by Kate Stewart
“Daddy.” She crumbled, and he stood where he was, his eyes filling as his voice broke. “But I deserve to be happy too. You are the one who pointed that out to me. And Koti makes me happy and this baby is a blessing and you will finally have the brother or sister you’ve been asking for since you were five.”
Ella cried harder as Ian stood strong, adamant on making his point as he fought his need to physically comfort her. “Look at me, little woman. I’m your father, your Dad, forever. Don’t be afraid of this change, of this baby, or of losing an ounce of my love. Don’t be afraid of anything, because you are mine.”
He pressed both hands to his chest and closed his eyes moving his body back and forth. I muffled back a sob. “You are mine, since the day your mother put you in my arms and we got linked.” He clasped his fingers together and pushed them toward her. “We are forever, Ella, nothing or no one can or will ever change that. Tell me you understand. Tell me you know that.”
She nodded before she rushed into his open arms and broke inside them with relief. Ella’s cries had Ian faltering as I coughed out my own tears. After a few minutes of their embrace, Ella lifted her soaked face from his shoulder and stretched a hand out to me. “I’m sorry, Koti. I didn’t mean to ruin it for you.”
Don’t you dare be sorry. You didn’t ruin anything. I love you and you are mine too.
She nodded as she moved from her father’s embrace and nestled into my arms. After a few minutes, she looked up at me with stained cheeks and a sheepish smile. “I hope it’s a girl.”
“I don’t,” Ian coughed out with a sigh as I shook with laughter. Ella frowned sensing her father’s smartassed comment and glanced behind at him before she looked to me for an answer.
“What?”
“Your dad is an asshole.”
“That’s not news.”
My dreams and I spent the rest of the day playing in the waves on the shore in the backyard of our new home and later that night, two childhood friends held hands beneath the stars.
“Well that went wonderfully,” Ian said with a chuckle. “Fuck, I think I had a small stroke.”
“I think it went the way it was supposed to.”
“I never wanted her to know.”
“Ian, she’s lived with it for a while. She just needed to hear from you what she already knew, that it doesn’t matter.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. Also, you’re kind of incredible. Who knew the insane man with the shitty accent and bubble butt, would turn out to be Mr. Wonderful? Definitely not me.”
He kissed the back of our clasped hands.
“I think I first loved you when I was fourteen. Not the way I do now, but I’m pretty sure I loved you even then.”
“I loved you because you gave me sweets.”
“I know,” he chuckled.
I stopped and turned to stare at my husband whose laughter lines had deepened and only made him more appealing. I reveled in the sexy grays that framed his temple. I looked forward to every year I noticed those subtle differences because it meant we would spend those years together. “Ian, how lucky are we to have met at all?”
“Coming from different worlds, we had so many chances to miss each other.”
I nodded. “Does this make you a believer?”
“It makes me a believer of us.”
“Forever a realist.”
“Not so much anymore.”
“Why is that?”
He cupped my face and brushed his lips against mine. “Because I married my miracle.”
I laid in bed gazing at the twinkling galaxy outside of our skylight window thinking of the narrow roads that brought us back together. Sometimes what’s meant to be isn’t written in the stars, instead, it’s a journey on the path less traveled without a map of guidance, without certainty. Though Ian didn’t fully admit it, I was sure he had to believe that every battle we fought in our separate lives—good or bad—led us to that beach, to a glimpse of the life we could share together, and that was enough for us. That brief blip in time was all we needed to decide on the life we wanted. In that moment, I was grudgingly thankful for a body that wouldn’t cooperate and a mind that ran in circles, and I knew without a doubt my husband was grateful for the trials that led him to me because, without them, our stars wouldn’t have finally aligned. Our lives would’ve turned out differently, and for me, that would have been the real tragedy. In finding each other, we also discovered the why of our journey.
Ian tenderly kissed my stomach while I whispered a prayer of thanks to the stars above with renewed faith.
Not all love stories come with happy endings, but some do.
THE END
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Coming Soon! Jasmine’s Story in—Falling over Forty
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First and forever, I want to thank my readers. Four years after I published my first book, I’m still able to do something I love and it’s because of you. Thank you from the bottom to the top of my heart.
A huge thank you to my Beta readers: Donna Cooksley Sanderson, Stacy Hahn, Sharon Dunn, Maiwenn Blogs, Patty Tennyson, Malene Dich, Christy Baldwin, Kathy Sheffler, Kelli Collopy, Sophie Broughton, Anne Christine, and Bex Kettner. Your infectious excitement makes it so easy to hand over a piece of my heart. Trusting you ladies is one of the best things I could ever do. You are so greatly appreciated and loved.
Thank you to my PA, Bex Kettner, for effortlessly doing the job you do and for being my rock. You are an amazing help to me and a top-notch friend. I love you.
Thank you, Autumn Gantz, for organizing the chaos and being the kick-ass friend you are. You are one of a kind and I’m so lucky to have found you.
Donna Cooksley Sanderson, wow, just wow. You are one of the brightest lights I’ve ever met. I consider your friendship a gift and one of the best I’ve ever been blessed with. Our talks are the best parts of my day. You are one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and I promise to always set my coffee down for you. XO
Thank you to my proof team-Donna Cooksley Sanderson, Joy Sadowski, Bethany Castaneda, Marissa D’Onofrio, Grey Ditto, for swooping in and saving the day.
Christine Estevez, my editor extraordinaire, thank you so much for the endless faith you have in me. It means so much. I’m so excited about our new adventure and friendship.
Thank you to my amazing family; Bob & Alta Scott, Angie, Kristan, Tommy, and Stephen. Watching everyone grow is such a gift. I love you all and our crazy dynamic. Not a day goes by where I’m not thankful to be a part of such a fantastic family. We are so lucky. I’m so lucky. I love you guys.
A huge thank you to my BFF, Erica Fischer, my inspiration for Jasmine and her and Koti’s friendship. I’ll never be able to express how much I love and admire you, or how knowing you has changed me and at times saved me. You and me until the wheels fall off, buddy, and even after. Thank you for holding my hand through the last fourteen years.
Thank you to my fabulous group—the asskickers. You ladies light me up daily and make my world a better place. XO
Thank you to Elizanne (Zanna) for all the help with the South African Slang. It was a blast getting to meet you.
Thank you to my hubby, Nick, for your never-ending understanding. You make deadlines bearable and life worth living. I love you.
A Texas native, Kate Stewart lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick, and her naughty beagle, Sadie. She pens messy, sexy, angst-filled contemporary romance as well as romantic comedy and erotic suspense because it's what she loves as a reader. Kate is a lover of all things '80s and '90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whisky.
Other titles available now by Kate
Room 212
Never Me
Loving the White Liar
The Fall
The Mind
The Heart
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The Brave Line
Drive
The Real
Romantic Comedy
Anything but Minor
Major Love
Sweeping the Series
Erotic Suspense
Sexual Awakenings
Excess
Predator and Prey
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