Pierced (Love like Yours Series Book 2)

by Nicole S. Goodin

  “I’ll get her.” I yawned, getting no response from El. I rolled over, but she was already gone.

  “Good morning precious girl.” El’s sweet voice came through the monitor. “You slept for such a long time.” I heard the sounds of her diaper being changed and then the sucking noises of El feeding her a bottle. It made me smile.

  I think I could get use to this.

  “You have a big day today little girl. We have to say good bye to your mommy and daddy.” I heard El’s voice crack a little at the statement.

  I jumped out of the bed and threw on some pants. My heart melted at what I heard next.

  “But it’s okay, you have us now and we’ll do everything in this world to care for you… you will have so much love in your life Stella.”

  I quietly made my way to Stella’s door. They were sitting together in the rocking chair, Stella propped up in El’s arms.

  Seeing the two of them together like that … everything fell into place. A wave of sadness washed over me for the parents she’d lost – one’s that she’d never remember. It was quickly chased away by a burst of gratitude, to my father. He may have been an absolute prick, but he hadn’t denied me or Stella this, he had given us the chance to be a family.

  Ellerslie and I would make sure Stella’s life was never anything but full.

  9. Ellerslie

  The past few days had been some of the most draining I’d ever experienced. Lawson, Quinn and I had taken Stella to farewell her parents. It was an incredibly emotional experience. There were so many people there to meet, talk to, and receive condolences from.

  I’d thought Lawson was going to lose it if he had to hear one more ‘I’m sorry for your loss’.

  I was glad he was there for their service, in time he would be glad too. I think he’d finally put his anger towards his father to rest. He had more important things to focus on now.

  We’d gone through every belonging in the apartment yesterday – taking the things we thought would be useful for Stella, and packing up the rest for storage. Lawson had arranged for a company to come and package the paintings. They were being shipped to our house along with all of the furniture and items from Stella’s nursery.

  I lightly bounced Stella up and down on my knee as she stared out the window of the plane. We were about to descend into Boston and take her home for the first time.

  She was the sweetest baby, only crying if she was hungry or needing a diaper change, and they were easy fixes. If she was tired, she slept – wherever she was. It was as though she knew this was a lot for us to take on, and she was making it as easy as possible.

  I’d spoken with Reeve about the adoption several times. We needed to start the process as soon as possible, the only trouble being that we weren’t married yet. That meant that Lawson might have to do it alone. He’d said he wasn’t adopting her without me – so were at an impasse. The last thing we needed was a problem occurring in the next few months while we waited for the wedding – it was unlikely, but it was a risk I didn’t like taking. Reeve was busy searching for a loop hole on the marriage condition.

  “The apartment is already rented.” Quinn told me as she leaned around Lawson’s sleeping body.

  “Wow that was quick. How much is it going for?”

  Quinn held out her blackberry towards me to show me the figure.

  “Holy shit!” I replied a little too loudly. I shot the older gentleman down the row an apologetic glance. “Go Stella.”

  She was going to make a fortune off that place. Michael and Cassandra had owned it outright, and now it was hers.

  “It was a good call keeping it Q.” I shot Quinn a grateful look. I’d had so much on my plate with baby stuff; I was so glad that we could rely on Q. She would always look out for Stella’s best interests.

  Quinn reached around and held her hand out to Stella – she wrapped her tiny hand around Q’s finger.

  “Are you doing okay with all of this El? I wouldn’t blame you if you were freaking out.”

  I was freaking out – completely freaking out. But at the same time, I was at peace with it all. She was a part of my life now, a big part of my life. Already I knew I wouldn’t give her up for anything.

  “I am worried about how we’ll find time for everything.” I confessed, fiddling with Stella’s tights. I glanced at Lawson to make sure he was still sleeping. “I’m worried we’ll lose some of the magic we’ve got… we won’t have the same time for each other as we do now.”

  Quinn nodded.

  “Don’t get me wrong… I want her, I really do. She’s ours now… but I just found him, you know?”

  “I get it girl.” Quinn looked at me in understanding. “But I don’t think you have anything to worry about… Lawson is so in love with you El. He won’t let anything tear the two of you apart. If anything, he’ll find a way to make her bring you closer together.”

  I smiled. She was probably right… Lawson had a way of finding the positive in a shitty situation.

  “I really hope you’re right Q.”

  ***

  “This is it baby girl.” I walked Stella slowly down the hall way as Lawson put down our suitcases.

  “This is your new home Stella.” I heard Lawson’s deep voice from behind us.

  Stella cooed at the sound of Lawson’s voice, she loved him.

  I don’t blame her.

  “Should we get her settled in for the night?” Lawson asked.

  “Do you want a bath Stella girl? Huh? A nice warm bath?” I crooned to her and kissed her cheeks.

  She giggled and squirmed in my arms.

  “Let’s go my beautiful girls.”

  Swoon.

  ***

  It was official. Stella was an absolute trooper. We’d given her a nice long bath, filled her to the brim with milk, and put her down in the room closet to ours, in a portable cot we’d purchased on our way home from the airport.

  She hadn’t batted an eyelid.

  I was waiting for it… waiting for the shit to hit the fan. She’d gotten a little upset and vomited a bit when we’d had to switch from the breast milk to baby formula, but so far that was the biggest problem we’d had.

  It was too good to be true.

  Life had taught me, if something was too good to be true – then it probably was.

  Only one exception sprang to mind…

  Lawson.

  He was far too good to be true, but he was mine.

  My phone pinged with a message.

  “Hey honey, I’m sorry, but I can’t get around this marriage clause. I’ll call you tomorrow about the options we have.”

  “Reeve text.” I called out to Lawson. “He can’t find a way out of this marriage thing. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

  “Shit.” Lawson walked out of the bathroom, flicking the light off behind him. “I was counting on him sorting that shit out. My fucking father had to do something to make life difficult didn’t he? Giving us his daughter wasn’t quite enough.” He huffed out a breath in frustration, running his hand through his hair.

  I was suddenly so tired. I held my arms out for Lawson and he hopped into the bed, snuggling in next to me.

  I held him close and ran my fingers softly down his arms.

  “We’ll sort it out tomorrow cowboy. Get some sleep.”

  ***

  Why the fuck didn’t I think of that before?

  I sat up straight in bed. We’d been back home for two days; all of Stella’s things had arrived last night and were still cluttering up the hallway.

  Lawson moaned and rolled back over, he was still asleep.

  I couldn’t believe my mind hadn’t made this connection before now.

  I wonder if I can use baby brain as an excuse?

  I slipped out of bed and grabbed my robe as I made my way out the door. I popped my head in to check on Stella – she was still out to it as well.

  My mind was going crazy with ideas and possibilities.

  I pulled up Quinn’s num
ber on my phone and hit the call button as I walked down the stairs.

  “Hello?” Quinn’s voice was groggy and disoriented.

  Opps…

  “Hell, what time is it?”

  “It is…” She paused to look at the screen of her phone. “Six in the morning El. What the fuck?”

  I held back a giggle. “Sorry Q but it’s important.”

  She yawned and I heard her getting comfortable. “Go on…”

  “So you know how Reeve can’t find a way to get around the marriage condition for the adoption –”

  “Yeah… it sucks.” Quinn interrupted.

  “Yeah.” I curled my legs underneath me as I sat down on the couch. “But I had an idea of how to fix it…”

  “Wait until after the wedding right?” Quinn prompted. “Isn’t that what you decided?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “Well yes, but no.”

  Quinn yawned again. “Get on with it Rush. It’s too early for this shit.”

  “We’ll just get married now.”

  “Right now?” Quinn’s voice went up a couple of octaves.

  “Right now… as in today.” I nodded enthusiastically even though she couldn’t see me.

  Quinn laughed.

  “What?” I demanded.

  “I’m assuming you haven’t told Lawson this plan yet?”

  “He’s still asleep.”

  “I’ll tell you what, you call me back and let me know what he has to say.”

  “You don’t think he’ll go for it? He’s become a lot more spontaneous lately right?”

  Quinn laughed again. “Yeah… just maybe not quite to this extreme.”

  “Put twenty bucks on it?” I taunted her.

  “Make it fifty.” I could see her smug grin from here.

  “Better pick out an outfit to wear to my wedding girl.”

  “Well since you’re so cocky, what exactly are you planning to wear?”

  Shit…

  “Bitch.” I muttered.

  “Call me back and let me know when I’ll see my money.” Quinn was laughing again.

  I hung up. I had more important things to do.

  Convince Lawson…

  Find a dress…

  Fuck.

  10. Lawson

  I woke up and just about jumped out of my skin.

  “Fuck… pretty girl you scared me.”

  El was perched on my side of the bed, wide awake and staring at me. It wasn’t the way the day usually started; I was always the one waking her up.

  “Sorry cowboy.” Her eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were flushed.

  “What are you up to?” I questioned warily.

  “I have a plan.” She grinned.

  I propped myself up on my elbow so I could see her better. “Okay… let’s hear it then.”

  “Marry me.”

  I chuckled. “That’s my line baby.”

  She grinned even bigger. “You take my line then.”

  I had no idea where this was going, but I played along anyway. “Okay, it goes something like… I already agreed to that?”

  Her eyes gleamed with victory. “Marry me today.” She stated, stealing the last line from me too.

  I chuckled at her again.

  “Marry me today Lawson.” She said again more softly.

  I stopped laughing as I took in the seriousness of her expression.

  She’s not joking.

  “But the wedding?”

  “I don’t need the wedding.”

  “The plans?” I insisted.

  “Fuck the plans.” She replied.

  “El.” I took her hands in mine. “Slow down. Why do you want to get married today?”

  She sighed and wriggled into the space next to me, staring at the ceiling. “For Stella… for me... for you… for us. Because I want to marry you and make our family official.” She rolled over onto her side and looked into my eyes.

  “But what about all the planning you’ve done?” I protested.

  She smiled softly. “Every plan we had went out the door the minute she came along.”

  I thought about what she was saying. I knew she was right. Stella had changed our whole future.

  “You’d do that for her?”

  “It’s the least of the things I’d do for her and for our family.”

  Holy shit.

  My pulse sped up at the realization that she could be my wife by the end of the day. I rolled myself on top of her – supporting my weight with my arms. “Are you sure baby? We can find another way to adopt her.”

  She smiled up at me. “I’ve never been surer about anything in my entire life.”

  She’s going to be my wife.

  Fucking finally…

  ***

  El was running around like a headless chicken. She’d already called Quinn and I’d overheard her gloating about what she was going to buy with her fifty bucks.

  Those two are mad together.

  I was feeding Stella baby porridge in the kitchen while El was on the phone talking to Reeve.

  “I don’t care Reeve, its happening today. We’ll have a party or whatever another day and celebrate with everyone then.” El told him forcefully.

  I grinned at Stella as she watched El flying around the room. “She’s arguing with your uncle baby girl. Mommy’s turned into bridezilla.”

  El flicked me with a tea towel and pointed a warning finger at me.

  Stella shrieked and giggled, spitting her breakfast everywhere in the process.

  “See what I mean Stella?” I stage whispered to the beautiful, smiling little girl in front of me.

  “I am getting Married today Reeve, whether you come or not. So maybe you should reschedule that appointment.”

  I waited with a smirk on my face. There was no way that Reeve was going to miss this and El knew it.

  “That sounds like a great idea. See you in a couple of hours.” She dropped the phone on the counter.

  I glanced over and caught the triumphant smile on her face – we were all such suckers for that woman.

  “He’ll be here?” I asked with a chuckle.

  “Of course he’ll be here.” El rolled her eyes at me as though I was crazy for ever doubting her ability to persuade her big brother. “Now you Miss Stella… what are we going to put you in for this special day? Huh baby girl?” El crooned as she wiped the mess off of Stella’s chin.

  “I think you’ve got bigger things to worry about pretty girl. What are you going to wear?”

  She scrunched up her nose and breathed out a sigh. “I have no idea. I’ll find something perfect in the wardrobe.”

  I held back a shudder. The last time El had attempted to ‘find something perfect in the wardrobe’ it was a disaster. Suddenly nothing fit right or matched her shoes or blah, blah, blah. She was of course dead wrong – everything she put on looked amazing, but there was no convincing her of that.

  We did not have time for that kind of a meltdown today.

  “Could you finish up with Stella? I just want to check if my shirt needs ironing.”

  “Sure cowboy.”

  El took the spoon from me and I took off up the stairs – I had some important calls to make.

  I dialed the number as I shut the bedroom door.

  “Well, well, well. I was wondering how long it’d take for you to call me with a problem.” Quinn answered with a laugh.

  “Yeah, yeah.” I replied gruffly. “It’s not me that has the problem anyway.”

  “I’m listening.” Q replied.

  “El doesn’t have a dress. Any chance you could save the day in that department again?”

  “I’m way ahead of you.” Quinn answered smugly. “I’ve been searching online for the past hour and I’ve called the store and had them put the perfect dress on hold for me. I’ll pick it up when the store opens at ten.”

  Oh thank fuck for that.

  “You’re a lifesaver Q. Will it fit? It won’t need altering or whatever?”

 
; “Would you just trust me?” Quinn snapped in a pissy tone.

  I chuckled. “Sorry. I trust you. Thank you Quinn.”

  “I should bloody well think so.” She teased.

  “What color is her dress? I’ll need to try and match a tie.”

  “God you underestimate me big brother. I’ve got this. Just worry about what you’re going to say when you get up there.”

  I smirked. That was one thing I was not concerned about. I knew exactly how I felt about El; the words were going to be easy.

  11. Ellerslie

  Having a lawyer for a brother certainly had its perks. Reeve had sorted everything for the changes we needed to our marriage license.

  I’m going to be his wife today.

  Lawson had rushed off upstairs looking like he was freaking out. When he’d come back down he was far more relaxed.

  Thank fuck.

  I couldn’t deal with this if he wasn’t one hundred percent in with me.

  I’d attempted to go upstairs and find something to wear about five times now. I knew I was wasting my time – the perfect dress was not in there… but I had to wear something, but Lawson kept trying to distract me. He’d needed help finding his shoes, Stella needed more food all of a sudden, and the excuses went on and on.

  “For fuck sakes Lawson, I need to go and pick a dress.” I was beyond frustrated at this point.

  Lawson opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

  Just great. Who the fuck is visiting now…

  I stomped off in the direction of the door and threw it open with a little more force than was necessary.

  “Quinn?”

  She had two garment bags slung over her arm and a giant bag that was stuffed full in her other hand.

  “That’s right bitch, I’m here to save the day.” She barged through the door, pushing me aside as she went.

  “What the hell have you got in there?” I swung the door shut and trailed behind her into the living area.

  Quinn looked at me like I was stupid. “Your dress.”

  My mouth fell open and I spun to narrow my eyes at Lawson. “You knew?” I couldn’t help the silly grin that spread across my face.