Loved You Once
Page 27
“Can you show me his passport?” He asks. “I want to have physical proof that he’s in the country.”
Mills rolls his eyes but heads to the staircase.
“Where’s Vance?” the lawyer asks.
“He should be here soon,” I answer, and I’m not sure if I’m hopeful or delusional.
Blaire pulls out her phone, her eyes find mine, and she shakes her head. A few hours ago, I felt on top of the world. Everything was working out perfectly. We received the proposal from the advertising company for the new branding of our ice cream line. The renovations of The Lodge began yesterday. We had a pleasant dinner. I found the box that I thought I had lost during the move. I was planning on ending the day with a big gesture. Now, I’m not sure what’s going to happen next.
The hope that Vance will arrive disappears as the minutes pass. Mills spoke with him last night. He said he couldn’t promise anything.
Henry is watching me, and I can feel his words. You failed me again.
Vance not showing is going to break our relationship, and I’m sure, this time, there’s no hope that he’ll come around. Blaire grabs my hand and squeezes it. I kiss the top of her head. Pierce gives me a look that says, we’re in this together, we’ll start from scratch.
“It’s going to be okay,” Blaire assures me.
“We can buy some land to build a Merkel Resort,” Henry proposes. “We can rent a couple of houses. I’m not sure who is going to stick around, but we can try to save this.”
“Gentlemen,” the lawyer says.
Henry and I nod. This might not be what we planned, but we still can try to get something accomplished.
“How long until we have to leave the house?” I ask him, but he can’t answer, because there’s a loud noise—blades cutting through the wind.
Henry frowns. “Do you think someone is stealing my helicopter?”
We go outside, and there’s a man jumping off a helicopter, and a second guy hands him a body. Blaire closes her eyes and yells, “Find me towels. I swear I’m going to kill him if he doesn’t die.”
Pierce and I run toward the two men.
“I can walk,” Vance protests.
When he enters the house, Beacon says, “Just another Saturday night in Vance’s life. Sweet.”
“What happened?”
“He has a bullet in his leg,” the other guy says, as we set him on the dining table. “Where’s the doctor?”
Blaire is coming downstairs with her medical kit. She hands me a bottle of alcohol and says, “Get ready to open him.” She gives him a pill that’s going to make him sleep and then applies the local anesthesia.
“We don’t have blood,” I tell her. “We should fly him to Portland.”
“I have everything to do a transfusion if we need it,” she announces. “Who has B negative blood type?”
We all raise our hands.
“Goodie, we have enough supply in case he needs it.”
“Can I help?” Leyla asks. “I usually handle small animals, but I know a thing or two.”
Blaire accepts, gives her some instructions, and then glares at the lawyer. “We’re all here. You can leave now.”
Mr. Parrish gives her a slight nod. “I guess the stipulation has been honored—for now. But I’ll come around to check that things are in place, and I have a few people watching to ensure you don’t leave the town—unless it’s to go to Happy Springs.”
Pierce and Henry are the ones who shove him out the door. In the meantime, Blaire, Leyla and I get to work on Vance. I remove the bullet that fortunately didn’t break any bones. When we’re done, Blaire goes to the garage and comes back with an IV bag and a hook to hang the tubes.
“Where did you get that?”
“Since we’re setting up the practice, I ordered some medical equipment. You can’t blame me for hoping that we’ll be open on Monday,” she responds.
Mills and the guy who came with Vance carry him to his room. Blaire settles him in and gives some instructions to his friend.
“Thank you for bringing him,” I say, before I leave the bedroom.
“Thank you for taking care of him.”
“Call us when he wakes up or when the IV finishes. I put antibiotics in it, but once it’s done, I need to take out the needles,” Blaire instructs, checking his wound one last time.
The guy nods, and we close the door.
“You need to teach me how to stich, Aldridge,” Blaire says as we walk out of Vance’s room.
“Ready to spend the next eighteen months with this crazy family?” I ask Blaire.
“I’ve been ready for this all my life.”
Epilogue
Hayes
We don’t open the practice the following Monday because Easton has to bring the building up to code. That also delays my plans to start building our home. However, not having an office doesn’t stop Blaire from getting to know her future patients. She starts doing house calls. It’s been two weeks, and she keeps dragging me around town because we’re a team.
“You’re getting them used to it and then they’re all going to expect you to be there,” I warn her.
“Which is fine by me,” she declares, entering the house.
“You got a box,” Sophia says from the kitchen.
“You’re here!” Blaire runs to meet Sophia and gives her a hug. “That’s what I call the best delivery service.”
“Hey, I have to know before everyone.”
“Not before him,” Blaire looks at me and crooks her finger. “Let’s go upstairs, Aldridge.”
“Where are we going?” I ask, following right behind her.
We enter her room and step into her bathroom. She opens the box and takes out a pregnancy test. My eyes open wide. “Do you think you are?”
“I’m two weeks late,” she announces, as she pees on the stick.
“Why didn’t you buy that at the pharmacy or the convenience store?”
“Would you like that on Twitter or Instagram?”
“They’ll probably post it in the Facebook group, and most likely, they’ll add a poll for people to guess if it’s going to be a girl or a boy,” I answer.
She chuckles, sets the stick on top of the empty box, and washes her hands. Then, looking at me she asks, “Are you okay with this?”
“With the town posting my picture every time I’m around town?” I shake my head. “Not at all, but I guess it is better than my brothers who have women dropping off casseroles and baking goods every day.”
“I’m talking about the baby,” she says, her voice carrying some worry.
Before she can see the result, I pull out the box I’ve been carrying for a couple of weeks and go down on one knee.
“Blaire Noelle Wilson, I told you years ago that we had been created from the same stars. We were born soulmates. My heart has been filled with you ever since I met you. You are my dream come true, my future rolled into one beautiful woman who I want to spend the rest of my life with.
“You’re the stars of my night, the sun of my days. I want to spend the next one hundred years with you, placing sweet lingering kisses on every inch of your body. Show you every day how much I love you.
“Nothing in this life scares me more than not being with you. I want to spend my life with you, and if there’s a life after that, I want to spend it with you—loving you. Blaire, would you spend the next eternity with me?”
She places her hands on the sides of my face and kisses me. “Yes, of course, I would love to marry you.”
We kiss long and deep until there’s a knock on the door. “So, what’s the result?”
Blaire’s gaze locks with mine, and she asks, “What do you want?”
“Your happiness, to be with you no matter what happens along the way, and if it’s time for us to have a little one, I’ll be the happiest man alive.”
I kiss the top of her head and reach for the stick where the word pregnant appears.
“We’re going to be parents,” sh
e whispers, hugging me tightly.
“Thank you,” I say before I kiss her, our bodies melting into each other.
“Favorite moment?” I ask, absorbing her heat.
“This is my favorite moment of all my life.”
Afterword
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for picking up a copy of Loved You Once. I am so grateful to have you as my reader and if you are new to me, I hope this is the beginning of our journey.
Loves You Once, the story of Hayes and Blaire is only the beginning of the Aldridge brotherhood. I can’t wait to share their bromances, along with their happily ever afters.
This series continues with Henry and Sophia’s story, releasing August 13, 2020. You can pre-order here. I can’t wait to go back to Baker’s Creek and hangout with these guys.
If you loved it as much as I do, please leave a review and spread the word about it among your friends.
Sending all my love,
Claudia xoxo
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I’d like to thank God because he’s the one who allows me to be here and who gifts me the time, the creativity, and the tools to do what I love. Thank you for all the blessings in my life.
Thank you to my readers. I’m so grateful to have you in my life.
Special thanks to my husband for his continued support. I love creating those special moments with him.
Thank you to my beta readers, Sandy, Yolanda, Patricia, and Karen.
Hang Le, for always knowing what my books need.
Becky Barney, who has become a key element to my writing.
Becca Mysoor, for spending hours with me talking about this book and helping me plot the beginning. To Paulina for listening to my ideas. Thanks to these two amazing people, I was able to structure the town, and the main characters.
My amazing ARC team, girls you are an essential part of my team. Thank you for always being there for me. My Bookstagrammers, you rock!
To my Chicas! Thank you so much for your continuous support and for being there for me every day!
Casie, thank you so much for taking over so many things while I tried to finish this book.
Thank you to all the bloggers who help me spread the word about my books. Thank you never cuts it just right, but I hope it’s enough.
To the readers, you guys are everything. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my words, spreading the word, and sending me messages about how much you love my characters or how the stories have touched your lives. It’s because of you that I can continue doing what I love.
Thank you for everything.
All my love,
Claudia xoxo
Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. She writes alluring, thrilling stories about complicated women and the men who take their breath away. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and her youngest two children. She has a sweet Bichon, Macey, who thinks she’s the ruler of the house. She’s only partially right.
When Claudia is not writing, you can find her reading, knitting, or just hanging out with her family. At night, I like to binge-watch shows with his equal geek husband.
To find more about Claudia:
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