape relationships all together. What she doesn’t expect to find are two attractive kite surfers, who both want her.

  So much for Lexie’s vow for her fresh start in Florida: a no wake zone. Having two guys in her life is sure to make waves.

  Eddie is the captivating bad boy who lives next door. Daniel is Lexie’s sweet and ruggedly handsome co-worker. The differences between the two men are just as extreme as their sport…

  Who will she choose?

  BE GOOD

  The Bad-Girl and the Boy-Next-Door

  Tired of reading about 20-something virgins? Meet Anna Hart, a 23-year-old party girl and self-confessed slut.

  After getting completely wasted at a wedding reception, bridesmaid Anna Hart wakes up in a strange bed and can’t remember what she did or who she did it with.

  The stranger in bed with Anna is Brett Conner, a nerdy guy who Anna vaguely remembers from college but only because everyone called him Clown Hair. Only Brett isn’t quite as nerdy as Anna remembers. His clown hair is long gone and Brett is almost cute—and kind of sexy.

  Over the course of four weddings, in four cities, in one crazy summer, Brett and Anna start a mismatched relationship. But is there a future for the bad-girl and the boy-next-door?

  MATCHPLAY

  A Girl, a Guy, a Tournament and a Challenge

  The Girl: At a time when most girls obsess about homecoming and high school prom, Rainy Dey spent her senior year caring for her dying mother. So when her father drops her off at college to start her freshman year, his words of advice to his bookish daughter are to start acting like a young person and finally have some fun.

  The Guy: College senior, Aaron Donavan, aka Mr. Hot-and-Knows-It, is President of the Clubhouse, a social club for the college’s most wealthy and popular guys. Aaron can have any girl on campus except the one who challenges and excites him the most—Rainy Dey.

  The Tournament: Every year, the senior members of The Clubhouse engage in a golf-inspired tournament to see who can sleep with the most freshman girls. When Rainy finds out about the tournament, she believes Aaron’s only interest in her is to score points by taking her V-Card.

  The Challenge: C
an Aaron convince Rainy that his feelings for her are true and that she won’t be just another notch on his tournament scorecard?