Second Wind

by Walker, Aimee Nicole

  I cupped Rush’s face with both hands, running my thumbs over his cheekbones while he wrapped his hands around my wrists to anchor himself. My husband’s lips trembled and happy tears slid down his face, just as they did mine. The moment was too precious to hurry, hell, we’d waited for half of our lives to get here. I wanted to savor the first kiss with my husband.

  “Go on and kiss him already, son,” my mom whisper-shouted from the front row.

  “Rush, will you be mine?” I asked

  “I’ve always been yours.”

  I kissed him then, a long lingering press of lips made salty from our tears. It was a kiss unrivaled by any we’d shared, including the clumsy first kiss of discovery as teenagers, the sad goodbye kiss on prom night, or even the joyful kiss of rediscovery after so many years apart. Our first kiss as husband and husband was a promise. It said, “I will forever be yours.”

  We posed for pictures in front of the fireplace with our family, friends, and the pastor. I couldn’t think of a better background for our photographs than the large painting showing the story of us—past, present, and future.

  After the last photo was taken, we adjourned into the dining room for our wedding feast. On our way there, I wrapped my arms around my husband and pulled him tight against my side. “I have to admit, babe. I expected to see some sappy hearts tucked in amongst the decorations.”

  “There will be hearts,” Rush said, grinning ruefully. “The top tier of the wedding cake is a heart.”

  “Seems appropriate to me.”

  “That’s not all though.” He stopped and turned into my arms. “I’m also wearing some.”

  “Where?” I asked, but my mind was already stripping him out of his navy-blue suit.

  “You’ll see for yourself after our guests leave,” Rush said.

  “They have an hour to eat and wish us much joy and happiness before I throw them out.”

  Rush threw his head back and laughed, loving how eager I was to touch, taste, and possess his body. I was the one that got the last laugh that night when we were finally alone. He expected a fast, hard fucking after I got my first look at him in his adorable, ass-hugging boxer briefs with candy hearts that urged me to suck him, rim him, and fuck him. I did each of those things as I took my sweet time drawing out our pleasure until he was the one shaking and begging. Only then did I give into the demands of my body to fuck, mate, and claim my husband for the first time.

  “Forever yours,” we both sighed once our bodies were joined.

  Almost a year to the day we got married, Linc and I welcomed our little bundle of joy into the world with arms wide open. “She’s so tiny, Linc. So perfect.” I knew that I would love the child we adopted, but I didn’t expect it to be so immediate. I thought it might take a few days for the bond to form, but I knew that Gabriella belonged to us the minute we saw her through the nursery window at the hospital.

  She was everything I dreamed she would be, and so much more. “Look at all that dark, curly hair,” I whispered after I took off the knit hat for another quick peek. “That tiny button nose and that little mouth. I love her so much.”

  “You’re our little perfect angel, aren’t you?” Linc cooed softly to our daughter. Oh man, I didn’t think I could possibly love him any more until that moment. “Big noises will come out of that little mouth,” Linc warned. I didn’t believe him, but our girl let it be known when she wasn’t happy.

  “Having second thoughts?” Linc asked on the car ride home from the hospital when Gabriella chose to express herself again.

  “None,” I said running a finger over her downy cheeks to calm her. “Thank you so much, Linc.” My heart felt so full I thought it might bust.

  “I didn’t buy her at Target for you as a Valentine gift, babe,” he quipped, trying to play it cool, but I heard his voice thicken with emotion.

  “No, but you’ve made every dream I ever had come true.”

  “I bet you saw us bringing her home in a chariot pulled by unicorns though, right?” Linc asked.

  “Yep,” I agreed, “but my SUV worked out nicely.”

  Our large, boisterous Chicago family descended on us after we got home. I expected Gabriella to cry when so many people looked down at her, but she seemed to suck up the adoration like a sponge. She’d have these people eating out of the palm of her hand in no time at all. My favorite moment was when Brutus introduced himself. He was a dog who’d known great sorrow until he came into our lives, so we went out of our way to make sure Brutus knew he was still our best boy. He wanted nothing to do with us though; he only had eyes for Gabriella, and he hovered nearby like he was protecting her.

  Of course, I snapped at least a hundred pictures that day of our friends and family holding our daughter. Holden, Mystic, and Kennedy tried to act like they were too old and cool to fuss over a baby sister, but Holden held the rattle over her head while Kennedy and Mystic took turns using baby-soft voices to tell Gabriella how perfect she was and how lucky she was to have such a loving family. Jules openly wept because she knew how long I had waited for the moment I became a father. Racheal looked a little put for a few minutes, until Uncle Linc reminded her that she was our girl first.

  “Gabriella will be so lucky to have a big cousin like you looking out for her, Rach,” Linc said. “Isn’t that right, Uncle Rush?”

  “That’s right,” I agreed. I beckoned for Racheal to come to me, and she climbed onto my lap like old times. “No one could ever replace you, Rach. You’ll always be my first princess. Okay?”

  “Okay.” She hugged me tight, and I savored every second. “But you’re still not riding my bike.”

  I threw my head back and laughed. I loved her sass so much and knew she’d be one hell of a force to be reckoned with someday. She would become a wonderful role model for Gabriella. Racheal sat on the couch between Linc and me so she could hold the baby. It wasn’t long before Racheal kissed her forehead and sang the same lullabies she heard as a child. So far, our daughter hadn’t found a heart she couldn’t win over.

  Nigel waited patiently for his turn to hold the baby, while Kent stood nearby scowling at me. I was on his shit list lately for two reasons: I’d hired an intern from SAIC that Kent felt was too sexy for Nigel to be around, and all my baby talk triggered Nigel’s baby talk. Apparently, Kent wasn’t quite ready for fatherhood yet, but I knew that would change the minute he saw Nigel with a baby in his arms.

  Sure enough, Nigel scooped Gabriella into his eager arms and cradled her against his chest. “Oh, you’re so warm and smell so pretty.” Nigel took off her knit cap and fussed over her curls and her little fingers and toes while Kent sat beside him on the couch looking dazed. Nigel gently kissed Gabriella’s forehead, and it was the exact minute Kent knew he was ready to be a father after all.

  “Hey, I’ll distract them while you steal the baby,” Kent mock-whispered.

  Nigel beamed with joy at his husband. “Or, we could just get our own.”

  “Okay,” Kent relented. “What kind of weekend hours do these places keep?”

  “It’s not like an animal shelter, baby,” Nigel said. “I’ll call on Monday to make an appointment to get the adoption process started.”

  Once everyone left, we FaceTimed Lillian and Carl so they could see their beautiful granddaughter. “I can’t wait to hold her next week,” Lillian said. She seemed so much happier in her second marriage, and I knew how much it meant to Linc to see his mom in a healthy relationship.

  “You saved the best for last didn’t you,” Phee said when we FaceTimed her next. Jackson sat beside her with little Micah on his lap.

  “Of course,” I agreed. “How are you doing? Looks like the big guy is doing great.”

  “I am,” Jackson said, “thanks for noticing.”

  Phee laughed and rolled her eyes. “I cannot wait to hug all of you. We miss you so much. I’m glad it’s your turn to travel and get the evil eye from airline passengers.”

  I groaned because I wasn’t looking f
orward to that part of flying to San Diego during spring break with Kennedy and Holden. Kennedy was due to graduate in May and had accepted a job at Wright Creations in D.C., Holden would graduate soon and who knew where life would take him and Mystic. There might not be many more opportunities for us all to be together at the same time, so we were looking forward to it.

  Micah started to kick up a fuss, which made Gabriella cry too. We said goodbye to Jackson and Phee then turned our attention to calming down our angel. Linc cradled her against his chest and talked to her soothingly while Brutus paced anxiously.

  “She’s just hungry, Brutus,” I assured him. He didn’t look like he believed me though.

  I retrieved a bottle from the warmer and handed it to Lincoln. Gabriella’s cries turned to grunts of joy as she drank from her bottle. Linc kissed her forehead and gently rocked her from side to side. My heart felt like it would burst from the love swelling inside it. I couldn’t find the words to express how much the moment meant to me, so I picked up my camera to capture more images from the next chapter in the story of us.

  The End!

  Only You

  The Fated Hearts Series

  Chasing Mr. Wright, Book 1

  Rhythm of Us, Book 2

  Surrender Your Heart, Book 3

  Perfect Fit, Book 4

  Return to Me, Book 5

  Always You, Book 6

  Any Means Necessary, Book 7

  Curl Up and Dye Mysteries

  Fatal Reaction (Series Prequel found on author’s blog)

  Dyeing to be Loved

  Something to Dye For

  Dyed and Gone to Heaven

  I Do, or Dye Trying

  A Dye Hard Holiday

  Road to Blissville Series

  Unscripted Love

  Someone to Call My Own

  The Lady is Mine

  The Lady is a Thief

  Coauthored with Nicholas Bella

  Undisputed

  Circle of Darkness: Genesis Circle Book One

  First, I need to thank my husband and children for their constant support and encouragement. It’s not easy living with a writer who often disappears into a fictional world for long periods of time. They do so many things to help me out so that I can realize my dream. I love you guys more than words can ever express.

  To my creative dream team, thanks seem hardly enough for all that you do. Miranda Vescio of V8 Editing and Proofreading, thank you for your tireless work, feedback, and many laughs while editing. Jay Aheer of Simply Defined art is an incredible artist, and I love how she brings my words to life. Stacey Blake of Champagne Formats is also an amazing artist who does incredible interior formatting, illustrating, and designing for e-books and paperbacks. Let’s not forget Judy Zweifel of Judy’s’ Proofreading. She does an amazing job of finding the tiniest details that make a book shine. I need to give a special thank you to Wander Aguiar for the incredible photo shoot for the Second Wind cover and teaser images.

  To my lovely PA, Michelle Slagan. I’m not sure how I ever did this without you. I love you to the moon and back!

  Lastly, I am so grateful for my beta readers and the honest feedback they provide me. Thank you for all that you do, Racheal, Kim, Laurel, Michael, Brittany, and Jodie.

  Ever since she was a little girl, Aimee Nicole Walker entertained herself with stories that popped into her head. Now she gets paid to tell those stories to other people. She wears many titles—wife, mom, and animal lover are just a few of them. Her absolute favorite title is champion of the happily ever after. Love inspires everything she does, music keeps her sane, and coffee is the magic elixir that fuels her day.

  I’d love to hear from you.

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