15. Kimberly
Epilogue
"Today is the day. Are you ready?" I ask Hazel, handing her the bouquet she's going to walk down the aisle with. Her eyes are glistening with tears when she looks at me, but she gives me the biggest smile. "I've waited my whole life for this."
Hazel and Dexter had some obstacles to get here their wedding day, and I'm so happy for them. The two of them prove that true love really exists. Watching them live their happily ever after gives me hope that what I have with Silas will be forever.
"Did you get Silas all settled?" she asks me, as she checks her makeup, which looks perfect, by the way.
"Yes, I did." I give her a smug smile.
"How's it been going now that you've moved in with him?"
The reminder of when he asked me to move in with him brings a smile to my face. One night when he was tired of us missing each other because his work with the hospital takes more of his time than he realized, he showed up at my apartment with movers demanding I let them pack up my stuff because I'm moving in with him.
He had a smug smile the whole night when I didn't argue with him. But honestly, I was tired of missing him, too. Working long shifts, I love that I get to come home to him now. Sometimes it's really late at night when he climbs into bed, but he's there every night.
"It's been going great. He's still working on Smith to accept us, but he agreed to come to Thanksgiving with my family. Smith is even joining us."
Before Hazel can answer, the door to the room opens and Ashley walks in. "It's time to walk down the aisle. Are you ready?"
Hazel looks at her sister and nods. We all line up as the music she'd picked for us begins to play. When it's my turn, my gaze goes straight to the man that holds my heart. He's grinning at me, his eyes smoldering just like they did when he first saw me in this dress.
When I reach the altar, I step into my place as the rest of the ceremony continues. I watch as Dexter's eyes never leave Hazel's as she walks down the aisle to him. How they both choke up with emotion when they read their vows. Watching them, you can see how much they love each other, which makes me think of my love. When the wedding march ends, I walk back down the aisle to the hallway to get ready for the reception.
Silas meets me there and we join the party hand in hand. We both grab a drink from the bar before heading to our seats. Hazel didn't want a wedding party table, so we're all mixed in with the rest of the guests and the couple has a table of their own. It's hard not to smile when you're in a room so full of love.
The love of my life leans over and whispers in my ear, "Dance with me."
"Of course."
Getting up, he holds my hand as he leads me onto the dance floor. We wrap our arms around each other, staring into the eyes of the other. Neither of us blinking. Thankfully, it's a slow song or this could be embarrassing, but something tells me that Silas wouldn't have cared if it was a faster song.
A smile comes to my lips when I remember that I have a secret for him. "What are you smiling at, little doe?" Silas asks, tightening his grip on me as if he's scared that I might disappear I know the feeling. It took me a while to realize that I deserve to have a love like this and that I'm worthy of Silas' attention. Some days I still have to remind myself that he loves me, Not that he doesn't work on that every day, too.
"I have a secret to tell you." I say as I lay my head down on his shoulder, taking deep breaths to keep myself calm.
"And what's that?" he asks as he strokes down my hair and spine.
"I'm pregnant," I whisper into his shoulder as I smother my face.
Silas freezes. He stops us from moving. Shit, is he not happy about this? My pulse picks up the longer he stays silent. The feeling of not being able to breathe kicks in. "You're pregnant?" he asks so softly I wasn't sure I heard him at first.
My eyes drop to the ground because everything I thought I knew, I'm second guessing right here and now.
"Yes," I breathe out.
"Yahoo," he yells as he lifts me from the ground hugging me tight. "I can't wait to see you get big. With my child in there," he says as he gently puts me back down on the ground.
People around us give us a quizzical look, the more he yells. "She's pregnant with my kid," he yells into the reception room.
Placing my hand on his mouth, I shake my head. "Shh…It's Hazel and Dexter's night."
His eyes soften when his hand wraps around my wrist, pulling it off of his mouth. "I'm so excited. You're pregnant with my kid. I wasn't always around when Smith was growing up, but I'll be there one hundred percent. You won't have to worry."
Grinning, I hug his neck, giving him a kiss on the lips. "I never did. You're going to be a great daddy."
"Baby, you're going to be a wonderful mom."
"I hope so."
"I know so."
***
Want to know how Thanksgiving went when Kimberly invites her parents and Smith to have dinner with Silas and her. Get the bonus scene for free when you s ign up here.
***
Colleen's book is next, Her Unforgettable Night will come out December 16th.
Preorder it today .
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***
Chapter 1
Sarah
Rubbing my temples I try to ease the headache that's pounding against my skull. "Got today has been the longest day of my life or maybe it's been this year," I mutter to myself.
The phone rings through my office, answering it, "This is Sarah Norman."
"It's about time. I've been trying to get a hold of you for weeks." My friend Hazel's voice comes through. When she lived here, we we're as close as anyone could be. I met her when she moved into the apartment next to mine. We became friends bonding over yoga and books. Unfortunately, she moved back to her hometown and now is married to the love of her life.
"Sorry. It's been really busy," I say giving her my ready-made excuse. You know the excuse that's always on the tip of your tongue. It's not that it's not true, but I know if I wanted to, I could've made time. I try not to say too much right now because Hazel always has a way of seeing through me, and I'm not ready to explain the real reason I've thrown myself into my job.
"Have you taken a vacation lately?" she asks out of nowhere throwing me off a little. I wasn't expecting her to inquire about me, I was waiting for her to lay into me. But I should've known better that's not Hazel's way.
"Not since you've moved," wincing as I answer her, because I know what's coming next.
"Sarah, I moved three years ago," Hazel scolds me.
"I know. I know. It's just that I got promoted right after you moved, and I have a few new clients who need me."
"Ooh what new clients?"
"A few actors and actresses. One stunt double." Working as a publicist at Star Surge PR has been my dream job since I got out of college. I started as an intern and has worked my way up. The firm I work for helps small time actors, actresses, and stunt doubles. My clients still have the fire within in them, and because they're not super famous they tend to not be too egotistical. Optimal words "tend to" of course you still have that small percentage that think their shit don't stink so to speak.
"A stunt double?" Her question pulls me from my thoughts but leads to a picture of Barrett flashing through my mind.
"Yeah," I breathe out hoping that she can't hear the shakiness in my voice. It's obvious I'm not successful when she asks, "Why did you say it like that?"
Maybe I should just come clean? Hazel is really the only person I could talk to about this, especially since I don't really have any other friends. My life consists of me working and working some more. Or maybe I should just keep my tiny crush to myself. Nothing could ever come of it anyways, no reason to breathe life into it.
Shaking my head as if she can see me through the phone. "Nothing. I'm just tired."
"Again, Sarah it bears repeating you need to take a vacation. You could go to a beach somewhere and relax. Just for a day or two?"
Taking a deep breath I slowly let it out through my nose. Shit it has been a while, maybe I do need a break, then I can figure out how I'm going to keep Barrett as a client while maintaining my distance. Why you ask? Only because he's the most attractive guy I've ever met. The fact that he is a grumpy asshole and forbidden doesn't seem to deter me, or my libido. Every time he's close to me I seem to light up like a freaking Christmas tree.
"Star Surge PR did give me a ticket for a cruise when I got promoted," I grumble through the phone.
Hazel squeals as she claps her hands. A smile spreads across my face as I can feel her excitement through the phone. "You need to go. You'll have so much fun! Maybe you'll even meet someone."
"I don't want to meet anyone," I mutter under my breath, she doesn't need to know that I already have my sights set on my forbidden client.
"Well, you don't need to find anyone, but you do need to relax." She tells me in a stern tone, the one I love to refer to as her "mom" voice.
"Fine. Let me pull up the email." Grabbing my keyboard, I open up my email and search for the one that has the details in it. Once I see it I click on it, opening it up I begin to read it out loud. "Book dates on a three day cruise to the Carribean on the Infinity Voyager. Includes a luxurious cabin but can upgrade to a penthouse for extra cost. Enjoy specialty restaurants along with three different bars, a twenty-four-hour casino, an infinity pool, a state of the art gym, and the best ice cream on the seas."
"That sounds like fun. You should see when the next time it leaves the port."
"Okay let me look." I skim the email some more as I scroll down. "It looks like there is a website here. Let me click it."
Once I click the link it opens up to a website filled with tons of pictures that show the cabins on the cruise ship. Photos of couples at the pool, doing excursions, eating at restaurants, the whole thing leaves me feeling a little uneasy. "Hazel the whole website is full of photos of couples. I'm not in a couple, maybe this is a bad idea."
"Pish. Posh. It doesn't matter. There probably not even real couples. Besides your just going to go and relax. Even if you never leave your room, it's better than what you're doing right now. If you keep going at this rate Sarah, you're going to have a heart attack by the time your forty."
"I hate that you're probably right. Okay it looks like I need to call a number to book it. Let me get off and I'll send you a text once it's done."
"Sounds good. I'll look forward to your text." I can almost hear her smile.
"Love you, Haze."
"Love you Sarah," she says as we both hang up.
Letting out a breath, "It's now or never," I mutter to myself. Putting in the number for reservations that's at the bottom of the website I wait while it rings.
"Good evening. Reservations for the Infinity Voyager." A feminine voice sing song.
"Yes. I have a voucher from my job allowing me to book a three-day cruise on your ship." I let the woman on the other line know.
"Great. When are you thinking about going?"
"A month from now?" I form as a question not sure if that's too soon or too far away.
"It looks like we have one room left for that weekend. Would you like to go ahead and book it?"
"Yes, please."
"Okay. Let me ask you a few questions and we'll go ahead and book that room for you."
"Okay thank you."
Once she's done asking me all the questions to secure my reservation we hang up and I lay my head back against my office chair. I hope this vacation helps me relax and I'm not making a huge mistake.