Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (Eight Fun, Romantic Novels by Eight Bestselling Authors)

by Violet Duke

“Okay.” Joey hopped off the end of Emily’s bed. “Bye, Em. If you get bored and want to play Skylanders, call me.”

  As Joey skipped out the door, Alex stopped in front of Haley. “Are you really okay? I know something like that can really shake a person up.”

  “I’m fine. Really.” Haley tried her best to be convincing enough that he wouldn’t worry.

  “What about the rest of it? The”—Alex mouthed—“K-I-S-S?”

  Why did her cousins always have to be all up in her business?

  “I’m fine,” she said again, giving him a quick hug then moving past him to the bed next to Em.

  “Glad to see you’re feeling better, munchkin.” Alex tugged on Emily’s foot before leaving the room.

  In the hall, Haley heard her cousin whistle and say, “Hey there, Hot Lips O’ Houlihan.”

  All she heard in reply was a deep grunt. Sooo…Eddie was here.

  His heavy footsteps sounded behind her.

  “Daddy, when I get home, can Joey come over and play Skylanders?” Emily quickly asked, looking over Haley’s shoulder.

  “Maybe,” Eddie’s gravelly voice sent all kinds of tingles and jingles racing through Haley’s body. “It depends on how you’re feeling.”

  Haley turned. Eddie was in a fresh set of clothes and his hair was still wet, so he must have just gone home to shower and change while Jamie and Alex had been with Em.

  “Hi,” she said, not sure if he even wanted to speak to her. Not that she would blame him. His daughter had been run over by a car under her care. He had every right to never talk to her again.

  *

  “HEY,” EDDIE REPLIED as he looked down into Haley’s clear blue eyes, causing his chest to tighten like someone had a vise around it and was turning the crank.

  All night, as he’d sat beside Emily’s bed, he’d thought about what he would have done if something more serious had happened to his baby girl. If he had lost her…he wouldn’t have survived it.

  He was still mad. Still scared. Maybe those emotions shouldn’t be directed towards Haley, but right now they were.

  “All right, princess. Your chariot awaits,” Vickey announced in a grand fashion as she pushed a wheelchair into the room.

  “Are you taking her for tests?” Eddie heard the strain in his voice. He’d been trying his best to hide it from Em, but it was starting to bleed through.

  “Yep. They are ready for your photo shoot,” Vickey said as she helped Emily out of the bed.

  Emily gave Vickey a strange look. “My photo shoot?”

  “Well, they call it an MRI, but all they’re doing is taking a picture of your brain, and I say if people are snapping pictures, it’s a photo shoot.”

  Emily smiled as she got situated in the wheelchair.

  “Do I go or…?” Eddie asked. He wasn’t sure what the protocol was.

  “You stay here and relax. I’ll be with her the whole time,” Vickey winked at him and smiled as she pushed Emily out of the room.

  Emily was talking up a storm about the last school photos that she’d taken and how Miley Rice had worn a bright orange turtleneck. Eddie was so happy to hear his baby talking a mile a minute again. Since he’d kicked Lacey out of the room yesterday, she’d seemed almost back to herself.

  “Eddie…” Haley’s trembling voice sounded like she was on the verge of bursting into tears.

  He turned back and saw her standing beside the bed, biting the inside of her lip. She was nervous.

  “I just wanted to tell you I am so sorry, Eddie. I told her to go ride her bike so she wouldn’t hear my conversation with Lac—”

  “It’s fine,” he interrupted her sharply.

  Her eyes searched his for a moment but then she continued. “I know you are upset and you have eve—”

  “Haley,” he barked. “I said it’s fine.”

  A flash of hurt crossed her face as huge tears pooled in her eyes. “Okay,” she said with a shaky breath, nodding her head. “Well, tell Em I’ll see her later. And let me know if you guys need anything.”

  By the last sentence, the massive tears had tipped over her bottom lid and were falling down her face. Looking up at him, she smiled through them and said, “Bye Eddie,” before quickly brushing past him, disappearing out the door.

  Eddie walked to the window and rubbed his hands over his face. He knew he’d just been an asshole and Haley hadn’t deserved it, but he just didn’t want to hear her apologies. His baby could have been killed. She couldn’t just say sorry for that.

  “Where’s our patient?” The Colonel’s loud voice echoed through the small room as he stepped inside.

  Eddie turned around to face The Colonel as exhaustion rolled through him. He slunk back against the window sill, all his energy draining out of him at once. “She’s getting an MRI.”

  “I ran into Haley in the hall. She was crying a river. You have anything to do with that?” The Colonel asked in a tone that made Eddie stand up a little straighter. Hell, it had almost made him bring his hand to his head and salute while saying a crisp, “No, sir.”

  But that would be a lie.

  “Yes,” Eddie answered honestly.

  The Colonel didn’t ask another question, just stood staring at Eddie. He felt the weight of The Colonel’s gaze and he fought against it. Eddie did not answer to people about his personal life. Ever.

  But The Colonel just had a way about him that made you talk. In Eddie’s opinion the man had missed his calling as an interrogator.

  “She was apologizing and I snapped at her,” Eddie voluntarily explained.

  “What in the Sam Hill was she saying sorry for?”

  “For not watching Em. For Em getting run over by a car.” Eddie’s voice started to rise so he stopped talking. He would never want to be disrespectful to The Colonel, but this was his daughter they were talking about.

  “I see.” The Colonel pursed his wrinkled lips as he nodded his head. Taking a deep breath, he moved closer to Eddie and spoke in a low tone. “I know that when things happen that you can’t control, it’s scary. And it’s real easy to get mad and start pointin’ blame at the people around you. The people you know will always be there for you. The people you love.”

  “But tell me something, son. You so sure if you had been the one home with that little girl that this wouldn’t have happened? How many times have I walked by and seen you under the hood of your truck or in the garage when Emily is out riding her bike?

  “Accidents happen. That’s just the reality of life. And when they do, you see what people are really made of. Who they are.”

  “Haley loves that little girl like she’s her own. And she loves you despite yourself. You throw that away, the only person that needs to be apologizing is you. To yourself for being an idiot and to that little girl for ruining what could be her shot at a family, a mother.”

  With that, The Colonel turned and walked out of the room.

  Eddie stared after him, totally speechless. His words echoed in his head. “You so sure if you had been the one home with that little girl that this wouldn’t have happened?”

  Damn, Haley wasn’t the one who should be apologizing…he was.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  HALEY STEPPED OUT of the shower and grabbed the fluffy blue towel off the counter. As she dried off, she realized that her muscles were significantly less sore after she’d let the hot water run over them. Earlier today, she’d remembered a valuable lesson she’d learned in her youth: the key to being able to take a shower with hot water when four girls are sharing a bathroom was to take showers at night. So tonight, sheâ�
�™d done just that and reaped the benefits

  Opening the cabinet beneath the sink, she pulled out the hydrogen peroxide. Placing her leg up over the sink, she tipped the dark brown plastic bottle and let the contents wash over her knee. Then she repeated on the other leg. Grabbing her Neosporin, she sat on the stool beside the sink and spread it on both wounds before carefully placing the gauze over them and taping them up.

  Then, taking a deep breath, she tried to remind herself that life was good, no matter what she felt like inside. Emily was going to be fine. She’d heard from Chelle earlier that Em had been released from the hospital and was resting comfortably at home.

  Opening day at Tempting had been off-the-charts successful. Her sales had quadrupled what she and Amber had projected. She’d even sold out of several items.

  Her sisters were home for the summer. She had a family that loved her. The list of blessings she had in her life just went on and on. That’s what she needed to focus on.

  Inside she might feel like she was dying, but she had to be rational. Eddie and her not working out was not the end of the world. Earlier today, when she’d seen him at the hospital, of course she’d wished things could have gone better. But they hadn’t.

  She’d seen the truth in his dark eyes. He wasn’t going to forgive her for what had happened to Emily. And she couldn’t blame him since she was going to have a hard time forgiving herself.

  Whatever she and Eddie had almost had was over. She knew that. At least now she could move on with her life. For the last four years she’d felt like she’d been in a holding pattern, not knowing if something might happen. Hoping. Wishing. Dreaming.

  Well, as Grandpa J liked to say, “She dang sure got her wish.”

  Something had happened alright.

  Haley knew that she’d always have the memories of her time with Eddie. Maybe she was a glutton for punishment, but, even knowing what she knew now, she wouldn’t have changed what had happened between the two of them. Wouldn’t take back one intimate moment they’d shared. Even though her heart was in a million pieces, she had no regrets when it came to him.

  Wrapping her towel around her tightly and tucking the end to hold it in place, Haley walked to her room knowing that she’d most likely be crying herself to sleep tonight. And the next night. And maybe even for the foreseeable future.

  But after she was all cried out, she’d pick herself back up, dust herself off, and move forward.

  Ready. Set. Go.

  She stepped into her darkened room and shut the door quietly so she didn’t wake up her sisters. Their sleeping had gotten all out of whack. Becca was on California time and Jessie was on Boston time. It seemed like no matter what time it was in the house, someone was sleeping.

  After she slowly turned the doorknob, she ran her hand up the wall and flipped on the light. Turning towards her bed she jumped back against the door, startled at seeing a man sitting on her bed. It took a second for the information her eyes were seeing to process and travel to her brain, informing her she was perfectly safe. In that short span of time, Haley’s heart slammed in her chest.

  “Eddie?” she said, clutching her hands to her chest. “You scared me.”

  His face looked tortured as he apologized. “Sorry.”

  What was he doing here?

  Oh my God. No.

  “Emily. Is she okay?” Haley rushed towards him.

  He shook his head, holding up his hand and quickly assuring her. “Em’s fine. She and Chelle are watching Monster-in-Law, they love Jennifer Lopez.”

  Relief crashed through Haley as she let out a puff of breath. “Oh, okay.”

  She still wasn’t completely sure something wasn’t wrong though since this was the first time Eddie had been in her room since the day she and Krista had moved into this house and he’d helped them move.

  Since Haley did not possess Katie’s superpower detective skills, she didn’t know what could have possibly been the catalyst for his showing up tonight, but from the look on his face, this was not a happy visit.

  “Eddie, are you okay? What’s wrong?” She wanted to move closer, wanted so badly to reach out to him. To touch him. To hold him. But she really didn’t think he’d appreciate that, so she kept a few feet between them.

  “I had to see you,” he said with desperation in his tone.

  She waited for him to finish. He didn’t. He just stared at her. She could see that so much was going on behind his tormented, gorgeous milk chocolate eyes, but she didn’t have a clue what it could be.

  Out of pure instinct, she moved closer and nodded in assurance. “I’m here.”

  He reached out and gripped her towel-covered waist, pulling her to stand between his legs. Wrapping his arms protectively around her, he hugged her midsection tightly, his cheek pressing against her belly.

  Looking down at him, she ran her fingers through his thick dark hair. Her heart beat erratically as he held her. “Eddie?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said in a strangled tone. “I’m so sorry.”

  “For what?” Haley had no idea what he could possibly be apologizing for.

  He looked up into her eyes and said, “For being an asshole in the hospital today.”

  Oh. That.

  Haley shook her head and smiled down at him. “It’s fin—”

  “No, Haley,” he interrupted sharply. “It’s not fine. I shouldn’t have treated you like that. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for today. For the last four years. For not seeing what was right in front of me. I said I didn’t want to be in a relationship. People always said how great of a dad that made me. That I would sacrifice my happiness for Em. And in the beginning, yeah, I was sacrificing. But not since you came back.

  “I was lonely before that. Really lonely. But then you came home and that first week you came over to teach me how to cook your mom’s stew. And then you started taking Emily on girls’ days. You would tell me what shirts you thought looked good on me. You made sure I went to the doctor when I was being a stubborn ass. You made sure Emily had the right size shoes for her recital.”

  Haley could feel tears forming in her eyes as Eddie looked up at her with awe in his voice.

  “Do you see? I’ve been in a relationship all this time. You’ve just been getting the shit end of it. I’m so sorry, Haley. I never meant to take advantage of you or hurt you.”

  “I know that, Eddie. I did all those things because I loved you and Em. I didn’t expect anything in return.” Haley hated seeing him beating himself up. That was the last thing she would ever want. “I only did what I wanted to do.”

  Eddie nodded even though she could tell he was still blaming himself.

  “I have to get back to Em.”

  “Oh, okay.” Haley tried to step out of his arms but he held her in place.

  A small smile lifted on his face and he squeezed her against him. “I have to get back, but not before you know that…” He audibly swallowed, and she watched as he took in a deep breath, his eyes fixed on hers. “I love you, Haley. I don’t deserve you and I know that. But I do love you. And Em loves you. And I want to be with you. Really be with you. I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  *

  EDDIE’S ARMS TENSED around Haley’s tiny waist as he waited for her to answer. His heart was pounding in his chest so hard he thought it might wake Becca, who was sleeping downstairs. He needed Haley. More than he needed his next breath. If he’d blown it with her, then The Colonel was right. He would only have himself to blame.

  Her big blue eyes were staring down into his and tears were falling down her face. Her chest was rapidly rising and falling beneath her blue terry cloth towel, but she remained silent.

  Patie
nce not being his strong suit, he prompted, “Hales?”

  “What?” she asked, reaching up and wiping her tears as a smile spread across her face.

  Well a smile was good. “Do you want to try this? For real? You said you loved me once. Do you think you might be able to love me again?”

  “Oh!” A burst of laughter escaped her as she smiled from ear to ear. Her eyes widened as she explained, “I didn’t even think that was a question. Of course I want to be with you. I love you, Eddie. I never stopped loving you.”

  His entire body reacted to that news. Relief washed over him as need welled up inside of him. He stood, turning with her in his arms, and he laid her on the bed. Her towel started slipping off and she reached up to grab it, but he was faster and tugged it off her body completely.

  “You don’t need that,” he said as he reached behind his head and pulled his shirt off. Stepping out of his shorts, he looked down at her beautifully naked body when his eyes landed on something that made his heart clench. Her bandaged knees.

  Kneeling down at the edge of the bed, he traced his finger around the tape.

  “You got these when you were helping Em, didn’t you?”

  Lifting up on her elbows, she nodded. Her wet hair fell around her face, her lips were swollen, her nipples were hard, and a flush had spread on her chest. She was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

  His hands moved up her soft thighs as he said, “I wish I could take my time and make love to you all night long.”

  Sliding his hands back down her supple thighs, he stopped just above her knees and spread them apart. He saw Haley’s breathing become more labored and she bit her lower lip, watching his every move. His large hands trailed back up her parted legs grazing over her hips. Gripping firmly, he pulled her rear to the side of the bed. She let out a little gasp of surprise as she fell onto her back.

  He was a breath away from the moist heat of her sex. Need inflamed him as he moved his thumbs up and down the pouty lips of her core already slick with desire. His mouth watered as he breathed in her heady scent. Needing to taste her, he continued his erotic massage as he covered her soft, dewy flesh with his mouth and slowly circled his tongue around her distended nub. With every pass of his tongue, her body trembled around him. With each swirl, he began building his speed until the hood of her sex was swollen and demanding his attention.