Tagged For A New Start

by Sam Destiny

  He led her over to her office while Leila stumbled off toward the toys they still had there.

  “Ready?” Tank asked, his hands on the door handle.

  “For?” Evy asked skeptically.

  He grinned and then opened the door, knowing exactly what he’d find. All her friends had prepared the office, had moved the desk in along with some file cabinets. They had also put up pictures on the wall of Evy and the team, of Tank and Leila, of whatever they had considered Evy would love seeing when she was having a long day at work.

  “This is…” She shook her head, clearly overwhelmed as she took the plants in, the decoration, the view. Tank stepped behind her and embraced her, kissing her shoulders.

  “They have faith in you, Evangeline. They don’t think this gala will fail. They are sure you’re staying.”

  It couldn’t be more obvious than it was in here.

  She nodded, resting her head back, and he kissed her temple. “I don’t know why I deserved all of you, all of this, but I’m never letting it go again.” She turned in his arm, glancing out of the door, probably to check on her daughter, and then focused on him. “You are a dream come true. Your mother was wrong about everything, and once we’re married, we’ll go over there and I’ll tell her that I’m now the only Mrs. Michaels who has a right to chew out your ass because you’re my husband. And that I’ll hurt her if she ever so much as tries again to convince you you’re not lovable.”

  He smiled softly. “I’m no longer talking to her. I’m done. I’m not going back. I sent her a check because I hope she finds herself a therapist that makes her see the error of her ways, but that’s it. However… I did talk to another mother.”

  She turned away from him then, slowly making her way over to her daughter, and he followed.

  “She loves you. She has a weird way of showing it, but she does, babe,” he told her and she shrugged.

  “I know.”

  Yet she clearly didn’t believe it.

  “She’ll be there for us to get married because she wants it. I promised to call her. I want her there because I think she finally gets it.”

  Evy glanced at him over her shoulder. “Gets what?”

  “How amazing you are.”

  “I’m done pleasing her.” It was a clear statement that left no room for discussion.

  He nodded. “Good. However, she’ll try to be better with you. With us. She called me son. Damn, it was weird. However, will you be okay with a small wedding?”

  “It’s our family. I don’t need more. You, Leila, and me. We’ll be there. My whole world. What else could I possibly want?”

  He crossed over and kissed her, long and sweet, and then some more because she was his and he could.

  “We’ll have a big wedding another time. Complete with the white dress and the walk to the altar. Not that I care how you look when you say yes, but I know it’s a woman’s dream, and at Tessa’s wedding you’ll regret it. I know you women.” He winked and she laughed, looking happy and free.

  “So, I have one thing I need to demand about this wedding,” she finally decided and he arched a brow.

  “Okay?”

  “Hilary’s watching Leila tonight—for the last time in a very long time because she’s our child, our responsibility—and we’ll have a true wedding night. I need to feel you inside of me.”

  Jesus, he got hard just imagining that.

  “You drive a tough negotiation, but I’m in.”

  He couldn’t help but think that at least soon he would be—and then wouldn’t move anywhere else until the sun rose on the horizon.

  If Evy had ever allowed herself to think about her wedding day, it hadn’t been her in a weird woolen dress and with a broken leg. It also wouldn’t have been in a courthouse in the US, but what it definitely had been was her standing at the stairs ready to go in with a guy who looked at her the way Tank was looking at her, his eyes full of adoration and happiness.

  Leila was in his arm, cuddled into him since she was clearly missing her lunch time nap, but it didn’t matter. She would be able to get some sleep soon.

  They’d grabbed some food on the way and now it was time to go in, sealing the deal.

  After that he was hers, and hers alone, and he wouldn’t have the chance to just walk away if she ever got complicated or doubted herself again. She’d hunt his ass down and would nail him to the promise he’d make to her in just a few minutes.

  In the car he’d confessed to having taken Hilary to get the license they’d need and it made her laugh out loud.

  Not that she cared, because she hadn’t even considered there’d be hang-ups and that one needed to prepare for a spontaneous wedding.

  “You okay?” he asked and she nodded, taking his hand.

  “Perfect. Let’s get this over with because I wanna go home and practice my new signature.”

  He laughed, kissing her, and then led her inside toward the office they’d get married in, and when they arrived, Evy nearly cried.

  They were all there: Tessa, Jazz, Hilary, Aimie, Ryan, her mother, Jazz’s mother and his sister, and most of her office staff.

  Her girls also looked as if they had bigger plans.

  “Come,” Hilary briskly ordered and then pulled her along, mindful of her leg, until they’d vanished in a bathroom. Tessa opened a clothing bag she had and inside was a white dress. Simple and definitely no wedding dress, but it was a long white one anyway, and it would hide her cast. They made her change and it fit, cute and yet somewhat formal.

  God, Evy loved it.

  When she got out again Hilary put makeup on her while Aimie sprayed some sparkling hairspray onto her head, fluffing up her dark hair.

  “Ready?” Tessa asked. The whole procedure hadn’t taken longer than ten minutes and Evy couldn’t help but think the girls were efficient.

  “I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered.

  Tessa hugged her, beaming. “Of course. Tank called your mom, and she called us, and here we are.”

  Hilary hugged her, too. “We’re not going to miss your wedding—or let you get married looking like this. We’re glad you’re here.”

  “And we’re not jealous. Especially not Tessa because you’re getting married before her,” Aimie piped in, making Evy laugh.

  “Thank you for being here, too.”

  Aimie squeezed her tightly. “Of course. I’m your friend, remember?”

  Evy remembered, and she wouldn’t again forget that although sometimes there wasn’t much talk between two people, that didn’t necessarily mean they weren’t friends no matter what.

  When Evy came back with the girls, Tank stared at the ceiling, hoping to reduce the burning behind his eyelids. Something had to be wrong, or he was close to tears, and that couldn’t be.

  “You’re freaking beautiful,” he whispered as Evy stepped into his arms and she wiped at his cheek, catching a stray tear.

  “Regretting it already and crying for your freedom?” she asked jokingly and he shook his head.

  “I just…” Silence spread and then suddenly the girls burst out laughing.

  “I just, too,” Evy replied and went on her tiptoes as best as she could to kiss him.

  “What’s funny?” he asked after breaking the kiss, and just then remembered Jazz’s and Tessa’s secret code for ‘I love you’, which had come to be after she’d almost slipped and told him she loved him just two weeks after they’d met. “Never mind. Got it. Ready?”

  She nodded and together they all walked in.

  The ceremony was rather cold, as he’d expected, yet when they were asked to make the vows, he turned to Evy, clearing his throat.

  “Evangeline Jackson, you are everything I could wish for.” He turned briefly to the small audience and winked. “Prepare for a lot of that emotional shit I’m such a pro at,” he joked and everyone chuckled while he sobered and turned to Evy again. “You are all I could’ve ever wished for. There’s no one who ever saw me until you did, and on
ly when that happened did I see myself. I knew you were the one for me the night you sat across from me, mayo on your cheek from the burger. You were perfectly imperfect that day, better than anyone I’d ever seen and I knew. I couldn’t place the feeling back then, but I knew. I vow to always put you first, make you happy, and listen to you screaming at me if I don’t. I promise to kiss every night so you know I love you no matter what, and I promise you I’ll be the best father I can be. For Leila, and for the children we’ll have together, because I need more mini-versions of you.”

  He cleared his throat, ignoring the quiet sniffles from all sides, and then took Evy’s hand in his, pulling out her ring. “I vow with this ring, that you own my heart, body, and soul, and that I’ll forever kiss the ground you walk on because you complete me. I, Thomas Michaels hereby take you to be my wife through it all, through every bit of pain and happiness, through light and darkness, through perfection and shattered worlds. I’m yours from this day on until forever.”

  Evy sobbed, wiping at her cheeks with her free hand while he pushed the ring onto her finger. “I didn’t prepare a vow. I wasn’t as good as you,” she muttered and he chuckled.

  “You can do it,” Tessa encouraged her from the sidelines.

  “I, Evangeline Jackson, vow to be your wife through it all. Through the days when you’ll stare up at the ceiling, wondering if I’ll stay, and I will. Through the moments when you look at others and forget how amazing you are. I will love you through the days when the world is against us, and I’ll never let go of your hand if you threaten to fall. I vow to be your world, and shine brighter for you when you are in darkness. I vow to be the mother your children deserve, and the wife I wish you to have. I vow to love you when we are mad at each other, and to love you even more when you can’t love yourself. I vow to be yours, body, heart, and soul. I, Evangeline Jackson, hereby take you to be my husband through it all, through every bit of pain and happiness, through light and darkness, through perfection and shattered worlds. I’m yours from this day on until forever.”

  He was surprised she’d remembered his words so well, and then he wasn’t because he didn’t think he’d ever forget her vow, either. He knew that while watching her push a ring onto his finger as well. Damn, he was glad he had remembered those.

  “I declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride now,” the guy behind the desk explained, rather bored, but Tank didn’t care.

  He drew his wife in and kissed her until they had no air left, and then he kissed her a little bit longer still, not believing it was real.

  Everyone clapped. He heard it, and yet he didn’t want to let go, didn’t want to move.

  “Mrs. Michaels?” he whispered against her lips and she giggled before throwing her arms around him, peppering his face with little kisses.

  “Forever and a day,” she declared and he grinned, finally ready to face his friends.

  Evy kicked off the one heel she wore and rested her feet up on a chair, Tank by her side. He kissed her hand, the ring on her finger, as if he still couldn’t believe she was his, and then smiled.

  “It went smoothly.”

  Evy surveyed the gala room. There were some left over people dancing at four in the morning, most of them drunk, and some of them sickly in love, aka Jazz and Tessa, and she nodded.

  “I’m surprised because for a while there I didn’t think we’d make it with the electricity going out.”

  Of course that had happened, but for some reason Evy’s team had been prepared and half of the strings hung up were battery powered, making the venue look magical and romantic. Jazz and Tessa had spoken loud enough to still entertain the people and the small orchestra they’d hired had been able to play background music long enough for the lights to come back on around the time the official part had been over.

  It all had been smooth sailing after that, and Evy had gotten a lot of compliments on her organization. She’d also gotten a handful of business cards with promises of future events to arrange.

  Things had been good, and then Tank had asked her to sway to the music with him because dancing was out with her foot.

  And that was when things had turned perfect.

  They’d moved into the house together, and she couldn’t believe how easy it was being a great mom when you had someone helping you on the sidelines.

  She also couldn’t believe how easy it was to not worry when she could instead watch Tank and Leila together.

  She planned on having him adopt her daughter as soon as possible, but hadn’t spoken to him about it yet because she wanted to solve the paperwork first.

  However, she couldn’t wait for the day she’d give him the greatest gift ever, and she knew that was exactly what it would be.

  “Everything was amazing,” he commented and she needed a second to get back into the talk, but then nodded.

  “It was. You guys did incredible work. I cannot put in words what it means to me. But trust me… no more big events on such a short notice.”

  “I sure hope so.” Tessa appeared at her side and pulled out a chair to push Jazz into it, and then she sat on his lap.

  “I wasn’t even here and found it stressful,” Aimie teased, sitting down as well. Ryan had followed her because Tessa had placed them together at a table on rather short notice. She wouldn’t have ever left Aimie at home that night, and Evy actually agreed about Ryan being there, because now that she had time and the headspace to closely look at her friends, she realized he looked like shit a lot of times.

  “And now, on to the next big adventure… The Vegas trip,” Evy announced, happy to have them all there.

  It was still two months until they’d go, but she was already looking forward to it—and even more to returning home and making up for the week she wouldn’t see her amazing husband.

  “Wild girls. I think I’ll be worried,” Tank joked, but she just leaned over.

  “I love you,” she whispered against his lips.

  “From this day on until forever,” he replied and then kissed her, ending the evening on a perfect note.

  As I accept this reward, I want to… Oh, damn, wrong speech. We’re not at the award part yet, are we? ;-)

  First I want to thank Nicole Andrews Moore, who has had a big hand in the success of Forever Girl, Tagged 2, without even knowing it. People love this series so much, and with the things she taught me, I managed to get it out to even more people to love it.

  Then my Parabatai. Last year has been one of my hardest ever, and yet because you constantly push me, support me, and listen to me I managed better than I thought I could. Thank you, Aimie, from the bottom of my heart.

  Jamie, you know this book is special to both of us, and I’m glad I can finally get it out to everyone. Tank’s story has been in the making since book one and damn, I think we got it done all right in the end. You deserve it. Expect squishes next time we meet.

  My betas Aimie, Lina, Jamie, Staci and Ari… I hope you’ll be around a long time to keep reading the things I’m releasing. I couldn’t do this without you.

  Lina, dearest PA who thinks she’s the boss-lady. We’re doing this and we’re doing it quite okay-ish, don’t we? I love you. Thank you for being a support even when being freaking busy. I love you, my friend.

  Melissa Gill, you did it again. Sweet and compassionate. You created an amazing cover. Thank you for giving Evy and Tank a face to love.

  To my family, meaning my mom, my sister, my aunt: we had the worst year and yet we stand. Thank you for believing in me, for not calling me crazy. Thank you.

  Well, here we are, reaching the part of the thank you’s that’s for you guys. The people reading this series because they love the characters. The people coming back for more because my soldiers touched them. Thank you. You don’t know how much you influence my life by just reading. Find me. Talk to me. Any time you want. <3

  XO,

  Sam

  Once upon a time there was a young girl with her head full of dreams and her he
art full of stories. Her parents, though not a unit, always supported her and told her more stories, encouraging her to become what she wanted to be. The problem was, young Sam didn't know what she wanted to be, so after getting her A-levels she started studying Computer Science and Media. After not even one year she realized it wasn't what her heart wanted, and so she stopped, staying home and trying to find her purpose in life. Through some detours she landed an internship and eventually an apprenticeship in a company that sells cell phones. Not a dreamy career, but hey. Today she's doing an accounting job from nine-to-five, which mainly consists of daydreaming and scribbling notes wherever she can.

  All through that time little Sam never once lost the stories in her heart, writing a few little of them here and there, writing for and with her best friend, who always told her to take that last step.

  Only when a certain twin-couple entered her mind, bothering her with ideas and talking to her nonstop did she start to write down their story - getting as far as thinking she could finish it. Through the help of some author friends, and the encouragement of earlier mentioned best friend, little Sam, now not so little anymore and in her twenty-seventh year, decided to try her luck as an Indie author. She finished the story of the first twin, Jaden, and realized she couldn't ever stop.

  So, it really is only after five that the real Sam comes out. The one that hungers for love, romance, some blood, a good story, and, at the end of the day, a nice hot cup of Chai Tea Latte.

  And if the boys are still talking to her, she'll write happily ever after.

  Contact the Author:

  www.samdestiny.com

  Reader Group: www.facebook.com/groups/DestinysMorningstars