He was the person who helped me realize I was complete on my own, flaws and all.
Propping myself up on my elbows, I looked down into his lust-hooded eyes. His body was the perfect source of friction beneath mine. “I wanted to give you me for your birthday.” My whispered words could barely be heard above our labored breathing, but when they finally did float to his ears, his eyes widened in surprise.
“Are you sure?” His fingers dug into my back, holding me tightly to him.
“Yes,” I muttered against his lips. He knew it was something I’d been working on in therapy for the last few months and it was something that meant a lot to me. It was more than claiming him as mine. It was about claiming a piece of me that had been stolen so long ago.
It wasn’t about sex. It was about love—for Parker, for myself.
For the first time ever, I took someone else for no other reason than I loved them; because being without them was more painful than being with them.
As my body moved in Parker’s, his writhing under mine in a passionate and languorous dance, I knew this was my forever.
This moment of completeness was the one I’d been searching for in the last decade. It was the one I’d missed for years, yet was too afraid to reach for.
It was the moment of realization that I didn’t need to be wholly perfect in order to be perfectly whole.
“Park . . . oh, God . . .” My movements became too frantic to control.
“Let go, Liam. Please,” he begged between heated breaths. “Let yourself go to me.”
And I did. Beautifully and completely, I became one with Parker in every sense of the word as if it were my destiny all along.
Curled at his side, the low lamplight of the room illuminating our post-lovemaking glow even more so, I felt more complete than I ever had in my entire life.
The only thing breaking the silence was the buzzing of my phone on the floor. After a solid five minutes of constant vibration, I finally reached down and pulled my jeans up onto the bed.
The screen told me it was Paulie calling—ten times, to be exact.
Immediately, I called him back. The significance of what had just happened put on pause for the moment.
“Hello,” I blurted out frantically into the line. “Yeah? Really? Okay, yeah. We’ll be there soon.”
Parker looked over to me, an expectant stare waiting for something from me.
“It’s the baby.” Knowing the significance of my all too simple explanation, he froze on the spot. “She’s here.”
He shot up and rested against the headboard. “Are you ready?” There was more meaning to his words than simply wondering whether I needed to get to the hospital right then and there.
The impact of the moments we’d just shared was most certainly not lost on me. He wanted to ask me so much more than whether I was ready. Parker wanted to know if I’d somehow laid my demons to rest deep enough to learn how to move forward. If giving myself to him meant I was ready for the rest of our lives to happen.
When that realization hit me, I smiled, answering him with an unequivocal, “Yes.”
And it was the truest statement I’d ever uttered in my entire life.
More than ever, I was ready to face the possibilities of tomorrow.
As long as Parker was at my side, holding my hand, facing down whatever trials may face us in our future, I knew I was whole enough to live the rest of my life as happily as I possibly could.
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I am so fortunate to have so much help when it comes to writing and publishing my books. It’s a process I wouldn’t be able to navigate without the expertise of everyone else involved in the process.
My beta readers—Kristy Bruno, Emily Bentz, Jennifer Diaz, Nasha Lama, Felice, Stevens, Mayas Sanders, Pam Schaeffer, and Ashley Griffieth. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read and help me fine tune Repaired. I can’t begin to express how valuable I find your feedback.
My editing team—Thank you, Becky Johnson and your Hot Tree Editing team. I can’t imagine publishing a book without your help. Thank you for taking care of my baby and helping me make it the best it can be. And thank you Chris Parece for taking one last proofread through Repaired and catching everything my tired eyes couldn’t.
My formatter—Tami, simply put, you are a genius. Thank you for doing what I would never have the patience to do. And you make it all look so pretty.
My photographer—Lauren Watson Perry at Perrywinkle Photography takes the most spectacular pictures and I am so lucky to be able to use them on my books.
My cover designer—Sommer, I love you, butch! Seriously, you do such phenomenal work. And, you put up with me and my nonsense. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
My street team—I am so unbelievably thankful for your help and laughter every day. This group has come to mean so much more to me than simply a group of readers. You’re my friends and I couldn’t go through this process without you.
My blogs—The fact that the list of blogs who help me is ginormous is such a lucky problem to have. Whether you have 50K fans or 500, I am eternally thankful to each and every one of you for helping me get my work out to readers. Whether you reviewed or simply shared a post, I am lucky to have you as part of my team. An extra special thank you needs to go out to Kara Hildebrand and Pamela Ebeler for giving their ARCs of Repaired some extra love and attention.
My authors—I am so blessed to have as many author friends as I do. Their support and comradeship through this crazy process is more helpful than they can know. To all my Author 101, #WriteClub, and C.O.P.A girls, thank you. To Jennnifer Berg and Carey Heywood—you’re my favorite threesome!
My P.A.—Ashley—I really can’t thank you enough. You have faith in me when I don’t even have it in myself. You are so much more than an assistant; you are truly my best friend. Thank you for just being there.
My family—Jamie and the boys. I love you with everything I am.
The Love Series
Let Love In
Let Love Stay
Let Love Heal
Let Love Shine
Let Love Be
Let Love Live (M/M)
Standalones
Tangled Vines (novella)
On Solid Ground (M/M)
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Other Works
Repaired Page 28