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“Mommy, it’s time for my kisses.”
I smile at the appearance of Heather’s reflection beside mine. I couldn’t imagine this day without her. But it’s the sight of the bundle in her arms that really makes my heart overflow.
I take Eleanor, and she immediately snuggles close to me. I press my nose to my daughter’s head and inhale deeply. God, I love the smell of her. It’s like a drug. I close my eyes and really sink into it, taking another hit of that new baby goodness.
“I bet you’re glad that whole asteroid thing never happened, huh?” Heather laughs.
I smile. “Geez, that feels like a whole other life.”
“I know, right? We’ve come a long way, my friend.”
There’s a light knock on the door to my dressing room, and before I can answer, it slowly creaks open and my mother’s head pops in.
Where some parts of our new life were easy to get used to, there are other parts that still feel a little strange. Like my mother being a sappy grandmother. It’s a whole new look for her, and sometimes it catches me off guard. I love her for it, though. Eleanor does, too.
“Is there room for one more?” she asks.
“Only if you’re up for a hold.”
She doesn’t need a second invitation, of course, and immediately pushes into the room and scoops up Eleanor.
I watch her do the obligatory head-sniff as she coos and cuddles my daughter. It’s insane that I’m standing here witnessing it, that I lived to see the day when three generations of McAfee women shared a room.
And I firmly believe that I wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for the man I’m about to marry. Peter, the love of my life, who’s saved me in more ways than one.
The door to my dressing room swings open again, and there’s Peter. He looks dashing in a black tux and his signature smile.
“Dude,” Heather says, “you’re not supposed to be in here.”
“Trust me, Heather,” Peter says as he walks in, “we’ve survived our fair share of bad luck. I’m pretty sure we’ve tapped out that resource.”
He goes to kiss Eleanor on the head, and then comes over to me.
“Hey, you.” He puts his arms around me and pulls me close.
“Uh, we’re going to give you two some privacy,” my mother says, and motions for Heather to follow her as she leaves.
“Alone at last,” I say. My face is beginning to ache with the constant smile I’ve been wearing. “So, what’s so important that you’re willing to risk our good luck over it?”
“I just needed to see you,” he says. “I was about to go out there and wait with my dad, when all of a sudden I needed to hold you. So, here I am.”
“Holding me.?
?
“I don’t ever want to let you go, Emily.”
I wrap my arms around his neck, and right before I kiss him, I say, “You don’t have to, Peter. Ever.”
Excerpt
He’s more than just a criminal.
He’s a merciless leader of two large gangs in LA.
And he has me in his possession.
What am I going to do?
