Austin and Slate wrangle the kids into chairs, and Harper bangs on the table with her plastic spoon, gurgling and laughing and trying to wriggle out of her highchair.
While Brayden is dark like me, Harper is the spitting image of her dad with her blonde hair and big blue eyes. She will definitely break hearts one day. Although she may look like her dad, her personality is all me. She’s into all kinds of mischief, she loves singing and dancing, and she never stops babbling, having an amazing vocabulary for someone so young.
Slater is already teasing Ryan over what a handful she’ll be in her teenage years. They are lucky with Billy. He’s mature for his age, and he doesn’t give them too much to worry about. At least, not yet.
Brayden is the opposite. He looks like me but has more of Ryan’s personality. He’s so adorable with his little sister, and so protective, just like his dad.
“Say cheese,” Lucy, my mother-in-law says, ushering everyone around the table for a group photo. Since my father-in-law, Paul, retired last year, they have both taken up new hobbies, and she’s glued to her Nikon like you wouldn’t believe. They now spend half the year in Florida, but they returned last month to spend the summer in Delaware.
“Cheezzz,” Harper says, clapping her hands and bouncing so enthusiastically in her chair I worry she’ll bounce right out.
“No more Coke for her,” Ryan whispers in my ear as we pose for the photo.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I shake my head. “I wouldn’t give a two-year-old Coke.” He bites down on his lip, averting his eyes, his guilty expression giving the game away. “Ryan! Seriously?”
“It’s her birthday, and I only gave her a teeny drop.”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t stay mad at him, because he’s such an amazing father and very hands-on. The kids adore him. I joke it’s like having three kids because he sometimes acts like he has the maturity of a three-year-old, but I wouldn’t change him for the world. I find it ironic I’m the strict one and he’s the big softie.
Ryan starts everyone off singing Happy Birthday, and I record the moment on my iPhone, zooming in on Harper’s delighted little face as she sings along, not yet knowing all the words and oblivious to the fact it’s her we’re singing the song for. She blows out her candles, and we cut the cake, enjoying five minutes of peace while the kids stuff their faces.
After we’ve cleaned up the kitchen, we ask Billy to keep an eye on the little ones outside in the backyard while we usher the adults to the living room. Ryan refills wine glasses before sitting in the last vacant seat, pulling me down onto his lap. “We have news,” I say, unable to keep it in any longer.
“Oh, shit,” Charlie splutters. “Hearing those words coming from your mouth still sends the fear of God into me.”
“No ageist remarks,” I warn him, patting Ryan’s chest. “My old man still gets testy.”
“Less of the old,” Ryan retorts, squeezing my waist. Pinning my brother with a smug look, he adds. “And Groucho Marx said you’re only as old as the woman you feel so I’ll be eternally youthful.”
“We might be related by marriage now,” Charlie replies with an equally smug expression. “But I can still beat your ass.”
“Okay, enough, you two.” Charlie and Ryan have this twisted relationship where they constantly banter and wind one another up, but it’s amicable all the same. However, I know if I don’t put a stop to this now, they’ll derail our announcement.
“Sorry, babe.” Ryan pecks my lips, and smiling, I lean my head on his shoulder. He places his hands carefully on my stomach, a wide grin stretching across his face as he skims his eyes over our family. “We’re pregnant again. Baby’s due in six months.”
The room erupts in a cacophony of congratulations, and I’m manhandled by each person as I’m pulled into happy hugs.
There was a time when I worried I wouldn’t be able to get pregnant, and when I fell pregnant so easily with Brayden, I was ecstatic but terrified too. Every twinge, every pain, sent me running to the doctor’s office, afraid something was wrong. Ryan was the same. He’d told me what happened with Myndi when we got back together, and while he let go of his guilt and self-blame a long time ago, old fears resurfaced when I was pregnant, and he was every bit as worried as I was.
But we worried for nothing, because both my pregnancies were easy sailing, and I’m determined to be uber relaxed this time.
I run my fingers over the locket at the base of my throat, always remembering our little angel in heaven. Ryan had Brayden’s initial engraved on it after he was born, and the same after Harper arrived, so I know he’ll do the same with this new little one. Brayden knows he has a sibling in heaven, and we took him with us on our annual graveyard visit this year. Harper is too young to understand, but we’ll tell her when she’s old enough.
“You okay?” Ryan asks, pulling me back down onto his lap.
I plant my hands on his shoulder, pressing a featherlight kiss to his lips. “I’m perfect. I was just thinking about our little one in heaven,” I truthfully admit.
“Me too.” He runs his finger over mine on the locket, staring deep into my eyes. “I love you so much, Summer. Thank you for this amazing life.”
“You don’t have to thank me. We were meant to be, Ryan. It’s always been written in the stars.”
“I’m glad you broke through my walls. Obliterated my concerns, because if I hadn’t opened my heart, hadn’t let myself feel all the things I was feeling for you, I would’ve missed out on all this.”
My heart is full of love for this man. “It worked both ways, babe. You showed me something I didn’t realize I was looking for, and you showed me how to love. You’re the best husband and the best father. But above everything, you’re my best friend.”
Our relationship has taught me many things, but the most important lesson learned is that you should never close yourself off to love. That love comes in many guises, and forms. And people will have opinions. Some supportive. Some not so much. But all that matters are the two people in the relationship. Whether others approve doesn’t matter once you’re in it together.
We’re lucky both our families came around.
And I’ve gotten to live my dreams with my dream man by my side.
It doesn’t get any better than this.
✽✽✽
THE END
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Gabby
Looking back, I should have seen the signs. Perhaps I did, but I subconsciously chose to ignore them.
From the time I was ten, when I first met Dylan, I knew he was my forever guy. Back then, I couldn’t put words to what I was feeling, but, as the years progressed, I came to recognize it for what it was—soul-deep love. The kind only very few people ever get to experience.
Dylan was more than just my best friend, my childhood sweetheart, my lover. He was my soul mate. We were carved from the same whole—destined to be together forever.
Until he changed.
And I believed I was no longer good enough.
Until he shattered me so completely, it felt like I ceased to exist.
And I’d never experienced such heart-crushing pain.
Until he leveled me a second time, and I truly wanted to die.
But I had to stay strong because I wasn’t alone in this cruel twist of fate.
I look to the sky, pleading with the stars, begging someone to tell me what I should do because I don’t know
how to deal with this. I don’t know how to cope when my forever has changed, and I can’t help wondering if I had seen the signs earlier, if I’d pushed him, would it have been enough to save us?
Or had fate already decided to alter our forever?
Download NOW or turn the page to read a sample.
WHEN FOREVER CHANGES – SAMPLE
Chapter One
Gabby
Start of sophomore year in college
“A bunch of us are heading to the frat party later. Want to come with?” Myndi asks as we make our way out of the building on Friday after our last class of the day.
“Thanks for the invite, but I’ve already got plans.”
She smiles knowingly at me, her green eyes twinkling. “Let me guess? With a certain hot, rich, tech nerd who worships the ground you walk on?”
I grin. “Yep. It’s our four-year anniversary, so Dylan is taking me out to dinner to celebrate.”
“Aw, he’s so romantic. You’ve definitely got yourself a good one, Gabby.”
“I know. I’m really lucky to have found my person. I can’t ever imagine my life without him in it.”
Sticking her fingers in her mouth, she makes a gagging sound. Late afternoon sun glints off the red undertones in her hair, highlighting her natural beauty. Myndi’s genuine personality and laid-back manner completes the perfect package. Travis was a damn fool for cheating on her. But it’s most definitely his loss.
And my bestie has had no shortage of offers since we returned to campus from summer break a couple weeks ago.
“Too cheesy?” I’m still grinning as I say it. Nothing can put a dent in my good mood today. Not even the mammoth assignment Prof Brown just handed us.
“Definitely, but you own that, girl, and feel proud! Dylan’s the catch of the century, and if you weren’t my bestest friend in the entire universe, I might feel jealous.”
I loop my arm in hers as we walk through campus. Glorious sunshine beats down on us, and it feels good to be alive. “Your Prince Charming is out there too, waiting to be claimed.” I had thought Travis might be the one, but after the shit he pulled, it’s clear I was mistaken. “I still can’t believe Travis cheated on you with that skank. He was so devoted last year.”
My bestie shrugs, but she can’t disguise the flash of hurt glimmering in her eyes. “Neither can I, but I guess I never really knew him at all. Everything he said to me was a bare-faced lie.”
“Let’s schedule a girl’s night for next week,” I suggest. “Just you and me. We can grab dinner and a movie or hang out at my place. I’ll kick Dylan out for the night.”
Myndi and I met our first week of freshman year, and we’ve been pretty much joined at the hip since then. We’re both studying nursing, so we spend every day together, and when she started dating Travis last year, double dates became a regular occurrence.
Travis and Dylan were close, until Travis did the unthinkable over the summer and Myndi kicked him to the curb. Now, Dylan refuses to return Travis’s calls, and I admire his loyalty to my friend—as if I need additional reasons to adore my long-term boyfriend and childhood sweetheart.
“That’d be great, but I don’t want to kick Dylan out of his own condo. We’ll just ban him to the bedroom and commandeer the living room.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
A shrill whistle pierces my eardrums, and I look up as my name is called. My brother, Ryan, waves from across the street. He’s in his running gear, and, judging by the hair plastered to his forehead, I’m guessing he’s on the return route of his daily jog. He sprints across the road with a certain look on his face. One I’ve seen way too many times to count.
“Good evening, ladies,” he says, all but ignoring me as he grins seductively at my friend. Very slowly, he peruses the length of her body, licking his lips and folding his muscular arms across his torso. Myndi’s chest visibly heaves as she returns the eye-fuck, and I know it’s time to stop this train wreck from happening.
I punch Ryan in the arm.
Hard.
“Ow!” Rubbing his arm, he scowls at me. “What the fuck was that for?”
“Quit with the sleazy ‘come fuck me’ looks. Myndi is my best friend so that means she’s off limits to the likes of you.” I prod my finger in his solid chest to drill my point home. And it’s not the first time I’ve had to issue a warning. He’s been after her since last year. Although he’d never make a move on any girl in a relationship, now that Myndi and Travis are no more, he seems to have made it a mission to get her underneath him.
As much as I love my brother, and I truly adore him, he’s a complete manwhore, leaving a trail of broken hearts all over campus. If I thought his intentions were serious, and that Myndi was into it, I wouldn’t stand in their way, but I don’t want to see her hurt. And I don’t want things to become awkward. Even though Ryan, Slater, and their crew are seniors, we still hang with them a lot, and if Ryan treated Myndi like one of his “girls,” things would definitely get messy.
“You’re lucky you’re my favorite sister,” he grumbles, shoving my finger away.
I purse my lips and narrow my eyes. “I’m your only sister.”
“Exactly.” He smirks, and I roll my eyes.
“Myndi has just had a bad breakup and the last thing she needs is Mr. One-night Stand hitting on her.”
He slams a hand over his chest, feigning upset. “You slay me, little sis. Such cruel words.”
“Don’t even try to deny it. There’s a running roll call of your conquests on the wall in the girls’ restroom.” A sour taste fills my mouth. “And that is not something I should ever have to see.” I’m not confirming it’s a list of the hottest guys on campus with each girl rating their skills on a scale of one to ten. Or the fact he and Slater are more than holding their own at the top of the list. Ugh. A sister does not need to know this stuff.
He puffs out his chest, and his lips curl up at the corners. “Can’t help it if the ladies love what I’m offering.” He shoots us a smug grin. “It’s all in the James’ genes. You’d know it if you hadn’t attached yourself to Woods when you were still in diapers.”
I smack his chest this time. “I was fifteen when Dylan and I first started going out. Asshat.”
“Does Woods know you get off on beating up defenseless men?” He grabs his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Or is that the standard he’s used to?”
I fist my hands into knots, working hard to quell the urge to thump him again. “Ugh. You are so freaking annoying. Thank God, it’s your last year here.”
Quick as a flash, he grabs me into a headlock, messing up my hair. “Don’t be mean, Tornado. You know you’ll miss your favorite brother.”
Ryan started calling me Tornado when I was about five after my propensity to race around the place, blowing in and out of rooms like a tornado. I’ve always had an abundance of restless energy, and it’s why you’ll rarely find me lounging around doing nothing. I like to keep active. The only exception is sleep. I love my bed and enjoy sleeping late, but once I’m up and out in the world, I’m always on the go.
I aim a punch toward his gut, but he snatches my wrist and effortlessly lifts me up, throwing me over his shoulder. I hate being the smallest in my family and the fact all three of my brothers use that to their advantage when it suits them.
“Put me down, Randy Ryan,” I yell, balling my hands into fists and pummeling his back. Ryan hates that name, and I love throwing it out to piss him off. The girls in high school gave him the label, and it stuck, much to his disgust. Especially when Sexy Slater rubbed his much cooler nickname in his face. My brother’s best friend was a permanent fixture around our house growing up, so I’ve spent years listening to them winding one another up. Slater’s practically a surrogate James.
Especially in the last year.
A pang of sorrow slams into me, but Ryan derails my emotions when he swats my butt, dragging me back into the moment. “Hitting is not nice, Gabby. Mom and Dad would be so
disappointed to realize their little baby girl is a wannabe Katie Taylor.”
“Neither is screwing girls, making them fall in love with you, and then ignoring them, but you don’t see me running to the folks like a big blabbermouth.” I wriggle aggressively in his hold, and he relents, finally letting me down. I move to punch him in the gut again, but I’m only messing around. When he holds his hands up in a defensive stanch, I grab his face and smack a loud kiss on his cheek instead. “Love you, little big bro.”
I’m the youngest in our family, and Ryan is the youngest of my big brothers, and we’re the closest in age so, naturally, we formed the closest bond. When I was a kid, I used to call him little big bro, and it’s kinda stuck over the years.
He slings his arm around my shoulder, kissing my temple. “Love you too, little sis. Always.”
“You two are legit crazy,” Myndi says, and I hear the amusement in her tone. “How the hell did anyone survive living in a house with the two of you?”
“We mostly just ignored them,” a familiar deep masculine voice says from behind. I brush knotty strands of blonde hair back off my face and grin at my pseudo-brother.
“Sup, bruh?” Ryan greets Slater with a loud slap on the shoulder.
“I’m heading to Lil Bob for a workout before the party tonight.”
My eyes drift over Slater, noticing the new tatt on his left arm and the rippling biceps stretching tight under his formfitting shirt. Slater has always enjoyed working out, but since his Mom passed six months ago, he’s become a little obsessed. He’s a permanent fixture at the sports facility the students have christened “Lil Bob.” I guess it’s part of his coping mechanism, and I’ll never criticize him for that. Just thinking about his mom brings tears to my eyes, so I can only imagine how he must feel.
No Feelings Involved: A Brother's Best Friend Standalone Romance Page 25
