“Oh yeah?” I said, adjusting myself in the hospital bed so I could see them better. “What's that?”
Maisie cleared her throat like a soloist preparing to perform. She exchanged a look with Lola and her father, and then turned her eyes to me.
“We love you Avery,” Maisie said. “Do you love us?” Aww,” I said, feeling like I might cry. “Of course I do goofball. You know that.”
It shocked me when Lola picked up her game – her voice softer than her sisters. “Can we ask another question?” she asked.
They both looked at their dad.
“Go ahead,” he said.
I had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, it was sweet as hell. Both girls stood there smiling, shuffling their feet, the air of nervousness about them thicker than syrup. I was just turning into a warm, fuzzy pile of goo as I sat there watching them. Maybe it was the postpartum emotions, but the tears flowed freely down my face and there was nothing I could do to stop them.
Maisie and Lola walked over together, and they handed me a gift bag. I reached inside and pulled out a box, just as both girls smiled and giggled. But even through their laughing, I could see something more serious lurking behind their eyes. They had a real, legitimate question.
“We want you to be our stepmom!” they nearly shouted in unison.
I opened the box, and it felt like the air had been knocked out of me as I stared at the diamond ring staring back at me. My jaw hit the floor, and I looked up at Spencer, to make sure this was real. His eyes were glistening – he was almost in tears himself. I knew in that moment that he meant it. That it was very, very real.
He wanted to marry me. “Yes. Oh my god, yes,” I said.
The words came out choked thanks to the tears, but Maisie and Lola hugged me tightly. Spencer walked over and helped put the ring on my shaky finger, the leaned down and kissed me atop the head.
“I love you, Avery. You're just what our family needed,” he said. “Thank you.”
All of my dreams had finally come true.
THE END
ROCK HARD BABY DADDY
A Billionaire Cowboy Romance
CHAPTER ONE - BELLA
I’ve seen the world through a camera lens from as early as I could remember.
I couldn’t help but be drawn toward the beauty around me. For whatever reason, I felt the need to document it in a timeless photograph that could speak to others, and maybe even spark a moment of serenity in their hearts.
Yes, it all sounds very artsy-fartsy, even hippie-ish . But I couldn’t help myself. I was who I was.
My mother saw it in me before I did. Even with pressure from well-meaning teachers, attempting to dissuade me from what they saw as a simple hobby, Mom always told me to screw what they thought and go after what was in my heart.
“Bella, you have a fire in you,” she’d told me at a young age. “You don’t realize it now, but you will change the lives of others with your talents. Promise me and, more importantly, promise yourself that you’ll always go after your dreams, no matter how hard the journey.”
Yep, she was pretty much the best mom on earth.
And now the best mom in heaven.
She’d done a damn good job raising me all on her own, and I hoped and prayed that someday when I had my own children, I could be half the mom she was.
May her precious heart rest in peace.
Fast forward to present day, and I’m nowhere near where I’d imagined I’d be at my age. On paper one would think I was nuts for even complaining about my situation.
Engaged to a good, beautiful wealthy man.
A big princess wedding only months away.