“Nicely. Great. I’m so glad I’m doing nicely.” She punctuated the sentence with a very ripe word.
The nurse looked at Jason, unfazed, a wry grin spreading on her face at Molly’s acidic tone. “And we’ve hit transition. Not long now.”
Until this moment, they’d almost been a family, but after tonight, there would be a baby, one that was part of both of them, a living testament to their love, their commitment. He thought he’d understood what that meant. There’d been the joy and fear of discovering Molly was pregnant. The knowing that he was going to be completely responsible for another life. There was that first heartbeat in the doctor’s office, the first movement beneath his hand, the beautiful rounding of her as their baby grew. But nothing had made him realize how big this was, how magnificent and humbling, until he sat beside her, seeing her labor to deliver their son or daughter.
When their daughter, Alyssa Joy, came howling into the world, he hadn’t known his heart was big enough to hold so much.
And he knew that if she’d asked, he would have made any sacrifice to be with her. Because together they were a family.
“Thank you,” Molly whispered, dangerously close to tears.
He pressed his forehead to hers, damp with sweat.
“For what?”
“For giving me my happily ever after,” she whispered.
He leaned back as the nurse placed a white wrapped bundle in Molly’s arms. Two tiny pink lips sucked in and out, the tiny nearly-black eyes barely open, a scratch mark on one precious cheek.
“Now you see, that’s where you’ve got it wrong.” He smiled down, his eyes suspiciously damp as his lip quivered. “Because it’s you who’s given me what I always wanted.”
“A family.”
“Not just any family. Our family.”
He kissed her then, with the baby between them. When their lips parted, he felt her smile against his mouth. “You have no idea, Elliot,” she murmured. “This is just the beginning.”
Dedication
For my sister Janet, who gave me the kick in the pants to write in the first place, and for her influence on this book.
About the Author
A busy wife and mother, Donna Alward believes hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mom and romance novelist.
An avid reader since childhood, Donna always made up her own stories. She completed her Arts Degree in English Literature in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she penned her first full-length novel, and found herself hooked on writing romance. In 2006 she sold her first manuscript.
Donna loves being back on the East Coast of Canada after nearly twelve years in Alberta where her Harlequin career began, writing about cowboys and the west. She’s a two-time winner of both the Bookseller’s Best Award and the Colorado Award of Excellence, and a 2012 RITA finalist.
Donna loves to hear from readers; you can contact her through her website at www.donnaalward.com,
Visit her facebook page, or through her publishers
Twitter: @DonnaAlward
Other books by Donna:
The Girl Most Likely
Keep reading for an excerpt from THE GIRL MOST LIKELY....
An excerpt from
THE GIRL MOST LIKELY
Katie wiped her sweating hands on her skirt, lifted her hand to knock on the dark wooden door and drew it back.
For the third time.