Bound : The Dove Series: Book Four (The Dove Series Book One 4)

by Renea Porter

  “I wonder whose birthday it is?” Damon teased.

  “It’s mine,” Rose called out.

  “What do you want for your birthday?” I asked.

  “A pony! A live pony?”

  She nodded enthusiastically.

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “May I be excused?” she asked after eating her food.

  Damon nodded. “Yes, you may.”

  We were teaching Rose manners, and she was excelling with school from when I was home schooling her.

  “Do you think we should put her back in public school when she starts first grade?” I asked Damon.

  “I think we should try it and see how it goes. You have been doing really well with her and she seems to be flourishing.”

  “Yes, she is. She seems to be coming out of her shell a lot more, too.”

  “I know. I’m so happy she isn’t scarred for life.”

  I added, “I think she knows neither one of us are going anywhere and she knows this is her home permanently.”

  “You know I’m going to have to get her a pony for her birthday, right?” Damon grinned.

  I laughed. “I know. But we don’t have stables here so you will have to find somewhere to house the horse, and we have to get her riding lessons.”

  “I’m sure that won’t be difficult to find around here.”

  I stood. “I’m going to go shower and get dressed for the day.”

  “Okay. I’ll take care of a few things in my office while you do that.”

  ***

  “What do you think of the red velvet flavor and the vanilla pudding in the middle?” the baker asked as we did the cake tasting for our wedding.

  “I like it. You?” I asked Damon.

  “It is good. What else do we have?”

  One thing I learned was that Damon had a major sweet tooth. And it took me this long to figure it out.

  “The next one is a sugar and spice.” The baker presented two small portions for us to eat.

  “I’m not a fan,” I told her.

  “Here is a lemon cake and butter cream and blueberry compote.”

  Damon was nodding his head. “That is an outstanding flavor.”

  “I have to agree. Maybe we can do the lemon cake for the wedding cake and then red velvet cupcakes,” I suggested.

  “Yes. I do like that idea,” Damon replied.

  “Perfect. Let me get the information down so it can be ready on the date of your wedding.”

  After our appointment we thanked the baker for her time.

  “Well, I’m glad that is out of the way,” I told Damon as we loaded back into the SUV. “We have another stop to make.”

  And off to the dress shop we went. I had to do another fitting just to make sure no other alterations needed done.

  With the dress on, I admired it in the dressing room mirror. It was so beautiful and unique and it fit me exactly how I wanted.

  “Are you gonna let me see it?” Damon called through the dressing room door.

  “Hell no. It’s bad luck.”

  He chuckled.

  I wanted to wow him on our wedding day.

  Chapter Sixteen

  KARA

  “Happy Birthday!” Damon and I shouted as we woke Rose on her special day.

  She didn’t have a lot of friends but we decided to get her the pony she was begging us for. Damon picked out one with a professional since she was new to riding and we knew nothing about horses.

  We both gave her the biggest hug. “Let’s get you dressed.”

  “Where are we going, Mommy?”

  “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

  She smiled wide.

  “Pick out what you want to wear on your birthday.”

  She reached for a pair of hot pink leggings and a long-sleeve tee with a unicorn on it.

  “Perfect. Should we put your hair in a ponytail?”

  “Yes.”

  After getting ready, we met Damon, who was already downstairs waiting for us. Taking her by the hand, we walked outside to the SUV where we buckled her in the booster seat and loaded in the car for the ride to the horse stable.

  “Did you ever picture yourself having a child’s seat in your car?” I asked Damon jokingly.

  “Not until I found you, and then she came into my life.” He griped my hand and kissed it.

  We arrived at the horse stables. And Rose noticed immediately. “Horses!” she screamed with excitement. “Oh my god!”

  She brought pure joy to Damon and I both. I hoped her innocence would never be tainted.

  “Hi. I’m Linda. You must be Damon and Kara.” She shook both of our hands.

  The horse instructor then looked at Rose. “And you must be the birthday girl.”

  “Yes!” Rose jumped up and down.

  Just her excitement made me so happy.

  “Do you want to ride a horse?”

  Rose looked to Damon and I. “Can I please?”

  Damon ruffled her ponytail. “Of course. It’s why we brought you here.”

  I bent down to Rose’s level. “Make sure you listen to Miss Linda and follow what she tells you, okay.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  “Go have fun.”

  Damon crossed his arms and looked on at his daughter. “She seems to enjoy it. It’s a good thing, because if she didn’t, one of us would have to take riding lessons.”

  “Yeah, because you jumped the gun and bought her the dang horse.”

  “I know.”

  “This will be one of the birthdays she remembers. It’s a big gift and since she isn’t in school this year, she doesn’t know a lot of kids to have over for cake and ice cream.” Since we agreed to enroll her into public school for the next year, I knew she would make a lot of friends to have over on her next birthday.

  After her lesson, she rushed over to us. “That was so much fun.”

  Damon bent down to her level. “How would you like to come here every week to ride that horse?”

  “Can I?”

  He chuckled. “Yes. That horse is yours. I bought it for you.”

  She wrapped her little arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Linda walked over to us. “She’s a natural.”

  “She really likes it. Can we make a weekly appointment to have her get riding lessons until she’s comfortable to do it on her own?”

  “Absolutely. Are you planning to continue to house the horse here?”

  “We are.”

  “Perfect. I’ll have my assistant email you the paperwork.”

  “Great. Thank you.”

  “Can I ride him again?” Rose asked.

  I took her hand. “We will bring you back next week for another lesson. Is that okay?”

  “Okay.”

  In the SUV, I asked Rose, “Did you have fun?”

  “Tons and tons. Best Birthday ever.”

  Rose fell fast asleep on the way home, and Damon reached over to touch my stomach. “How’s the baby?”

  “Kicking like crazy.” Taking Damon’s hand, I adjusted it so he could feel the movement.

  “Oh my god. That’s crazy.”

  “Very active today.”

  We arrived home, and Damon carried Rose in and laid her on the couch so she could continue to nap.

  “She fell asleep already?” Olivia asked as she greeted us when we got home. She was here to help set up the decorations. I hugged her. “Hey Matteo.”

  “What’s up?”

  I looked at Olivia to continue our conversation. “Yeah. She had so much fun with the riding lesson.”

  “I’m sure she did. Well, I got the cake and set it out on the table.”

  “Perfect. But first, let me greet my little goddaughter.” I picked her up out of her carrier and held her. “Her baby smell is my favorite.”

  “Same,” Olivia replied.

  “We’ll be in my office,” Damon tol
d me and Olivia as he walked with Matteo.

  “Are you planning on having more?” I asked her.

  She smiled. “I hope so. I finally feel like I’m coming out of the rut I was feeling. Trying to get my body back before pregnancy.”

  “Pffft. I wish I had your body.”

  “Stop. Let’s get the rest of these decorations up before she wakes up.”

  “I’m so glad you and Matteo are here.”

  “We are, too.”

  “I wanted to ask you if you would come into the delivery room with me when I deliver this baby?”

  “Kara.” Her eyes watered. “Are you sure Damon doesn’t want to be in there with you?”

  “He doesn’t. He said he would be happy to wait outside the room.”

  “Then I would be delighted to help you through that.”

  I reached over and hugged her again.

  The decorations were put up and pizza was being delivered upon Rose’s request for dinner.

  “Aunt Olivia!” She reached up to hug her once she woke up.

  Since Olivia and Matteo were practically family, we had Rose just call them her aunt and uncle.

  “Pizza!” Damon called, carrying the pizzas into the dining room.

  “Damon and I wanted to ask you both if you would be Rose’s godparents and the godparents of our newborn child. I know it’s not normally custom to ask for you to be for all our kids, but we couldn’t see anyone else taking care of them if something did happen to us.”

  Matteo reached for Olivia’s hand and they smiled wide. “We would love to.”

  “Thank you, guys.”

  “Thank you. Now, who is ready for some cake?”

  Rose was the first one to raise her hand in excitement.

  Standing, I held the cake while we sang Happy Birthday to her. “Make a wish,” I told her before she blew out the candles.

  Chapter Seventeen

  KARA

  Time passed so fast as our wedding day approached. Nerves swirled in my belly and I prayed the dress still fit since I was about to give birth any moment.

  “You are gonna look gorgeous,” Olivia said, hanging the dresses up on the door.

  “I feel like a damn blimp. But Damon has been pampering me so much lately. I’ve been enjoying it.”

  “You will look stunning. I can’t wait to see them on you. Since all I saw was the photo you took.”

  “I have to get Rose ready. Would you mind walking with her down the aisle? I don’t want her to be nervous and go by herself.”

  Olivia smiled wide. “Absolutely. Of course.”

  Olivia helped me get the dress on Rose and put curls in her hair.

  “You look very pretty,” I told her. “And when you scatter the flowers down the aisle, Olivia is gonna walk with you.”

  “Okay.”

  A knock came on the door and Olivia opened it. “Claire is here.”

  I was already sitting at the vanity in the hotel suite we had rented. Damon, Matteo, and Rowan were in his own suite.

  “Is this the bride’s room?” I heard a small voice ask as she entered with a friend.

  “Claire.”

  “Hi. Hey, Olivia.”

  “Nice to see you again,” Olivia told her with a small hug. For some reason, I sensed a little jealousy between the two but I wasn’t sure.

  Claire rushed over to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Wow. You are really popping there, mama. This is my friend Anna, who is gonna do your hair.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m so glad you told me you did makeup when we had that dinner and you had a friend to do my hair.”

  “I just do it for extra money here and there. I don’t do it professionally, but we were talking about starting our own business to do weddings and other special occasions.”

  “You should do it,” I encouraged while she got started on my makeup.

  ***

  Rose, Olivia, and I were both ready with our makeup and hair done. Olivia was wearing a baby pink-knee-length dress and she helped me into my gown. She assisted with the zipper in the back and I stood in front of the floor length mirror.

  “Wow. This is really real now.”

  “It is. And just as I expected, you look stunning,” Olivia admired me in the mirror.

  “Oh, I forgot, I got you a gift,” I told her. “For standing up there with me. And just for being a constant in my life ever since we met.” I went over to grab the gift bag out of my packed bag. “Here.”

  She smiled while she opened the small bag. “You got me something from Tiffany’s?” Instead of answering her, I watched as she pulled out a small blue box. Opening it, her mouth fell open. “Kara. These earrings are stunning.”

  “I didn’t want to do the typical diamonds because I’m leaving that to Matteo.” The earrings were a simple drop earring with a pearl at the end.

  “These are gorgeous. Thank you so much.” She reached her arms around me to hug me and my eyes watered.

  “You’re welcome. And my man Matteo better be proposing to you soon,” I told her.

  “I think he will. Let’s finish your look because you have a groom waiting downstairs for you.”

  At the top of the landing of the stairs, the wedding planner handed me a rose bouquet to carry in my hands. The smell of the fresh flowers calmed me. Talking a deep breath, I made my way down the stairs. When we reached the bottom, I nodded to Olivia that it was okay for her to go ahead with Rose. The coordinator straightened out my dress so it flowed perfectly.

  The wedding march played, and I made my way down the aisle to my groom. Making eye contact with Damon, he was wiping tears from his eyes.

  As I tried to keep it together myself, I reached him and couldn’t help the smile on my face.

  “You take my breath away,” he said, taking my hand in his.

  “You look handsome yourself,” I told him while I passed my bouquet to Olivia.

  I couldn’t focus on anyone who was in the room, except Damon. He wasn’t the only one that had their breath stolen from them. He constantly left me breathless by his kindness, how sexy he was, and how much he had changed over the course of our relationship. And he adored me.

  We repeated the vows after the minister instructed. Then we wanted to read our own vows. I was nervous to read mine.

  “Damon. In the beginning of our relationship, it was mostly one-sided.” The guests laughed but they didn’t really know how we really met.

  “But you worked your way breaking down my defenses until all I could do was give in. You have shown me the life we share is not perfect, but it’s our perfect. And I know with each passing day, I continue to love you more. I’m not sure how that is possible, but you surprised me with the love you’ve shown me, the love you have shown for your daughter as well as the baby I am carrying. I really couldn’t ask for a better man to stand beside and grow old with.”

  Damon cleared his throat before he started. “Kara. You broke down my barriers and showed me how to love and to love so completely, that I would die without you in my life. I don’t remember the life I had before you came into it, I only remember after. You are my soul mate, my equal, the mother to my children…” He paused to wipe the tears from his eyes, which caused me to cry even harder. He took a moment to compose himself. “I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you, to love you, and make you feel like a queen everyday because you deserve nothing less.”

  “Wow,” was all I could squeak out.

  “You may now kiss your bride,” the minister said.

  Leaning in, Damon planted a kiss on my lips. Looking into the small crowd of guests, there wasn’t a dry eye around.

  Olivia handed me my bouquet and Damon and I walked up to my suite where I could change into my other dress.

  Pulling me into him, he bore his eyes into mine. “You made me the happiest man alive.”

  “You made me the luckiest woman. I love you.”

  He kissed my forehead. “I love you, too. Let me help you wit
h the dress.”

  The cocktail dress was easier to get into. It was lavender in color and reached right above my knees. I changed my shoes to flat black ones.

  “I wish I could take you right now on this bed,” Damon said, bouncing on the edge of it.

  “We have guests waiting for us.”

  “I know.”

  I touched up my makeup and we headed down to the reception. Everyone should have already been heading there. Once I was ready, I took Damon’s arm as he helped me back down the stairs.

  “You look gorgeous,” he said once we reached the bottom of the steps.

  “Thank you.”

  While we stood there, having a moment to ourselves, we heard commotion but couldn’t make out with it was. “What’s going on?” I asked him, but he was just as clueless as I was.

  Taking my hand, we entered the reception area to find out what was happening.

  Chapter Eighteen

  KARA

  “What the hell?” Damon questioned as we spotted Hope trying to get to Rose.

  “Let me have my fucking daughter.” Hope was moving toward Olivia, who was holding Rose back from her.

  Making my way to Rose, I took her hand, while Damon went to Hope. “What are you doing here, Hope?’

  “I wanted to see my fucking daughter you bastard.” She shoved Damon.

  “You gave up your rights to her. She has everyone she needs in her life now. If you want to see her, you need to get a lawyer. It’s clear you aren’t even clean, are you?”

  “I’m going to a rehab center in three days, so I thought I could see her before I go.”

  “I would be happy to work something out, Hope, but you need to think about yourself right now and get clean.”

  Hope scrunched her face. “Of course, you would be a bastard and not let me see her.”

  He pointed to Rose. “You see her. Now you need to leave.” He took Hope by the arm, trying to guide her out of the room.

  “Let me go.” She yanked her arm from him. “I’m leaving.”

  I followed behind Damon and we watched Hope leave the establishment. Rose never once cried or asked for her mom.

  “She’s gone,” Damon said making his way back to us. He bent down to Rose. “Are you okay?”