Instead, I showed her how much I still wanted her, found her attractive, and cared for her by holding her hand, kissing her, and sprinkling her with affection at every opportune turn.
We’d be back to having sex soon enough.
“You’re right,” I muttered with a laughter filled shake of my head. “I guess I don’t want pizza.”
“I think you want Chinese food,” she ventured through a set of cautious pursed lips.
Shameless in her security, I’d never seen her happier. And I’d never been happier to be the one who put it there.
Circling the counter between us, I sought her out. Her eyes widened slightly, and her body poised to take flight. She wasn’t sure how I was going to react to the dinner fiasco, but I’d have been willing to bet she didn’t think I’d do it how I did.
Pulling her into my arms quickly, I turned to the stool behind me and sat down, pulling her legs carefully up until she was seated comfortably in my lap.
Eyes on hers, I just watched, waiting for any sign of the mud and the muck.
She waited too, a slow blink interrupting my perusal as rarely as possible. She watched me watch her, and the whole time, all I saw was clear, crystal blue.
I pushed my lips to hers, licking at the seam of them and just barely flirting with the tip of her tongue.
She gave back, hoping to reel me in, but I stayed focused, pulling away strategically when her eyes had just started to turn cloudy with lusty, love-filled haze. It was my favorite face of hers.
Lowering my voice to a whisper, I told her what I’d been dying to since I’d held one of her hands between mine in the hospital. She and I were meant to find each other, and we were meant to do it now, at this point in our lives.
Of that, I was sure.
“I’m in love with you, Alli.” I swept one fat thumb across her parted lips, watching as she lit up from the inside out.
Always cautious, she squashed the light and settled for practical. “How do you know?”
With a smirk, I dug for the heart of her, finding it just where I thought I would. “Well, that’s the tricky question, isn’t it?”
She smiled wistfully, a dreamer and romantic from the beginning to the end.
“I thought it was supposed to be the simplest one of all.”
She was too smart.
“Hmm. I guess it is.”
When I didn’t say anything more, she grew impatient and feisty. Her second best look.
“Wade!”
“Al, the last month and a half with you feels like it’s made up more of my life than the abundance of years before it.”
She raised an eyebrow, unsure of whether that was good or bad.
I laughed. “Something that important could only be love.”
“Alright,” she shrugged, squirming in my lap with her mischief. “I guess I can tolerate you too.”
“Alli.”
“Love. I love you too.”
“Good,” I teased, setting her carefully on her own stool and touching her lips to mine once more.
“Especially since I quit my job.”
Her eyes bulged and her mouth gaped.
“Yeah,” I confirmed. “And I’m moving in with you.”
Open and shut, open and shut, her lips moved fighting to work towards forming words.
“I’ll go get the Chinese takeout menu . . . baby.”
That’s right. I broke out the endearment big guns.
Running and jumping faster than I would have liked, she launched herself into my arms, wrapped her arms around my shoulders, and sealed her lips to mine.
Two broken hearts to mend.
One chance in sight.
Her and I together, we finally got it right.
FOUR HANDS TOUCHED MY BODY all over—hands, arms, and shoulders alike—as my main support system surrounded me.
As soon as I’d told them about the appointment today, eight weeks to the day after my surgery, they’d all made sure they could be here. Dr. Addleton’s femininely decorated office had never looked so small.
In fact, I’d tried to wave them off, but not one of them complied.
Stubborn. Every last one of them.
“Well, Allison, I can see you’ve got your whole crew with you today.”
“She tried to ditch us,” Danny volunteered from behind me, always the first one to stir shit.
“We can’t be denied!” Haley declared from her position right next to him, clenching my shoulder with a little extra force.
Ow.
“Sorry,” Wade apologized to Sarah for the pair of them. “Ignore them. It’s what we do,” he finished, stressing the ‘we’ and making me look at him like a big sap. He’d been more than I could have ever dreamed of these past weeks, and I knew if I gave him the chance, he was only going to get better.
Sarah smiled affectionately. She knew what to expect. I talked about these people enough.
“It’s good news, Allison.” Four deep breaths expelled around me. Mine caught in my chest. “I can officially declare you Cancer Free.” Her own smile turned teary. “Congratulations.”
“God,” Haley exclaimed. “This is the best day ever! Ever! Life doesn’t get better than this.”
I laughed softly, bowing my head in thanks until a huge gasp broke free from my daughter’s mouth.
“Marry me.”
My head jerked up and turned, the sight I found becoming one I’d remember for the rest of my life.
One knee touched the ground, the other balancing an elbow and a ring, and his face was happier than I’d ever seen it.
“I’ve been carrying this around for a while now,” Danny started, studying Haley as he said it. “I didn’t plan or plot or anything that would have been helpful because I only knew one thing. I wanted it to be the best damn day of your life. Turns out, today is it.”
Both hands came to my face as I wiped away tears that had yet to even fall. The tingle of emotion running the surface of my skin was just so strong that it felt like they had.
Good God did that kid love my daughter.
“There was no way I was going to let Allison be the only reason for the title, and I sure as hell didn’t want to have to compete.”
Haley was, in a very rare sighting, utterly speechless.
“This way the answer is definite,” Danny continued, his own hazel eyes glowing suspiciously with unshed tears. “Today is the best day of your life. And when you say yes, it’ll also be the best day of mine.”
“Say yes!” I wanted to scream, just barely choking the words back with the help of Wade’s hand around the back of my neck.
“Yes,” she whispered, adding a nod to avoid confusion. She wanted to marry him, and she wanted to make sure he knew.
Danny slid the ring on her finger immediately, leaving no time for her to take it back.
Not that she would have. But he was making sure.
They were literally the cutest.
Sarah stood wide-eyed, shocked at having her appointment shanghaied but smiling ear to ear.
“Man. I think this is the best appointment I’ve ever had,” she remarked from behind her desk, startling laughs out of all of us.
Chattering and just about ready to settle down, I wiped away the last of my tears and searched at my feet, trying to gather all of my things. The weather had turned cold, so I had a coat, scarf, and purse to contend with.
Wade leaned over, touching his lips to mine as Haley and Danny had their own moment.
Sarah made her way to the door, just about to usher us all out when the only other person in the room spoke.
“I’m going to be a father.”
“I’m sorry . . . what?” I asked on a double take as I spied my only son’s pale face.
One sharp nod confirmed what I’d heard, and my butt hit my chair once again.
Sarah re-closed the door.
“I just have one question,” Haley remarked before I could find any real words. Her tone was serious, so I knew the questi
on wouldn’t be. That was my daughter. “Do you know who the mother is?”
He met all of our eyes but never attempted to speak.
And then he was gone. Out the door and down the hall, leaving behind only the subtle smell of his aftershave and a million unanswered questions.
“Good God, everyone stole my thunder!” Haley shouted into the quiet room. “Rings and babies and bullshit. All I brought was this stupid shirt!”
Unexpected, the soft cotton of said shirt slapped me in the face. Wade helped me pull it off, opening it up and holding in front of me to read.
“Uterus Cancer Free Since 2013.”
That shirt wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t stupid at all.
The End
Thanks for reading!
Click here for a special reader exclusive: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18038DoURVorptsFVa-b4hqqYm3FdlqObAbg_xcDt2YE/viewform
I’m extremely fortunate to have tons of supportive people in my life. But, as always, the first person I have to thank is my mom. She’s the first person to have eyes on my book, even when it’s in pieces, and is an invaluable source of encouragement and wisdom. And she’s not a bad editor either. Lol! Thanks, Mamalicious!
A HUGE thank you to Dr. Morgan for his invaluable medical knowledge. I couldn’t have put together a story like this without you!
My proofreaders! You guys were absolute champs. You help me put out the best product possible, and I really can’t thank you enough for it!
My author friends. There are a ton of you, and you’re all AWESOME. Thank you for sprinting with me, pushing me to keep writing, lifting me up, and assuring me that I really COULD do this. Take it to Pound Town! Especially my fellow Word Count Warriors! You kept me accountable.
M. Mabie, my twin sister from another mister, I don’t know what I did before I met you. Love. And lots of it.
My Banty Babies! I love you! I value your help, but I also just truly enjoy all of our interactions, book related or not.
Book, B*tches, & Balderdash ladies. You guys are SO much fun! You’re there to keep me smiling and answer questions all the time! It’s much appreciated.
Blogs. Um, hello, none of us could do this without you. I definitely couldn’t do this without you. You all work so hard, and so many of you have supported me in ways that I can never thank you enough for. But I’ll try. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’d list you, but then I’ll forget someone and be devastated. Bad mojo.
You. The readers. Sweet baby Jesus, you guys are awesome. Every message, every comment—they mean everything to me. I spend hundreds of hours working on these books, and just one message from one of you—someone who saw something in my book, was touched in some special way—makes it worth it.
And, of course, I have to thank my family. My husband and son sacrifice the most, going without food and attention in order to let me push through to my deadline. Thank you for your support and for believing that this book is going to be something big.
Author’s Note
This series means more to me than some of you might know. There have been some that have questioned the relationship of mother and daughter in these books. It seems unrealistic. They’re “strangely” close.
If that’s the case, I don’t ever want to be normal. My relationship with my mom is a constant blessing, and I’m fortunate to be able to say that our relationship closely mirrors the one featured in this series.
According to my plans, there’s to be one last book in this series. Hunter’s.
I have a couple of other books that are in the works, but I’m going to try to get Hunter’s story out as soon as possible.
Thank you so much for reading this family, loving them, and sharing your feelings with me and other readers.
Thank you so much for everything.
Thank you for making my life awesome.
My love,
Laurel xx
Come hang out with me in a very relaxed setting in Books, B*tches, & Balderdash
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1001568759857518/
Laurel Ulen Curtis is a 28 year old mother of one. She lives with her husband and son (and cat!) in New Jersey, but grew up all over the United States. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, and puts that to almost no use other than forecasting for her friends and writing a storm chasing heroine! She has a passion for her family, laughing, and reading and writing Romance novels. She’s also addicted to Coke. The drink, not the drug.
Laurel’s Social Media:
FaceBook
Website
Goodreads
Other Books by Laurel:
The One Series:
The One Place
The One Girl
Impossible
The A is for Alpha Male Series
A is for Alpha Male
Secret Alpha
One Last Night: A Novella
Hate: A Love Story
Coming Soon:
Quirks & Kinks
Ellie’s Beat (A Hate Prequel Novel)
Untitled (A is for Alpha Male, #4)
Accidental Alpha Page 22
