by Cee, DW
“All right, Son. I’ll coordinate with your mother and Carson, and we’ll come out to California.”
“You will?”
“With Marni’s complicated situation, I assume this means you’ll be staying put in Los Angeles?”
“Are you disappointed?”
“Not at all, Son. Back at your age, I followed my ego. You’re following your heart. If I had been more secure with myself, if I had liked myself more, I wouldn’t be a tormented old man now.”
“What? Dad, you’re one of the most respected men in the world.”
“It means nothing, Noah, without the woman you love. Watching your mother with Carson haunts me. Go after Marni and give her everything she wants. In the end, you’ll realize every problem has a solution if you’re willing to compromise. Nothing matters but your family.”
“Thank you Dad. I’ll remember every last word.”
“Good luck, Son.”
With those words of encouragement, I proposed to Marni. I gave her no warning, no romantic overtures. I should have gotten down on one knee, at least, but in my haste, I forgot. What I didn’t forget was the ring.
“Last time I proposed, I had everything but the ring. This time, I have nothing but my heart and this.” To add to this ridiculous act of proposing, I dropped the ring box onto the floor and the ring popped out. “This is going to go down as the worst proposal ever.” Unfortunately, this wasn’t a lie.
Marni laughed and laughed. I couldn’t understand if laughter was a good thing or a bad thing. “Let me see if that diamond is big enough; and then I’ll decide which answer to give.”
It couldn’t be all that bad if she wanted to try on the ring. “I think it’s pretty damn big for your tiny fingers.”
“You think so, huh? Since seeing her twice in one day, my eyes have adjusted to Cece Hanover’s diamond.”
After placing the ring on her finger, I covered her eyes briefly with my hands. “There. Is it big enough, now?”
“It’s more than I deserve,” she answered sincerely. “Before I answer yes, I need a few yeses from you.”
YES! She’ll marry me! Finally! “Shoot.”
“Ali?”
No other words were necessarily. I stopped her right there. “Yes.” Marni needed more of an explanation; I provided all the details. “I get it. I know you feel responsible for her. Dad will help me relocate to Los Angeles. You can spend all the days with that little redhead as long as you spend your nights with me.”
“But…” I stopped her again.
“No buts. The great Admiral Elijah Bergstrom told me life means nothing without the woman you love. He told me to follow my heart.”
“You’ve worked so hard.”
“And I’ll keep working hard. I don’t need the prestige and my income won’t starve us. If you choose to stay home after having our baby, we’ll still be OK with what I bring home.”
“Ben…”
“As long as he doesn’t get in the way of our marriage, I don’t care if you spend time with him. I know he’s part of the Alice Howard package. I’ll deal.”
“Yes. I will marry you, Noah Bergstrom. I will be your wife. I will be the mother of your children. I will be with you forever.”
Author’s Note
I know what you’re all thinking. “How could she?” As to whether “she” is me, the author, or Marni, our heroine, I’ll leave that for you to interpret/curse.
Does it help if I tell you this was not the original cliffhanger? Had I left the story where I planned, you really would have cursed me. When I finished Noah’s chapter 15, I really liked the way it ended. Somehow, it made sense and everything came together…kind of.
I mentioned in one of my emails that this was a difficult book for me to write. It started with Ben as the narrator, and by Chapter 3, I knew it wasn’t enough. I added Marni as a dual narrator, and by Chapter 8, it still wasn’t enough. When I included Noah into this mix, it was perfect!
Now imagine going back twice to rewrite three different points of views, crisscrossing decades, making sure all the facts stay consistent, and my storyline stays cogent—while keeping the same song title and first line. I was so confused. I’m still so confused. Without a doubt, this book brought about a serious case of memory loss for me.
I’d like to give you a teaser chapter of Perfect Harmony, part two of the Harmony series, but I don’t have anything written as of three weeks before publication. The plot is brewing in my head and confusing me even further. I hope to have Perfect Harmony un-jumbled and ready for publication by August 2015.
While I’m at it, let me tell you the rest of the schedule for this year. Finally, Love! Michael and Chloe’s Story Vol. 1 will drop April 2015, Finally, Love! Michael and Chloe’s Story Vol. 2, September or October, AND…there will be a surprise Reid book dropping some time at the end of the year. The Reids, too, are complicating my head. They are all talking to me right now, vying for the main part. Of course, this is after I take care of my family and work for a living.
Thank you for reading my books. I feel like an airplane pilot when I say, I know you have choices. Thank you for choosing me! Please keep in touch:
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