Dane
Page 32
My nerves ran high knowing I would be around Dane again after all this time, but I was eager to see him. I had kept up with him throughout the years and even sent him a card, congratulating him on the birth of his son, Adam. He was born only a year after I left town, but since then, there had been no contact between us.
In my flowing black gown, I fidgeted with my hands as I waited for him to show up. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t want it to be awkward, but I had no idea how he would feel after five years.
Michael grabbed my hand and smiled at me. “You’re playing with your rings again. It’s going to be fine, I promise. You need to stop worrying—it’s not good for you.” The love I saw in his eyes made the chaotic storm inside me instantly settle.
I placed my hand on my extended belly and rubbed it, smiling at my amazing husband.
“You look radiant, by the way,” he said with a genuine smile.
“So do you.” I squeezed his hand and then kissed him.
The sound of someone clearing their throat startled me, and I turned away from Michael. In front of me stood Dane and Eden. They were an incredible-looking couple. He was dressed in a tuxedo while Eden glowed in a green strapless gown. I couldn’t stop the genuine smile that spread across my face.
“Dane, Eden, you two look amazing.” I smiled at them both and snuggled into Michael’s side with my hand on his chest. “This is my husband. Michael, this is Dane and Eden Kauffmann. They’re the ones responsible for this event.” I wanted it to sound as if I hadn’t spoken of them before, which was a total lie. Michael knew exactly who they were, and was very excited to meet them both.
After I met Michael, I’d told him everything. Every dirty truth about who I was and where I had been. That included Dane. He had never disliked the man I’d once shared my life with, and had even told me he was glad I had been lucky enough to have someone like Dane on my side. He commonly referred to my ex as his placeholder, keeping me available and alive long enough for him to find me.
“Very nice to meet you, Michael,” Dane said, shaking his hand. “And you look stunning, Gabi. Pregnancy and marriage seem to suit you well.”
I smiled. “Being healthy helps with that, too.”
“Of course. Thank you so much for agreeing to do this. We’ve followed your organization for a while and have wanted to do something to help for some time now. What you’re doing is amazing, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.”
We all talked a little more before sitting down together at the head table. Michael and Dane conversed as Eden and I chatted about pregnancy and babies. She showed me pictures of Adam and told me all about him. He was four and had just started preschool. He sounded so smart, exactly like his daddy. He was the spitting image of Dane, and I knew he was the apple of their eye. Not for long, though, since Eden was eight months pregnant with their second child. She was exactly four weeks ahead of me.
“Do you know what you’re having?” she asked as she touched my stomach.
“No. We want it to be a surprise. Very few things in life are these days, so we want to keep this one. Makes shopping and names hard, but it’s worth it in the end.”
“I understand. I wanted to keep it a surprise with Adam, but Dane wanted to know. He found out and I told him not to tell me. We had names picked out for both even though he already knew what it would be. Dane woke me up one morning talking to my belly, calling him Adam. But I was okay with it. I couldn’t have imagined a better way for the surprise to have been ruined.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I thought it would have been weird to hear a woman talk about all the things I once wanted with the man she married, but it wasn’t. Maybe it was because I no longer wanted or needed any of that with anyone other than Michael.
“Do you know what you’re having?” I asked and rubbed her stomach as she had done mine.
“A girl. Evelynn Rose.”
“That’s beautiful. Congratulations again.”
Michael interrupted by placing his hand over my belly. He then leaned in to kiss me.
There’s a reason for everything.
Regardless of whether you see the meaning at the time, or never grasp the gravity of why it happened—there was a purpose. You may not like it, you may not agree with it, and you may not even benefit from it…
But there’s always a reason.
Leddy’s Notes
Not the same as the author’s note from the beginning…
I actually wrote this book back in 2014. It was the first thing I’d ever written in male POV and I was really proud of it. Like most of our own books, we finish writing them, we publish them, and then we never look at them again. And that’s exactly what I did. Then, in early 2016, I decided to go through it and fix some of the writing to kinda update it, since I knew my writing had changed a lot since I had released it.
OMG!
I think I made it to chapter two before I stopped and said to myself “What am I reading and why did you write this garbage?!” I’m not even kidding. I was about to DNF it, and I totally would have if I wasn’t a perfectionist who would’ve rather rewrite it than throw it away. And so that’s what I did. Over the course of the year, I completely rewrote it to match the story that had originally been in my head. Once I realized I could have a male character in his POV without making him sound like a sex-driven pervert, I knew exactly how to retell Dane’s story.
And that’s exactly what I did.
Let’s just hope I actually improved it.
Because I will NOT redo it again! LOL
Acknowledgments
I honestly couldn’t do this without my family. I love you all. More than you’ll ever know. Not just my man, but my babies, my parents, my Mimi, and my siblings.
Steph—my whore, thank you for pushing me to do this book again and make it better than it was before.
Marlo—I seriously couldn’t have done this without you!
Shari—see? I didn’t forget you this time.
ASA Girls—thank you for being my rocks and being there anytime I need anything. Advice, an ear, a shoulder, a friend, a comedian…I know no matter what I need, I have the 6 of you!
Emily—Rain or shine…I got you! And I know you got me!
Panty-less whorebag—yeah, you know who you are.
Kristie—the line above is for you.
Kelley—thank you for helping me out with the medical stuff. I told you I’d put you in here, so here you are.
Robin—you’re the best tattoo artist ever! HAHA! Thank you for yet another amazing cover.
Josie—Thank you for making my words pretty and bringing them to life with less grammatical errors.
Sarah, Joy, and Julie—my team, couldn’t do any of this without you. You each hold different positions yet we all work perfectly together. Looking forward to many more releases with you three!
Stefanie—thank you for your opinion on a man you hate LOL
Kristie—seriously, put on panties. BAWHAHA
Readers—From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!!!
About the Author
Leddy Harper had to use her imagination often as a child. She grew up the only girl in a house full of boys. At the age of fourteen, she decided to use that imagination and wrote her first book, and never stopped. She often calls writing her therapy, using it as a way to deal with issues through the eyes of her characters.
* * *
She is now a mother of three girls, leaving her husband as the only man in a house full of females. The decision to publish her first book was made as a way of showing her children to go after whatever it is they want to. Love what you do and do it well. And to teach them what it means to overcome their fears.
Follow Leddy:
@LeddyHarper
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Leddy@LeddyHarper.com
Also by Leddy Harper
Home No More
My Biggest Mistake
Falling to Pieces
Take Your Time
Beautiful Boy
Eminent Love
Resuscitate Me
Lust
Silenced