“I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Stone,” the minister says to the happy delights of our family. I can even hear Dylan clapping behind me. Someday, I know she’ll get over her hate for Hadley.
I cup Hadley’s face and watch as tears pool. “You’re my wife… finally,” I add the last part with jest and earn a smile from her.
“I can’t believe you did all of this without me knowing.”
I look around and see the many shining faces of our family. “Everyone knew, except you. I didn’t want to plan anything and I wanted it to be special, something we can tell our kids when they’re older. I want us to be as spontaneous as our careers allow.”
“I like that a lot, Ryan. I love you so much.”
I shake my head. “Not nearly as much as I love you, and speaking of spontaneity, I have another surprise for you.”
Hadley’s eyes light up. “What is it?”
I glower at her. “A surprise, Hadley,” I say, shaking my head. I take her by the hand and lead her into the dugout. Everyone will meet us later after I do this one last thing.
As soon as we’re out of the stadium, I stop and spin her around.
“What’s my surprise, Ryan? I’m not seeing anything.” Her voice is frantic. I know she’s thinking that she missed something, but she hasn’t.
I pull a blindfold out of my pocket and cover her eyes. Leaning in I whisper, “It’s not here.” Taking her hand in mine, I lead her to the waiting limo and help her climb in.
“You don’t have to surprise me with a reception. I know those usually follow weddings,” she says with a huff. I stifle a laugh, which turns into a full-blown laughing fit when she turns and tries to glare at me. Her brows are furrowed and I can only imagine what her eyes look like right now. I take this opportunity to kiss her, letting my lips linger on hers until I can melt away her anger. When I taste her, it takes every ounce of self-control to not pull her into my lap and have my way with her. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had sex in a limo. We’ve had plenty of miles added over the years. However, our first time as husband and wife will be in our new home, which I’m about to show her now.
The limo pulls up and the driver is out his door and opening ours before I can even fathom that we’re now homeowners. I found a small cape with cedar shingle siding and couldn’t pass it up. The house in on Cape Cod, and while my commute to work will be the death of me, waking up and seeing the ocean every morning is a reward. I’m hoping that Hadley can find inspiration here and that maybe the pitter-patter of baby feet will make their arrival soon.
I guide her to the front of the house and hold her in my arms. The back of her head rests on my shoulder while her hands hang off my arms. I glance at her ring, a new one that I bought only a few days ago, and realize it’s more perfect than the first one.
“I hear the ocean, Ry.”
“I know,” I say as I slip of her blindfold. She gasps and covers her mouth with her hand.
“Welcome home, Mrs. Stone.”
Hadley turns in my arms, again with tears in her eyes and leaps. My arms encase her as her lips crash down on mine. I use this to my advantage and carry her up the stairs. My mom left the door unlocked earlier so I wouldn’t have to fumble with the keys. I open the door and pull her away from me, only to pick her up bridal style so I can carry her over the threshold.
Inside, the living room is empty, as well as the kitchen and two of the three bedrooms. I stand back and watch as she surveys the rooms. Her fingers leaving a trail with each part of the house that she touches.
“You didn’t decorate or move your stuff in?”
I shake my head. “No, I thought we could start anew.”
Her smile brightens as she turns to walk down the hall. I follow, leaving a few steps in between.
“Ryan, there’s a bed in here.”
I take the last few steps and pause, leaning up against the doorjamb. “I may have ordered us a bed.”
“And why would you do something like that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Hadley,” I say, stepping into the room. “The thought of making love to my wife, on our wedding day, in our new house, on a nice firm bed really appeals to me.”
I shut the door behind me and get lost in the beauty that is before me. When I met Hadley Carter, she changed my world. At the time, I didn’t know if it would be for better or for worse, but from here on out, I know that nothing can be better than sharing my life with my soul mate. Hadley may write songs about falling in love and even breaking up, but standing here with her in front of me as she slowly strips out of her clothes, brings me to a place I never thought I’d be. She’s undressing for the first time as my wife in our new home. Each step I take toward her is calculated with no risk involved. She’s not going to deny me, and it’s not because I’m her husband. It’s because she loves me with her whole being.
My fingers reach out to caress her skin and I chuckle, watching her flesh pebble. Hadley quickly works the buttons of my dress shirt, eager for me to be in the same undressed state that she’s in. A few months ago, I would’ve appeased her and shed all my clothes, but not now. This is the moment that she and I will be lost in us, forever.
Her grandma once told her that she can do anything she wants, so she is.
Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an overhyper Beagle/Jack Russell and two Parakeets.
During the day you’ll find her behind a desk talking about Land Use. At night, she’s writing one of the many stories she plans to release or sitting courtside during either daughter’s basketball games.
She’s also an active book reviewer on The Readiacs.
Find Heidi on
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LOST IN US
A LOST IN YOU Novella
© Heidi McLaughlin
Copyright 2014 by Heidi McLaughlin
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form of by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Edited by: Fallon Clark at SnowEditing.com
Cover by: Sarah Hansen at © OkayCreations.net
Formatted by: E.M. Tippetts Book Designs
Table of Contents
Title Page
Books by Heidi McLaughlin
Chapter 1 – Hadley
Chapter 2 – Ryan
Chapter 3 – Hadley
Chapter 4 – Ryan
Chapter 5 – Hadley
Chapter 6 – Ryan
Chapter 7 – Hadley
Chapter 8 – Ryan
Chapter 9 – Hadley
Chapter 10 – Ryan
Chapter 11 – Hadley
Chapter 12 – Ryan
Chapter 13 – Hadley
Chapter 14 – Ryan
About the Author
About the Book Designer
Copyright Notice
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Lost in Us Page 7
