by Roxy Wilson
She should’ve banged her purse on his head when he accused her outside the hospital. But then, she always took pride in her dignity and control. She didn’t want to allow a man to rip apart her composure.
Once she gained more control of her emotions, Tasha stood and walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner. She didn’t like the smell of many things. Perhaps a bowl of pasta might go down well. Quickly, she set some water to boil and took out the rest of the ingredients. An hour later, she was ready to eat. As she set the bowl of steaming pasta on the counter, her doorbell rang. Who could this be? She wasn’t expecting a visitor. Tasha strode over to the door, took a peek through the peephole and yanked it open, shocked at the sight of Heath.
Without giving her any opportunity, he sidled inside and closed the door behind him. “We have some unfinished business to settle,” he declared.
The bowl of pasta might look good over his head. Tasha walked over and sat before she could act on her impulse. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Communication is crucial for a good relationship; otherwise we set up grounds for misunderstanding.”
She couldn’t help it. Tasha threw a cushion that hit him square in the chest. Much to her annoyance, he merely grinned.
“Didn’t your mother tell you that violence is never the solution?”
She pointed at the door. “Get out.”
“No way.” He took a seat opposite her. “I’ve come to unravel this mystery.”
“There’s no mystery. You’re a liar and a cheater. And I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“Since this is the second time you accused me of cheating on you, let me assure you, sweetheart that I never cheated on you and I don’t intend to do so for the rest of my life.”
“Don’t call me sweetheart.”
“But you are my sweetheart. If you don’t like it, I could call you darling or lovely. Whichever you prefer.”
“And how would your wife respond when she heard you whisper those sweet nothings into my ears?” She expected him to jump when he realized she was on to his game, but to her surprise, he merely grinned.
“Ah! We’re back to my alleged cheating. Let me assure you, sweetheart, that I’m not married anymore.”
“Liar! One of your employees told me that your wife was visiting you. I saw her.”
“Yes, you saw my ex-wife. And the reason why he, whoever that ill-informed person was, referred to her as my wife was because my employees don’t know that my divorce came through. I chose not inform them about that fact.”
She shook her head. “You’re lying.”
“And why would I do that? You’re an independent woman. How long would it take you to discover if I’m telling the truth? If you want, I could show you the divorce papers back at my house. The reason why she came over was to tell me she was engaged to another man. She wanted to tell me herself. We’re not friends anymore, but neither are we enemies. I told her that I met the woman whom I planned to spend the rest of my life with and she was happy for me.”
Tasha couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. Had she spent the last several days in misery over nothing? What if he’s lying? But why would he go to such lengths to convince her he wasn’t married when in fact he was. As he said, it wouldn’t take her long to discover the truth. But then—her thoughts focused on his last sentence. “Rest of your life? What do you mean?”
Heath dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a baby blue box.
Her heart began to pound so loudly she thought it might explode. Was he actually going to do it? Her heartbeat raced even faster. “What is that?”
He bent on one knee and opened the box. “I know that we haven’t spent much time together. And most of it has been spent on silly misunderstandings but I’ve never enjoyed my time with another woman as much I did with you. And I can’t imagine a life without you. I’m asking you to marry me not because we’re having a baby, but because we’re meant to be together. I can feel it in my heart as surely as you can too. You belong with me. And with this ring, we can set aside all past mistakes and start afresh, confident and sure in the knowledge that we both love each other.”
She sniffed as she gazed down at him. “I haven’t said anything about love.”
“But you will.” His lips lifted in a smile. “And yes, I love you. More than I have ever loved anyone ever before. Will you make me the luckiest man in the world? Be my wife, Tasha.”
Her eyes brimmed with tears. Yes, it was too soon. Yes, it was stupid and rash. Perhaps she was making an error of judgment. But Tasha didn’t care. She loved him. And this was the happiest moment of her life. It would be better if she just admitted it. “Yes, I’ll marry you. And Heath?” Her smile was tremulous. “I love you too.”
He stood, slipped the ring onto her finger and drew her in his arms. “I knew that all along.”
Tasha’s laughter rang out in the apartment before his lips closed on hers. The kiss was sweet and passionate—full of promise and good things to come. She’d found the man of her dreams and nothing—and no one—could come between them and destroy what they have.
Epilogue
Three months later…
Tasha panted in the delivery room. “Get this baby out now.” She glared at her husband who was holding her hand and breathing in time with her. “Now!”
“Doctor?” Heath pleaded.
“Not until I say the word,” Dr. Kelsick replied with a smile.
Choosing not to have the epidural might not have been one of her best decisions, but it was all her husband’s fault. She didn’t know how, but that was her story and she would be sticking to it. Tasha breathed through her mouth, curbing the urge to push. “Now! Now! Now!”
“Doctor!” Heath pleaded again as she squeezed his hand hard enough to break a bone or two.
“Push now,” the doctor finally ordered.
With a scream, Tasha pushed. It took a few more minutes but their daughter Autumn Marie Dawson was born with ten tiny fingers and ten toes along with a mop of black hair like her mother’s. When the nurse rested the baby on her chest, Tasha couldn’t control the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Oh. My. God! She’s beautiful.”
Heath deposited a kiss on Tasha’s forehead. “Just like her mommy.”
“Let’s hope she has her daddy’s personality,” Tasha muttered as she put a hand on the baby. “Sorry about yelling at you.”
“No, honey. I think if I was the one pushing a baby out, I might have killed someone.” He took the baby, cradled her, and stared into her eyes. “Now, we’re a family.”
“Yes, we are.” Tasha held his hand and gazed at her husband and baby. Her world was complete. She was the luckiest woman on the planet—and she wouldn’t change a thing about how it all happened.
***THE END***
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You may purchase the other stories in the A Bundle of Joy series. Each one is 99 cents FOR A LIMITED TIME only or FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
Baby Wanted (A Bundle of Joy, Book 1)
The Baby Proposal (A Bundle of Joy, Book 2)
Baby, You’re Mine (A Bundle of Joy, Book 3)
Secret Baby Seduction (A Bundle of Joy, Book 4)
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Books by Roxy Wilson
Newest Releases:
My Guardian Vampire, Volume 1
Just Gettin’ Started: BWWM Interracial Cowboy/Western Romance (Westbury Ranch, Book 1)
Stay With Me: BWWM Interracial Cowboy/Western Romance (Westbury Ranch Book 2)
Ms. Perfectly Imperfect
Other Books -
Baby Wanted (A Bundle of Joy, Book 1)
The Baby Proposal (A Bundle of Joy, Book 2)
Baby, You’re Mine (A Bundle of Joy, Book 3)
Secret Baby Seduction (A Bundle of Joy, Book 4)
A Christmas Kiss (Holiday Happiness, Book 1)
Second Chance Christmas (Holiday Happiness, Book 2)
The Christmas Cupid (Holiday Happiness, Book 3)
Mistletoe Miracles
Loving St. Nick
Work It Out
The Right Kind of Love
He’s So Into You
Love in Black and White (Sam Crescent, Jamallah Bergman, Roxy Wilson, et al)
About the Author
Roxy Wilson, a self-professed book junkie, was born and bred in a beautiful island in the Caribbean.
As a graduate with a degree in Education, she writes blogs which help readers to think critically about and appreciate poetry. Recently, however, she decided to delve into the world of writing interracial and multicultural romance stories. Her debut novel is the Right Kind of Love and was published by Secret Cravings Publishing. Roxy is also the Reviews Coordinator of Romance Novels in Color (RNIC).
When Roxy isn’t reading or writing, she spends her time trying out recipes with her daughter, designing and dress making, listening to music of the 80’s and 90’s or engaging in her favorite workout routine, which is 1-clicking a new book to read, to her heart’s content.
To find out more about Roxy Wilson, check her out:
On her Website/Blog—https://roxywilson.wordpress.com/
On Facebook—https://www.facebook.com/roxy.wilson.737
On her Facebook fan page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Roxy-Wilson/153086841563014?ref=hl
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