by Allie Able
I go over different scenarios in my head while I freshen up. This could go so many different directions and that makes me nervous. After last night, there is no way I’m going to be able to watch her walk out of my life. I will beg her if I have to. I just hope and pray we are on the same page.
When I walk into the kitchen, I see that she has her head stuck in my refrigerator. She must hear me walk in, because she pulls her head back and looks over at me.
“How do you survive? There is nothing to eat in this house.”
I chuckle and walk over to her. I pick her up and she lets out a little squeal as I set her on the counter.
“I’m not here very often. How about we have a cup of coffee and then we can go pick up something to eat?” I ask. My hands are still holding on to her hips and I give them a squeeze.
She looks down at what she’s wearing and then looks back at me. “Umm… Do you see what I’m wearing?” she asks.
I laugh and let her go, as I walk to the coffee pot. “We can go by your house so you can change.”
I make a pot of coffee and grab two cups, pouring one for each of us and fixing hers with cream and sugar before walking back over to her. I hand Katie her cup and step between her legs.
She smiles and takes a sip. He eyes go soft, when she looks up at me. “You remember how I take my coffee,” she whispers.
I set my cup down beside her leg and run my finger down her cheek, feeling her soft skin. “Katie, I remember everything about you. Every word you’ve ever said and all of your little quirks.”
She wrinkles her cute little nose and shakes her head. “I don’t have any little quirks.”
I chuckle and pick my coffee cup back up. “Sure you don’t.”
I run my hand up and down the outside of her leg, as we drink our coffee in silence. There is so much that needs to be said, but I don’t even know where to start.
“What time do you need to collect Abbi?” I ask, finally breaking the silence.
She sets her cup down and looks straight into my eyes. “My parents are bringing her home at around 4:00 pm. We need to talk.”
This moment right here will define the rest of my life. Whatever she has to say and whatever she decides, I will have to respect her decision. I can’t force her to want to be with me, but I hope she decides I’m worth another chance.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Katie
I STARE INTO NICK’S EYES, as he nods his head with a solemn expression. I don’t know how to handle this and I don’t know what to do. He hurt both me and Abbi, but part of me wants to give him another chance. I can remember telling myself I would never do this again. I promised myself that I would never give a man all of my heart, but the thing is, Nick never gave my heart back, he has had it all along. I just have to make sure he understands that this is it, this is his last chance. He can’t push me away again.
He is still going to have to be the one to talk to Abbi. I will be there of, of course, but he is going to have to ask for her forgiveness too. I realize that Nick thinks he is damaged, but everyone is a little broken or damaged, it’s how you put yourself back together that really counts. I know Nick loves me and Abbi, that was never really a doubt in my mind. When two people love each, as much as we do, they always find a way to make it work. No matter how hard it is.
“You’re going to have to talk to Abbi,” I say.
He nods his head. “I know.”
I look away and take a deep breath, before looking back at him. “When we first met, I had no idea you would be so important to me. I love you, Nick, and I don’t want to loose you. I just want you, that’s it. All of your flaws, your mistakes, your smiles, your jokes, everything. I just want you.”
He smiles and his eyes become glassy with un-shed tears. “Yeah?” he asks in a whisper.
“Yeah.”
He wraps his arms around me and holds me close. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that I made the right decision. This spot right here in Nick’s arms is where I’m meant to be. He pulls back and cups my face in his hands.
“Thank you. Thank you for staying, even though you have every right to leave me for good. If nothing else, I hope you know that I love you with every ounce of my being. I hope you realize how important you are to me and how lucky I am to know you, and to be part of your lives, you and Abbi. You make my life easier when its hard. I absolutely adore you and nothing in this life will never change that,” he whispers, his voice is strained with emotion.
“I do know that, honey.”
He leans down and captures my mouth in a kiss that is full of promise.
“I’m going to make you happy. I just didn’t know how to deal with being hurt, Katie. I didn’t want you to see me like that and I didn’t want to be a burden on your life.”
I grab onto his sides and hold him close to me. “You could never be a burden to me. I love you, Nick. I will keep loving you no matter what life throws at us, okay?”
He nods his head and pulls me against his chest. He buries his face in my hair and breathes me in. I notice that he is shaking and I rub my hands up and down his back, trying to soothe him with my touch. “Are you okay?” I whisper, against his skin.
“I have never been better.” He breathes.
We stay like that for a long time, holding on to each other and taking comfort in each others touch.
My stomach lets out a growl and he pulls back to look down at me with a chuckle. “Are you hungry?”
I look at his eyes and notice they are wet. I reach up and wipe at the moisture. “It’s going to be hard talking to Abbi, but after today, I want a clean slate. I don’t want you to feel guilty anymore and I don’t want our life together to have any lingering sadness. Everything is going to be fine.” I reassure him.
His eyes soften and he nods his head. Something seems to occur to him, because his face changes and his jaw gets tight. “What about Zack?” he asks.
I chuckle and shake my head. “I talked to him, right after Summer and Grant were pronounced husband and wife. I knew I was still madly in love with you and, even if it didn’t work out between me and you, I would never have those types of feelings for him. He knew something was up with us anyway. Besides, I’m pretty sure he is hung up on your sister.”
He eyes get big and he shakes his head. “What?” he asks.
“Yeah, you do know that they grew up together, right? All he talked about when we were out with each other was Lexie. I don’t think she even knows.” I laugh.
He smiles and chuckles. “Really? I had no idea.”
“You wouldn’t have. You were to busy worrying about him being with me to notice that he never took his eyes off of her.”
“Well, that should be interesting.” He laughs.
“I agree.” I smile.
He lays his lips against mine again and kisses me softly, until my stomach lets out another growl. He pulls back and raises his eyebrows at me.
“Your fault for not having any food in this house,” I grumble.
“Come on, I’ll throw on some clothes and we can go to your house. I will make you something to eat there. Deal?”
“Deal,” I smile.
He kisses my forehead and helps me down off of the counter.
We walk to his bedroom and I gather my clothes from last night, while he gets dressed. Once I have all of my stuff, I walk to the kitchen and start cleaning out the coffee pot.
“Ready?” he asks, grabbing his keys and wallet off of the kitchen counter.
I turn to look at him and smile. He is wearing a t-shirt and an old baseball hat, but what catches my attention is that he is wearing shorts. I’m not going to make a big deal out of it and ask him what made him do that, so I just smile and nod my head. “I’m ready.”
He walks over to me with purposeful strides and kisses the smile right off of my face. “Our life together is going to be amazing, baby,” he says against my mouth.
I look up into his blue eyes and I know he is telling me th
e truth. Our love is not perfect and it probably never will be. We are both flawed in our own way, but we love each other fiercely. We will probably make mistakes, but that’s life. You fall, you rise, you make mistakes, you live and you learn. We are human, we weren’t created to be perfect. Sometimes there may be sadness in our journey, but I know there will be lots of beauty, as well. I can’t wait to start my life with this man.
Epilogue
Nick
Three months later
“KITTEN, ARE YOU ALMOST READY? The moving truck is about to leave,” I call out, as I walk through the empty living room. I look in the kitchen, but I don’t see her.
“Baby?” I call out again.
I walk towards the sun room and as soon as I walk in, I see her standing by the window. She has her arms folded across her chest and she looks like she is lost in thought, so I take a second to watch her.
I have woken up next to her almost every morning for the last three months, but looking at her when she doesn’t know I can see her is something I know I will never get tired of. She probably doesn’t even notice me doing it, but I love seeing that relaxed happiness on her face and I love knowing that I’m the person that makes her feel that way.
When we came to Katie’s house three months ago, I was scared to death to talk to Abbi. I was scared she wouldn’t forgive me, and would not want me to be a part of their lives, but I shouldn’t have been worried. She was wary of me at first and I don’t blame her, but she came around.
Katie’s parents welcomed me back with open arms and Katie’s mom even cried while she hugged me and told me how proud she was of me. After they left, I sat down and talked to Abbi.
I tried to explain it in a way she would understand, that I wasn’t trying to make her sad. I didn’t try to make excuses for my actions, because there is never a good enough excuse to break a promise to a little girl, but I did tell her I would never ever do it again. That is one promise I will never break.
I stayed with Katie while I finished the renovations on the house. We had a really wet summer. It rained a lot and it put us behind, but now it’s finally done. About a month ago, I asked Abbi and Katie to move into the house with me and they agreed. Everything in that house, Katie picked out anyway. She didn’t even know she was doing it, but I would casually ask her questions about fixtures and tiles and she would tell me what she liked best. Today we are finally moving home and I couldn’t be more excited.
“You know I can see you watching me right?” she asks.
I chuckle and push off of the door frame and walk further into the room. I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my chin on her shoulder.
“How could you see me?” I ask, in response.
“I always know when you’re watching me, I just don’t say anything. It would be creepy if you didn’t have that look on your face,” she says, quietly.
“What look is that?” I ask.
She turns her head and looks up at me with those bright green eyes. “The look that says you love me more than anything else in this world. The look that says I am your whole world,” she whispers.
“You and Abbi are my whole world, Katie,” I whisper, leaning down to capture her lips with mine.
She smiles against my mouth, as she kisses me back.
“What time are Summer and Grant bringing her to the new house?” she asks.
“They should be there by the time we are,” I respond. Grant and Summer have become a big part of Abbi’s life too, and she views them as her Aunt and Uncle. They recently found out they were pregnant, so Abbi went with them to pick out some things for the baby’s room today, while we finished packing.
“What were you doing in here, sweetheart?” I ask.
She turns and looks back out the window. “I loved this room. This is where I collected my thoughts and this is where I first realized how much I loved you. I have good memories in this house, but I loved this room the most.”
“We will make new memories,” I reassure her.
“I know that. I guess it’s just bittersweet.”
“Hmm. I can understand that. How about we make one more memory in this room then.”
“No, for the last time, we are not having sex in here. There are too many windows,” she chuckles.
I laugh and tighten my arms around her. “I wasn’t going to say that. God, I love you.”
She snorts and shakes her head. I kiss up her neck and take a deep breath, before whispering in her ear.
“Be my wife,” I whisper, and she gasps, but I continue talking before she can say anything. “I can’t promise you that tomorrow will be perfect or that our lives will be easy. I can only promise you my everlasting devotion, my loyalty, my respect and my unconditional love for my lifetime and beyond. I can promise you that I will always be here to hold your hand and I will do everything in my power to make you happy. A day will never pass that you don’t feel my love for you and our daughter. I want to adopt Abbi, if you will let me, and I want to spend my life showing her how much she is loved by me too. I want to dream with you, make babies with you and protect you from whatever life throws at us. Marry me.”
I pull the ring from my pocket and slip it on to her finger.
She looks down at it and her body starts shaking with her cries. I turn her in my arms and cup her face. “Baby, you know your tears kill me. Please don’t cry,” I whisper wiping away the wetness falling down her face.
She throws her arms around my neck and her mouth meets mine.
I pull back after a second and look down at her face. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes. Yes, I will marry you. I love you with every part of me and I always will. I can’t wait to make you my husband,” she smiles, through her tears.
I pick her up and my mouth meets hers again. I don’t know what I did to be blessed with this beautiful woman and her daughter, but I couldn’t picture my life without them in it. I will forever be thankful that my life led me to them and that Katie wanted me, even with my damaged pieces.
The End
Thank you so much for reading, Damaged Pieces. Be sure to post your review on Amazon or Goodreads and let me know what you thought.
Book Three in the Cape Isle series, Lexie and Zack’s story, will be available soon.
You can contact me or keep up with what I’m working on now at:
Goodreads: Allie Able
Amazon Author Page: Author Allie Able
Facebook: Author Allie Able
Instagram: authorallieable
Twitter: @Allieable1
www.authorallieable.net
With love,
Allie Able
Other Books
Scattered Pieces
Acknowledgments
Well, this list certainly got longer this time around. Here we go…
My husband - Thank you for putting up with my special kind of crazy. Thank you for not complaining about the messy house, the endless amounts of takeout, and for not batting an eye on the days that I look like a homeless person because I’m too busy writing. I love you forever and always my honey bunches.
My daughters - Thank you for always giving mommy “One more minute”. Remember to always chase your dreams, my beauties.
Stacey - You are priceless and I absolutely adore you! Thank you for always making the inside of my books so pretty!
My editor, Judy, at Write Technique - Thank you for looking over my words and making them perfect. You are so wonderful and I couldn’t ask for a better editor!
Sommer at Perfect Pear Creative Covers - This cover is absolutely amazing and so are you!! Thank you so much for making Katie and Nick come to life!
AC Book Blog - I love you ladies so much! Thank you for taking a shot on a no name author!
Sandi - Your friendship and advice have gotten me where I am. I don’t know what I would have done without you, but I would probably still be trying to decide when Summer and Grant should do the deed. Lol. Thank you for dealing with my crazy ass.
&n
bsp; Gideon Connely - Thank you for so graciously answering all of my questions about amputees and prosthetics. I know I probably drove you crazy with my odd questions, but you were awesome about it. Thank you!
Struggling Author Street Team - I don’t want to say specific names because I’m scared I will miss someone, but there are just no words to describe how thankful I am for all of you. My phone dings at all hours of the day and night with notifications from you ladies. You go above and beyond and I just want to hug you and never let go. You are all freaking incredible!
Lisa at the United States Naval Hospital - Thank you for helping me make a pivotal part in my book seem more realistic.
My best friend in the entire world - Thank you for always having my back. Thank you for loving me for me. I am so sorry you are hurting right now. I wish I could take your pain away. I would do it in a heartbeat. I love you my bestest.
Jessica and Chris - Thank you for being my sounding board. Whenever I have an idea or I can’t get my shit together, you are always the first two people I text. Without you, I would probably be rocking back and forth in a corner somewhere. Thank you for keeping me sane!
My parents - Thank you for always encouraging my love of words. Thank you for helping me to become the strong woman I am today. I love you!
My second parents - Thank you for not only accepting me, but also for not judging me when you found out your son’s wife writes “naughty” books. Your support (in every part of life) has always meant the world to me. I love you both!
My family and friends - Thank you for your support. Thank you for coming on this scary journey with me and thank you for not thinking I’m crazy (or at least for not saying it out loud).
Book Bloggers and Reviewers - There are too many of you to name and I am terrified I will miss someone. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! You get my name and my books out there to people who otherwise would have never even heard of me. What you do every day is so amazing!
My readers - God, I don’t even know how to put this in words, which is a little ironic, but I will try. None of this would be possible without you all. Thank you so much for reading my words. It’s because of you that I get to live my dreams. I love you all!! *Big Hugs*
