Distracted: An Everyday Heroes Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)
Page 26
I hold my breath and it’s as if everything moves in slow motion.
Past, present, and future flash in front of my eyes.
The first dare when we kissed a slimy frog, and it started our long-lasting friendship.
I’m thirteen again, I jumped, and broke my leg.
Afternoons filled with yellow roses and Dr. Peppers.
When we made love and it brought us Lily.
The day I told him he’s her father.
The last six months since I left the hospital. Being a family. Not just us three, but also the friends we chose to be part of our family.
A loud umpf comes from Lily and Spencer when he catches her in his arms, and I let out an exasperating breath.
“See? What did I tell you?” Spencer says, then kisses her cheeks.
“Can we do it again?” Lily asks, her eyes going from him to me, then back to her dad.
“How about we do one jump at a time? Your Mommy looks as if she is going to faint.” Spencer kisses the top of her head before he sets Lily on her feet.
“Yes. One jump at a time,” I say. “A mother can only handle so much.”
“Can we go back to my party now?” Lily asks.
Spencer insisted today, out of all days, we sneak away from Lily’s birthday party just so our daughter could do her first jump. He dared her, and she did not hesitate to take him up on his challenge. There’s a house full of guests, and I’m eager to get back because I have to pee.
Spencer gives me a knowing look, and I nod back at him.
“Sure. But first, Mommy and I have a surprise for you.”
“For me?” Lily’s eyes go wide.
“Yep,” Spencer says.
“Gimme! Gimme!” Lily squeals, jumping up and down.
I laugh. “We can’t actually give it to you now,” I say, rubbing my tummy.
“Is it because it’s at the house?” Lily asks, pouting her lips.
“Not exactly,” Spencer says. “It’s here. But not here yet.”
“Are you and Mommy talking in code again? Like when you make up after you fight? You know I’m six now, and I know all about kiss and make up.”
Spencer nearly chokes in mid-air, and my cheeks immediately flush with embarrassment.
“Mother,” Spencer addresses me, “care to explain the whole kiss-and-make-up thing to our daughter?”
“No, not this time. It’s your turn,” I throw back at him as I cross my arms and raise a brow. This might just be our first birds and the bees talk.
“All right, here goes nothing.” Spencer draws in a deep breath and takes a knee to be eye level with Lily. “Your mom and I hope you’re okay with your gift arriving in about six months.”
Lily scrunches her face and I roll my eyes. Spencer is so not acing this whole talk thing.
“I don’t understand,” Lily says. “Why do I have to wait?”
Spencer takes Lily’s hand and places it on my tummy. “Right here is where your surprise is and it will not arrive until the summer, and we want you to help us name it.”
It takes Lily a moment. Her mouth falls open, and a loud squeal escapes. “I’m getting a sister?”
“Or a brother,” Spencer adds.
“Are you okay with that?” I ask.
Lily nods eagerly. “I’m going to be the bestest big sister ever!”
My heart swells because I can’t believe this is my life now. It wasn’t too long ago I was a single mom living with my badass roommate, and now it’s Spencer, Lily, and me living here in Sunnyville as a family.
Spencer eventually showed me the birth certificate where I left blank the line where his name should be. It was like a void was filled when he signed that line with his name.
Once Spencer’s suspension was lifted, he transferred to Sunnyville PD. As for me, I left KSIG and I am a full-time mommy.
That is all I ever wanted to be for my little girl and our future children. I want to replicate my mother and Nonna since they were the example for who I’ve become today.
Lily wraps her arms around my waist, her ear to my stomach. “I love you, Mommy!”
“I love you too, Buttercup.”
Spencer clears his throat. “Do I get some love too? Mommy didn’t make that baby all on her own, you know?”
Oh good lord!
“Spencer Hayes!” I scold, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. I can’t believe he just said that.
“Mommy, I know all about babies,” Lily says. “When two people love each other and they kiss, they make babies.”
Innocence at its finest.
“Exactly,” I say.
“And speaking of kisses . . . Lily-pop, you still owe me some love right here.” Spencer points to his cheek and Lily plants a kiss on him.
“I love you, Daddy,” she says, hugging his neck.
“I love you more.” Spencer leans back, pulling them apart. “Are we ready for the next surprise?” he asks her.
“Another surprise?” I ask, having no idea he got Lily another gift while the other five more are at the house waiting for her to unwrap.
“Yep,” he says to me, then turns to Lily. “This one is very special and requires just us to enjoy this moment.”
Still on his one knee, Spencer pulls out a small white box, similar to the one I received on the boat months ago. He opens it and a dainty bracelet rests inside. A unicorn, a rainbow, and an L dangle from it.
“This is like Mommy’s,” she squeals.
My eyes lock onto Spencer as my smile widens and tears form in my eyes. Damn hormones.
“It sure is.” Spencer takes it out of the box and clasps the bracelet on Lily’s tiny wrist. “Do you know why this is a very special bracelet?”
“It has a unicorn on it, and they have special powers,” she says, jiggling the charms on her wrist.
“Yes, that is absolutely right. And the same charm on your mommy’s bracelet led me to find her when she was missing.”
“I told you Astra was powerful,” she says proudly, holding her stuffed unicorn in the air.
“I have one question to ask you, Lily-pop.” Spencer pulls out another charm from his pocket and holds it up to her. “Would it be okay if I put this on Mommy’s bracelet?”
Lily giggles as she squirms. “Yes, of course, silly.” I study the two people I love the most. From the look on Lily’s face, she’s part of this plan as she eagerly nods. “I hope you like it, Mommy. Me and Daddy picked it together.”
I focus on the trinket Spencer holds between his thumb and index finger. My hand goes to my mouth, my heart stops, and I’m completely frozen.
It’s a ring charm.
Spencer shifts to face me, still on his knee, and his eyes glisten.
“Sabrina . . . my best friend, my daredevil, my Buttercup. You are everything I have always wanted in my life. The day you fell out of this tree is the day it clicked. We were meant to be together. We have come so far since that day. I never thought I could love you more today than yesterday. You are my whole world. You are the sun that brightens my day, the moon to illuminate my evenings, and I can’t imagine another day without you in it. You are my beginning and today I ask, will you be my forever?”
I fall to my knees in front of him, then pull his chiseled jaw toward me and press my lips against his. It’s a tender kiss and my answer to his question.
“Yes,” I whisper against his lips.
Spencer leans back, and without saying another word to me, he lifts my wrist and fastens the charm to my bracelet. His eyes go to Lily. “And what do you say, Lily-pop? Do you say yes too?”
Lily nods. “Can I be a flower girl?”
“Yes, of course,” I say as I wipe the tears from my cheeks.
“Well, let’s make this official, shall we?” Spencer retrieves a black velvet box from inside his jacket and opens the lid. Inside rests Nonna’s ring—the one I completely forgot about. “The jewelry store called the house a couple of weeks ago, asking when you were going to pick this up.
I’m sure your Nonna would want you to have this since she was the one who got us together.” Spencer clears his throat and our eyes lock. “My beautiful Sabrina Allesandra, will you give me the honor of taking my last name and marry me?”
“Yes, yes,” I answer again as tears stream down my face.
Spencer kisses the vintage diamond ring before he slips it onto my finger. I’m overwhelmed with feeling so much love under the very tree that started it all.
“I love you so much, my soon-to-be wife.”
“And I love you so much, my soon-to-be husband.”
Lily wraps her small arms around our necks and squeezes us. “And I love my mommy and daddy!”
The End
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To my husband: You are the one that brings the swoony in my books. Because of you, I am able to write happily-ever-afters. You are the one that makes my heart swell and my cheeks hurt from the smile you put on my face. I love you to infinity plus one!
To my kids: Thank you for your unconditional support and love. It has been nonstop with me each day, working on the next scene, and the next set of words. I know I have spaced out these last several months and I can’t thank you enough for being so patient with me.
To Kristy: I have read all your books and fell in love with the worlds you created. Bringing my characters to life in your world is a dream come true. Thank you so much for believing in me and inviting me to this beautiful place you named Sunnyville. I am forever grateful and hope this will not be my last story in it.
Lainey: Thank you for always being there for me, listening to me, supporting me, understanding what needs to be done, and for the early morning/late night FB chats. You are amazing!
Dena: You are my cray-cray! Thanks for lending your ear when my loquacious mouth rambled on and on! I love you to the moon and back!
Liz-Mar: You are my calm! Thank you for our Triple A’s during the hot summer days and the Truly drinks that ended our evenings! I love you, sweetie!
Liz-Los: You are my ride or die! You are my first shot to toast and my last dance before I pass out on your couch! I love you girl!
Leta: My sister from the same Mister! Thank you for your love, support, honesty, and being my early reader. You found my many mistakes, my weird sentence structures, and my wacky physical movement errors. I laughed every time you caught those. (How can she be walking when she was sitting?)
Missy: Holy moly, woman! Thank you for bringing more out of this story to give it that extra umpf! When I turned in this story to you, I wanted to crawl in a hole while I waited for your feedback. And when you got back to me, you said you loved Spencer and Sabrina. Thank you for everything and your words of wisdom.
Michele and Janice: Thank you for being my eagle eyes and proofing the heck out of this story. You truly are the best at what you do.
To Michele Miracle: Thanks for giving Lily’s unicorn a name. Astra is the perfect name ever!
To Greys Promo Team: Thank you for all the work you’ve done by putting my book in the hands of people all over the world.
To my precious readers: Because of you, I continue to write! Thank you for reading my words, loving my characters, and bringing my world to life! I really enjoyed writing this story and being part of the Sunnyville family! If you want to know what other books I’ve written, follow me by checking out my website!
Michelle Fernandez lives in Southern California with her husband and children. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, laughing it up with her ‘squad’, or simply relaxing with her two pups.
She is an avid reader of multi-genres, but Contemporary, Romance Suspense, and Military Romance are her most favorite. She’s always been passionate about reading and impressed by the influence it has on people. Which is why she started writing in the first place.
It started as a hobby. One chapter turned into ten, then a novel was born. Till I Found You is her first book published in September 2019. She writes stories that are swoony, sexy, and have a bit of suspense. The sassy heroine and the gentleman hero are who she loves to write about. Making up worlds and characters for readers to utterly fall in love with, is the most rewarding for her.
www.authormichellefernandez.com
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Till I Found You
Till I Kissed You
Till I Promise You
—(To be released Spring 2021)
Till I Claim You
—(To be released Summer 2021)
Till I Tempt You
—(To be released Fall 2021)
Till I Met You
—(To be released Winter 2021)
Embrace
Driven
Fueled
Crashed
Raced
Aced
Slow Burn
Sweet Ache
Hard Beat
Down Shift
UnRaveled
Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Rivalry
The Player
The Catch
Cuffed
Combust
Cockpit
Control
Faking It
Resist
Reveal
Then You Happened
Hard to Handle
Flirting with 40
Hard to Hold
Hard to Score
Hard to Lose