by E V Darcy
Paige had listened to the advice of her doctors and had pumped her milk to feed Luci whilst in the life-saving cot, but she’d been dying for this moment when she’d finally have her daughter skin-on-skin and able to latch on properly for the first time. She’d confessed to Casey only the night before that she didn’t feel like a proper mother yet, having not even held their daughter.
The nurse smiled at the group, helping Casey to hand over his precious bundle to Paige, and then to help position the baby just right. Paige winced as Luci latched on for the first time, and Casey decided he didn’t begrudge his partner the experience one bit.
Despite her small size, Luciana was a greedy little thing, falling asleep after drinking her fill. Paige eased her breast from the babe’s mouth and the nurse helped her to cover back up and settle the sleeping infant in her arms more comfortably.
‘Can we get a picture, please?’ he asked, holding out his phone with the camera app all set to go. The nurse obliged him and their first family photo was taken. He smiled at the image. Luci curled up and sleeping peacefully, Paige glowing as she finally felt she truly was a mother now, and him, beaming a happy, contented smile as he gazed down at the two women he loved most in the world.
It was the best picture he had ever taken.
He pressed the Share icon.
‘Seriously, why is your phone going off so much?’ Paige asked as they climbed back into the Range Rover. The doctors had finally made them leave for the evening, promising them Luciana would be home soon. If she carried on improving the way she was, it might be sooner than the month they’d already predicted! Paige couldn’t wait.
‘Don’t be mad.’
Why the hell did men, the world over, think that those three little words would ever calm anyone?
‘What did you do?’ she asked, unimpressed. Whatever it was, it was clearly going to piss her off.
‘I might have shared our picture with the whole of Twitter.’
‘What!’ she screeched. Usually, she’d hated the fact that her voice did the whole shrill fishwife thing, but right now, watching the man next to her wince in pain gave her a smidgen of satisfaction.
‘I thought it was my private account,’ he tried to protest. ‘But I was still logged into my public one.’
‘So, everyone and their dog can see our first fucking family photo?’
‘I’m so sorry!’
‘Why didn’t you delete it?’
‘Paige, it was retweeted instantly. By the time I realised, it had over a thousand retweets—and that was within two minutes! And you know the saying, what goes on the internet—’
‘Stays on the internet,’ she finished with a sigh. ‘I suppose…’ she said after a few minutes of silence as they pulled out of the hospital-parking garage. ‘I suppose, that it won’t hurt your reputation. The Powers That Be are probably shooting themselves after all the positive press you’ve received.’
‘Good.’ Casey said. ‘Fuck the lot of them.’
Paige raised her brow at that. Only two days ago, he’d been bemoaning the loss of work.
‘Don’t be mad.’
Paige groaned.
‘I got the Glynn West gig.’
Casey almost crashed the brand-new car at her squeal of delight and the arms that wrapped around him while he was driving!
Epilogue
Two months later.
‘Surprise!’ the chorus of voices cheered as Casey and Paige stepped into the family room of their Malibu home. Casey smiled wide as Paige gasped, clearly stunned at all their friends, and those they considered family, piled inside the space. The room was decorated with pink balloons and streamers, a huge It’s a girl! sign hung above the fireplace behind Deanna, and a mountain of presents was piled high on the coffee table.
‘You guys!’ Paige said with a laugh as she took in the sight. ‘Did you know about this?’ She turned to look up at Casey. He nodded, his own smile as wide as hers, as he wrapped his arm around her slender shoulders and pulled her close to his side. Luciana yawned from her cocoon of blankets in Paige’s arm, making an adorable scrunched-up face as she did so. The room aww’d.
‘Thank you, everyone,’ Casey said to them all as Marc came over and handed him a glass of sparkling grape juice. The proud father raised it high to give a short toast. ‘To Marc and Ellie for organising today for us, to Marc for helping me get my head out my arse and see what I was at risk of throwing away.’ Marc put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. ‘To my fellow cast mates for putting up with me for the last five years as I acted a dick and tried to take them down with me.
‘And I want to apologise to them’—he took each of them in in turn, but his eyes lingered on Nick—‘if I hurt them, if I upset them, if I did anything to them that pissed them off… I know there’s a few things I could list immediately off the top of my head.’ A titter of laughter rolled around the room.
‘Thank you to everyone who’s helped us out over the last three months; allowing us to stay in their homes while we needed to be close to Luciana, and for visiting her there. Thank you for welcoming her to the world without judgement, without prejudice for whose daughter she is—’
His voice caught on the idea that this little girl, regardless of how she’d come into the world, of what had happened between her parents, or in their pasts, was so innocent, untouched, unblemished. She was clean, whole, pure, and he vowed to try and keep her that way as long as possible, to ensure that no one hurt her, broke her heart, or tarred her with the brush of being his daughter.
‘Casey.’ Nick spoke up. ‘You’re a dick’—Sophie smacked him in the chest—‘Hey!’ he protested. ‘Let me finish. You’re a dick, Case, but you’re our dick. I won’t miss the old you, but I’m looking forward to getting to know the new one.’
‘Hear, hear!’ Sophie raised her glass with a smile.
‘Looking forward to being him,’ Casey said. Tears shimmered in his eyes as he looked at all his friends; friends, ones he hadn’t even realised he had.
‘And here, I thought this was about Luciana!’ Paige said, a smile on her face showing she wasn’t serious. The room laughed and Robson raised his glass high.
‘To Luciana,’ he said loudly, ‘May your life be filled with love, luck, and laughter.’ The room repeated the toast back and people began to drink.
Music started and the group began to fall into smaller ones, men congregating together as the women hurried over to get their first glimpse of Casey’s child. Casey turned to Marc, who smiled at him.
‘Feels good, doesn’t it?’ Marc said to him, motioning towards where Sophie and BB were huddled around Paige, cooing and awwing over his tiny daughter.
‘The best,’ he confirmed to his friend. ‘Yet also the worst. It was easy when she was in the hospital; even with the setbacks, we had professionals there to help us. Now, we’re on our own. What if we fuck it all up?’
Marc laughed and clapped him on the shoulder again. ‘You will.’ Casey’s mouth dropped open at his friend’s words. ‘Every parent does,’ Marc added, quickly. ‘No one is perfect, and we all make mistakes while we try and figure it out—’
‘Marc,’ Ellie interrupted. Her eyes were wide and painted with fear. She held her phone out to his friend with the bottom half covered. Casey hadn’t even realised she’d disappeared.
‘What’s up?’ Marc asked, putting his drink down and taking the phone from her with a frown.
‘They’ve found Luc.’ Both Marc’s and Casey’s eyes went wide at the news and simultaneously they gazed down at the phone now in Marc’s hand. ‘He’s in Tennessee,’ she told them. ‘They’re operating on him now, but it’s touch and go.’
‘What the hell happened?’ Casey asked loudly, calling attention from the rest of the room. The others fell silent at the outburst, but he wasn’t paying attention.
‘He was shot in a showdown with The Demon,’ she told them. ‘They don’t know yet if he’s going to survive.’
Casey’s eyes sw
ung to meet Paige’s at the words. Words he’d heard only a few months ago when Paige had gone into early labour.
Every one of the Destiny cast had been walking a tightrope since Luc’s departure at the convention.
As Paige hurried over to Casey and he wrapped his two girls in his arms, he prayed that this would be the end of it, that finding Luc would finally close the doors that had been flung wide open.
But, as his gazed around the room, taking in each of his co-stars, Casey had a sinking feeling the drama that had started that day, ten months ago, wasn’t finished yet.
He buried his face in Paige’s wild, curly hair. He just hoped he could shelter his girls from whatever else was coming their way.
Back Matter
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
E. V. Darcy is a high school teacher with a Bachelor of Arts in Imaginative Writing from Liverpool John Moores University.
She lives in the north of England with her husband and rather large–and very spoilt–dog, Jabba, who she rescued in 2015.
When Evie isn't writing you can find her binge watching her favourite T.V. shows, playing computer games, or walking her much loved dog.
Visit E. V. Darcy’s website for more information on her latest releases and other tidbits. Join her newsletter for sneak peeks, first to know about forthcoming releases and discounts on pre-orders!
www.evdarcy.com
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Other Titles by E. V. Darcy:
AN UNCONVENTIONAL MEETING
(The Fangirl Series Book 1)
Marc Matthews, intensely private star of the hit TV show Destiny, hates his fans. He can think of nothing worse than having to speak to, sign autographs for, or have his picture taken with them. So the day he finds out he’s contractually obligated to attend the biggest TV convention of the year, Desti-nation, is not a good one for him. Left without childcare for his four-year-old, Tyler, he has to take his deaf son with him to the biggest fan event in Las Vegas.
Ellie Roscoe, deaf interpreter and fangirl, has reached her fandom limit. After this convention she is done with TV shows, its stars, and the fan scene in general! No more binge watching, no more fan fiction, no more gif sets, it’s time to move on. But after the convention… After she’s met her favourite stars one last time, and finally claims the elusive Marc Matthew’s signature to complete her poster.
When Tyler runs off, it’s Ellie that rescues him, but will Marc be prepared to listen to a fangirl?
Meet the stars of the hit TV show Destiny in An Unconventional Meeting, the first of the Fangirl books; a series of books dedicated to women over thirty who love TV shows, computer games, the internet, and everything else geeky!
COMING SOON
Watch out for the following new series from E. V. Darcy coming in 2017
The Inheritance Series
The Courtesan Series
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
26
27
28
29
30
31
Epilogue
Back Matter