Back to Life Series Box Set

by Danielle Allen

  “You good?” Manny asked.

  “I’m good.” Ty responded. “You good?”

  “I’m good, man.”

  With a laugh, they slapped their hands together and pulled each other into a one-armed hug.

  “Everything happens for a reason,” I pointed out as they parted.

  Manny handed Tyree a cigar. “Absolutely.”

  Ty nodded. He lit the cigar and then exhaled smoke away from us. “And it all turned out the way it was supposed to.”

  “Amen,” I agreed, turning back to look over the city that had given me everything I needed to be happy. “Amen.”

  Chapter 29

  Emily Addo

  Friday, January 12 – 8:27pm

  My Wedding Day

  “Does seeing them make you regret not having any kids of our own?” I whispered into CJ’s ear as he twirled me around the dance floor. My nieces and nephews danced and played while their parents tried to rein them in. Addison and Ty’s two year old and three year old stood in the middle of the dance floor dancing wildly, no matter what song would play. “They are pretty cute.”

  “They are cute. But there’s something pretty awesome about being Uncle CJ. Swoop in for the fun and games, leave the crying and dirty diapers for the parents. It’s a win-win.”

  I giggled. “Seriously? Do you think you’re going to regret—”

  CJ smothered my lips with his, cutting me off in mid-sentence. “Stop. I’ve been with you for six years. As of right this moment, I’ve known you for seven years on the dot. I knew what I was signing up for from the beginning and you’re enough for me. Why would I regret anything about the woman that I love?”

  My breathing hitched as I took in his words. I couldn’t even speak immediately. I just breathed in his intoxicating scent and his beautiful words. “I just don’t want you to feel like you’re missing out on something because you’re legally bound to me.”

  CJ searched my face with his eyebrows furrowed. “Where is this coming from? We have kids in our life. There are five of them running around now,” CJ said as he dipped me and then pulled me back into him, somehow closer than before. “A few hours ago, I vowed to love you, cherish you, protect you and be with you until the day that I die. I have no regrets when it comes to you. I’m not missing out on anything. Our life makes me happy. You make me happy. If we never have a child, we’ll use the money we save to travel the world. If we end up getting pregnant, we’ll look at it as a miracle and rearrange our lives to be less busy. If we want to adopt, we will get the money together and adopt. Okay?”

  I gave him a little smile. “Okay.”

  “Where is this coming from?”

  I looked down, not wanting to tell him, but not wanting to lie.

  “Do you want to have kids?”

  I was thirty-eight years old and my chances of getting pregnant were decreased based on that fact alone. But to add in the Asherman’s syndrome, I’d given up on the idea of kids a long time ago. “No,” I shook my head. “That’s not it.”

  “Well what’s going on? Where is this coming from?” He stopped dancing, his hands still on my hips. “Emily?”

  “Family members,” I mumbled before making eye contact. “Your aunts. My aunt.”

  CJ’s eyes narrowed. I felt his breathing change. “What did they say exactly? And when?”

  I sighed. “It’s our wedding day. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. I promise,” I pleaded with him. He continued giving me his stone-faced look so I sighed again. “While you were outside smoking that cigar, your aunts approached me and asked when I was going to finally make you a daddy. My aunt must’ve sniffed out an Emily shit talking session because she popped up out of nowhere and decided to pile on. Telling me that while she understood why I struggled to get pregnant, she felt like I wasn’t being fair to you and that you would resent me. Your aunts agreed. Other stuff was said and I was just so stunned that I walked off. You came back in a couple minutes later.”

  By the time I finished speaking, he was nearly panting. His anger was palpable. “What?” he hissed.

  I put my free hand over his heart. “Listen, it’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not okay. What else did they say, Em?”

  I hesitated. “Your aunts said that I should be trying to make your parents a grandparent since…” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.

  “Since what, Emily?”

  I shook my head. “It’s not worth repeating.”

  “Since what?” he repeated.

  “Since Aja died and you’re their last hope of becoming grandparents.”

  He took a step back as if I’d punched him.

  I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him. Pulling him close to me, I stared into his dark eyes. “Look at me. Cedi, look at me. Don’t confront them. Please. Not today anyway.”

  He looked at me and shook his head. “Okay, not today. But I damn sure will call them out tomorrow.”

  He unraveled my arms from around him, grabbed my hand, and made a beeline to the DJ booth. He grabbed the microphone off the stand and asked the DJ to turn the music down.

  “Hey, thank you all for coming. We appreciate you celebrating this special day with us. We prepared a more elaborate speech, but I just wanted to make a quick announcement.” He tucked me under his arm and looked at me the way a husband was supposed to look at his wife; he looked at me like I was his everything.

  I melted.

  “I know a lot of you are curious as to when we’re having children. So I wanted to make this blanket statement once and for all.” He paused and waited until a complete hush fell over the crowd. “From this point forward, don’t ask us if or when we’re having kids. Assume we’re not unless we tell you otherwise.”

  Handing the DJ his microphone, CJ strolled out of the ballroom with me in tow. My mouth was hanging open and I tried not to laugh.

  Oh my God.

  When we got into the elevator, I asked, “Where are we going?”

  “I had something planned for a little later, but I needed to get out of there before I snapped on our aunts.” He grinned at me as we stepped out onto the first floor. “Besides, I like seeing a smile on your face.”

  “Wait, what?” My eyes widened. “What do you have planned?”

  “It’s a surprise, but I will tell you that it’s waiting for you where this”—he gestured between the two of us—“all started.”

  The corner of my mouth turned up slowly as I marveled at his thoughtfulness. He was ruining a surprise he had for me because I’d just been berated by family and he wanted to make me feel better. Like always, CJ was taking care of me.

  I grinned. “We’re going back to December.”

  He smirked and winked, but didn’t confirm or deny.

  We’re definitely going back to December.

  Back to December Playlist

  Music inspires me. The artists mentioned below wrote songs and lyrics that I feel accurately depict the playlist that Emily created while going through a transformative years. If you’ve ever had your heart broken or if you’ve ever fallen in love, this playlist is for you.

  https://open.spotify.com/user/1298254681/playlist/1EQQFx7zqPlD7U90aTYOJG

  If you haven’t had a chance to listen to any of these songs, do yourself a favor: purchase each song immediately and listen in this order, on repeat.

  To The Past (Anthony)

  Hold Up – Beyoncé

  Don’t Hurt Yourself – Beyoncé

  Sorry – Beyoncé

  Lyin’ King –Jhene Aiko

  Shake It Off—Mariah Carey

  Bad Blood—NAO

  Send My Love (To Your New Lover)—Adele

  To The Future (CJ)

  If I Didn’t Know Better -- Sam Pallidio and Clare Bowen

  Crush – Yuna ft. Usher

  Feels – Kiiara

  Say Yes – Floetry

  Girlfriend – NAO

  Good to Love – FKA Twigs

  Crazy In Love—
Daniela Andrade

  Back to December – Taylor Swift

  Acknowledgements

  I am so truly blessed. When I look at my life and how everything this year has led me to this point, I am just so full. God has continuously blessed me and I am so grateful and thankful.

  Back to December was conceptualized in 2013, after I wrote Back to Life and Back to Reality. The storyline follows the same path as it did three years ago. Unfortunately, life happened, other stories took precedent, and I never got around to writing Emily’s story. The beautiful cover was created and I popped it up on Goodreads thinking I would have it completed by December 2014. That didn’t happen. After December 2015 came and went, I knew I would write Back to December in 2016, but I didn’t realize why until the year panned out the way that it did. Everything happens for a reason. Back to December wasn’t written until now because I didn’t know Emily’s story or how the Back to Life/Back to Reality crew would seamlessly fit in since it is a standalone spinoff. But this year, everything clicked.

  The Back to Life Series is about love and loss, resilience and resurgence. Although neither Emily’s story nor Sahara’s story is my life story, I’m more connected to the Back to Life Series than any other storyline/series I’ve written. One of the main reasons is that Back to Life and Back to Reality was my first (and second) book and Back to December was my tenth. As of this moment, I’ve published ten full-length novels and it is so bittersweet that my tenth is the final chapter of my first story. I’ve come full-circle. I wrote Back to Life not knowing that I would fall in love with writing. I wrote Back to Life not knowing that I would write another novel. But I did.

  My family and friends have gotten me through the most amazingly transformative year of my life. There have been so many highs and lows in 2016, but it has truly been one of the most life changing years of my life and I will be forever grateful for it. So to my family and best friends who have gotten me through the lows and to my family and all friends who have gotten me through the highs, thank you.

  Grandma—ten books later and I’m still writing “porn books.” Haha! Love you!

  Mom—thanks for always reading, always supporting! Love you!

  Andy—thanks for always supporting and always giving me the most hilarious recaps of my novels. No one but you starts a FIVE STAR review with “Here’s why Sahara’s a bitch...” Love you!

  Ashley, Noelle, Christina, DaShauna, Sia—thank you for your support and your friendship. Best friends are the best friends. Love you! (Lorenzo, Stoney, and Joe-although you’re like my brothers, we’ll see how long it takes for you to notice your name in this book. I’ll wait.)

  Nicole, Geneva, Katisha, Kisha—your friendship and support have been game changers. Thank you. Love you!

  Luz Candice Shelby—Galatians 6:7

  There are many author friends who I love and talk to regularly, but there are a few in particular who have been there for me when I needed it most. Brittainy (SSKS), Summer, Olivia, Michelle, Kendall (BESTIE), Whitney (BeyFriend)—over the last year, your friendship has gone above and beyond author friendship and I thank you for it. I appreciate you. Thank you. Love you!

  Mia—anytime you meet someone who makes it a point to pray for you and with you, it’s a blessing. Your friendship, especially over the last year, means so much to me. Thank you. Love you!

  Kizzy, Kumiko—Your love and support has helped me tremendously, especially over the last year. 2016 wouldn’t have been the same without your assistance. Thank you. Love you!

  Danielle’s Dolls for Back to December (Kizzy, Natalie, Christina, Mayas, Mia, Hadassah, Stephanie, Chitra, Sabrina, Lee Ann, Lisa)—thank you for spreading the word about Back to December. I appreciate you being a doll! Sending you love and hugs, Dolls!

  CP Smith—thank you for being you and for using your formatting magic on my finished product. You have no idea how much I adore you and appreciate your kindness. I send you love and hugs.

  Staci Brillhart—thank you for using your artistry to create a beautiful series of covers. Even two years after you created it, it’s still beautiful, relevant, and timeless. Thank you! I’m sending you love and hugs.

  Robin (Robin’s Red Pen) – thank you for your services, your feedback and just for being you. I appreciate you and I’m sending you love and hugs.

  Bloggers and readers, thank you. You have changed my life with your love and support. It truly means so much to me. I am blessed and I don’t take it for granted. Thank you for buying, reading, supporting, reviewing, enjoying, etc. my work. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. I can’t begin to explain how much it means to me to be able to write and publish my novels and to have you take the time to read them. Sending you all hugs and love.

  www.authordaniellealle.com

  Check out other Danielle Allen novels:

  The One: http://amzn.to/1RkPnp3

  After The One: http://amzn.to/2bGS7g5

  Work Song: http://amzn.to/1P8DFpE

  Heartache: http://amzn.to/1S0aIRk

  Heartfelt: http://amzn.to/22gequV

  Love Discovered in New York: http://amzn.to/250noyP

  Autumn and Summer: http://amzn.to/22eGSRx

  Back to Life: http://amzn.to/1pjCHSu

  Back to Reality: http://amzn.to/1U1E4Tj