Crossed by the Stars: A Second-chance, Slow-burn Romance

by LJ Evans

  Jada shook her head. “No…but still something…life-changing.”

  I took a step back toward her, and she countered by moving away.

  “Mon amour, you’re worrying me.” She still didn’t like the endearment, and I still used it when I needed to push her buttons. But it was so rare these days that we were both surprised when I said it.

  “This is your fault,” she said.

  “Mine?” Surprise continued to fill me.

  “We sleep naked. We make love all the damn time. It was bound to happen.”

  I was thoroughly and completely confused, but my heart was still hammering because she’d retreated so much.

  “I don’t know if I can do it.” She looked up at me, and there were tears in her eyes, and her hands were shaking as she pushed a tendril of escaped hair behind her ear.

  I pursued her, trapping her at the window by pressing her body against the glass. She went to push me away, and I grabbed her hands and growled, “Pour l’amour de Dieu, just tell me.”

  She lifted her chin, defiant and angry, eyes flashing at me. “I’m pregnant.”

  I stared, trying to absorb the words she’d said. Finally, as they settled in my chest, joy filled me. Joy and pleasure that showed on my face in the form of the wide grin that took over my lips.

  She only glared more. “Wipe that smile off your face, Armaud.”

  And the ‘Armaud’ did it for me.

  “Mon bijou, this is a good thing.”

  “For you. The man who wanted half a dozen kids. But not for me…the person who’s always known she’d be an awful mom,” her voice cracked, and the tears she’d held back spilled over her cheeks.

  I swallowed hard. “You don’t want it… You want to… I understand.”

  It would kill me a bit, to get rid of the little being we’d made together. But Jada was my life. I’d do anything for her.

  “Don’t be daft!” she hollered at me. “I can’t…I can’t get rid of it! It’s ours…our baby!”

  I couldn’t help the relief that filled me, but I also realized this was bringing up too many memories from her past. A childhood where she’d been raised by staff but forced to conform to her father’s world. I wrapped my arms around her again.

  “You are not your parents. You are going to be a wonderful mother.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I have no idea how to be a mom.”

  “Yes, you do. You do it every day.”

  She looked up at me, brows crinkled, confusion written on her face.

  “Every day, you take care of me and Violet and your team. Every day, you do your best for the people in your life. To show up for them. To love them. Doing those things…being there and loving them…it’s all a child really needs.”

  She closed her eyes, dark lashes resting against her pale cheeks, and I reached up to brush aside the tears that creeped out. “Mon bijou, you are the epitome of sacrifice and love. Our child is going to be lucky to call you Maman.”

  Her eyes opened, staring into mine as if searching for a different truth than the one my words told. When she saw nothing but honesty there, her face filled with emotions much deeper than lust or caring or even adoration. A look she’d had for me once upon a time in a fairy tale where I’d been the prince, and she’d been the princess, and we’d been kept apart by warring families. It was love encased in hope.

  I kissed her, a soft and gentle one. A promise. As if swearing my fealty just like Romeo had to his Juliet. Like Shinji had to Hatsue. Like I would always swear to mon petit bijou. It took a moment, and then she was kissing me back, the softness disappearing with her fierceness. The moment the princess picked up the sword and swung back.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” she asked against my lips, hers finally curling up into a smile that filled me with even more relief.

  I shook my head.

  “It means you’re going to have to start wearing clothes to bed.”

  I gasped, “Never!”

  “You want to scar our child for life when they come into our room because they had a nightmare?”

  I groaned, closing my eyes. “It’s just a body. They have to get used to seeing them.”

  “Do you want to see your father’s naked ass?”

  I shuddered. “No.”

  “We have eight months to practice,” she teased.

  I picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around my body, placing a kiss on my neck.

  “No,” I said. “We have eight months to make the most of it. You need to quit your job. We’ll stay naked the entire time.”

  She laughed as I carried her down the stairs, and the security guard looked the other way. It wasn’t an uncommon sight. Me coming to retrieve her. Us leaving entwined. But bordel de merde, Jada was right. We were going to have to become civilized.

  No longer two star-crossed lovers. No longer perpetual honeymooners.

  But a family. My heart soared.

  A family of three.

  ♫ ♫ ♫

  Want a look at Dax and Jada’s wedding? How about a taste of Kaida Ito and the vengeance she seeks for her father’s murder?

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  Did you miss Dax and Jada’s performance in

  Dawson and Violet’s second-chance romance , UNMASKED DREAMS? It’s a daring and decadent adventure that takes readers around the world and back. See why reviewers call it “magnifying and electric” as well as “A roller coaster ride of emotions with twists and turns that are sure to leave you gasping.” https://geni.us/UDLJE

  Here’s a sneak peek:

  “Go to bed, Violet,” he said. It was a plea again. Tortured and yet demanding.

  “I’m not sixteen, Dawson. I don’t need anyone telling me it’s bedtime.” I lifted my chin, glaring at him.

  “I swear to God, you make me want to―” he stopped himself.

  “Make you want to what? Just finish it.”

  His eyes strolled down my face to my lips and another groan escaped him.

  “Strangle you,” he said. But we both knew it wasn’t what he’d been about to say.

  “Coward,” I taunted. It had to be him. He had to kiss me first. If I kissed him, I’d only end up feeling like the teenage girl I’d once been, tagging after him, begging for attention.

  His hand slid from the refrigerator door to my face, where his calloused finger ran along my skin. Rough from the work he did on the boats. The raised skin of the scar that traveled from his knuckles down onto his palm from when he’d saved me from a sinking car was equally coarse. He moved to my neck and glided along my collarbone. Anticipation and need coursed through me.

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  Maybe you’re ready for a new kind of escape from your daily life? LJ takes you on a magical whirlwind that readers call, “An experience I’ll never forget,” “Pure escapism,” and “Sheer joy,” in the

  standalone, contemporary romance, CHARMING AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM.

  Today was a fairy tale…

  I inherited a fortune from a dad I never knew,

  And a thoroughly charming guy asked me out.

  Unfortunately, my fairy tale could disappear in ninety days...

  Because there’s an impossible task to complete,

  And a greedy cousin plotting against me.

  Plus, I’m not your typical fairy tale princess.

  I have a secret that might send my charming running,

  And threatens my future if the press finds out.

  If today was a fairy tale…

  Why does my happily ever after look so far out of reach?

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  Missed out on the Anchor Novels from their inception? You can still get caught up with these standalone stories by reading them in any order. These HEA, military romances are about true friends, real "family", and the dreams we reshape as we go through this wild ride called life. With vivid, endearing characters, these books just might carve out a special spot in your heart and then stay there forever.

  You can begin with Ava and Eli’s standalone story, GUARDED DREAMS, and see why Amazon Bestselling Author, Jami Albright says it’s, "a lovely, lyrical, and moving second-chance romance… A beautiful story that will steal your heart and make you believe in love that lasts forever." https://geni.us/GDLJE

  Here’s a tiny snippet from Eli and Ava’s story:

  She went down the hall with a drunken walk, bumping into walls and making so much noise that I was sure Mac and Truck were going to come out of their rooms ready to start a fight.

  “Where are you going?” I asked as I followed her.

  “To bed,” she said and entered the master suite.

  “Not in here, you’re not.”

  She was already on the bed, feet going under the sheet and head landing on the pillow I’d been using. The king-sized bed was huge, and yet, somehow, she was in the exact spot I’d been lying in.

  “Ava,” I said her name, and it sounded strange. Throaty. Like a word I shouldn’t be saying.

  Her eyes popped back open at her name, or the way I’d said it, or both, and I had to fight off every nerve in my body that was demanding I jump into the bed beside her.

  “There’s plenty of room, Mr. Grumpy.”

  It sounded like an offer. An offer we both knew that I wasn’t going to accept. She patted the bed behind her as if to reemphasize her point.

  “You won’t even know I’m here,” she continued.

  There was no way I was climbing into that bed. Just as there was no way I wouldn’t know she was there. But when I moved toward the bed, her lips curled up in a sly smile as if she actually believed I'd join her. I reached over her to grab a pillow.

  “Sleep good, drunkard, because tomorrow your sweet little ass is out of here.”

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  The second, standalone Anchor Novel is FORGED BY SACRIFICE. It’s Mac and Georgie’s political, military romance with just a hint of suspense. It has a whole slew of 5-star reviews like this one from Angela’s Book Addiction: “Beautifully written, emotional, sexy, and full of depth with exciting twists and turns. I highly recommend it!” It’s available now on Amazon, and it’s FREE in Kindle Unlimited. https://geni.us/FBSLJE

  Here’s a little taste:

  “I’d really like to kiss you,” he said quietly.

  I looked into his eyes that were the color of the sky and the sea all rolled into one. His face was so gorgeous, with its day-old stubble and square planes, that it was like looking at a piece of art you’d never expected to see up close in person.

  “I’d really like you to kiss me too. But let’s face it, it isn’t a good idea,” I answered back, unable to deny the attraction that existed between the two of us from the moment we’d met in my salon two years ago, regardless of the relationship I’d just left behind.

  His head inclined in silent agreement. It wasn’t a good idea. Disappointment curled through me even as I knew it was better this way.

  His hand moved to caress my cheek. Gently. Soothing.

  “Can I ask why you think it’s a bad idea?” he inquired.

  His voice had turned a notch deeper in blatant desire, making my heart pound against my chest in a heavy beat that denied my words. I ached to kiss him. To feel those almost too-perfect lips against my own. To feel the strength that poured from him, in muscle and character, reaching out to touch my soul.

  “Ava and Eli,” I said quietly. “Awkwardness later.”

  He nodded again, that new and unfamiliar feeling of disappointment reaching up into my throat at his action. My body didn’t want him to nod, but my brain was still ruling my movements.

  “One kiss,” he muttered, a finger traveled to my lips, caressing the bottom one with a gentle touch like the one he’d used on the tomatoes the day before. Surprising. Sexy. My breath escaped in a gasp that sounded almost like a moan.

  And then his lips were on mine, just like the touch, gentle and yet full of heat, longing filling us both, desire escaping from us and mingling in an excursion that felt like heartbreak and loneliness and promises that would never be. The gentleness gave way to a fierceness that was as unexpected as the gentleness had been. His hand went to my lower back, pulling me toward him tighter so that our bodies and curves joined in a way that felt like opposite ends of magnets finally clicking together. Parallel forces drawn, as if by physics itself.

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  The third Anchor Novel is Truck and Jersey’s fake-marriage, military romance, AVENGED BY LOVE. It’s a small-town, standalone that one 5-star reviewer says, “Has wings of its own that will take you on the greatest love story adventure.” It’s FREE in Kindle Unlimited and available on Amazon now. https://geni.us/ABLLJE

  Here’s a little teaser for you:

  The man shut the bar, clicked the button next to him, and we swooshed backward while he loaded the next car. Our seat continued to sway, and I gripped the bar.

  Jersey laughed next to me, and I turned my head from the ground disappearing beneath us to her. To the beauty that was the pale vision next to me. “This is funny to you?”

  “It’s just…you’re this big, bad Coast Guard, all protective He-man action. So, it’s strange to see you afraid of a simple machine.”

  “We aren’t birds. We don’t have wings. If we fall, there will be nothing to save us.”

  “We’re not going to fall. Don’t look at the ground, look out.” She took my chin in her hand and drew it up from the ground so I was looking out at the ocean, and I realized, for the first time, that the skies weren’t blue, and the sun wasn’t shining. I hadn’t really noticed it when I was spending time with someone who was as bright as the sun. And Jersey was exactly that when she let herself come out from behind her shield.

  The ocean was rough, and the wind whipping around us was more from the ominous clouds than the ride. The air was hot and humid, but it was also charged with energy, and I regretted ever stepping foot on the ride.

  “What the hell are we doing on this thing in a storm?” I croaked out.

  She laughed again. “It’s beautiful, right?”

  The stormy seas were beautiful, like she’d said, especially with the clouds seeming to blur into the waves. But that beauty could turn deadly in a second. I knew it for a fact, because I lived on the sea for a good portion of my daily life.

  She tucked her arm through mine. “I’ll keep you safe.”

  And then it was my turn to laugh. This little tiny thing next to me, offering to keep me safe. As if she really did have her own superpowers. As if she was Cat Woman, or Black Widow, or that damned Glasswing she idolized and could deliver me from a fall, unscathed.

  Except, I’d already fallen. Hard. For her. For my wife.

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  SAMPLE OF AVENGED BY LOVE

  You can also get all three of the original Anchor Novels in a brand-new ANCHOR NOVEL BOX SET, THE MILITARY BROTHERS which includes Guarded Dreams, Forged by Sacrifice, Avenged by Love, and an exclusive novella, The Hurricane which checks in the with gang eighteen years after they first met.

  “The energy was coming off of her in waves,

  like an undertow, and I was going down.”

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  Ther
e are TWO MORE Anchor Novels available now and TWO MORE releasing in 2022, including:

  Damaged Desires — A brother’s-best-friend, military romance

  Nash is all about honoring a promise to his dead brother, so accepting a challenge from the long-legged force of nature tempting him isn’t in the cards. Not if he wants to keep his only remaining friend and stick to the code he grew up on. Several dares later, he has to decide whether to continue hiding in his past or face a new future.

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  Branded by a Song — A small-town, rock-star romance

  Brady’s come home to help the sister he left behind and find inspiration for a new album. What he doesn’t expect is to discover his muse in a woman who’s completely off limits and lost in a past that won’t let her go. Can he help her find the strength to sing a brand-new love song?

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  Tripped by Love – A small-town, single-mom romance

  In January 2022, Brady O’Neil’s sister’s story is coming. Cassidy is juggling a brand-new restaurant, a tiny human being, and unrequited love, so there’s no time for her baby’s father to try and derail her. Marco is determined to bury the feelings he harbors for his boss’s sister, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to let the sniveling father of her child steamroll her. What happens when the boundaries between them disappear?

  You can add TRIPPED BY LOVE to your Goodreads shelf now!

  Disguised by the Dawn – An enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn romance