“I’m sure that’s not true,” Jace starts, only to be cut off by Ellie.
“It better be a boy.” She points her little finger directly at him.
“Pretty sure that’s out of my control at this point. But that doesn’t mean you can’t hope for a little brother.”
“I’m going to go pray on it right now.” She spins and takes off out of the room without another word.
Jace stands, turning toward me with a look I can only describe as what the fuck written across his face.
“Hey, don’t look at me. She’s your daughter.”
“Damn it to hell, she really is.” He laughs, pulling me back into his arms. “We’re having a baby,” he says again like he hasn’t fully wrapped his head around this fact.
“We are.” I kiss his jaw and then his cheek before my lips find his.
“I love you,” he murmurs against my mouth.
“I love you, too,” I say, knowing just how much I truly mean those words. With every breath I take. With every beat of my heart. Our love is all consuming. It always has been.
Life doesn’t always turn out exactly as we expect it to. Sometimes there are bumps in the road and sometimes there are boulders. But what defines us is how we maneuver around them. We only get as much as we’re willing to fight for, and with Jace, I will fight until my last day on this Earth. Because he is worth it. He's always been worth it.
Despite all the pain and heartache we had to endure, we found our way back to each other. To a life better than we could have ever imagined.
It’s so easy to dismiss those who suffer from addiction. To write them off as a lost cause and to turn our backs on them when they need us the most. But Jace is a shining example that people can and do overcome addiction. And they do it every single day.
He still struggles, probably a lot more than he admits. But he’s strong. Stronger than he ever realized. And I’m happy to hold his hand whenever that strength wavers.
We aren’t perfect. I don’t think anyone ever is. But our love comes pretty damn close. And in the end, that’s all that matters anyway.
* * *
The End
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About the Author
Melissa Toppen is a USA Today Bestselling Author who specializes in New Adult and Contemporary Romance. She is a lover of books and enjoys nothing more than losing herself in a good novel. She has a soft spot for Romance and focuses her writing in that direction; writing what she loves to read.
Melissa resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and two children, where she writes full time.
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Poison & Wine Page 23