“And it’s not even a beat-up one-room cabin,” he said. “And we have real beds, not air mattresses.”
“Roman,” she said.
“Yes, dear?” He’d slouched down a little bit and had stretched out his long legs, using them to keep the glider swinging a little.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about this baby.”
“That’s a good thing, no?”
“Well, yes. But I just worry . . .”
“The doctor said everything’s fine, sweetheart. Don’t worry.”
“Yes, I know, but I just want you to know something.”
“What is it?
She gripped his hand kind of hard. “I love you so much,” she said, her voice a little breathless.
“I love you, too.” The death grip made him look up.
“That and I think my water just broke.”
Vivienne Rose Spikonos made her appearance late that night in Mirror Lake Community Hospital. Roman felt very, very blessed to have possession of a healthy baby girl, who was now being admired and showered with love by friends and family.
“Joey, come say hi to your new niece,” Bella said, patting a spot beside her on the bed. Roman knew she wanted Joey involved from the very beginning, that she’d always feel that he was in many ways her child, too.
“Um, Bella, I love you and all,” her brother said, kissing his sister on the top of her head and studying the baby from a safe distance, “but I think you should start calling me Joe.”
“I helped raise you,” Bella said. “You’ll always be Joey to me.”
“Here, Uncle Joey,” Roman said with a wink, handing him the baby.
“Uncle Joe to you, thanks very much,” Joe said to the baby as he held her rather like a football, and looking like he wanted to pass her back as fast as possible. “Hey, Dr. Rushford,” Joe called out to the doctor standing at the foot of the bed. “Can I come shadow you on my fall break?”
“Sure, kid,” Ben Rushford, the doc who’d ended up delivering the baby in the ER, said. “You sure you don’t want to stick with engineering? Better hours for sure. Maybe even better pay.”
“I’m sure,” Joe said.
“Hey, doc,” Drew said, holding up a brown paper bag. “Is it okay if we all have a drink in here?”
Ben plugged his ears. “I didn’t hear you, and if I can’t hear, I can’t inform you of the hospital drinking policy.” Then he added in a low voice, “Just don’t let the nurses catch you.”
Drew started lining cups up on the window ledge. Maggie brought over the bottle of brandy. “Here you go,” she said. Running a hand over her cheek and then pointing to his trimmed beard, she said, “Get tired of the Wolverine look?” She sniffed the air. “You may have even showered. Wow, why the change of heart?”
“Guess I’m done hiding,” Drew said, handing her a couple of cups to pass around. “Hope I didn’t distract you, being as I’m so good looking with a groomed beard.” Maggie rolled her eyes and passed out the brandy.
“Congratulations, bro,” Lukas said, hugging Roman and giving Bella a kiss on the cheek.
“I’m glad you’re here, Lukas,” Roman said, clasping his brother’s hand.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Lukas said, giving him a slap on the back. “We’re family.”
“Look at all that black hair,” Sam said, smoothing down the baby’s cowlick. “She’s so beautiful, Bella.”
“Greek and Italian genes,” Alethea said. “What a beautiful combination. It does ensure that there’ll be plenty of mandatory hair removal in her future.”
“Thanks, Alethea. We’ll be on it,” Bella said as Roman handed her a cup with brandy in it.
“Just a sip,” Bella said. “I’m going to breast-feed.”
“Oh, that’ll help you get the baby weight right off,” Gina said with a sigh.
Manny handed his wife a cup of brandy and kissed her. “You’re beautiful just the way you are, babe.” Gina rolled her eyes, but she blushed, too.
Roman held up the brandy bottle to show his wife. “I wanted you to see this.”
Bella looked at the label, then gave him an incredulous look. Her eyes started to do that misting-up thing they did. “You named your brandy after me. Oh, Roman.”
“You’ll always be my bella dolche.”
She smiled and he kissed her tenderly. His sweet Bella. To have her and to have this healthy baby and be surrounded by family meant everything. Just a short time ago, he would have never believed it possible.
Marjorie asked to hold the baby. “I think she’s got Roman’s eyes, and Bella’s pretty mouth.”
“Those are D’Angelo eyes if I ever did see them,” Vito said. “And the D’Angelo chin.”
“Vito,” Fran said, “it’s a baby, not a genetic competition.”
“Hey, you can’t blame me, Frannie,” Vito said, smiling widely. “I’m just proud.” He walked over to Bella and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.” He looked at his son-in-law. “And you, too, Roman.”
Roman smiled at Vito. He was still a pill in many ways, but he had his moments.
“Vito, how about you do the honors?” Lukas said, raising his cup. Everyone else followed suit.
Vito raised his cup and beamed at his daughter and her husband. “I wish you both many years of happiness. Salute. Viva la famiglia.”
“Viva la famiglia,” Roman said, and kissed his wife again.
Later, when everyone had gone, Roman lay next to Bella in the hospital bed, watching their endlessly fascinating baby daughter, who was asleep in his arms. The room was dim, and outside the window, a few lights across the lake twinkled in the darkness. For Roman, the familiarity of the lake always brought about a sense of peace. And so did this rare break when the baby wasn’t crying. Bella scooched a little closer to him and asked, “What are we going to tell our kids about . . . you know? Our past?”
Roman tore his gaze from the baby to look into his beautiful wife’s eyes. “That maybe we met when we were a little too young, but we got a second chance to get it right.”
“I love you, Roman,” Bella said, circling her arm around him. In that moment, his heart overfilled with a happiness he’d never known.
“I love you, Bella,” he said. “Always have, from the moment I first saw you.” He smiled, then bent his head to kiss their little girl on the head. “And you, too, Vivienne.” Then he kissed Bella softly on the lips. He’d never dreamed they could ever be together again after what had happened so long ago, but life is funny, sometimes. The painful past can heal and can even open up into a life you’d never dared to dream of.
“To second chances,” Roman said, kissing Bella again.
“To second chances,” Bella said. “The best kind ever.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’m so fortunate to be surrounded by amazing people who have enabled me to pursue this dream job.
Jill Marsal, you are awesome. To Alison Dasho and the Montlake Team, thanks for all your support and work. Thanks to my editor Charlotte Herscher, who has such a feel for getting into the heads of characters and often understands their problems better than I do. I’m so fortunate to have you edit my Mirror Lake books!
Thanks to my writer friends who I can call at a moment’s notice with any kind of writing crisis—Sandra Owens; the Sunshine gals, Wendy, Vicki, Chris, Anna, Mary, and Sheri; My Lucky 13 Sisters; and my darling hubby, who knows all my characters and their many problems by heart.
Thanks to my family for the emotional and psychological support that are needed when one sits or stands in front of a computer all day. And for dragging me away when necessary so that I don’t forget to live my real life.
Thanks to Lisa Graf of Graf Growers, Akron, Ohio, who took the time to explain to me about running a garden center, irrigators, emitters, and loppers. And how pumpkins are harvested.
Thanks to Dale and Peg Vodraska, owners of Rittman Orchards, who gave me a tour of their beautiful property and taught me about dr
ip irrigation, apple graters, and bin haulers and sent me home with a big beautiful pie and a giant sack of the most delicious apples I’ve ever tasted.
Thanks to Laura L.K., who allowed me to borrow her beautiful baby’s name to bestow upon Roman and Bella’s child.
Lastly, to my readers, I love every note you send, every message and kind thought. Sometimes in the lonely hours, writers may feel that we’re writing into a vacuum . . . thank you for reaching out and telling me when something I’ve written has made you laugh or cry, for liking my characters, and for letting me know that that is not the case.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2013 Scott Meivogel
As a girl, Miranda Liasson was a willing courier for the romance novels her mother traded with their next-door neighbor because it gave her a chance to sneak a peek at the contents. Today, Miranda writes award-winning romances herself, creating stories about courageous but imperfect characters who find love despite obstacles and their own personal flaws. In 2013, Miranda won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award for Best Contemporary Series Romance. Can’t Stop Loving You is the first book in her Spikonos Brothers romance series, and she is also the author of three Mirror Lake romances: This Thing Called Love, This Love of Mine, and This Loving Feeling. Along with her husband, three children, and Posey, a rescued cat with attitude, Miranda makes her home in Northeast Ohio. Follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ MirandaLiassonAuthor and on Twitter @mirandaliasson.
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