By the time Christmas got here, SarahBeth was miserable. The baby was due two days after, but she was hoping she would come early. Like her mother, Amelia is taking her own sweet time, perfectly happy inside her mother's stomach...probably not wanting to miss all the Christmas cookies. At least, that's what I told SarahBeth. She threatened to make me sleep on the couch for that one. Note to self, the closer a woman gets to her due date, the more emotional she gets. The majority of her pregnancy, SarahBeth was heavy on the tears, but the closer she got to her due date, the more the anger started showing. By tonight, everyone is giving her a wide berth and hoping it's not too much longer or she may have no friends left!
Tonight is New Year's Eve, which is fitting since New Year's two years ago is when I decided to stop fighting my attraction to her, even though the night didn't end well. Everyone has converged on our apartment tonight because SarahBeth refused to leave the house, telling me that she wanted to rearrange Amelia's dresser and repack her bag for the hospital. Now, my much smaller apartment has David, Lyric, Livvie, Emmett, Wyatt and Peyton inside. The living room would be extremely crowded if all the girls hadn't converged in the nursery to ooh and ahh over the pink explosion.
All of us guys are sitting in the living room, all of them drinking, leaving me with water just in case. I want nothing more than a bottle of whiskey, but I don't want to be drunk if SarahBeth goes into labor. Meeting my daughter and smelling like the inside of a bar wouldn't be my best moment. The four of us are enjoying the silence when Lyric comes running into the room, her eyes wide. "Her water just broke! It's time!" David pales, and I'm sure I do too.
I rush into the nursery where SarahBeth's standing, bracing herself against the crib with a pained look on her face. She transfers her grip to my shirt when I reach her, looking up at me with fear in her eyes. "Jeremy, I'm scared. It hurts so bad." My heart breaks knowing that she's in pain, that I'm the one that's caused it. David has Lyric grab her bag while I carry her out to the car, sitting her in the back seat with Lyric while her brother rides up front with me. The others follow behind us and I'm thankful one of her friends wasn't drinking tonight either, because there's no way everyone would fit in my car.
Lyric's sitting beside her, stroking her hair and trying to keep her calm as I head for the hospital, looking back at her every time we stop at a light. Thankfully the hospital is less than ten minutes away so it doesn't take us long to get there. SarahBeth's admitted quickly, and soon we're in a room and waiting for a nurse to come in and check her. She had an appointment right after Christmas, but the doctor estimated we still had a while, talking about finger tip dilation and a whole bunch of other stuff I'm pretty sure I blocked out.
When the nurse finally enters, she introduces herself to us all as Manda, talking SarahBeth through everything she does to her. David leaves as soon as he realizes she's going to have to get undressed, going out to the waiting room where the rest of our little group is waiting. SarahBeth asked Lyric to be in the room back before Christmas, the two have gotten extremely close in the past few months which is crazy considering everything that happened. I'm grateful to her though, she's always there for Sarah, willing to help and never judging her choices.
"She's at three, almost four centimeters and eighty percent effaced." My face must look as confused as I feel, because Manda is quick to explain, "She needs to get to ten and a hundred percent before she can push." Turning back to SarahBeth, she asks how long she's been having contractions. She looks over at me before saying guiltily, "Since earlier this afternoon."
My mouth drops open and I stare at her in shock. "This afternoon? Why didn't you say anything? We could have been here earlier. Dammit, baby," I run a hand through my hair in exasperation, deflating when I see the fear in her eyes. "You should have said something instead of hurting alone."
"I'm sorry," she says, her eyes filling with tears. "I didn't want to worry you." I roll my eyes, a move she does often. She knows I don't want to be kept in the dark.
I don't get the chance to say anything else because the nurse clears her throat, "Are you planning on getting an epidural?" SarahBeth nods quickly, and Manda smiles at her. "Okay. I'll go put in the request, you try to breathe through the pain, all right?" She walks out, leaving the three of us in the room until David returns.
By the time SarahBeth's ready to push, I've decided we're never doing this again. The pain, the huge needle they stuck in her back...Amelia's going to be an only child. I can't go through this again. Even David looks terrified. Both Lyric and Sarah have tried to reassure us between the visits from the nurse and doctor to check progress, and the few minutes they've let her other friends come see her.
Now that it's finally time to push our daughter into the world, SarahBeth is gripping my hand so tightly I'm sure she's broken something. I never knew she had such a tight grip. Another contraction starts and Dr. Bailey says, "Okay, SarahBeth, push now, like you need to go to the bathroom." She counts through the contraction, and when it finally eases, SarahBeth lies back, breathing heavily.
"You're doing great, baby," I tell her, smoothing the hair from her face and kissing her lightly.
She glares up at me, her eyes flashing with anger. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one going through this. This shit hurts." She very rarely curses, and I almost laugh at her use of the word, but one look at her face has me clamping my lips shut. I'd like to get out of here with my manhood intact.
"One last push SarahBeth. I can see the head. You're almost there!" SarahBeth starts pushing when the contraction begins and finally, we hear Amelia start to cry. Sarah slumps back against the pillows, gripping my shirt tightly in her hand and keeping me close. She only lets me go when Dr. Bailey motions for me to come over to where she holds a tiny little body in her hands. Looking down, I see my daughters dark eyes looking up at me. "Would you like to cut the cord?" she asks gently, handing me a pair of scissors and motioning to the spot she wants me to cut.
A few minutes later, once they've cleaned the baby up and wrapped her in a blanket, they bring her back over to us, placing her on her mother's chest so she can say hello. Sarah looks down at her, a beautiful smile on her face as she strokes our daughter's cheek. "Hi Amelia," she says, her voice catching. "I'm your mommy." She takes my hand in hers, pulling me down to stare at our daughter with her, saying, "And this, this is your daddy. You're such a lucky girl." Amelia's eyes are wide as she stares up at us, the downy blonde hair on her head covered by the cap they've put on her.
My heart squeezes with the emotions running through me, and I press a kiss to the top of SarahBeth's head. "I love you so much." Watching her with our daughter, I know without a doubt that I want to ask the question I've been trying to find the perfect time to ask right now. I've been carrying a ring in my pocket every day for the past three months, trying to figure out when the best time to ask her would be. This, right here, is what I want her to remember. Holding our daughter close for the first time, and knowing I want her to be my wife.
Pulling the small box out of my pocket, I take her free hand in mine, causing her to look up at me in question. "SarahBeth, I've loved you in one way or another your entire life." Her eyes turn misty, and I have to clear my throat before I continue, "You are my life. You and Amelia. I want to spend the rest of my life with you both, going to sleep with you every night and waking up with you every morning. I want to watch you be a mother to our daughter, I want to watch you love her fiercely. As fiercely as you love me. There will never be anyone else for me but you, I will love you every single day." She's crying now, tears falling silently down her cheeks as she waits for me to finally ask, "Will you marry me?"
"Yes," she sobs, pulling me down to kiss me. I slide the ring on her finger as we kiss, not breaking apart until Amelia starts to protest being held so tightly between us. SarahBeth looks down at the ring, staring at it just long enough to make me worry she doesn't like it. Finally, she breathes, "It's beautiful. When can we get married?"
David laughs from across the room, dragging her attention away from my face as he and Lyric walk over to us. He leans over to kiss her before hugging me, saying, "You did good. Congratulations you two, on your beautiful daughter and on finally making deciding to marry my sister." The last is said as a joke, but SarahBeth still slaps his arm at the same time Lyric does. She hugs us both as well, congratulating us briefly before the rest of our friends come in to meet the baby. The only person missing tonight is Tyler, but I know why he's been staying away. He'll come over once we're home, when we're alone.
After introducing Amelia to everyone, SarahBeth looks tired. Manda comes in to shoo everyone out so she can rest, taking Amelia to the nursery. Sarah protests, not wanting the baby out of her sight, but Manda tells us, "Trust me, you'll thank me for this in a few days. This will be the last night of sleep you'll really get. I'll bring her back in a few hours so you can feed her." She's so tired she doesn't protest for long, and as soon as Amelia and the nurse leave the room, she scoots over, motioning for me to lay down beside her.
Not wanting to hurt her, I say, "I can just sleep in the chair," but she shakes her head.
"No, I want you with me. Please, Jeremy?" I can't say no to her, I never could, so slipping off my shoes, I climb in the hospital bed next to her, putting my arm around her already much smaller stomach. She's asleep in minutes, and my last thought before I follow her is that I hope next time we have a boy, because I can't go through this more than one more time and I know she's going to want another baby some day.
I'm awful at acknowledgments, but here goes!
My betas - first and foremost, this book would be so bad without you! Bianca S & Bianca J, you've been with me since the beginning and I adore you both, even when you're yelling at me to get off Facebook and write! Rachel Miles, you were one of the first bloggers to fall in love with David, and I'm so glad you did! Your feedback has been invaluable! Sary Belgodere, you're amazing! You're always quick with feedback and I love reading your emails.
My husband and kids - I would get so many books written if you weren't here to interrupt me every five seconds with requests to buy games on Steam, asking me what's for dinner, or telling me that I need to do this thing or that thing. I love you guys, really.
Melanie-Anne Bussiere - Ahh! We're here again! You really are my twin, I love you dearly and I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you to fret to. Your plot and story feedback is something I rely on and without it I think I'd go insane. We need to figure out a quicker way to travel between Canada and NC, either that or I just need to move.
Annie Gabor - I love that you love David and the rest of the crew. Thank you for putting up with my neurosis and attempting to help keep me organized! I plan on putting you to work this month, so be ready!
Holly Ward - Writing Second Chances with you changed my life. I'm so glad to count you as a friend! You're an amazing resource when it comes to Indie Publishing, and I'm so thankful we tweeted all those months ago!
Emily Snow & Aly Martinez - you two are some of the best friends a girl could ask for. Thank you for the laughs, the encouragement, and even for yelling at me to get off Facebook and write!
Sara Eirew - Your photographs and covers are freaking amazing and I can't wait to work with you again! You made my covers so pretty and eye-catching!
Natalie & Between The Sheets PR - you do an amazing job getting the word out about my books! Thank you for everything.
I can't even attempt to list all the blogs out there that have supported me or pimped me out, but a few that are very close to my heart include All is Read, Biblio Belles, Martini Times Romance and Love Between The Sheets. Bloggers are amazing, you spend so much time helping Indie Authors get noticed. I don't know what we would do without you!
Stacey is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author of Second Chances (co-authored with H.M. Ward) and the Nashville Nights series.
She is also a wife, mother, writer and self-professed bookwhore – not necessarily in that order! As the mother of three growing boys, her Kindle has become her temporary escape from the insanity of boys, dogs and her husband. Stacey can usually be found curled up with her iPad when she's supposed to be writing or creating endless playlists on Spotify.
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All Rights Reserved
No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying or recording, or by any storage and retrieval system without permission in writing.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and situations are the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, event or location is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 Stacey Mosteller
Cover Photography & Design by Sara Eirew @ Sara Eirew Photography & Design
Editing by Staci Jo Cranor
Contents
Other Books by Stacey Mosteller
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Acknowlegments
About the Author
Copyright
Table of Contents
Everything I Shouldn't
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Save Me From Myself (Nashville Nights #1)
Acknowledgments
About The Author
About the Book Designer
Copyright Notice
Table of Contents
Everything I Need
Cover
Contents
Other Books by Stacey Mosteller
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Acknowlegments
About the Author
Copyright
th friends
Everything I Shouldn't / Everything I Need (Nashville Nights #2-3) Page 37
