“What?”
“I bought the boathouse from the owners.”
Seeing her expression go from shock to pure joy made all of this worth it.
“Oh my God. This…is ours? The boathouse is ours?”
“All ours, baby.”
She walked slowly around the space. “How? When?”
I took her hand. “This lake means everything to me. It’s where I met you. It’s where some of our most special memories were made. It represents your childhood and your sister, and it always broke my heart a little that you had to sell the houses. Then you moved to Pennsylvania to be with me, and that was a sacrifice. I wanted to give you a little piece of your history back.”
She turned toward the corner of the room. “You even brought the old loveseat. When did you do all this?”
“Well, remember a couple of weeks ago when I had that out-of-state shoot? I was here setting everything up. I’d been working on the deal with the owners for almost a year. They had to split the land a bit as part of the sale, so it wasn’t that simple. Back when I first contacted them, I figured it was a long shot, but it turned out they didn’t like having to deal with renting it. They just wanted to be rid of it.”
“I can’t believe it. This is the most special thing anyone has ever done for me. I thought my life felt complete before, but man, now? Even better. Thank you.”
I took her into my arms and kissed her head. “I know we’d planned to wait a while longer, but I was thinking maybe we could get married here next summer. What do you say?”
I wasn’t expecting her to start crying. “What’s wrong?”
“A wedding here would be perfect, but—”
“But what?”
“Not sure we can get married next summer. It might be…busy.”
“Why?”
“I was waiting till we got home to tell you. But I don’t think there’s a better time than right now.”
“What’s going on?”
“I messed up recently.”
My heart sped up. “Okay…”
“Remember that stomach bug I had? When I thought I was dying?”
“Yeah, of course. How could I forget?”
“Well, I didn’t know that when you…eliminate like that, it can rid your system of things you need—like birth control.”
It took me a few seconds to figure out what she meant. And once I did, I couldn’t speak.
“I took a test this morning in Ming’s bathroom. It was positive. I don’t even know how it happened, I—”
All that would come out of me was, “What?”
“I’m pregnant. Only a few weeks along, but I was late, so I had a feeling. I looked up all the reasons birth control can fail, and sure enough, there it was: excessive vomiting. I should’ve known about that. I should’ve used a back-up—”
“You’re pregnant?” My eyelids fluttered as I processed it.
She bit her lip and nodded. “Yes.”
“Wow. I wasn’t…this is…the last thing I ever—”
“I know. Me, too,” she said. “This isn’t the ideal time. I—”
I cut her off with the longest kiss to her lips. I held her so tightly. I’d held Heather like this many times, but it felt different, knowing she was carrying my child. It felt surreal.
Holy shit.
I’m gonna be a dad?
I’m gonna be a dad.
I’m gonna be a dad!
“So that sofa is going to have to go to make room for a crib,” she said.
“I’ll gladly get rid of it—burn that shit if I have to.” I lifted her up and kissed her again.
I still woke up many days wondering if it might be my last on Earth. The chance of another aneurysm would always loom over me. I’d tried not to pressure Heather, but there’s nothing I’ve wanted more than to experience having a child with this woman. As each year passed, the desire felt more urgent. But I thought it was too soon for her.
She wouldn’t even be done with school when our baby arrived. But for me? The day I looked our baby in the eyes couldn’t come soon enough.
“Are you happy?” I asked her.
“I’m growing a part of you inside of me. How could I not be? I’m shocked—but yes, so happy. Truly.”
“Good, because this could be the happiest day of my life, and I would hate it if you didn’t feel happy, too.”
“The happiest day of my life was also the scariest—the day you woke up after your surgery and said my name, then told me you loved me. I’m not sure anything can top that.”
“I love you even more today.” I rubbed her stomach. “How about the three of us take a swim in the lake, for old time’s sake? I was thinking we could spend tonight here before we go back home. Maybe I’ll even go to the market and buy a big old loaf of garlic bread. I know you have class on Tuesday. We’ll get you back in time.”
After we changed into our swimsuits, we walked back down to the lake.
As we stood knee deep in the water, I said, “Originally my plan was to have a cigar out on the porch tonight. You know I haven’t smoked one in years. But there’s no way I’m smoking anywhere near my baby.”
I knelt down, ignoring the rocks scraping my knees, until my face was eye-level with her stomach. “Hello in there. It’s your daddy. I can’t wait to meet you.” I looked up at Heather, who seemed amused. “This is so wild,” I whispered, then continued talking into her stomach. “I want you to know I love you already. And even though you’re the size of a little seed, you’re the best thing to ever happen to your mother and me. I can’t wait to bring you here and show you where your mommy grew up and show you where Daddy robbed the cradle and started the process of you coming to be. Best thing I ever did, if you ask me.”
Heather’s stomach moved against my mouth as she laughed. She spoke down to it. “You have the best daddy in the whole world, little one.”
“And you have the best mom, even though you’re gonna come out with a warped sense of what good music is. We’ll fix that soon enough.”
“Hey! He might like my music.”
“Or she might come out blocking her ears.” I spoke against her belly again. “Some day I’ll tell you the story of how I almost saved your mother’s life on this lake. You’re gonna laugh.”
“Your daddy never did succeed in his botched attempts to save my life.”
“It wasn’t meant to work that way. I was never meant to save your life.” I stood up and cradled her face. “In the end, you saved mine.”
Dear Readers,
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading When August Ends! Want to read DRY SPELL, a free short story from my friend Vi Keeland? How about a sexy novelette I wrote? JADED and TYED is not available for sale anywhere as an ebook. Both of these stories are exclusively for subscribers to our mailing list. Click to sign up:
and you’ll receive these EXCLUSIVE free books.
OTHER BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD
* * *
LOVE ONLINE
USA TODAY Bestseller
GENTLEMAN NINE
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
DRUNK DIAL
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
MACK DADDY
USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
ROOMHATE
New York Times, USA TODAY and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller
STEPBROTHER DEAREST
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
NEIGHBOR DEAREST
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
JADED AND TYED (A NOVELETTE)
SINS OF SEVIN
USA TODAY Bestseller
JAKE UNDONE (JAKE #1)
JAKE UNDERSTOOD (JAKE #2)
MY SKYLAR
USA TODAY Bestseller
GEMINI
HATE NOTES (CO-WRITTEN WITH VI KEELAND)
#1 Amazon Bestseller and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
REBEL HEART (CO-WRITTEN WITH VI KEELAND)
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
BRITISH BEDMATE (CO-WRITTEN WITH VI KEELAND)
USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
MISTER MONEYBAGS (CO-WRITTEN WITH VI KEELAND)
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
PLAYBOY PILOT (CO-WRITTEN WITH VI KEELAND)
New York Times and USA TODAY Bestseller
STUCK-UP SUIT (CO-WRITTEN WITH VI KEELAND)
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
COCKY BASTARD (CO-WRITTEN WITH VI KEELAND)
New York Times and USA TODAY Bestseller
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
* * *
I always say that the acknowledgements are the hardest part of the book to write and that still stands! It’s hard to put into words how thankful I am for every single reader who continues to support and promote my books. Your enthusiasm and hunger for my stories is what motivates me every day. And to all of the book bloggers who support me, I simply wouldn’t be here without you.
To Vi – I say this every time, and I am saying it again because it holds even truer as time goes on. You’re the best friend and partner in crime that I could ask for. I couldn’t do any of this without you. Our co-written books are a gift, but the biggest blessing has always been our friendship, which came before the stories and will continue after them. On to the next!
To Julie – Thank you for your friendship and for always inspiring me with your amazing writing, attitude, and strength. This year is going to kick ass!
To Luna –Thank you for your love and support, day in and day out and for always being just a message away. Here’s to many more Florida visits with wine and mofongo!
To Erika – It will always be an E thing. I am so thankful for your love and friendship and support and to our special hang time in July. Thank you for always brightening my days with your positive outlook.
To my Facebook fan group, Penelope’s Peeps – I love you all. Your excitement motivates me every day. And to Queen Peep Amy – Thank you for starting the group way back when.
To Mia – Thank you, my friend, for always making me laugh. I know you’re going to bring us some phenomenal words this year.
To my assistant Mindy Guerreiros – Thank you for being so awesome and handling so much of Vi’s and my day-to day stuff. We appreciate you so much!
To my editor Jessica Royer Ocken – It’s always a pleasure working with you. I look forward to many more experiences to come.
To Elaine of Allusion Book Formatting and Publishing – Thank you for being the best proofreader, formatter, and friend a girl could ask for.
To Letitia of RBA Designs – The best cover designer ever! Thank you for always working with me until the cover is exactly how I want it.
To my agent extraordinaire, Kimberly Brower –Thank you for all of your hard work in getting my books into the international market and for believing in me long before you were my agent, back when you were a blogger and I was a first-time author.
To my husband – Thank you for always taking on so much more than you should have to so that I am able to write. I love you so much.
To the best parents in the world – I’m so lucky to have you! Thank you for everything you have ever done for me and for always being there.
To my besties: Allison, Angela, Tarah and Sonia – Thank you for putting up with that friend who suddenly became a nutty writer.
Last but not least, to my daughter and son – Mommy loves you. You are my motivation and inspiration!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
* * *
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son and beautiful daughter with autism.
With over 1.5 million books sold, she is a twenty-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels.
Penelope’s books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
Subscribe to Penelope’s newsletter here.
When August Ends Page 24