by Nicola Haken
“Being married is furrckiiing awesome!” Jared slurred, aiming to pat me on the shoulder but missing and almost landing on his face. “C-champaaaaagne?”
“Um, no thanks, man,” I said, laughing him off.
“Oh yeah. Addict. Gotcha,” he whispered like he was in on a big secret, tapping the side of his nose.
Now’s probably a good time to tell you that I’ve been clean for twenty-nine months and three weeks. I still see my therapist once a month and I think I always will. It’s a reminder almost. Being there reminds me of where I’ve been and what I almost lost. Amazingly, sometimes the itch still comes… the thoughts and the whispers in my head. But they’ll never be strong enough to drag me back to that hellhole. I’ve too much to live for now.
“Dude, you better have a couple of coffees if you want to stand a chance of consummating your marriage tonight,” I teased.
“Nah,” he disagreed, waving my comment off with his hand. “Alcohol only fuels the machine.”
Laughing at him, I patted him on the back and told him to go and dance – or stumble – with his bride.
When the party was in full swing I got a text from Marianna sending her congratulations to my friends. I’m so close to my little sister now, it’s like we’ve known each other our entire lives. We’ve been over to the States several times to visit, and she comes here just as often with her mom. Last summer, she came and stayed a whole six weeks by herself and I loved and appreciated every minute of it.
She’s almost sixteen now and is planning a huge party to celebrate. Since they moved out of Ohio she has been free to make new friends, and although she hasn’t mentioned it to me, she told Emily that she has a boyfriend. I’m guessing her silence around me is because she knows I’d rip the fuckers’ balls off if he messed her around.
She hasn’t seen or heard from my dad since the day Patricia left him and neither have I. Last we heard, he’s married to some rich surgeon, living the life of luxury in California. Good luck to the twisted bastard. I don’t have the time or energy to waste hating on him anymore.
“Hey, can I borrow these two princesses?” Caroline asked, bending down to Ana and Ava.
“I dunno, Nanna,” I teased. “What do you think, girls?” I asked, picking them both up at the same time. “Do you want to go with Nanna or stay with your amazing uncle Dex?”
“Nanna Nanna!”
“Hey! I’ll remind you of that later when I’m dishing out ice cream at our house!” I joked, raising them up so I could tickle their bellies with my nose. “Kids are so fickle,” I said, smiling as I handed the girls over to Snickers’ mom.
Making the most of having Emily to myself for the first time today, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into me, swaying us together in rhythm with the slow music.
“You’re so good with those girls,” Emily said, looking up at me with a wistful expression.
“They’re great kids. I love them like they’re my own.”
“So, do you think we could do it? Have our own I mean. Do you think we’d make good parents.”
“Hell yes! Of course I do. I’ve seen you with those girls too, doll. You’ll make an amazing mom.”
“Well that’s a good job I guess.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, pulling away slightly and eyeing her up with a confused look.
“I took a test this morning. I’m pregnant, Dexter.”
My mouth dropped open so far I thought my jaw had broken. My heart hammered against the walls of my chest and like a giant freakin’ pussy, tears welled in the back of my eyes.
“You’re… pregnant?” I asked, bewildered and gloriously fucking happy. She nodded nervously while waiting for my reaction.
“YES!” I yelled, fist punching the air before scooping her in my arms and spinning her around. Everyone paused and stared over at us. Naturally, Emily blushed and told me to put her down. She didn’t like being the centre of attention, but hell I wanted the whole freakin’ world to know the good news. “I’M GONNA BE A DADDY!” I called out to the crowd. People clapped, some gasped, and nearly everyone cheered. Emily was beaming red as I pulled her close to me and planted a long, lingering kiss filled with every emotion my body held in that moment.
“I love you so much, Emily Michaels,” I whispered into her ear. “You have just made me the happiest man in the world. Again.”
This girl has changed my life. Fuck that, this girl saved my life. And now, together, we have created a brand spanking new one.
“I love you, too,” she whispered through trembling lips. “Daddy.”
The End
Acknowledgements
As usual, where do I start? I have met so many amazing people in the last few months and each and every one of them deserve a special thank you. I’ll begin by saying a huge thank you to my beta readers. Keeley Wall, Paula Agnes, Karen Peacock, Holly Baker, Autumn Thibault, Heather Reed, Penny McCoid, Claire Pengelly, and Tara Greseth… THANK YOU! Thank you for all your amazing words of encouragement, your advice, and your keen eye for typos! Thank you Holly for your nasty texts, Autumn for your threatening comments, Paula for crying yourself to the point of dehydration… You’re all amazing girls and I feel so lucky to know you.
Next I need to give a special mention to all the amazing bloggers out there. Without you guys I would never have reached where I am today. Thank you for all your hard work, for reading, for pimping, and for being all round amazing people. I feel privileged to have work with so many amazing bloggers since I started this journey and I’m proud to have made some very special friends along the way. The Book Enthusiast, Mia’s Point of View, Reading Rainblog, The Book Trollop, Holly’s Hot Reads, Emthebookbabe’s Bookblog, A Pair of Oakies, Your Next Book Boyfriend, Bookworm Betties… to name but a few – thank you for your continued support. You guys rock my world!
I’d also like to acknowledge the girls at The Book Enthusiast. Thank you for letting me join your team of awesomeness! Debra, Paula, Cindy, Kelly, Erin and Tami… you girls are fabulous and I’m so happy to be working with you! Debra, you get an extra thank you because you arrange all my tours and promotional shizz, and so does Paula because she has quickly become one of my very best friends in the whole world. I love you ladies BIG time J
Time to thank my cover designer now. Kari at Cover to Cover designs, thank you for another beautiful cover which I am very proud of! You are super talented and I can’t wait to get stuck into the next cover with you.
Now for my readers. Seriously, you guys never cease to amaze me. I am so grateful to every single one of you. Thank you to everyone who has read my books and especially those who have taken the time to rate and/or review, or sent me a message with their thoughts. Honestly, I will never be able to express how much that means to me. You are amazing and I would be nowhere without you. If you’re reading this then you have made it to the end of the Take My Hand series and I can’t even begin to tell you how happy that makes me. Thank you for supporting me, and for falling in love with Dexter and Emily, and Rachel and Jared.
Last but not least I need to thank my wonderful family. Without such a supportive network I would never find the time to do what I do. They encourage me, inspire me and help me out every single day and I love each and every one of them.
Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the last one… I should say if we’ve ever spoken, shared a comment on social media, been involved in messages or had absolutely any other contact then I am grateful to you too! Like I said I have met SO many amazing people – far too many for my little brain to remember to list here, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re awesome. I have loved meeting new people and made some life long friends. I am bound to have forgotten someone here and if I have, I’m sorry - I still love you!
So, there you go. I’m all thanked out. Thank you for reading!
About the Author
So, I’m 5,9 with a figure to die for. I have legs that go on forever, a perfect pair of round, plump boobs, blonde hair
down to my waist, the most striking blue eyes you’ve ever seen and I spend my days fighting off a constant stream of male attention.
I also talk a lot of bullshit.
Okay, okay, time for the ‘real’ me. I live in Rochdale, England with my husband, four children and Heinz 57 puppies Pippa and Gio. I’m a true home bird and have never lived more than a street away from the family home where I grew up – currently living smack bang in the middle of my parents and my sister and her family.
I read as much as I write and am a self-confessed ‘book slut who is proud to have a list of book boyfriends longer than my arm. When I’m not reading and writing I can usually be found being the house’s resident slave – cooking, cleaning, picking up after everyone… although if you ever catch me doing a bucketful of ironing – call an ambulance. That means something’s seriously wrong with me!
That’s about it really. I’m actually pretty boring. That’s why I write – all the exciting stuff goes on in my head! Oh, and did I mention I’m the world’s biggest Twilight fan? Well I am – so there ;-)
And that’s my life…
Oh… one more thing - if the kids ever ask, I moonlight as the Pink Power Ranger while they’re sleeping :-)
Thanks for reading!
Other Titles by Nicola Haken
Saving Amy
Missing Pieces
Take My Hand
Hold On Tight (Take My Hand #2)
Lean On Me (Take My Hand #3)
Nicola is currently working on her next book, Being Sawyer Knight – an m/m romance due out in the summer, 2014.
Want to keep up with the fabulous world of Nicola? You can do that here:
www.facebook.com/nicolahaken
Twitter I.D. @NicolaHaken
www.nicolahaken.net
www.thebookenthusiast.net
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author