“The darkness isn’t scary anymore,” I explain, and I can feel myself blush.
The smile that crosses his face is so beautiful and satisfied that I hear myself sigh in contentment.
He’s everything I need and everything I want. He’s the sweetest man who treats me like a princess every day. He still buys me flowers every single Tuesday and he looks at me as though he just can’t quite believe his luck. I feel the same way about him.
He tips his head towards the bed and I’m more than happy to follow his lead.
“So what’s the verdict on this house?” I ask him as I climb under the covers.
It’s been for sale for a long time, and I know how much work it’s going to be for us, but I love everything about it. I want it to be where we raise our family.
“I want to get into the ceiling space and climb up on the roof tomorrow, but I think we’d regret it if we didn’t buy that house, Mia. You light up when you walk in the door.”
We both roll onto our sides so we’re facing one another. Even in this dim light I can see the sparkle in his gorgeous blue eyes.
I know I’ll regret it if we don’t buy that place – I’ve admired it forever – and Luke would be the perfect person to take it on. He’d restore that house with the love and tenderness the old girl deserves.
“I really want it,” I whisper.
It’s not like me to just come out and say what I want, but with Luke’s encouragement, I’m learning that I can ask for things… That what I want is important.
“Then it’s yours,” he replies simply, as though it’s nothing more than a pair of shoes from the store.
“Ours,” I correct him.
It’s terrifying – the idea of intertwining our lives to this degree after only a few short months, but at the same time, it feels like this is the right step for the three of us. Luke, Joe and I.
“Ours.” He grins.
“You sure you’re up for it?”
“I’ve never been afraid of a little hard work, Mia.”
I sigh in relief and snuggle against his firm chest.
Truer words have never been spoken.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Luke
Six weeks later
“Luke?” I hear Mia call from somewhere upstairs.
“Down by the front door,” I call back.
We’re going to have to get walky-talkies or something so we can find each other in this place.
Mia really wasn’t wrong when she referred to this house as ‘big’. She wasn’t wrong about it being ‘old’ for that matter either, but I love it. It’s got character and charm.
I’ve got a list of jobs longer than my arm, but that’s all part of it.
We knew what we were getting into when we took this house on and we’ll get through all these renovations at one point or another.
We’ve got a long life ahead of us to work through it.
“Where did you put that box with the towels…” Her voice trails off as she comes up behind me and sees what I’m doing.
“Luke,” she breathes.
I straighten the last of the frames I’m hanging and step back to admire my work.
Much like everything in this house will be, this photo wall is a mix of mine and hers.
There’re photos of me, Mia, Joe, Em, my parents, Caleb… and of course, Troy. In fact, the photo she admired in my bedroom from our teenage years is right here in the middle, front and centre.
“I told you I’d share that one with you one day.” I point at the image I know will have caught her eye.
“You did,” she replies quietly as she comes to stand in front of me.
I wrap my arms around her middle and rest my chin on her shoulder.
“This is our family,” I tell her.
“Thank you for accepting every part of it,” she whispers.
“Always, Mia.”
There was never a choice. I was never going to erase Troy to make way for myself. Best friend or total stranger… that was never happening. I’ve never been the kind of guy who wants something at the expense of someone else.
“I wasn’t sure you’d want pictures of him in our new home… But I’m glad you do.”
“I think this is all he would have wanted from us, you know?” I say quietly.
She looks up at me in question.
“To be remembered.”
She nods silently, but the green depths of her eyes say so much more.
“The towels are in a box in the living room,” I say after we stare at each other for what feels like an eternity.
She places a kiss to my jaw and slips out of my arms.
I glance back up at the pictures and smile, my eyes ending up on that one special image in the middle.
“I’m doing my best to look after them,” I whisper at the picture of him frozen in time. “I know it’s not what you probably had in mind… But I love them, Troy. More than anything in the world. I’ll look after them forever. I promise you.”
I turn and walk into the heart of our home, feeling more at peace than I have in a long, long time.
EPILOGUE
Luke
“Higher, Dad, higher!” Joe yells at the top of his lungs.
It was his fourth birthday when he asked me if he could call me ‘dad’. It was quite possibly the proudest moment of my whole life.
It’s nearly official now too. The adoption process has been a bit of a lengthy one, but it’s nearly over.
He’ll officially be my son then.
It seems too good to be true – my life.
I’ve got a beautiful wife who’s thrilled she went back to school and got her degree, and an incredible son. We have an amazing home, a crazy dog and plans to extend our family.
We’ve certainly been having a lot of fun practising.
“I think that’s high enough, Joe,” Mia calls from her spot on the picnic blanket.
“Just a little higher, Dad?” he pleads with me as he flies back and forth on the swing, a huge grin on his face.
He’s an absolute daredevil this kid. He must have inherited that trait from Troy, because he sure as hell didn’t get it from his mother.
I give in and push him just a tiny bit higher, hoping Mia won’t notice. I hate saying no to Joe. I’m such a sucker for my little boy.
He grins at me and whoops in excitement.
It’s a beautiful summer’s day and the park is so busy, there are people everywhere.
It’s one of Joe’s favourite places to go and we’re here nearly every weekend.
A middle-aged woman I don’t recognise smiles as she approaches me by the swings. She hasn’t got a kid with her, but there’s about one hundred running around so she could have come with any one of them.
“He’s gorgeous,” she says as she looks at Joe. “Is he your only child?”
“Not for long if I have anything to do with it,” I say with a grin.
She laughs and points to the two dog tags that I still wear around my neck most days.
One of them is mine, and one was Troy’s.
“You’re military?”
“Ex-army.” I nod.
“You lost someone?” she prompts.
I nod. “My best friend.”
I give Joe another push to keep him moving.
It still hurts when I talk about Troy, but I’ve learnt that not talking about him hurts more.
“I’m sorry,” she says. I know she’s a total stranger, but she seems awfully genuine. “I was just here with my nieces and I couldn’t help but notice you... You’re a very attractive guy.”
I can feel myself blush. I decide that mentioning the fact that I have a wife is probably a good idea at this point, even though this woman is at least fifteen years my senior.
“Ah, um… thanks… We’re just here with my wife…”
She smiles wide. “Oh goodness, I’m sorry, I’m not hitting on you… Although you seem like a total sweetheart…”
I chuckle some
what nervously and look at her expectantly. I can’t figure out what it is she wants from me.
“I normally have my photographer with me while I’m recruiting; makes it less weird,” she replies, seeming flustered. “But I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by…”
I still haven’t got the faintest idea what she’s talking about, so I give Joe another push while I wait for her to spit it out.
“I’m sorry, I’m rambling… I’m the organiser of a calendar, kind of like a hot local men type of thing… and I’m looking for a Mr. March,” she finally says.
I glance around to check she’s not talking to someone else. “Me?”
“Yes you.” She laughs. “I think you’d be perfect.” She makes a gesture with her hands as though she’s reading some type of banner. “The sweetheart soldier.”
I shake my head in disbelief, but I can’t help grinning; it’s flattering if not a little insane sounding.
“I’m not a soldier anymore.”
She waves her hand dismissively. “That’s not important.”
She rummages around in her pocket and takes out a business card. “Take my number and have a think about it. Talk to your wife.” She winks at me.
Sceptical as I am, I take the card from her outstretched hand and look down at it as she walks away.
“Oh and…” She frowns as she realises she doesn’t know my name.
“Luke,” I provide for her.
“Luke. Keep the beard.”
I chuckle as she turns and disappears.
“Who’s that lady, Dad?” Joe asks as his swing slows down to a stop.
“I’m not sure, bud.” I glance at the card again and chuckle. “I’m not sure...”
THANK YOU!
Thank you for reading Mr. March, I hope you enjoyed it.
If you did enjoy it, please consider leaving a review; they give authors valuable feedback, help other readers find new books, and I’d really, really appreciate it!
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If you’re into Facebook, please join my reader group HERE.
Please remember:
This book has been written using UK English and may contain euphemisms and slang words that form part of the New Zealand spoken word.
Please remember that the words are not misspelled. They are slang terms and form part of everyday, New Zealand vernacular.
I.e: I’m from New Zealand and sometimes we say weird things down here… please try and be cool about it.
Thanks again!
MR. APRIL
Mr. April – Calendar Boys Series, Book Four, will be releasing April 10th 2019.
Visit www.nicolegoodinauthor.com for the cover reveal and to read the first chapter
Amazon links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon AU
Amazon CA
OTHER TITLES
Love like Yours Series
Rushed – Book 1
Pierced – Book 2
Hunted – Book 3
Chased – Book 4
Rock Games Novels
Paper, Scissors, Rock: Vol. 1
Hide and Seek: Vol. 2
My Heart Duet
My Heart Needs
My Heart Wants
Calendar Boys
Mr. January
Mr. February
Mr. March
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The songs that inspired this book – I’m Yours –The Script, and Remember Me – Gavin James.
I hope you all enjoyed reading Luke and Mia’s story – they’re very different characters to the first two books in this series, so I hope you enjoyed reading about their love.
Thanks as always to my editors – Spell Bound – Stacey and Trina. And a big thanks to my support crew, Stacey for the daily chats and bouncing ideas, Bianca for all the BETA reading and support, Marnie, Kylee, Trish, Margaret, Robyn and all the girls in my street team for sharing my stuff all over the internet, and Lauriel for catching any little mistakes that might get through as well as sharing – I appreciate you all so much!
PLAYLIST
My Best Friend’s Girl – The Cars
Miss You – Gabrielle Aplin
Again – Noah Cyrus
All These Years – Camila Cabello
Something’s Gotta Give – Camila Cabello
Say You Won’t Let Go – James Arthur
What About Us – P!nk
Too Good At Goodbyes (Acoustic) – Sam Smith
My Best Friend’s Girl – Outshyne
Stay With Me – Sam Smith
Latch (Acoustic) – Sam Smith
Skinny Love – Bon Iver
Walk Away – LANY
Where’s My Love – SYML
The Night We Met – Lord Huron
Six Feet Under – Billie Eilish
Sad Song – We The Kings & Elena Coats
Jealous – Labrinth
Little Do You Know – Alex & Sierra
The One That Got Away (Acoustic) – Katy Perry
Both Of Us – B.o.B & Taylor Swift
These Days – Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Macklemore & Dan Caplen
All Of Me – Matt Hammitt
Beneath Your Beautiful – Labrinth & Emeli Sande
I Saw the Light – Matt Hammitt
All The Ways To Say Goodbye – Mitch James
Broken Strings – James Morrison & Nelly Furtado
Let Go – Matt Hammitt
Solider – Gavin Degraw
Arms Open – The Script
The Energy Never Dies – The Script
No Getting Older – Mitch James
Just Imagine It – MKTO
Say Something – A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera
A Thousand Miles – Vanessa Carlton
Grenade – Bruno Mars
Everything Has Changed – Taylor Swift & Ed Sheeran
Mine – Taylor Swift
Big Girls Don’t Cry – Fergie
When I Look At You – Miley Cyrus
Little Things – One Direction
Turning Page – Sleeping At Last
Give Your Heart a Break – Demi Lovato
Ours – Taylor Swift
Wanted – Hunter Hayes
Arms – Christina Perri
Adore You – Miley Cyrus
One In A Million – Hannah Montanna
It Will Rain – Bruno Mars
Count On Me – Bruno Mars
Heaven – DJ Sammy & D/O
I Turn to You – Christina Aguilera
Two Is Better Than One – Boys Like Girls & Taylor Swift
Bless The Broken Road – Rascal Flatts
I Will Be – Leona Lewis
I’m Yours – The Script
Beneath Your Beautiful – Savannah Outen & Drew Seeley
Teenage Dream – Boyce Avenue
Remember Me – Gavin James
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NICOLE S. GOODIN is a romance author and mother of two from Taranaki in the North Island of New Zealand.
In mid-2015, she started to write about a group of characters who wouldn’t get out of her head. Her first book, Rushed, was published in mid-2016.
Nicole enjoys long walks on the beach, pillow fights and braiding her friends’ hair. She dislikes clichés, talking about herself in the third person, and people who don’t understand her sense of humour.
Please feel free to contact her either via her website, email, Instagram, Twitter or on her Facebook page, she would love to hear your feedback. If you’re feeling really game, you can even sign up for her newsletter HERE.
UPCOMING TITLES
Calendar Boys Novels
Mr. April
Mr. May
Mr. June
Mr. July
Mr. August
Mr. September
Mr. October
Mr. November
Mr. December
Mr. March: A Friends to Lovers Romance (Calendar Boys Book 3) Page 14