"What's that?"
"No more secrets."
"No more," she said with a huge smile.
"Good," I said, kissing her with all the passion and love I felt for her.
Our lips met as our tongues tangled with each other's over and over again. Our hands wandered until we were clawing at each other's undergarments in an effort to get closer.
"Let me see you," I said, pulling back from her and sitting up on my knees.
She spread her long, toned legs wide and I soaked up the sight of her completely bared to me.
"You're gorgeous," I told her as I probed her with one long finger. "I love to watch your greedy little pussy pulse and weep for me. Let me watch you come on my fingers," I told her, pushing another inside her while teasing her clit with my thumb.
Her back arched as she rode my hand, seeking a release that was barreling towards her as I continued to stroke her insides.
"Carson," she groaned, her blue eyes meeting mine as she clamped down on my fingers, coming undone.
"That's it, baby. That's what I love to see."
Before she could even recover I lined myself up and pushed into her, feeling her last few contractions as I slid in all the way. As my hips met her pelvis I groaned, overcome with sensation and emotion.
As I pushed into her over and over again, driving us both to the brink of bliss, one word reverberated through my being. Home. This was my home, wherever Lou was, and I was going to spend the rest of my life making sure she knew just how important she and Carly were to me.
We came together, staring into each other's eyes as we slipped into ecstasy.
**
Two days later we pulled back up to the house in Savannah. I couldn't wait to see what Caroline and her friends had managed to do with her old room, and I was chomping at the bit to get Lou up there to see it too.
I climbed out of the truck and walked back to Lou's car, opening the rear door and unbuckling Carly from her seat. Once Lou was out of the car, I took her hand.
"Come on, there's something I want to show you."
Chapter 44
Lou
Walking into the house after several days away I instantly felt home again. I'd missed that feeling of contentment, but I didn't really realize how much until I smelled the familiar smells of Carson's home and felt the sense of belonging settle over me.
I slowed down in the kitchen, looking around at the island where I'd prepared dinners for Carson and myself, and at the breakfast table where we'd had food fights with Carly. I smiled to myself as I ran my hand over the granite counter tops, thanking God that I'd been brought back to this place.
"Lou? Come up to Caroline's room please!" I heard Carson call from upstairs.
With a last glance around the kitchen I set my purse down on the counter and ran up the stairs.
"What's up?" I asked walking into the room. The sight that greeted me took my breath away.
Caroline's room had been transformed. The floral valance that used to hang above the bay window had been replaced with pink gingham to match the redone cushion of the window seat. The four poster bed had been replaced with a cherry wood crib, made up with a velvety soft floral sheet of the lightest pink with a bumper to match.
A cherry changing table and matching dresser were against the far wall and there were several pictures depicting young children running and playing, rolling down hills, and blowing dandelion seeds.
When I turned to meet Carson's eyes he was seated in an old rocking chair with Carly.
"This was my mother's rocking chair when she was a child. Her father used to read her bedtime stories every night in this very chair. I want to be able to do that with Carly," he said, bringing tears to my eyes.
He placed Carly down on the floor with some soft toys and made his way across the room to me.
"Carson this is so beautiful. I don't know what to say," I said as he took my hands in his. "How did you have time?"
"I had a little help from Caroline and her friends," he told me. "Make that a lot of help." I smiled as he squeezed my hands. "Louise Katherine Evans, the night I met you, you changed my world. I have never been happier than I have these last months with you, especially since you've been staying here with me. You and Carly have made this house a home. You've made me a father. You've made us a family. So just say you'll stay. Say you'll live here with me so we can raise our daughter together. Let me take care of the two of you, and let me love you."
I couldn't form words so I did the best I could and nodded. All my dreams had finally come true. I had a man who loved me, a safe place to raise our daughter, and all the promises a future could possibly hold.
I folded myself into Carson's chest feeling that everything was right with the world.
"So, I just have one question" he said and I pulled back to look him in the eyes. He kneeled down and took my hand in his, pulling a ring from his pants pocket. "Are you free for the rest of your life?"
I laughed a full belly laugh and his beaming smile lit up the room as I launched myself at him. Our lips connected and our hands clung to each other as if we'd never get enough, and I hoped we wouldn't.
Once we pulled our faces back from each other Carson exclaimed, "Oh my gosh!"
I followed his line of sight to Carly, who was standing by the rocking chair, not even holding on.
"Are you going to walk baby girl?" Carson asked.
"Da!" she said with a big toothy grin before taking two tentative steps and falling on her bottom.
"I think she just called you Daddy," I said as Carly crawled over to us and into Carson's lap.
"Da!" she said again just to make sure we'd heard her.
"You didn't answer me," Carson said to me scooping Carly up.
I peeled my eyes away from her and met his gaze straight on.
"No Carson, I'm not free for the rest of my life," I said deadpan and his smile faltered a moment. "I'm going to marry the man of my dreams and make lots more babies with him. I'm pretty sure that's going to keep me quite busy!"
Epilogue
Lou
Carson and I were married right before Carly's first birthday and Christmas followed a few days later.
We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon right after the holidays and once we were settled into our suite, I pulled out a gift for him.
"What's that?" he asked, eyeing the envelope I held out to him.
"It's a late wedding gift," I said, waving him over to sit next to me on the bed.
"You didn't need to get me anything, you know that. I already have everything I need."
I smiled at him as he sat next to me, taking the envelope from my hands.
"I know I didn't have to, but this was important to me, and it's something I've been working on for a while."
He peeled back the flap and pulled out the folded paper inside. As he opened it I watched his mouth clamp shut in an effort to hold back his emotions.
It was an updated copy of Carly's birth certificate changing her name to Carly Evans Foster, and listing him as her father.
"Thank you," he choked out. "This means more than you'll ever know."
"I've been waiting since August to get the new copy. You wouldn't believe all the hoops I had to jump through."
He smiled and pulled me into a hug.
"There's something else though," I said into his shoulder.
"Oh yeah?"
"Here," I said, holding out a long black jewelry box.
He shook it next to his ear and then said, "I hope you didn't spend a lot of money on me."
"Just open it," I prodded.
He pulled off the lid and sat stunned, looking into the box.
"Are you serious?" he asked.
"Yes. You've managed to knock me up again, you big stud," I said, pulling out the positive pregnancy test and waving it at him.
"Thank you, Lou. Thank you for giving me everything I've ever wanted and more," he said, pulling me back into his chest.
As I snuggled
into the warmth of the man I loved I felt that I should be the one thanking him. Carson had not only taken me in and given me and Carly shelter from the storm, he had given me myself back. He had shown me that true love knows no bounds and that miracles can happen if only you let yourself believe.
Acknowledgements
A huge thank you to Regina Alves and Meredith Mitchell for stepping in at the last minute to help with editing! I truly cannot say it enough - you ladies ROCK!
A big shout out to my brother who helped me wade through all the fishing terms and made sure I didn't sound stupid talking about things I don't know much about.
Thanks to the wonderful ladies at Bare Naked Words, Wendy Shatwell and Claire Allmendinger, for their help promoting this and all my other books. You ladies are the bomb!
Finally, thank you to Louisa Maggio at LM Creations for the beautiful cover design for Emergence. You're a true talent and I am looking forward to working with you on future projects.
Read on for a sneak peek at my next novel, Vesper.
Vesper
Chapter 1
Vesper
I knew it. I knew this day would come. My palms are sweating and I can feel heat creeping into my cheeks. I smooth my paper napkin across my lap as I try to blend into the booth. Hopefully he won't see me.
That's ridiculous, of course he's going to see me!
I close my eyes and breathe in a shaky breath, trying to calm my nerves, before opening them to meet his piercing green ones.
My heart stops.
Nash McKinley is standing just inside the door of the diner. He's paused mid stride, watching me as I sit in the booth we used to call ours. It's been a while since we've seen each other, a little more than three and a half years, and it feels like a lifetime ago, but at the same time it feels like it's only been moments.
He still looks amazing, more chiseled and bulkier, but amazing. My pulse starts to race at the memory of how his body fits against mine. I can feel the same magnetic pull to him that's always been there. I can't fight it no matter how hard I try.
But I still try.
He takes a step towards me just as my best friend Lindsay emerges from the bathroom with three year old Andrew by the hand. They slide into the booth across from me when Lindsay sees my face.
"What is it?" she asks.
I tear my eyes away from Nash and try to focus on Lindsay. "Na- Nash," I stutter and then clear my throat. "It's Nash."
Her eyes widen and then she turns to find him, her dark hair falling over her shoulder. Once she's seen him she whips her head back around to me.
"What are you going to do?"
I stare at her for a moment, swallowing hard, before glancing at Andrew and then back to Nash, who hasn't moved but is still looking right at me.
Every emotion I can think of is bursting through my body. Lust, longing, betrayal, sadness, desperation, forgiveness, insecurity, misunderstanding... love. I swallow again, audibly, and slide out of the booth, carefully folding my napkin and placing it on the table. I wipe my clammy palms on the thighs of my jeans and square my shoulders before walking towards him.
I stop about a foot in front of him, my senses assaulted by his familiar scent. I wait a beat to gather my strength before raising my eyes to his, trying to read him like I used to do so well. The moment our eyes meet I can't think of anything to say. He doesn't seem to have the same problem.
"You're here?" he breathlessly whispers, and I realize he didn't come looking for me. Relief and disappointment rush through my veins. Relief that my secret has been kept, and disappointment that he didn't seek me out. He's just as shocked to see me as I am to see him.
"I moved back," I manage to get out.
"When?"
"After graduation."
"You've been here all that time?" he asks, searching my eyes for the truth and finding it as I nod. "Why didn't Bud tell me?"
"I asked him not to."
I watch as he clamps his mouth shut and his jaw starts to tick the way it always did when he was aggravated with me. "I looked everywhere for you. I wanted to explain and apologize. Why would you do that Ves?"
There are so many answers to his question, none that I can speak at the moment. "I just didn't want to be found," I utter instead. "I visit Bud regularly; we're still close. I know it was hard for him not to tell you, but I convinced him it was best for all of us."
"All of us?" he asks.
I press my lips into a thin line, having said too much already. "I heard about things with Stephanie. I'm sorry, for what it's worth," I divert.
He waves his hand as if it's a trivial thing that his wife was an unfaithful liar. "I never should have married her in the first place."
Shocked I can't stop myself from asking, "Why?"
"You," he says as my eyes snap to his. "I never should have let you go."
My heart swells to almost bursting before I'm able to rein it in and tamp it down to a dull roar. I've heard it all before. Why should anything be different this time around?
"Nash, I... I can't do this again," I say, tears slipping down my cheeks. I move around him and out the door, digging my car keys out of my pocket and fumbling to open it. Once inside I rest my head on the steering wheel and sob loudly into the quiet of the car.
My memories of Nash come rushing at me from all directions, and in spite of myself, I can't help but let them seep into me like rain on a dusty dirt road.
I think back to the first time I saw him. Things were so much simpler then. There were no secrets, no lies. We both wanted each other, and that's all that mattered. I have no idea where everything went so wrong, but the bottom line is, there's been too much pain for both of us, and I can't risk putting myself through it again.
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I don't know if I have the strength for a third time.
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Emergence (Awakening Series Book 2) Page 21
