by Jessica Wood
A few minutes later, Chloe and I were standing in the driveway of the house I grew up in, chatting with our new neighbors Sue and Rick Hoffman. Cory shifted in my arms as he watched Sophie playing with the Hoffman’s son, Adam in the emptied moving truck.
“Is your son starting kindergarten this fall?” I asked as I caught a glimpse of Adam tugging on Sophie’s brunette curls and saying something that I couldn’t make out.
“Yup. Kindergarten,” Rick said.
“What about your daughter?” Sue asked.
“Also kindergarten,” Chloe said and smiled. “Maybe they’ll even end up in the same classroom.” She briefly looked over at me and smiled. “Looks like they’ll become friends in no time.”
Just then, Sophie cried out from inside the moving truck. “You big meanie!”
We looked up to see Sophie running down the ramp of the truck with her lips fully pouting out. Before we could stop her, she was storming back toward the direction of our house.
“Oh my. What did Adam do now?” Sue gave us an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. Adam can be a handful sometimes.”
I laughed and waved off her concern. “Don’t worry about it. Boys will be boys. I’m sure it was nothing.”
“Yeah, that’s how kids play,” Chloe chimed on. “Sophie can act like a princess sometimes—especially when someone won’t stop spoiling her.” She nudged me.
The Hoffmans laughed politely. “We’ll talk to Adam to see what exactly happened,” Rick reassured. “I have a feeling we’ll be bringing him over later today with an apology.”
“That’s really not necessary, Rick.” Chloe insisted. “They’re just kids. They’ll get over it.” She then looked over at me and smiled. “When Jax and I first met, we were just a little older than Adam and Sophie. During our first few encounters, he’d teased me and I’d hated him. I’d wanted nothing to do with him then.” Her words trailed off and a smile spread across her face as she met my gaze, her eyes full of nostalgia. Then she let out of a soft chuckle. “And look at us now.”
“That’s so romantic.” Sue touched her chest with her hands.
“Well before my son can even think about asking you for your daughter’s hand in marriage, let’s just make sure they get through their first year of school together without killing each other.” Rick joked.
I laughed. “I can’t agree with you more.” The thought of my little girl growing up and dating caused a flood of anxiety to crash through me. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be ready for that to happen, but I was thankful that it wasn’t something I had to worry about any time soon.
After saying goodbye to our new neighbors, we headed back to our house.
We found Sophie waiting for us at the front door.
“Honey, what happened? You know it’s very rude to run off without saying goodbye to people.” Chloe knelt down to face Sophie.
“I’m sorry, mommy. Adam was a real meanie so I had to run away.”
I opened the front door to let us in. “So why was he a meanie?”
“Daddy, that boy is so mean.” Sophie looked at me, her expression filled with as much indignation as a five-year old could muster. “He asked me why my hair was curly. I told him mommy curled them for me this morning for church. Then he pulled on my hair and said ‘boing.’ I told him to stop it. But he kept pulling on my hair and saying ‘boing.’”
“Oh honey, that’s just how boys are sometime,” I explained.
“Well I don’t like boys then.”
Chloe let out a warm chuckle. “I bet Adam was pulling on your hair because he likes you.”
“Eww. That’s grody!” She twisted her face in disgust. “I don’t want him to like me.”
“And why’s that?” I asked as I tried my best to hide the amusement from my face.
“Mandy says boys have cooties because they like to play with bugs and they pick their nose.” Mandy was one of Sophie’s friends from pre-school.
I laughed. “Soph, don’t listen to everything Mandy tells you. You’re two months older, remember?”
“Yeah. I know, daddy.” She nodded her head dramatically. “Mandy wants people to think she’s older and knows a lot of stuff because she says she doesn’t want to be a kid anymore. So I want to listen to her because I have to support my friends.”
“Well you’re a very good friend then,” I humored her. “But maybe when Mandy’s not around, you don’t have to listen to her. Do you remember what mommy said about neighbors?”
She nodded. “Neighbors help each other. Neighbors are nice to each other.”
“Good girl. Adam’s our neighbor now. So you should be nice to him. And maybe someday, you guys will become friends.”
She shook her head in protest. “Adam’s mean, daddy. He’s a bully. I would never be his friend.”
Chloe and I glanced at each other and we laughed, knowing exactly what the other person was thinking.
“Never say never, Soph,” Chloe said, her gaze never leaving mine. “Maybe one day he will become your very best friend.”
THE END
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thank you for reading Promises, Love & Baby.
If you enjoyed this series, please consider telling your friends and leaving a review for this book. As an indie author, word of mouth and reviews help other readers discover my works. Thank you.
OTHER BOOKS
If you would like to stay informed of new releases, teasers, and news on my upcoming books, please sign up for Jessica Wood’s Mailing List and visit me at my website: http://jessicawoodauthor.com.
Below is a list of Jessica Wood’s books:
Emma’s Story Series
A Night to Forget – Book One
The Day to Remember – Book Two
A Night to Forget Series Box Set (Emma's Story) – Contains A Night to Forget and The Day to Remember
The Heartbreaker Series
This is an Emma’s Story spin-off series featuring Damian Castillo, a supporting character in The Day to Remember. This is a standalone series and does not need to be read with Emma’s Story series.
Damian – Book One
The Heartbreaker – Prequel Novella to DAMIAN – can be read before or after Damian.
Taming Damian – Book Two
The Heartbreaker Box Set – Contains Damian, The Heartbreaker Prequel, and Taming Damian
The Chase Series
This is a standalone series with cameo appearances from Damian Castillo (The Heartbreaker series).
The Chase, Vol. 1
The Chase, Vol. 2
The Chase, Vol. 3
The Chase, Vol. 4
The Chase: The Complete Series Box Set – Contains All Four Volumes
Oblivion
This is a standalone full-length book unrelated to other series by Jessica Wood.
Oblivion
Promises Series
This is a standalone series unrelated to other series by Jessica Wood.
Promise to Marry – Book One
Promise to Keep – Book Two
Promise of Forever – Book Three
Promises, Love & Baby – Book Four
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jessica Wood is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author who writes new adult contemporary romance.
While she has lived in countless cities throughout the U.S., her heart belongs to San Francisco. To her, there’s something seductively romantic about the Golden Gate Bridge, the steep rolling hills of the city streets, the cable cars, and the Victorian-style architecture.
Jessica loves a strong, masculine man with a witty personality. While she is headstrong and stubbornly independent, she can’t resist a man who takes control of the relationship, both outside and inside of the bedroom.
She loves to travel internationally, and tries to plan a yearly trip abroad. She also loves to cook and bake, and—to the benefit of her friends—she loves to share. She also enjoys ceramics and being creative with her hands. She has a weakness for good (
maybe bad) TV shows; she’s up-to-date on over 25 current shows, and no, that wasn’t a joke.
And it goes without saying, she loves books—they’re like old and dear friends who have always been there to make her laugh and make her cry.
The one thing she wished she had more of is time.
If you would like to follow or contact Jessica Wood, you can do so through the following:
Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/bpCEoL
Blog: http://jessicawoodauthor.com
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Table of Contents
Also by Jessica Wood
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Author’s Note
About the Author