by Croix, J. H.
A sense of trepidation slipped through my heart, an icy breeze elicited by any thought of my own father. Or rather, the man who raised me. But this was Addie, and I wasn’t going to be afraid. If she could be honest, so could I.
“I get it, and you certainly don’t need to apologize. I should explain something too. I’ve told you a bit about my father. I promised myself I would never let anyone experience the kind of life I had growing up. He and my mother had an absolutely awful marriage. Although she wasn’t as awful as he was, she buried herself in alcohol and misery. I was afraid somehow I would become him, and I didn’t want to put anyone through that.” Addie squeezed my hand, the warmth in her gaze a balm to the old wounds left behind. “I’m okay now, but something I haven’t had a chance to tell you about helped me a little bit. When my brother died, he arranged for genetic testing on both of us through an attorney. He set it up so it wouldn’t happen until five years after he died. Lord knows why he chose that time frame, but he did. Long story short, I learned not long after I met you that the man we thought was our father wasn’t. It was freeing to learn I don’t share his genetics. I know that’s not all that makes a person who they are, but for some reason it mattered to me.”
Addie and I stared at each other. It felt as if an arc of electricity bounced between our hearts. Our stories were different, but we both were who we were in spite of the fathers we had. Perhaps that would only bind us tighter together in the future. And I knew we had a future. One in which I never intended to let her go.
“You are anything but a cold, miserable man, Ryan Blake. I knew that the moment I saw you with Barnable,” Addie said earnestly.
“So, you fell for me because of your dog?”
“Well, that and the sex. But my dog is a deal-breaker.”
Epilogue
Addie
Approximately two years later
* * *
“No,” I said, trying to inject as much firmness as I could into that single word.
Ryan began to say something, but I cut in immediately. “This is getting absolutely ridiculous. I’m only six months pregnant, and I’m fine. I just want to take Barnable for a walk. I’m not going to be alone. Soraya is meeting me, and don’t you dare leave the office to meet us there.”
I was pretty sure Ryan made the insides of his cheeks bleed to keep from arguing, but he acquiesced. I got off the phone after assuring him I’d call once I was back home.
Only moments later, I met Soraya in the park.
“He what?” Soraya exclaimed, coming to a stop on the sidewalk where we were walking Barnable.
“Ridiculous, right?” I asked.
“Jesus. I didn’t think it was possible, but Ryan might be worse than Graham was when I was pregnant.”
“He’s driving me insane. I love him, but I have to get out of the house. Thank God he has to leave for work five days a week. I can’t have him with me all the time because he hovers like crazy.”
Surprising me, Ryan had suggested we move into my place after we got married. I’d been gradually working my way through updating Aunt Eleanor’s home, but there’d been a lot of work to do. Ryan had explained he had no attachment to his family’s place and preferred to move on. With his help, we’d done a major overhaul of what was now our home while we stayed temporarily at his place. Everything was updated and decorated with my eye, so it was much warmer and welcoming than the home where Ryan had grown up. Although I’d never met his parents, it was as if he shook off the last of his painful childhood when he moved out. All of that was great, except he was still driving me batshit crazy ever since I’d gotten pregnant.
Soraya grinned and rolled her eyes. “Not that I had any doubts before this, but they do say the great ones fall the farthest.” She slipped her hand through my elbow. “Here, I’ll keep you steady,” she teased as we began walking again.
Barnable trotted along on my other side. I unconsciously rubbed my palm over my round belly.
Soraya kept talking. “I can’t wait to tell Graham. He loves to give Ryan hell. Of course, he drove me just as crazy as Ryan’s driving you. Nothing’s worse than an obnoxiously overprotective man trying to protect you from something he can’t really do anything about.”
“So true.”
Soraya and I had become closer over the last two years. Ryan used to work so much, he rarely found time to be social with anyone. That did not work for me. I needed time with friends, so by extension, he had more time with friends as well.
After Soraya delivered me back home, I walked in to find Ryan unexpectedly home. “What are you doing here?” I asked. He’d been at the office for some meetings when he called earlier.
“You didn’t answer my text,” he said as if that was perfectly obvious.
“Babe, I didn’t realize you had texted,” I said, fumbling in my pocket to pull my phone out and see five texts from him in the last half hour.
I narrowed my eyes and rested a hand on my hip, although I couldn’t help the little spin of joy that buzzed through me. Much as I enjoyed being an independent woman, I didn’t mind Ryan loving me to the point of annoyance. “You were freaking out because I was taking a walk? Ryan, we’ve got three months left in this pregnancy.”
The annoyance and downright fear in his expression faded. He stepped closer, catching my hand in his and reeling me to him. “I’m not handling this very well.”
“Ya think?” I teased.
Ryan smoothed his hand over my belly. “I don’t think, I know. I can’t bear it if anything happens to you and the baby.”
“We’re fine,” I said, leaning up and pressing a kiss on the side of his jaw. “Also, could we please have sex?”
Although I had physically dragged Ryan to my doctor’s appointment with me solely for the purpose of her explaining to him that it was perfectly safe for us to have sex, he was still being difficult.
He leaned his forehead against mine. “If you insist.”
Ryan
Another six months later
* * *
“Ryan?” Graham’s voice nudged me.
I hadn’t even realized my eyes had fallen closed until I dragged them open.
Graham chuckled softly. “Up with the baby last night?” he asked, his tone dry.
“How’d you guess?” I muttered as I gave my head a shake and reached for the cup of coffee that was permanently on the side of my desk these days. I thanked God for Hazel daily because she stayed on top of making sure I had fresh coffee at all times.
“I’ve done baby duty. You learn to function without sleep after a while. I don’t hear you complaining much, though.”
Graham had stopped by to grab lunch while we chatted about various business matters. I met his gaze and shrugged, my lips curling in a smile automatically. “There’s nothing to complain about.”
“Told ya it would be worth it,” Graham said with satisfaction.
I laughed and took a long swallow of my coffee. “You can tell me you were right as many times as you’d like. I completely agree.”
That evening, I looked across the kitchen table at Addie. I was certain she was going to keep getting more beautiful to me. Her dark hair was pulled up in a messy bun with a few loose tendrils hanging around her face and a portion of it falling out completely in the back. She’d explained Colin, our son, had yanked it out earlier when she was feeding him.
Addie set her fork down and pushed her plate away, lifting her eyes to meet mine. “Do you think he’ll stay asleep?” she whispered.
“I hope so,” I whispered in return. “Why are we whispering?”
Addie giggled, and the sound spun through the air, cinching like a lasso around my heart. Addie had well and truly captured my heart for good going on two years now. I fell deeper in love with her every time she giggled.
“Because Colin’s asleep, and I don’t want to wake him up.”
I stood from the table, rounding to her side. Without a word, I caught her hands in mine and tugged her up. Co
nsidering that to get to our bedroom, we had to walk past Colin’s bedroom, that wasn’t happening.
If there was one thing Addie and I absolutely didn’t care about, it was where we made love. I lifted her hips onto the kitchen counter, resting my hands on either side. “I missed you,” I murmured as I pressed one kiss and then another on each corner of her mouth.
“I’m right here,” she said, her eyes glinting.
“I meant while I was at work today. I fell asleep when Graham stopped by with some takeout for lunch.”
Addie lifted her hand, trailing her fingertips along the stubble on my jaw.” I love you, Ryan Blake,” she said, her tone going solemn quickly.
“I love you too.” Those words came easy for me now. Addie made them easy.
“Was it worth it then?” she asked.
“Was what worth it?”
“Catching me almost breaking into your basement.”
“So worth it.” I leaned forward and caught her lips in a quick kiss, even slipping in some tongue.
Drawing back, I added, “However, I still dispute the “almost” part of that sentence. You were totally breaking in.”
Addie angled her head to the side, a teasing smile stretching across her face. “I never set foot in your house until you invited me in.”
With that, she yanked at my clothes and made me forget everything for the next few minutes.
I didn’t even mind that, only seconds after I found my release inside of her, the baby monitor crackled to life with Colin’s cry.
That was the thing. When you fell in love, everything was okay. Life was perfect with Addie. She was everything I didn’t expect, and she was everything to me.
* * *
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About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes contemporary romance with sassy women and alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky and relatable characters shines through in her writing. Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!
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https://jhcroixauthor.com/books/
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