by Tina Saxon
Not long, Syd and I are walking to a couple chairs to sit down. My feet are starting to hurt. A table right in the middle is reserved for me. They didn’t miss anything.
I look around for Lexi and she’s on Max’s shoulders, entertaining a group of people. She’s definitely a shining light. My shining light.
The sound of a guitar has me turning my attention to the stage. Butterflies inside me flutter at the sight of Aiden in the center of the stage, sitting on a barstool. His sleeves are rolled up and his tie is loosened so the shirt’s first button is undone. He looks right at me and smiles. I cross my legs and fan myself.
He’s gorgeous. And mine.
He shakes his head, chuckling to himself. “This is for you, sweetheart. I love you.”
I mouth back, “I love you.”
His fingers move effortlessly across the strings. I’m not surprised in the least. They are experts at strumming me. Heat spreads through me, thinking about later and those fingers.
I look quickly at Sydney. “You are still keeping Lexi, right?” She nods and giggles.
When the words start, Aiden’s voice is husky and sexy. It reverberates deep down inside me. Tears pool in my eyes as he sings “H.O.L.Y” from Florida Georgia Line.
He closes his eyes momentarily. When he opens them they glisten. The words strip me naked and then cover me line by line as he pours his heart into them.
By the time he’s done, tears fall freely. Syd hands me a Kleenex. It’s then I notice that everyone has gone silent. I don’t even care. All I care about right now is the man stalking toward me.
When he stands in front of me, words have a hard time coming out. How do I tell him everything I just felt?
“Hallelujah,” I say in a singsong voice. Not quite what I was going for, but it was definitely a good part of the song.
His booming laugh echoes in the silent room. “God, I love you and your dirty mind.”
“Aiden, there’s so much more I want to say,” I say, sliding off the chair.
“Wait. Let me say what I need to first.” He grabs my hands and kisses each knuckle.
“Addison, I don’t even know where to start. Two years ago you jump-started my heart. You opened my eyes to a life I never knew existed. You told me once that my compass was stuck. Sweetheart, it wasn’t stuck. It was showing me exactly where I needed to go. Straight to you.” I can’t control the tears as he continues. “I can’t imagine doing life without you. I want to be there for you, especially when danger knocks on your door, which seems to be frequently,” he says, smirking, and the crowd laughs.
I narrow my eyes at him and stick my tongue out. “I know you don’t need a hero or a protector, even though I’d do that in a heartbeat, and I really wish you’d let me at least once.” I laugh this time, shaking my head. He’s my hero every day. He wipes away some of my tears as his thumb caresses my cheek. “Addison, I want to be your partner, your lover, your everything as long as I’m yours. The first chapter of our love story was dictated by fate. Let’s write the rest of it ourselves.” My breath hitches as he pulls out a black velvet box and kneels down. I have to cover my mouth to hide the sobbing sounds. “Addison Grace Mason, will you marry me?”
He opens the box and holy shit! It’s a huge solitaire outlined in tiny diamonds on a thin platinum band. It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. I don’t know much about engagement rings; hell, I don’t know a damn thing about them because I’ve never even thought about them, but this ring is perfect.
I pull Aiden off the ground, my hands shake as I bring my hands to his jaw. “I love you.” I’m having problems forming words. I’m frozen, wanting to preserve this moment forever. He looks at me, waiting. “Oh …” I nervously giggle. “Yes, yes, yes,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. Cheers explode around us.
He lets out a ragged breath and then pulls back, kissing away all my tears. He lays his forehead on mine. Our eyes lock. “I can’t believe I’m getting married,” I whisper. I pull back quickly. “Wait.”
“What?” he asks, an eyebrow pops up.
“You know I come as a package now, right?” His eyes soften.
The crowd goes quiet as Aiden looks around. Spotting Lexi on Max’s shoulders he yells out, “Hey, Tater Tot, what do you think? Are you okay with Addison being my wife and you both living with me?”
She claps and bounces. Max grabs her legs so she doesn’t fall backwards. “Yes. Yes. Yes,” she says, mirroring my own words. “But I call dibs on flower girl.”
I thought the cheers were deafening before, well the decibels just shot through the roof with laughter.
“You heard it,” Aiden says, taking out the ring. I open my hand, spreading my fingers out, and he slips on the ring. It fits perfect.
He picks me up and twirls me around. This is the best night of my life.
The happy birthdays now turn to congratulations. The drinks seem to come more frequently now. I guess Aiden was making sure I wasn’t going to be drunk for his proposal. Probably a good thing.
“Addison,” I turn around to Amy and Ted, who’s holding a sleeping Lexi in his arms. “We’re going to take Lexi back with us to the hotel. We told Syd to stay and celebrate with you both.”
“I love you both so much. Everything you’ve done for me in my life, I can’t thank you enough,” I say. I give them hugs and kiss Lexi on the cheek.
The celebration is turned up a notch. Syd, Harper, Bryn, and I take the stage a few times. As well as Aiden and the guys. Bryn finds me. “So the quarterback is hot,” she slurs a little.
I giggle. “I think he probably fits into the first fifty percent of men looking for only one thing, sweetie.”
She rolls her eyes. “With that, I’d be willing to find out.” She struts away, probably to go find Ryker.
Aiden slips behind me, holding out my ring finger in front of us. “I can’t wait for you to be Mrs. Roberts.” I wiggle my ass against him.
“What if I—”
“Bullshit. You will take the name Roberts,” he says, tickling me.
“Okay, okay.” My voice softens. I turn in his arms. “I can’t wait to be Mrs. Roberts.” He nibbles on my bottom lip, then sucks on it. Tingles run down my spine. I press into him and open, allowing his tongue to dance with mine.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Max’s booming voice has us separating and looking around for what’s going on. Toward the front door, there’s a wall of men all facing it. Max, Ryan, Ryker, Damon, and Jaxon. Aiden grabs my hand as we start to walk that way. Ryker turns and focuses on Aiden. A slight shake of his head halts Aiden.
I look at Aiden’s concerned look. “Maybe we should let the guys handle it,” he says quickly.
“This is my night so I’m going to go see why there’s a wall being built between whomever is on the other side of it and us,” I say, trying not to slur. I’m a little drunk. Aiden holds my hand and we both walk over.
“Alright, boys, move,” I say and gesture with my hands for them to step aside. Max looks at me, winces, and then looks at Aiden. They slowly step aside.
I gasp. This cannot be happening.
NOT ON MY FUCKING NIGHT!
“Hi, babe,” Jessie squeals, rubbing her very large pregnant belly. “Guess what? We’re having a girl.”
To be continued…
Prologue preview book #3
I can’t believe of all the nights to ruin, it’s this one. I can’t believe Jessie would do this. I pace my apartment, practically pulling my hair out. How did this happen? Why is she doing this to me?
I don’t know what Addison is thinking right now because she won’t answer my fucking calls. Five sets of eyes watch me walk back and forth. The only thing that can be heard are the curse words flying out of my mouth and my heavy steps across the hardwood floor.
“Aiden,” Ryan says, clearing his throat. I watch him sit forward on his knees. “Are you sure you didn’t—”
“What the fuck kind of question is that? I think
I know where I dipped my stick,” I grind out, wondering why he’s asking me this. I would never have cheated on Addison.
His eyes bore into me like he knows something. Well, clue me in, asshole, because I don’t know where you’re going with this.
“Aiden, you saw Jessie a little over eight months ago.”
“I fucking did not,” I bark, crossing my arms over my chest.
He stands up, mirroring my stance. “When I came to the beach house, when you decided to use the walls as a punching bag … when I got there, Jessie was leaving the house and she made it pretty clear that you two …”
Thank YOU! If you’re reading this, this book is dedicated to YOU! The love and encouragement from you, my readers, has been mind-blowing. It still feels surreal to have published two books now and your praises makes this new author feel amazing.
To my family who has put up with me disappearing to write, thank you for your patience and understanding. I couldn’t have finished this book without the help of my husband. Your extra help with the kids and the house, your support and encouragement to keep going no matter what, the constant love you show me (especially after eighteen years of marriage) has made me feel like one lucky woman.
My book wouldn’t be what it is without my professional team behind me. Max and Elaine, thank you for making my words come alive and shine. You both rock! Sarah, thank you for putting up with my controlling tendencies and creating an awesome book cover.
I could never forget to thank my number one fans, my Alpha and Beta readers. Tiffany, Lori, Traci and Michelle, the time you take out of your life to read my book, give me feedback and help me promote means so much to me. You have made my books better and I can’t thank y’all enough.
Now on to finish Aiden and Addison’s story … Fate Loves.
Xoxo,
TS
Tina Saxon lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and two kids. She’s not afraid to try new things because it’s outside the box of typical housewife. CEO of her home is by far the most rewarding job she has ever had. Her jobs include, but are not limited to, seamstress, carpenter, craft extraordinaire, PTA President, chauffeur, dance mom, mediator—of mentioned kids—and author. Once upon a time she was a Financial Analyst but traded budgets and forecasts in for diapers and bottles. The former was definitely easier but the latter more fulfilling.
Tina’s love for reading surged into her passion for writing. Wanting to bring the reader an intriguing story that’s hard to put down with steamy love scenes that heat you up, she’s always thinking of the perfect way to take you down that path.
Fate Heals is book two in her Twist of Fate series. Look for the conclusion of Addison and Aiden’s journey, Fate Loves, to be released in July/August.
She loves hearing from her readers! Contact Tina Saxon at:
[email protected]
http://www.tinasaxon.com
https://facebook.com/authortinasaxon
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16743159.Tina_Saxon
Table of Contents
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
Chapter twenty-seven
Chapter twenty-eight
Chapter twenty-nine
Chapter thirty
Chapter thirty-one
Chapter thirty-two
Chapter thirty-three
Chapter thirty-four
Chapter thirty-five
Chapter thirty-six
Chapter thirty-seven
Chapter thirty-eight
Prologue preview book #3
Acknowledgements
About the Author
