by Ali Parker
"I know, baby. This won't take more than ten minutes, and then we'll go on the ride, okay?" He smiled back at me, and by the gleam in his eye, I knew something was up.
Every cell in my body screamed that I pull back and demand to know what was happening, but I fought against it. Part of falling in love with him meant giving him the trust he so desperately wanted from me, and letting him lead.
It was hell, but I gritted my teeth and simply nodded. "All right. I just didn't want to be late."
"We won't." He walked through the middle of the resort’s fancy restaurant, and I half-expected someone to stop us and ask what the hell we were doing, but they all moved around us as if we weren't walking through the dining room uninvited.
Jason stopped at the entrance to the ballroom, the door closed behind him and spun to face me.
"I love you more than words could express. Whatever differences there are between us, they stop here. Now. Okay? No more talking about our age difference, or how we're co-workers or anything else. This is just me and you now. Got it?"
The dominance in his voice and tight grip of his hands on mine caused my heart to flutter.
"Got it. I agree." I moved toward him and kissed him softly. "What are you doing right now? I'm confused."
"Don't be." He kissed the tip of my nose and turned as the doors behind him opened.
I walked up beside him as my breath caught in my chest.
The dark dining room was lit up only by a small table in the center of the dance floor. White lights strung from the ceiling to the floor all pointed the way toward the table. Rose petals were scattered along the floor, both white and red mixed together.
And among the candles in the middle of the room was a black box on a glass pedestal.
It felt like too much. I wasn't nearly worthy of the attention.
"Jason," I mumbled and turned to my right before reaching the table.
He leaned over and picked up the box before moving down to his knee and opening the box. The beautiful ring inside sparkled as the light hit it.
"Rebecca, I've loved you for the last two years, watching from the edges of your world as you owned it, ran it, built it up from nothing. I'm so far beyond impressed by all that you are, but more than that, baby, I'm enthralled with who you're going to become. Let me walk beside you, support you, strengthen you... let me love you forever. Be my wife, Becca."
Tears dripped down my cheeks as a host of emotions suffocated my voice. I nodded instead and moved into his arms as he stood up and wrapped me in a tight hold.
"Yes," I whispered roughly. "God, yes."
Epilogue
Rebecca
"It's time," I mumbled as fear raced through me. My arms were wrapped around my swollen belly, and my heart was working to beat its way out of my chest. "I'm scared."
"No. Don't be." Jason jumped up from the couch and moved toward me, pulling me into his arms. "I'm going to be right there with you, baby. Let's go. We know the drill."
I tried hard not to pant, but I couldn't help it.
He stayed completely calm, which was a little concerning. He was usually the one to get emotional or overreact in most situations.
I snorted and stifled a laugh as he moved me to the front door. The memory of our dishwasher overflowing on the floor five months before swept through my mind. He was a hot mess by the time I got home to help him, and I laughed harder that night than I could ever remember laughing in my whole life. It would seem that the boy's mother didn't teach him which kind of soap went into a dishwasher. It wasn't liquid hand soap, as was evident by the number of bubbles we had to clean up. He was a hot mess through most of the ordeal, but now... he was completely calm. My peace in the middle of an unknown storm.
"Right this way, baby." He wrapped his arm around the top of my shoulders and helped me out to the car.
"It's going to be okay, right?" I stopped beside the car door as another contraction slammed into me, almost doubling me over.
"Hold tight. It's going to be okay. Let's get you to the ER." He helped me into the car and kissed my forehead. "I'm so excited. We're going to be parents in a few hours, baby."
"Get me to the hospital," I barked out between clenched teeth, my excitement trapped behind a wall of pain.
"Yes. Hospital." He slammed the door and ran around to his side.
I pressed my head against the seat and tried to remember all the breathing techniques we'd learned in our Lamaze classes. Funny how quickly all that training evaded me.
He drove like a bat out of hell, but I didn't complain once. The sooner he got me there, the sooner this would be over.
I turned my face toward him, studying the worry lines in his forehead. "You're so beautiful."
He chuckled and reached for my hand, bringing it up to his lips. "You're the beautiful one. I'll call your mom the minute we get to the hospital and get you in a room, okay?”
"Sounds good. I can call-"
"No. I don't want you doing anything but relaxing. Focus on your breathing and just relax. It's going to be fine." He kissed the wedding ring on my hand once more before releasing me and gripping the steering wheel. He was stressed, his calm having dissipated completely.
I smiled and breathed in as deeply as I could with two babies sitting in my belly. Twins. A boy and a girl. Life was about to get very interesting.
The car jerked to a stop, and my eyes snapped open.
"We're here. Come on, baby." He got out and jogged around to the other side to help me out. My water broke as I stood up and I gripped his shoulders.
"I'm so sorry."
He laughed and looked down at me. "Are you kidding me? This is amazing. I'm going to be a dad." He leaned in and kissed me like a lover would.
I swatted at him. "Stop it. Do that later. Get me in there."
"Right!" He moved back and closed the door, leaving the car running as he rushed me into the ER.
Everything moved so fast, and before I knew it, I was lying in an ER room, the lights so bright, the air so incredibly cold, pushing with all my might.
"There's one." The doctor stood and showed me the baby as it started to cry. "A little boy."
"Aiden," I mumbled as tears filled my eyes.
"Push baby. Get Andrea out, okay?" Jason moved closer and gripped my hand tightly. "Push when the doctor says-"
"Push!"
I groaned and pushed with everything I had left before collapsing against the table.
"It's a healthy little girl!"
Jason's eyes filled with tears and he brushed my hair back. "Thank you so much, Becca."
"For what?" I pulled him down for a quick kiss as I panted softly.
"For making me complete." He kissed me again and moved back as the doctor handed him Aiden. The little blue blanket shook and cried loudly. Jason cradled the baby against his chest and pressed his lips to the baby's head. "It's okay, buddy. Your daddy is here. It's okay."
Closing my eyes, I let the tears I was holding back run down my face.
I hadn't just made Jason whole, but somewhere along the way, I'd agreed to be healed myself. Amazing warmth filled every cell in my body. Love. Incredibly strong and all-consuming love.
I didn't need my past.
I had our future.
The End
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About the Author
Ali Parker is a full-time contemporary and new adult romance writer with more than a hundred and twenty books behind her. She loves coffee, watching a great movie and hanging out with her hubs. By hanging out, she means making out. Hanging out is for those little cre
epy elves at Christmas. No tight green stockings for her.
She’s an entrepreneur at heart and loves coming up with more ideas than any one person should be allowed to access. She lives in Texas with her hubs and three kiddos and looks forward to traveling the world in a few years. Writing under eleven pen names keeps her busy and allows her to explore all genres and types of writing.
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Copyright © 2018 by Ali Parker
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
Second Edition.
Designer: Kellie Dennis, Book Cover By Design
Editor: Nicole Bailey, Proof Before You Publish
Proofer: Mary Wolney
