by Erin Noelle
Fifty-two days ago, Stella invited me inside her home, knowing I had no place to go, and all she asked was that I’d trust her to fix things. I was skeptical, to say the least, but without any other options, I agreed.
It had been about three weeks after I started staying with her—I was moping around from classes to work and back to her house in a despondent state of despair, my only conversations being with Hazel the Sugar Glider and Zsa Zsa the Pig—when she brought Adam home with her one night and demanded we hash it all out. At first, we both just sat there, glowering at each other across the kitchen table with enough hatred to start the next World War, but Stella fixed that too.
“Adam, you’re pissed at Gray, because he was fucking your mom and you were afraid he was going to hurt her. Gray, you’re pissed at Adam, because he was fucking your girlfriend behind your back, and because he didn’t give you a chance to explain your love for Mia. You both realize Jess is a bat-shit crazy, manipulative little bitch who played you against each other, and you both love and miss Mia tremendously.” She stopped to take an exasperated breath. “Now, punch each other or whatever you need to do to get it out of your system, and then kiss and make up, because we’re going to discuss our plan to fix my sister’s broken heart. She’s too good of a person to be forced to live without her son or the man she’s in love with. She deserves to be happy, and you’re the two people who can make that happen.”
The two of us continued to eye each other as her words sunk in, and it was finally me who swallowed my pride and tapped into my inner most well of maturity to speak first. “Bro, I know you were pissed, and believe me, I understand what you must’ve thought, but please believe me when I tell you I wasn’t just fucking around with her. I—we—”
“That’s exactly what you were doing…fucking around! I saw it with my own two eyes!” he exclaimed vehemently.
Rubbing my hands over my face, I sighed, unable to come up with the right words, so I said it the best I knew how. “Look, man, I love her. That’s it. I really fucking love her. We didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did and it can’t be undone. I’ll apologize to you a million times about hiding it from you, but I’ll never tell you I’m sorry for falling for her.”
He stilled at my confession, his light eyes boring into me like a polygraph test as he decided whether or not I was telling the truth. Seconds passed. Minutes. Shit, maybe even years. But I didn’t look away. I wasn’t backing down.
Finally, he dropped his face into his hands as he shook his head back and forth. “I’m so sorry about the Jess shit. I don’t even know how or why…I just fucked up. She knew I’d always had a crush on her, and I tried to push that away when y’all started dating, but when you weren’t here,” his voice broke, “I—I just really fucked up. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t give a damn about her. I just wish you would’ve told me. I would’ve cut that shit free a long time ago for you or whoever else wanted a slice of the crazy she was serving. It just sucks you lied to me when I was supposed to be your friend.” I was careful to keep my voice even, realizing I had a lot more to gain out of this situation if it didn’t blow up in a big fight.
“Yeah,” he nodded, prying his face from his palms, the rim of his eyes red and swollen, “I know and I’m sorry. I promise you it won’t ever happen again.”
“Does that mean we’re still friends enough for it to be a possibility to happen again?”
“Well, yeah, that,” the edges of his mouth tilted up slightly, “and since you’re gonna be with my mom, it definitely won’t be happening.”
All three of us broke out in laughter and a round of hugs later, we started to focus on the ultimate plan in making things right with the one woman we both loved.
Adam and I pull up to the valet in front of the Maxwell Evans Gallery at eight o’clock sharp. Mia’s show started an hour ago, and although I wanted to be here waiting for her when she showed up, wanted to see her face when she first saw all of her paintings hanging on display, Stella insisted we arrive later and allow Mia to settle in and mingle with the other guests before we stole her attention.
Stella is waiting for us right outside the door, as planned, with a huge smile on her face.
“Come on,” she motions for us to follow, “I’m taking you in through this back entrance. I’ve talked to Jonathan, so he knows what’s going on, and of course the band is prepared. The show is going even better than she thought; she’s already sold like eight or nine pieces.”
Adam and I exchange a look of pride as we shadow her over to a door on the side of the building, entering through a dark hallway. The blended sounds of multiple conversations and music grow louder with each stride we take toward the light, another step closer to mi cielo.
As we slip inside the main room of the gallery, I’m momentarily stunned by the lavishly elaborate décor filling the entire area. Sheer white fabric accented with small twinkling lights drapes across the rafters in the ceiling, and then hangs to the floor along each wall, framing the entire space, while various plants and small trees are perfectly scattered throughout, giving it the feel of an enchanted garden, without taking away from the art showcased on the walls.
Seeing the paintings I’ve become so very familiar with over the last few month, many I’d sat and watched come to life on the canvas right in front of my eyes, on display in such a sophisticated and classy setting incites a warmth that blossoms inside my chest. Knowing that all of these people are here for my Mia, that her long-time dream is finally coming true, brings a joy to me like I’ve never known.
Stella’s right; Mia deserves to be happy.
We keep close to the wall, trying not to draw any attention, but I’m dying to see her in all her glory. Once we make it to the corner, where the small band is set up, Stella waits for them to finish their current song, and then grabs the microphone and hands it to me with a supportive smile.
“It’s show-time, lover boy,” she whispers, patting me on the arm as she joins Adam off to the side.
Scanning the crowd, I find Mia almost immediately, appearing more breathtaking than I remember, in a long, slinky red dress, with her chestnut hair piled on top of her head in an elegant up-do. She’s standing in front of Transience, my favorite of all of her works, socializing with a small group of people, not paying any attention to where I am.
I take a deep, sobering breath, then give myself a brief internal pep talk before tipping my head to the band to start the song. Here goes nothing.
The second she hears the opening lyrics of the song, she stops talking and snaps her head around to see where they’re coming from. When her crystal blue eyes meet mine, she steeples her hands up to her face and I nearly lose my place in the song, the desire to throw the microphone down and return to her is overwhelming. But, I continue on, singing to her the song we first sang together in my truck on our first date.
Slowly, she begins to make her way through the crowd of people, who are now all staring at me, most likely wondering who in the hell this guy struggling to carry a tune is, until she’s front-and-center, staring at me with disbelief. She glances over at Adam and Stella, who both give her cheesy grins and a thumbs-up, which sprouts the most beautiful smile across her face I’ve ever seen.
As I begin the final chorus, her lips begin to mouth the words along with me, and as I belt out the last “we found love right where we are,” I can see the tears spilling down her cheeks, which causes me to shed a few of my own.
With everyone in the room’s eyes still on us, I hand the mic to the guitarist, then approach her, cradling her face in my hands. Resting my forehead on hers, I stare directly into the depths of her eyes and whisper, “If nothing lasts forever, mi cielo, please say you’ll be my nothing.”
She softly brushes her lips against mine and replies, “Forever, my Uno.”
“I KNEW YOU’D BE BACK,” JIMBO announces with a knowing smile as I sit down in the chair in front of him, appearing a little overeager to inflict pain on me.
Jimbo’s gaze follows mine over to her and he chuckles. “She’s some kind of nothing, especially if she’s anything like her sister,” he chuckles. “You better hold onto that, boy.”
“Oh, I definitely plan on it.” I nod, smiling as she turns to look at me. Her hand rests on the unmistakable baby bump beneath her shirt; the same ring I bought her in Key West nearly two years ago is nestled around the base of her ring finger, as she refused another one, claiming that’s when she knew she was mine.
She blows me a kiss as Stella rolls her eyes, pretending like she’s not our biggest fan, as Adam yells, “You got this, Daddy-O!”
“Dude, I told you about calling me that,” I laugh, shaking my head, thinking we’ve got to have one of the strangest family dynamics ever. Strange, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s still a little surreal to think Baby Jonah will be here in less than two months, and not long after that, Adam and Sierra will welcome with their own little baby boy. I’ll be a dad for the first time, and a grandpa, all within a couple months of each other.
The buzzing of the needle Jimbo’s holding in his hand rips my attention away from them and back to what’s about to happen on my forearm. Leaning my neck back on the headrest, I close my eyes as he goes to work on my tattoo, hoping the pain won’t be as bad as I expect it to be.
About an hour later, Jimbo taps me, indicating he’s finished, and as I look down at the words on my arm, I’m overcome by the emotions I feel over three simple phrases now permanently marked on my body for the world to see.
Mia Daniels is, without a shadow of a doubt, my nothing, my everything, my heaven forever.
ERIN NOELLE IS A TEXAS NATIVE, where she lives with her husband and two young daughters. While earning her degree in History at the University of Houston, she rediscovered her love for reading that was first instilled by her grandmother when she was a young child. A lover of happily-ever-afters, both historical and current, Erin is an avid reader of all romance novels. Her titles published include the Book Boyfriend Series, comprised of Metamorphosis, Ambrosia, Euphoria, and Timeless; the Dusk ’Til Dawn Series, made up of When the Sun Goes Down and As the Dawn Breaks; Translucent, book one of the Luminous Series, and Conspire, a co-authored stand-alone novel with SE Hall. Her books have been a part of the USA Today Bestselling list and the Amazon and Barnes & Noble overall Top 100. You can follow her on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/erin.noelle.98, her blog @ www.erinnoelleauthor.com, and on Twitter @authorenoelle.
FIRST, AND FOREMOST, I’D LIKE TO THANK my husband and my two beautiful daughters for their patience, understanding, and support as I chase this dream. I love you more than you could ever know and am truly blessed to have such an incredible family.
To my editor and “twinnie,” Kayla Robichaux, thank you for everything. Not only are you my editor, but you’re the best shopping partner ever. We should go to VS to celebrate…again.
To Kassi, my formatter and graphics queen, you fucking rock!
To Trina and Kirsten, thank you for being you. I couldn’t do it without either of you.
To Hang Le, I’m running out of ways to say how fabulous you are!
To Stephanie, smoopy foreva.
To Jill, my Bright Side, thank you for EVERYTHING a thousand times over!
To my Street Team, thank you all for the endless support and gift of your time. You ladies are the funniest, dirtiest, most awesome-sauce group I could ever ask for! (This every book!!!)
To Cyndi, coco mucho
To Allison and Michelle, the best Betas ever. I appreciate your time and honesty always!
To Mo and Aly, my hookers, thank you for listening to my whiny ass. Love you both!
To Jessica, Melissa, and Joanne, thank you for the sprinting sessions and cheering me on
To Golden Czermak with FuriousFotog, Michael Federico, and Trina Marie for making this cover shoot happen and delivering the perfect image
And finally, to the readers and bloggers, thank you for taking a chance with one of my stories. I hope you enjoyed this tiny peek into my imagination and you know where to find me if you want more!