“Yes, I know.” After he closes the door, he smiles and yanks my purse from the wall hook.
I grab the bag from him and set it on the table.
“I’ve never asked you about it. But that first night we met, it rolled out of your purse when I knocked your bag off its hook.”
“You sure did knock my bag off its hook that night. Then you proceeded to bag me with your hook.”
Hunt throws his coat over the back of a chair, then he bends down to kiss my belly. “Mommy loves my hook. Isn’t that right, Scoop?”
I smile every time he talks to the baby and calls him Scoop, because I’ll never forget that day in the shower with the strawberry ice cream cone and the things he did to me with that scoop.
Digging one hand into my purse I pull the tiny globe out. The raven, along with her one broken wing, floats around in her glass bubble amid clouds of glitter as I shake the globe.
“It was the only one that made it,” I say. “The only one Sebastian didn’t break.”
“He broke your whole collection? You never told me that. Are you keeping other secrets?” Hunt places his warm hands on my belly.
Our baby kicks once, then again. Our baby.
They say life can change in the blink of an eye. A chance meeting. A moment of bravery. Little things can alter one’s life arc, pushing and pulling us around like grains of sand under a wave. I’ve come to believe all of these things are like gifts, even if they don’t feel that way. They don’t come wrapped, and sometimes they aren’t even obvious. But they are worth their weight in gold.
“It’s not a secret. It’s just… I don’t know. She was me. She was the only one who made it. I had just arrived back home, post river event. I went up to my room to climb into bed, hoping I’d fall asleep forever, and what I found was just another dramatic Sebastian scene. Shattered glass in puddles of glittered water, bird wings, heads, and bodies littering the floor. My painted doves—which he’d been keeping for me—were headless and tossed everywhere. If it hadn’t been so revolting, it would have been beautiful in its strangeness. This one though—she was standing upright in the middle of the mess, almost like she was surveying it. I remember the crunch of glass under my feet as I scooped her up. Only a broken wing and lost footing.”
“I’m sorry for all the pain he caused you. But you wouldn’t be my girl if he weren’t gone and if all that shitty stuff hadn’t happened.”
We sit in front of the blazing fire, our Christmas tree glowing nearby with thousands of colorful lights and long, shimmering strands of tinsel.
“Yeah. It’s crazy how all of that stuff made me the lovely weirdo I am.”
“My favorite weirdo ever.” Hunt scoots my chair closer to his and plucks a sequin off my sweater. Then he licks it and pastes it onto his cheek.
I laugh, snorting twice. He’s so goofy and so real. The baby kicks me in agreement.
“Let’s hope our kids join in on our weirdness, ’cause I adore the shit out of your kind of weird.”
“Ditto,” I say as Hunt lifts my swollen feet onto his lap and massages them. “So, what’s the scoop, shmoop? Where did Little Miss One Wing come from anyway?” “When we were apart, I came here for a few days. I rode for hours on end with Hugo strapped onto me. One day, I rode into the ravine where Luella died. It’s a junkyard down there, all kinds of crap. Old tires, rusted tractor parts, you name it. And I found her, with her one wing poking out and her beak buried in mud.” He winks before yanking off my socks and kissing my sapphire-painted toenails.
“Who wants a broken bird?” I quirk an eyebrow and poke him in the ribs.
“I did.” Hunt kisses my ring tattoo. He must kiss it ten times a day. And, every time he does, my stomach flips.
“I’m lucky like that,” I say. “Lucky you saw me and wanted whatever it was that sparked your fire.”
“It was pretty much everything. But I’ll admit that string of Christmas lights might have been the clincher, Miss Lucky.”
“Why thank you, Mr. Hard Dick.”
He jumps up when we hear babbling via the baby monitor. Minutes later, he’s down the stairs, along with our giggling, red-cheeked, and clapping Hugo in his arms. Hugo, who truly is Hunt’s son, we now know, post blood tests. Hugo, who will be a big brother soon. We’re a family. It might have taken me a few months to realize Hunt wouldn’t abandon me once we were reunited. Even as my vitiligo travels across my skin, there is nothing but love that comes from this beautiful man.
“Happy? Hugo and I have a question for you.” Hunt approaches my side, zooming Hugo to my lips for a sloppy baby kiss as I lug a bag of potatoes out of the pantry.
“I was thinking meatloaf and mashed potatoes,” I answer as Hunt tosses a folded-up newspaper and his fountain pen on the table.
“That sounds good for dinner, but it wasn’t our question. We’re working on a tricky puzzle. Hugo thinks the answer is baba.” He reaches into the fridge for a gallon of milk.
“Hugo thinks baba is the answer to everything.” I sit at the kitchen table, sneak a peek at his half-filled in crossword puzzle, then begin peeling potatoes.
“Six-letter word for watch over?” Hunt says after pouring a sippy cup for Hugo and slumping into a chair next to me.
“Try the word foster.” I nod at the newspaper.
“Nope.”
Hugo drops his sippy cup and yells, “Bababababa!”
“I don’t think so, Hugo,” I answer and point to the cup as Hunt glances at me.
He reaches down for it, knowing full well my belly is becoming too big to work around.
“Oh, duh. Trick question.” I chuckle. “Angel.”
“Nope, that’s only five letters.” He inspects the puzzle as he scratches his whiskers.
“Mother!” I yell and fist bump the air. “Mother—that’s for sure it! Pen that sucker in. I can’t be wrong!”
“Well done,” he says, and he writes the word in. “Now, this one. Three-letter word for hitched?”
“Easy one… Tie!” I grab another potato while Hunt studies his newspaper, a quizzical look on his face.
“Not quite. Close though. I’ll give you another hint. You might make it into the book of world records if you did this thing.”
Hunt kneels at my side, Hugo on his lap. The peeler clangs as I flip it into the glass bowl along with the potato.
I suck in a breath as my heart leaps. “Oh, Jesus, Hunt. Are you… I mean, wed? Is the word wed?”
“Yes. And I am. I’m asking if you’ll be my wife and Hugo’s mother. I love you so much, and I realize, technically, we’re inked and permanent. But, since that day I made you my wife for twenty-four hours, a lot has changed. I know you’re not a diamond girl, but I wasn’t going to get you birds. So I figured sapphires... You know, like your toes and your eyes and sometimes even your sequins. What’d you say, shmoop? Can I be yours, and will you be mine? Three-letter word for ‘come fly with me.’”
Hunt slips a thin sapphire-and-silver band onto my tattooed ring finger. Then he kisses it when his water-filled gaze meets mine.
“Yes.” My voice shakes as I answer, but I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. “Yes. Oh god, I love you. And yes, I will fly with you. Now, give me a smooch, Mr. Goodtime.”
The End…tra...laaaaa! (sung in opera while wearing sequins and a string of Christmas lights!)
Dear lovely reader,
There you are, smiling. (I hope) So here’s one for you, then. A little crossword to solve, a one-liner.
Sixteen letters for storybook ending. It’s an easy one. And, unlike love, it’s predictable. Chances are pretty good you’ll get this one right.
Happily Ever After.
I knew you’d get it. Wink, wink. And a sequin on your cheek from Happy Go Lucky!
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Acknowledgments
Dear love,
Thank you so much for reading my book! If you enjoyed it, I’d be so
grateful if you’d consider posting a review. And, I’ve written a couple of other books you may also enjoy.
~ How To Tame Beasts And Other Wild Things
~ A Mess of Reason
~A Field Guide To Catching Crickets
Big thank-you’s to my beta reader, Nina. And to my many awesome ARC readers + blogger friends! I adore you for embracing my work and for sharing it with the world. Oceans full of kisses xxxxxx Mickey and Rahab, I’m blown away by you guys and how you continue to help me grow as a writer. I bow down with gratitude.
To my friends and family, your support and encouragement means the world to me.
To my darling husband, my favorite person in the world and my best friend and lover, thank you for believing in me and for pushing, encouraging, and loving me the way you do. And for helping me make my passions come to fruition. You continue to be the remarkable, open-minded, soulful, and beautiful person I have always known…except you keep getting better!
On Pinterest (pinterest.com/awildingwells/) you will find my inspiration board for this book. I do love building worlds—you might want to check it out. Also, please consider following me on social media if you’d like to be notified about my upcoming books and cool giveaways, which are plentiful.
About this book
I find that some of life’s most awkward situations are my favorite to write about. A cocktail topic one night while with friends was sort of the start of this book. I need a gyno and I don’t want to drive an hour to a female doc, became can you imagine if your male gyno was hot as fucking hell and…got a little unprofessional. Yikes. Enter Dr. Hunt Hardick. The man has officially ruined all my doctor’s appointments forever. Maybe for you as well.
I loved writing about Happy and Hunt, everything about them was delicious to me. From Happy’s quirkiness to Hunt’s massive heart and need to heal others.
Thank you so much for reading my books, it thrills me to no end!
Cheers, Love + Happy Sparkles
xxx
AWW
P.S. Don’t forget to be awesome
Of Winged Creatures & Nesting Grounds: (A Quirky, Sexy, Dirty Doctor Romance) Page 26
