by Rachel Leigh
“I have something that you are either going to love or you’re going to hate. Depends on how much you’re sticking to your rule of never having blackberries again.” He pulls one hand from behind his back that holds a bottle.
“Demon Berry Blood.” I gush with excitement. “I can’t believe I forgot about that. Has it really been that long already?”
“Forty-five days exactly. I picked this baby up on my way here.”
I stand up and grab two wine glasses from the cupboard. “I know I said I’d never eat a blackberry again, but drinking is different. Besides, my stomach has finally settled from the six thousand pounds I ate that day.”
“So I guess that means we won’t be having these for dessert.” He pulls his other hand out that holds a container of blackberries.
Regardless of the sudden wave of nausea at the sight of them, my heart melts into a puddle. “Oh my gosh, you brought berries, too.” I laugh.
Opening the container, he takes one out and holds it in front of my face. “Do you forgive me for being an ass?”
“If you forgive me for being a pain in the ass.” I open my mouth and he pops the berry in.
“I actually like when you’re a pain in the ass. You keep me on my toes.” His arms wrap around my waist again as he pulls me in. “Besides, this makes it worth it.” His lips press to mine as the berry still lingers in my mouth. I swallow it down, when his tongue sweeps over my bottom lip. “Mmm, so sweet.”
“I’ll eat a thousand more berries just to have you do that again.”
“I plan on doing this for a very long time. No berries needed. Promise me you won’t leave me again,” he mutters into my mouth.
Raking my fingers into his hair, I pull his face to mine. “I promise.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
Nash
Leaning against the living room wall, I watch from afar as Rowan adjusts the centerpiece on the kitchen table. Guests will be arriving soon, and I want just this one moment before the room is flooding with people who will be offering their warm holiday wishes.
As if she sensed my presence, Rowan lifts her head, biting on the corner of her lip and practically begging me to come in there and devour her body while we still have five minutes of privacy. Her hand rests on her growing bump and she couldn’t be more beautiful than she is at this moment. Pointing her finger at me, she bends it repeatedly, calling me to her.
Slow and steady steps eat up the space between us as I place one hand on our little girl, and my lips on my fiancées.
“Are you ready for this?” she asks when our kiss breaks. Buster begins whining at the door and it’s our queue that the first guest has arrived.
“Nope. But you wanted a holiday party, so a holiday party is what you’ll get.”
I proposed five months ago and the night after I proposed, we found out we were expecting. Yesterday we found out it was a girl, and today we decided on a name. Gemma Ann Whitmore. It seems fitting considering Gemma is the one who brought us together. They say you can’t love more than one person, but they are wrong. I’m more in love with Rowan than I ever knew possible. My love for Gemma will never fade. And the love I have for my unborn child is indescribable.
Everything I have ever wanted is in this room right now. The sale of the house fell through, so I took it off the market and decided not to sell. I look down at the peach-colored centerpiece—lopsided, uneven, and constantly on the verge of tipping over—and I’m reminded that life is unpredictable. Life sucks sometimes. Words hurt and can never be taken back. Forgiveness is always the best option. And true love prevails. I’m also reminded of the words a wise woman once said.
Time has an unusual way of giving us exactly what we need, when we didn’t even realize we needed it.
The End
Want to keep up with all of the other books in K. Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes World? You can visit us anytime at http://www.kbworlds.com/ and the best way to stay up to date on all of our latest releases and sales, is to sign up for our official KB Worlds newsletter HERE.
Are you interested in reading the bestselling books that inspired the Everyday Heroes World? You can find them HERE.
Also Written By K. Bromberg
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
Also by Rachel Leigh
Redwood High Series
Like Gravity
Like You
Like Hate
Redwood Rebels Series
Striker (Book One)
Heathen (Book Two)
Stand-alone
Undercover Barmaid
A Note From Rachel
First of all, I want to send a big thank you to K. Bromberg for allowing me the honor of writing in you amazing world. You are an amazing author, but also such a kind person.
Thank you to Britt and Red Hatter for all that you do for me. You all rock!
Greys Promo, thank you for helping get the word out about my books and for being so easy to work with.
Thank you to all the bloggers who like, love, share, and review. I appreciate you all so much.
My amazing street team, thank you for your daily support and shares!
Readers, Thank you for giving my books a chance and for your continuous love and support. I’d love to hear what you thought of Guarded by leaving a review. It would be greatly appreciated. I’d also like to invite you to join my readers group Rachel’s Ramblers.
xoxo-Rachel
About the Author
Rachel Leigh resides in West Michigan and has three beautiful children with her husband of eleven years.
Rachel overuses emojis and lol. Coffee is her guilty pleasure, and writing is her passion. Her goal is to brighten at least one person's day with the worlds she creates between the pages of her books.