by Karen Ferry
Before we can get started, I need to make sure that Charlotte does as I told her earlier.
“Charlie, remember what I said about apologising to Sam and Jon?”
“Yeeeees,” she answers, looking down at the floor.
I dry my hands, waiting.
“Well? Get it over with so we can get started.”
She sighs and then looks at the boys.
“I’m sorry I hit you with Dolly,” she mumbles. I have to suppress a small grin when I see her scrunching up her face. She’s so reluctant to give in.
Just like her dad.
“It’s alright, Charlie,” Samuel mumbles, shifting on his feet.
“Yeah, we’re okay,” Jonathan chimes in, voice bright.
It seems that the boys have already forgotten the snit they were in.
“Right, everyone.” Satisfied that the boring part is over and done with, I place my hands on my hips and smile down at my darlings. “I know that your dad’s the cook of the family, but let’s see if we can’t make him one fabulous birthday cake, alright?”
“Yeah!” I laugh at their excitement, and for a moment forget all the things I still have to do.
Though, in the grand scheme of things, the chores can wait.
Their dad’s birthday cake can’t.
The boys fetch most of the ingredients we need for the chocolate/coconut cake from the pantry, and I help Charlotte tie a small apron around her waist before setting out her stool at the wide, stainless steel kitchen counter.
“Alright, sweetie, you’ll help me with the eggs while Sam and Jon measure out the flour, sugar, and butter.”
“Okay, mama.”
Then we bake. As I supervise my children, taking care that they pour the ingredients in the kitchen mixer without spilling too much on the floor, I think back on the last few years. I never thought that I would actually own my very own business, but after Garrett got his way and I started working at Mama Rosa’s as a hostess, things started to change – in a good way. When he began to bring the restaurant into the 21st century, he was very subtle about it whenever he asked me for my opinion.
What paint colours did I think would fit the place?
Did I like the leather chairs he’d seen in a catalogue, or was the style too old-fashioned or too funky?
Should he really keep the chandeliers that his Nonna had chosen so many years ago, or should he stop being sentimental and toss them out?
Before I knew it, he’d taken every little piece of information that I’d given him and gone along with it. The modernisation of Mama Rosa’s somehow ended up being our project instead of only his.
Needless to say, I was astonished when he sat me down one morning, looking mighty serious.
“My love,” he’d said, “you don’t belong in a restaurant. Get the fuck out there, set up your own business, and become the designer you’ve dreamed to be for so long.”
I was so stunned by his suggestion to lend me the money I needed that I agreed right away. Needless to say, he wouldn’t accept my refusal once I came to my senses; I still break out in goose bumps when I think back on all the time he spent convincing me to agree to his terms.
That man can definitely be very persuasive when he sets his mind to it.
But that shouldn’t surprise me - not after all this time.
It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get my citizenship, but somehow, the Land of the Free surrendered, and I became a proud member of its country. From there on out, I worked hard and long to breathe life into my business; but I already knew it wouldn’t be simple or easy.
Simple is boring.
Easy is a myth.
The best things in life are worth fighting for.
I couldn’t be happier with my life – or with how my future looks.
The only hard part about living in New York is being so far away from Emma – and my parents – but we do our best to visit each other a couple of times a year as well as skype-ing several times a week. It’s not a perfect solution, but we manage. Maybe Garrett and I will move to Denmark one day. That’s the main reason I’m adamant about teaching all my children to speak Danish, but that won’t happen for many years.
“Mama, mama!” The sound of Charlotte’s agitated shouts brings me back to the present, and my head snaps up to take in her pointing finger. I look at the front door when I hear loud banging, and my eyes widen in surprise when it bursts open and inside walks my husband.
“Garrett!” I shout.
I help Charlotte down from her stool so she can give him a proper welcome home, all to the sounds of Samuel and Jonathan hooting and hollering as they run towards their dad.
“Hey, guys!” Garrett laughs and immediately bends down to hug all three of them at once. My heart feels fit to burst when I see the happiness in his eyes, and I walk to him as fast as I can. I wait for the kids to give me room, impatient for my turn, and when he stands back up, I fling myself into his arms.
“Oh, my gosh, I’ve missed you so much,” I whisper, snuggling into his chest. I breathe in his warm, familiar scent as his arms tighten around me. The stubble on his cheek is as soft as always, and a sense of peace settles within me now that he’s back from his trip.
“I got an earlier flight,” he murmurs softly.
“You’ve completely ruined our surprise for you,” I laugh. It doesn’t matter, of course.
“We can still make the cake, right, mom?” I look down at Sam, and ruffle his hair when I see the hope in his eyes.
“Of course we can.”
“Yes!” Jonathan shouts before my twins and their sister run back to the kitchen.
Garrett chuckles as we both turn our heads to look at our three miracles. When he kisses my cheek, my belly does flip-flops, his lips warming me from head to toe. Happiness fills me at having my man back.
“I don’t need surprises or gifts for my birthday, waif. You know that. I just need my family.”
Blinking away my happy tears, I turn my head to take in his beautiful brown eyes and I kiss him quickly.
“Welcome home, honey.”
His smile grows wider, and I grin back at him.
Yes. I couldn’t be happier with the way my life turned out.
“Tell me again how much you missed me, my love,” I grumble into Suzy’s neck as we’re lying in bed later that night.
“Like I’d lost my sight and was fumbling around in the dark,” she whispers, tightening her legs around me, peppering my neck with warm kisses.
“Fuck,” I whisper. The sweetness in her voice – the way she never holds herself back from me, always giving me everything – is a heady feeling. I can practically feel her love all around me, cloaking me in her light.
I tease her clit with my dick, loving the low sounds she’s making, before I slide deep inside her. As sweat gathers on my back, I begin to thrust inside her, slow and gentle, savouring her warmth. My right hand is on her hip, my other at her neck where I can feel the skip of her pulse as it picks up speed.
“I’ll never get enough of this sweet cunt,” I growl, my dick pumping faster inside her. Her hands tighten in my hair, pulling slightly, and the pain mixed with the pleasure makes my breath hitch. I dig my nails into her hip, pulling her leg higher, giving me a better angle to hit her sweet spot just right.
“Oh, god, honey.”
Her moans in my ear grow, and I’m grateful our bedroom is so far from the children’s – at the other end of the house – because if there’s one thing my waif still has to learn, it’s to be quiet while we’re making love.
“I fucking love it when you grow wild for me,” I pant. “You’re so tight, so wet…perfect.” I lift my head, needing to see her face. Her flushed cheeks, her heavy-lidded eyes shining back at me with lust and love, her swollen lips, her long hair fanning out behind her…She’s the most beautiful woman in the world, and I’ll never take her for granted.
“Please, don’t stop talking like that,” she sighs. “I love to hear your dirty
words when you’re fucking me.”
Hissing, I can feel the tingling in my spine intensifying, and I slam my mouth down on hers. Her nails scratch my back, and I tilt my head, sucking on her tongue.
My waif has grown bolder over the years, and I love it.
I come up for air, and as I bite down on her shoulder, I put my thumb inside her ass, loving the long moan she lets out as I fill her completely. Her walls clamping down on my dick lets me know that she’s close.
“I’ve not even come yet, and already I can’t wait to fuck you again,” I growl, soothing the sting of my bite with my tongue.
“Garrett!” Her cry is muffled when she plants her face in my neck, and I can feel her cunt squeeze me even tighter. That’s all it takes for me to come, and I clamp down on my teeth, preventing myself from roaring like mad as I spill my seed inside her.
Planting a fist on the bed next to her head, I try to catch my breath. My dick softens, but I don’t want to lose her wet cunt just yet.
“Look at me,” I whisper as she hums, her head falling back on the pillow. She opens her eyes, and when I see the sated gaze looking back at me, I chuckle.
She pulls my face down, and we kiss for a long while, taking our time now that I’m home.
“Please don’t be gone for so long again,” she whispers as I break our kiss and move to lie down next to her.
“I don’t think I’ll have to,” I reassure her, tucking her closer. I suppress a yawn. “The new restaurant is coming along nicely, but even so…” I lean down to catch her mouth in a soft kiss. “Carlos can go the next time.”
She snuggles closer, her arm around my lower body, and her legs tangled with mine.
“It makes sense.” She yawns. “He’ll be running it, after all.”
We lie in silence for a while, and I revel in the peace I feel now that I’m home after my month away. Skype or texts really aren’t enough when you have a family waiting for you to come home. Inhaling deeply, I feel as if the tight churning in my gut finally releases the hold it’s had on me since I said goodbye to Suzy all those weeks ago.
“Was it difficult for you to be back in San Francisco?” Suzy’s voice breaks the silence.
“Not really.” I put my right arm behind my head and stare at the ceiling high above. “It’s a city that has a lot to offer. Plenty of sights to be seen.”
I can feel her soft kiss on my chest, and I smile in the dark.
My waif is always so protective of me. While I appreciate her concern for me – for going back to a city that holds some dark memories – I think I need to have a chat with her about it soon. I take her hand resting on my stomach in mine and look at the names of our children inked on the inside of her wrist. I frown at the ‘X’ – made with a red pen – below Charlotte’s name. I’ve not seen it before.
“Waif?” I call out softly, not sure if she’s fallen asleep already.
“Yes, honey?” Her voice is surprisingly alert.
I entwine my fingers with hers and try to keep my voice light. The implications of what it could mean causes my breath to hitch.
“Did you let Charlie draw on your skin again?”
She chuckles.
“No, I didn’t.” In a lazy move, she leans up on her elbow and gives the date over my heart a lingering kiss. My heart jumps at the gesture, like it always does; while I’ll never fully let go of the guilt I feel over the deaths of Cecilia and Vincent, it’s also the date I first met my love.
Fate moves in mysterious ways, and if I were a man of faith, I might take it as some heavenly sign that a day that once only held darkness and sorrow could one day fill me with light and joy.
Suzy lifts her leg, straddling me. Peering down at my face, her laughing eyes make me narrow my own with suspicion. Inside, hope fills me, lighting me up – but I need her to confirm my thoughts before I allow the burning wish to take root completely.
“I was wondering when you’d notice it.” She sits up so I can admire her curves in the soft light from the lamp on my nightstand. I place my hands on her hips, holding her still. Motherhood has turned her once slender figure into a rounder version, and it suits my waif well, even if she doesn’t always agree with me – but what woman does?
“What does that mean?” I’m not sure if I manage to keep my emotions in check, because I’m almost one hundred percent sure of the answer now.
Nodding slowly, she beams at me, but her voice is quiet when she makes me the happiest man on earth – again.
“In about six months – close to Christmas, in fact – you’re going to be a dad again, honey.”
Overcome with emotion, I close my eyes briefly, only to open them again as I sit up so I can cradle her face in my hands.
“You’re pregnant?” I need to hear the words.
Nodding, she puts her hands on my wrists, holding on tight.
“Yes. I’m pregnant.”
I rest my forehead against hers as I look down at her rounded belly, marvelling at the life I now know is growing there.
“You unman me, my love,” I whisper, my voice gruff as I raise my head. “You show me, time and time again, what a lucky man I am. And the happiest for having you as my wife.”
“Oh, Garrett.” Her voice breaks on my name and I know she can feel the truth in my words.
“I’m the lucky one here,” she goes on, sniffling.
I wipe away her tears as I kiss her – a slow, gentle, but no less passionate kiss – needing to show her how much I value and adore her.
“You’ve given me a wonderful life, waif,” I whisper against her lips. “I’ll cherish the day you came into my life forever. I swear.”
“You don’t have to prove anything to me. You already show me, and our children, how much we mean to you, every day we’re together.”
I move my hands to her waist and pull her up against me, bringing her back down on the bed, but I turn at the last moment so she lies underneath me. I run a hand lightly over her skin, starting at her neck, then traveling over her breasts, her waist and hips, stopping with my palm below her belly button.
“I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet,” she murmurs, resting her hand on mine. “It’s too early for that.”
“I don’t care.” My voice is fierce, and she squeezes my hand, no doubt hearing the underlying promise in them. “I just hope this pregnancy will be as smooth as the others were for you.”
“I’ll be fine, honey. I promise.”
I take in the sleepy expression in her eyes and lie down beside her, pulling her closer gently until her head is under my chin, resting on my heart. We’re as close as two humans can possibly get.
“Sleep, my love,” I whisper. “Before we know it, it’ll be morning, and utter mayhem will set in. Thank you for giving me the best birthday a man could ever wish for.”
She chuckles, but it’s interrupted by another long yawn.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she murmurs.
“Neither would I.”
Soon after, I hear her breathing even out. While I’m equally exhausted – or close to it – it takes me a long time before I fall asleep.
But when I finally surrender to unconsciousness, I do it with a light heart.
THE END
“Make Me Believe” (Believe #1) is available now on Amazon.
Future titles in The Believe Series:
“Time To Learn” (Believe #3) – Laura & Kristian
“Blinded By Love” (Believe #3.5) – Morgan & Rowan
To be published late 2016/early 2017
There are so many people I want to thank, but that would probably make this section way too long. I will do my best and try not to forget anyone, however.
First and foremost, a special thank you to my #BBs – you, my darlings, have been absolutely incredible from day one. Thank you for always being here for me, and for always taking time out of your busy lives to reassure me I am not a complete nutter for obsessing over this book. I have said it so many times, but
I will say it again: you are my soul sisters – my tribe – and I love you so much.
To my beta readers: Laura, Morgan, Michelle, Dina, Ella, Maria, and Becca – thank you for all your thoughts and advice, and for helping me make “Fool For Love” so much better than it was when you read it the first time. I appreciate and value you all, and please know how much your help means to me.
I do not know where I would have been if I had not had the support and love of the girls in my group, Karen’s Fairies. To my fairies – thank you is hardly the right words to convey how much having you in my corner means to me. I am so grateful for you all – and I love that you seem to love my long, rambling videos, and that you are always there for me. I hope and pray we will be able to meet one day. We can make it happen, right?
To my amazing friend in South Africa, Michelle – thank you for your time and encouraging words whenever I need a boost. You rock! Now, when are you flying up for a visit? ;-)
To my beautiful friend, Autumn Grey – you are amazing. Your friendship means everything to me, and I do not know how I would be able to function without you in my life. I love your randomness, your quirky and adorable ramblings, and I cannot wait to finally meet you later this year.
I also want to thank my editor, Rosalyn Martin, for making me see that ellipses are not necessary. ;-) Thank you for helping me grow as a writer, and for helping me make “Fool For Love” shine.
A very special thank you to my dear friend, Suzy – I love you. Always and forever. (But please stop working so much and come visit us more often!)
A big, fat thank you to all the readers, bloggers, and authors who have shown me that the indie publishing community continues to be wonderful – despite its drama – and for being a pillar of support. Thank you for all your messages – for sharing your thoughts about my stories. It truly means the world to me. #BookaholicsUnite
Lastly, I have to become even more like a sap and mention my love – my husband, Lars. From the moment we met, you have been nothing but supportive of me and my dreams – even when you did not understand them – and I thank you for accepting how important this new journey of mine is. I love you so very much, honey. Always and forever.