I turn inside his hold with my protruding belly between us as I face him nose to nose. I look into his dual-colored eyes, which are the only eyes I want to lose myself in for the rest of my life, and in this moment, I do feel safe. I feel full—I don’t feel alone.
“You know I’m never letting you go?” is the last thing he says before I close my eyes and feel his lips make contact with mine. How can a set of lips be able to heal everything all at once?
He begins to kiss me, softly, patiently, almost too cautiously. I let a sigh of relief escape into his mouth when it finally dawns on me that he’s really here. Jeff and I are in bed together, and we both want the very same thing. He hasn’t forgotten about me, he hasn’t forsaken me—he came after me. My half moan is the signal he needs to deepen his guarded kiss. His tongue enters my mouth, filling it eagerly as I let go of my reserve and kiss him back the way I’ve dreamed and fantasized about thousands of times since that first kiss in my kitchen. I’m not sure if I want to cry or laugh, but all I want is to never stop kissing him.
“You feel that?” He mirrors the words I once asked him.
“Yes,” I answer with a wide smile.
“Good, I plan to do something about it. I plan to make you feel that every day for the rest of my life, Sarah.”
Hearing my name leave his lips is a kind of luxury I never thought I’d get to enjoy.
“I never thought I’d hear you say my name,” I cry, but this is the happiest I’ve ever been.
Jeff wipes my tears, allowing me to inhale his scent and calm my weary heart. He lifts my chin to align my eyes with his penetrating glare and smiles before speaking again.
“I have been saying your name before I even knew it belong to you. You were written into my future decades before I could even understand what love was. I’ve been lost navigating through this life, not understanding what I’ve been searching for, not knowing I had to find you. Whatever you feel, I feel it, too. I will never let you go—I will never hurt you, Sarah.” His voice cracks when uttering my name. It’s just my name, but from his lips, it feels like a promise—a solemn swear.
“What now?” I hold my breath for his answer.
“Now we press play and let the music begin. Sarah LeBlanc, will you be our guardian angel?”
His smile is my life. I outline his eyes with my fingers before touching his lips and whispering, “Only if you be mine…”
One Year Later
The weather has cooperated beautifully thus far, and it seems that Crown Affairs will be able to execute the entire ceremony on the beach as planned. We’re all barefoot, standing on the beach, lining a gate made up of two wooden doors covered in flowers. I look at the sandy beach and all the assembled guests filling every single seat on both sides of the flower canopy. I catch my stunning wife playing with Jolene, attempting to pin a flower in her nonexistent hair, which our daughter is determined on ripping out and eating.
I look away from my slice of heaven and notice a blond-haired woman in the distance. She’s not part of our wedding party, and I’m certain I’ve never seen her before. The stranger occupies a lone lounge chair in the middle of an empty sandy beach. She’s close enough for me to make out a stack of papers in her lap and pen in hand. She smiles while watching us and then continues to write vigorously. I wonder who she is. I was under the impression Will closed down their family resort just for friends and family in honor of his wedding. I turn back to look at the woman on the beach, but she’s gone …
Emily pops her head out from inside the hotel, giving us the thumbs up that her best friend is ready to go. The orchestra begins to play a slow stirring melody, and a moment later, a lump forms in my heart at the sight of Juliet and Jacob holding hands, as the flower girl and ring bearer, while the guests begin to clap and cheer. Our babies take their places at the podium with Juliet clutching my wife’s old violin and Jacob at the piano. Sara doesn’t know about this surprise as the kids begin to play her favorite ‘80s song: “When I See You Smile” by Bad English with the help of the twenty piece orchestra joining in. Then, like a dream, Sara materializes, clad in white, casting a spell of awe on the crowd. She wears a smile bright enough to light New York City and you could touch her happiness from a mile away. She’s never looked more striking. The entire bridal party—Emily, Louis, Eddie, and myself included, like the audio fools that we are, begin to sing out loud the lyrics to our friend’s favorite ballad as she walks down the aisle crying. I look over at Will—the man on the receiving end of that smile—as he lowers his head to hide his tears. These two finally get to share with the world the happy ending they’ve spent their whole lives searching for. I swallow my emotion and thank the universe for granting me this view.
I suddenly see the blonde writer from before walking away, turning back to look at us from time to time until she disappears from view. Who is she? I shake my head to see if anyone else noticed her, but they’re all focused on the bride and groom. I slowly scan all the different souls that comprise my world, zeroing in on my wife, Sarah, and all our beautiful children, and that’s when I’m finally able to appreciate how life doesn’t always make sense when we’re living it, but in rewind, it’s all crystal clear.
© Rhys Ulich
Other Titles by Tali Alexander
Love in Rewind
Available Now at Amazon
Lies in Rewind
Available Now at Amazon
Lost in Rewind
Available Now at Amazon
Look for the Audio Fools series in audiobook
available where audiobooks are sold.
Did I just finish my 3rd book? This is my third letter of thanks so it must be! Thank you for spending your time and money reading my novels and agreeing to let me take you on the Audio Fools journey in rewind. I am grateful to every single person from all corners of this earth that has allowed me the opportunity to entertain him or her with my words.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; I am blessed and fortunate to have so many beautiful souls guide me in this life. My family is a Godsend. I wouldn’t be able to choose kinder, smarter, more loving humans if I tried. My husband is a perfect partner and has granted me freedom to chase my crazy dreams, and I hope one day to make him proud of the road I’ve chosen. My children have obviously never read my books, but I hope they too will one day admire their mama and understand her passion. The women in my family have physically, emotionally and mentally picked me up off the floor and held me up when my own strength refused to. I bow down to you and I love you more than any words written in black and white could ever convey. My friends have had the misfortune of dealing with the turmoil and chaos the publishing world entails. I’m sorry if I wasn’t an attentive friend and I thank you for not forsaking me when I needed you most.
My sister from another mister and my guiding light is not just my friend but also happens to be one of my biggest supporters and kickass publicist, Irene Myers. I love you and all that you do for me. Thank you for slaying my imaginary insecurities once a day and twice on Tuesdays. If you didn’t push and believe in me, I’d have given up long ago. As you read this, I hope you imagine us onboard you know what, with you know whom, raising a toast to all our hard work.
I couldn’t be the writer that I am today without my amazing editors, Kristen Clark Switzer, and Lori Sabin. Thank you for your intuition and guidance in shaping LOST IN REWIND. You have helped me grow as a storyteller, and your input was instrumental in sculpting the conclusion of this series. A huge thank you to the person who works hard to make my words look pretty: Julie at JT Formatting. I am very grateful to my good friend and fellow writer, Mara White, for giving LOST IN REWIND one last polish.
The cover of LOST IN REWIND perfectly depicts Jeffery Rossi with the help of model Adam Cowie, shot by the very talented Chris Davis AKA Specular. This cover has been patiently waiting for me, and I hope my storytelling will do it justice. Thank you to Perfect Pear Creative for pulling everything together and bringing it
to life.
In today's crazy ruthless world of publishing, an author like me can’t be seen or get into the hands of readers without the tireless work of book bloggers, bookstagrammers, other writers and of course loyal readers. I write and my books get read because of your continued help. Your likes, follows, tweets, emails, reviews, and posts are what keeps me hanging on. I thank you and hope that you will stay with me on this crazy, wild, magical ride, which I never want to end.
Thank you to Emily, Louis, Sara, William, Jeffery and Kali for choosing to talk to me and trusting me to write their stories… next stop happily ever after.
xx Tali
About The Author
© Paul Gregory
Tali Alexander is a Jill-of-all-trades—married mother of three, doctor of pharmacy by day and romance novelist by night. Tali has fulfilled her passion of writing with her debut romance novel LOVE IN REWIND (first book in the Audio Fools trilogy). Since its debut, fans have embraced the unconventional love story of Emily and Louis Bruel making LOVE IN REWIND #1 on Amazon Kindle charts (September 2014). With an increasing demand from her fan base for the next installment, Tali has released the next story in the Audio Fools trilogy, LIES IN REWIND. Tali’s fans finally get their third and final book in the series titled. LOST IN REWIND, out now!!!
Contact The Author
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www.TaliAlexander.com
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Lost In Rewind (Audio Fools #3) Page 27
