by J. H. Croix
Gabriel crossed the room, stopping in front of me and resting his hands beside mine on the counter. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired and my back hurts.”
“You look beautiful,” he murmured as he dipped his head and pressed a lingering kiss on the side of my neck.
Even though I felt like shit, a kiss from Gabriel in that sensitive area could still send a hot shiver through my entire body.
“Why are you on your feet?” he asked as he drew away, his concerned gaze skating over my face as his arm encircled my waist and lightly rubbed my lower back.
“I don’t know,” I muttered. “Daphne is on her feet.”
Daphne cast me a dry look, her brows hitching up. “For no more than twenty minutes at a time. You’ve been busy all day. Go sit down. I do half my work in the kitchen sitting on a stool.”
Gabriel didn’t give me much choice in the matter before he nudged me gently but firmly in the direction of the kitchen table. As soon as I sat down, he pulled another chair over for me to prop my feet on. I wasn’t accustomed to letting anyone fuss over me, and I wrestled with conflicted feelings about it. He had been solicitous throughout my pregnancy. A part of me savored it while another part bristled against it. That was my tomboy side, the side with two older brothers who never wanted to be seen as needing anyone’s help.
Later that night, we were back home. My house had become our house. Gabriel was finishing up an addition because we needed the space. He had added a new section to the back, so now the upstairs had two bedrooms in addition to a large master bedroom with its own bath and a nursery off to the side.
I was propped up on the pillows in bed, and we were watching a movie. He rolled to the side, sliding his hand over my round belly in a caress. “How are you feeling?”
I slid my eyes sideways. “You just asked me that ten minutes ago. I’m still fine.” My lips curved in a smile.
“Never hurts to ask again,” he murmured, dusting kisses along the side of my neck before his head rested in the curve of my shoulder.
“We can do this, right?” I asked.
“Absolutely.” He lifted his head, his gaze catching mine, radiating confidence and purpose.
Sometimes I didn’t know what to do with the man he’d become. After the fraught struggle we’d both gone through trying to accept that loving someone was even possible, we’d settled into a comfortable relationship, the fiery desire that had brought us together still burning.
He’d even reached out to his mom to finally address her pattern of asking for money. While he knew she wouldn’t likely ever be all that stable, he’d had that difficult conversation and settled on a plan to send her money on his own because he didn’t want her in dire straits. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but the lingering tension around her was gone for him, and she only called now to check in.
We sparred occasionally, but it was never difficult to make up. And, oddly for a man who thought he could never be committed, he had an easy confidence about starting a family. I’d watched him be a doting unofficial uncle to Elias and Cammi’s twins. He was the one who first brought up trying to get pregnant. Just now, tears pricked in my eyes as I looked into his. “Okay, thanks for the reminder,” I whispered.
I fell asleep on my side with him curled behind me and his hand resting on my massive belly. So many things I never expected, and so many things I savored every moment of every day.
Gabriel
Six months later
It was dark, and a subtle noise filtered through the haze of sleep. I came abruptly awake. Nora was warm and curled up against me. I blinked and glanced around before realizing I was hearing our daughter, Laney. She wasn’t crying; she was laughing.
I rolled away from Nora, swinging my legs off the bed. The hardwood floor was cool under my feet as I took the three strides from the bed to where our daughter’s crib was against the wall. When I lifted her, she made a little giggling sound and wiggled. I did a quick diaper change on the changing table immediately by the crib.
I slipped back into bed, propping the pillows against the headboard so I could hold her comfortably. I knew what was coming. I might not’ve been a father all that long, but I knew she wanted to nurse and would get irritable any second now.
As if on cue, she let out a disgruntled sound, something between a snort and a cry. Nora rose swiftly, moving to climb out of bed before I caught her by the shoulder. “I’ve got her already,” I whispered in the darkness.
Nora turned toward us, a sleepy smile curling her lips. Although the room was mostly dark, we had two night-lights, so I could see a hint of her smile in those glimmers of light.
“Hand her over,” she mumbled. She shifted the covers on her lap and propped the pillows behind her.
I carefully passed the small bundle of our daughter over, and a moment later, our baby was nursing. Nora leaned back, rolling her head to the side to look at me. “Thanks for getting her out of her crib,” she whispered.
“That’s my job,” I said, entirely serious.
Nora giggled softly, and the sound was a silk lasso cinching tighter around my heart.
Now that we’d been together for more than a few years, every so often, it was startling for me to contemplate that there’d been a time when I believed I wasn’t cut out for love or commitment.
Now? I couldn’t imagine life without Nora. Every day was another stitch in the fabric of our shared life and family. That world extended far beyond just the two of us and our daughter, the stitches encompassing our friends and more.
Even with sleep elusive now that we had a baby, I would take every bleary, tired morning as long as I could have it with Nora and our daughter. I shifted closer to them, sliding my arm over Nora’s shoulders to sift my fingers through her hair while she nursed. She eventually fell asleep after Laney finished nursing, while I waited a few more minutes before carefully returning our baby girl to her crib.
The next morning, I woke up to find myself alone in bed. Because I didn’t want to miss a second of our life, I hurried into the shower and then down to the kitchen, maybe five minutes later.
Nora was standing by the counter with Laney in her arms. “We beat him this morning,” she whispered as she pressed a kiss to Laney’s cheek and glanced over at me with a bright smile. “I already have coffee ready.”
I chuckled and stopped in front of them, resting my hands on either side of them on the counter, encompassing my small family in the cage of my arms. “Good morning,” I murmured.
Nora gave me a lingering kiss before I lifted my head and curved my palm over the downy soft hair of our baby girl. She had Nora’s big brown eyes paired with wispy locks of auburn hair.
“What are we doing today?” Nora asked when I looked back toward her.
Our daughter gargled and squeaked as if answering.
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’m hanging out with you. Remember? No flights for either one of us today.”
The curve of her smile deepened on her cheek. “Oh, that’s right. We promised ourselves a day of nothing.”
“It’s never nothing.”
“What do you mean?” she asked when I stepped away to reach for the mug she’d placed beside the coffee maker on the counter.
“I just like hanging out with you, and that’s not nothing.”
Nora’s smile was bright as I circled my arms around her again, abandoning the coffee. When I accidentally squished our baby girl, and she let out a sound of protest, our heads peered to look at her together.
This morning couldn’t be any more perfect. It hadn’t just been about getting back to us. It was so much more.
Thank you for reading Back To Us - I hope you loved Nora & Gabriel’s story!
Up next is Wild With You - a brand new hotshot firefighter series set in the wilds of Alaska!
Graham is a grumpy hotshot firefighter and a single father with a teenage daughter. He does not have time for, well, anything.
He was never supp
osed to see the gorgeous stranger who asked for a kiss ever again. Then, prissy Madison turns out to be his new neighbor. She’s a major complication for a man who doesn’t have time (see above).
He thinks he can keep his hands off of her. He thinks he has control. Spoiler alert: he can’t, and he doesn’t.
Cue the complications.
Is there anything better than a broody, alpha hotshot firefighter who makes a habit of rescuing anyone in need getting brought to his knees by a smart, sassy city-girl completely out of her element?
Don’t miss Graham & Madison’s smoking’ hot, opposites attract romance!
Pre-order Wild With You - due out Aug 31, 2021!
For more swoon-worthy small town romance…
This Crazy Love kicks off the Swoon Series - small town southern romance with enough heat to melt you! Jackson & Shay’s story is epic - swoon-worthy & intensely emotional. Jackson just happens to be Shay’s brother’s best friend. He’s also seriously easy on the eyes. Shay has a past, the kind of past she would most definitely like to forget. Past or not, Jackson is about to rock her world. Don’t miss their story! Free on all retailers!
Burn For Me is a second chance romance for the ages. Sexy firefighters? Check. Rugged men? Check. Wrapped up together? Check. Brave the fire in this hot, small-town romance. Amelia & Cade were high school sweethearts & then it all fell apart. When they cross paths again, it’s epic - don’t miss Cade’s story!
Free on all retailers!
For more small town romance, take a visit to Last Frontier Lodge in Diamond Creek. A sexy, alpha SEAL meets his match with a brainy heroine in Take Me Home. Marley is all brains & Gage is all brawn. Sparks fly when their worlds collide. Don’t miss Gage & Marley’s story!
Free on all retailers!
If sports romance lights your spark, check out The Play. Liam is a British footballer who falls for Olivia, his doctor. A twist of forbidden heats up this swoon-worthy & laugh-out-loud romance. Don’t miss Liam & Olivia’s story.
Free on all retailers!
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Dare With Me Series
Crash Into You
Evers & Afters
Come To Me
Back To Us
Light My Fire Series
Wild With You - coming August 2021!
Hold Me Now - coming October 2021!
Only Ever Us - coming December 2021!
Fall For Me - coming February 2022!
Swoon Series
This Crazy Love
Wait For Me
Break My Fall
Truly Madly Mine
Still Go Crazy
If We Dare
Steal My Heart
Into The Fire Series
Burn For Me
Slow Burn
Burn So Bad
Hot Mess
Burn So Good
Sweet Fire
Play With Fire
Melt With You
Burn For You
Crash & Burn
That Snowy Night
Brit Boys Sports Romance
The Play
Big Win
Out Of Bounds
Play Me
Naughty Wish
Diamond Creek Alaska Novels
When Love Comes
Follow Love
Love Unbroken
Love Untamed
Tumble Into Love
Christmas Nights
Last Frontier Lodge Novels
Take Me Home
Love at Last
Just This Once
Falling Fast
Stay With Me
When We Fall
Hold Me Close
Crazy For You
Just Us
Acknowledgments
Much gratitude to my assistant, Erin, for keeping me on track and for being awesome in general. Thank you to my editor for helping me give Nora & Gabriel the happily-ever-after they deserved and to Terri D. for cleaning up the details. Najla Qamber creates gorgeous covers for me and is so patient with my questions.
A bow of thanks to my early readers who catch any last errors and to the bloggers who spread the word about my stories and so much more.
Gracious thanks to my readers near and far who cheer on my stories, ask when the next one is coming, and send me messages about stories they love - thank you, thank you, thank you.
As always, lots of love to my husband and my dogs for being there.
xoxo
J.H. Croix
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author J.H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes contemporary romance with sassy women and alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!
Places you can find me:
jhcroixauthor.com
[email protected]