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Authors: L.A. Cotton

Love Collides (Fate's Love #3) (21 page)

BOOK: Love Collides (Fate's Love #3)

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No.

I looked again just to be sure.

Kade looked completely lost, standing in the middle of the beach in his linen cutoffs, light shirt, and sneakers. Neither of us moved. Seeing him standing there sparked something in me and my hand instinctively moved to my stomach.

He made the first move, strolling toward me, stopping only a couple of feet away. “Hi.”

“Hi,” I replied, my voice quivered. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

“I didn’t know I needed a reason to visit my
friend
.”

A small laugh escaped my lips. “How are you here?”

“Funny thing, I took the plane-”

“Kade,” I warned. My mind couldn’t comprehend that he was here, in Ecuador. I needed answers.

“Okay, sorry. The case was acquitted.”

The relief was instant. Kade was free. I wanted to go to him, but I remained rooted to the spot.

“That’s great news, but you didn’t have to come all the way out here to tell me that. You could’ve called.”

Kade shook his head. “No, no, I couldn’t have called because, you see, if I had called, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.”

His lips crushed to mine as he swept me into his arms. The relief I had felt only seconds earlier was nothing compared to the feeling rushing through me now. Kade had come…for me.

As quickly as it came, the feeling was replaced with a hollow feeling.

“Wait, just wait.” I pushed him off me, putting some distance between us. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

“Staci, nothing you can say is going to scare me away. I just had Ethan lend me six hundred dollars to fly thousands of miles to tell you that I’m crazy in love with you.”

“You’re in love with me?” I stuttered.

“Like you didn’t already know.” Kade smirked. “I’m so in love with you that I thought it would be a good idea to pull this crazy stunt. It’s not going as well as I had hoped.”

I burst into laughter. “Sorry, I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s us. Look at us, we’re pathetic.”

“Speak for yourself, Jameson.” Kade wrapped me back into his arms and pressed a kiss to my head. “You were saying you have something to tell me?”

It was now or never.

I took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”

Kade’s face didn’t change. He just regarded me with that same serious gaze of his.

“Pregnant?”

I nodded too anxious to talk.

“It better be mine or we have a major problem.”

My mouth dropped open, and I smacked him on the chest. But before I could stay angry with him, Kade’s hand dropped to my stomach and he spread his hand across my blouse and a huge grin cracked over his face.

“You’re okay with this?”

“Okay with it? Can you imagine how awesome that child is going to be with fifty percent my genes and fifty percent yours. That is going to be one pretty face.”

“Seriously, this is not how I imagined this going.”

Kade lowered his head to mine and brushed my lips. “Staci, I lost you. And for a minute there, I lost myself. I know what it’s like to live in the dark, and I never want to do it again. I have no idea if I’m ready to be a father. I’ll probably change their diapers all wrong, feed them all of the wrong things, and let them stay up far too late, but as long as I’m doing it all with you, I know everything will be fine.”

“Them?” I arched my eyebrow. “Just one. Singular. One step at a time, big guy.” I looped my arm around his neck and brought my lips to his. Kade was right.

As long as we had each other, everything else would fall into place.

Epilogue

1 year later...

~ Staci ~

"The door, Kade," Jess called out, and he rolled his eyes and dropped a kiss on my head. "I'll be right back."

I smiled up at him, cradling Amelia in my arms as she slept peacefully. I'd quickly learned over the last six months not to let her angelic face fool me. I hadn't had a full night’s sleep since she was born, but she was worth it. Every long night.

"Where are my girls?" a gruff voice boomed, and Dad came padding into Jess's living room, arms full of bags.

"Hey, Dad. Keep it down, she's sleeping." I dropped my gaze to Amelia feeling a swell of love. The same feeling I felt every time I looked at her.

"Can I get you a drink, Bob?"

Dad arranged his bags in a pile in the corner of the room and replied, "I'll take a beer. Where's that lovely mother of yours?"

"I'm right here, Bobby. Come give this old lady a hug."

Kade glanced at me with a worried look on his face as Dad laughed, wrapping Jess into a hug and holding on a little too long. I shrugged. Dad was changed. It had taken some getting used to; the regular visits, how he doted on his granddaughter, and his growing interest in Jess. But it was nice to see him happy, and Jess seemed to enjoy his company. They were good for each other.

Jess went back to the kitchen, and Dad came to join me on the couch. Amelia stirred in my arms as he tried to sit quietly, and he froze.

"It’s okay." I ran a hand over her tiny body soothing her. "She'll wake for a feeding soon."

"How is my little princess doing? She's grown since I last saw her."

"Still doesn't sleep," Kade grumbled under his breath. "You wouldn't think it looking at her now."

Kade's eyes flashed with something. He adored Amelia, I didn't doubt that, but he'd found it hard to share me so soon into our relationship. Jess was always offering to take her for the night, but I wasn't ready and, besides, it didn't seem fair to ask someone else to deal with our little night owl.

“I’ve told them that I’ll take her for the night to give them some time to recharge.” Jess sauntered into the room carrying a tray of drinks and cookies.

“You should listen to the woman.” Dad glanced at us. “We can handle a baby for a few hours, right Jess?”

Jess beamed in his direction. “You need to make time for each other. Parenthood is a difficult path sometimes, you need to-”

Kade interjected, “Okay, Mom. We hear you.” His eyes found mine, softening around the edges. “It’s up to Staci; I don’t want to push her if she’s not ready. Even if I’m going to combust with sexual frustration if I don’t get some alone time with my girl soon.”

“Kade Ford, I raised you better than that.”

“That’s my daughter you’re talking about, son.”

Dad and Jess both looked at him with shock written all over their faces, before exploding with laughter, but I shot him an irritated look. He wasn’t the only frustrated one, but I didn’t need my dad and his mom knowing that.

“Honey, don’t look at him like that. It’s time to let go, just for a few hours. She will be fine.” Jess approached me in an attempt to coax Amelia from me.

I laid her in Jess’s cradled arms and glanced over her shoulder at Kade. He was watching me, adoration shining in his eyes. Parenthood might not have been in our plan, but from the second Kade laid eyes on our daughter, it was love at first sight. She already had him wrapped around her little finger. But it had also changed things between us. We were stronger. Complete. I saw it every time he looked at me.

“Okay.”

Kade’s face broke into a huge grin, and I knew I’d made the right decision.

~ Kade ~

As my eyes fell on Staci, I made a mental note to thank Mom when we picked up Amelia. Staci had dressed up, the black pants hugging her new curves and the light blouse drawing attention to her full tits, framed perfectly by her long blond waves.

“Someone’s happy to see me.” She dropped her eyes to the growing bulge in my jeans and I barked a laugh.

“I haven’t touched you in forever. The little guy is happy; what can I say.”

“It hasn’t been weeks, Kade.” Staci stalked closer to me with a glint in her eye that told me she was playing.

“Seven weeks and two days. Not that I’m counting.”

Delicate hands trailed up my abs and around to my shoulder blades. A low growl formed in my throat, and I considered my next move. We had reservations at a nice restaurant in town, but that would seriously eat into the time I had with Staci. Time alone.

There was no decision to make.

“Change of plans,” I said, my lips slamming against hers as I literally swept her off her feet.

Staci clung to me as I carried her back into our bedroom. It had been
our
bedroom for almost a year, after Staci had decided she wanted to settle in Gainesville while pregnant. But I didn’t doubt that as soon as Amelia was old enough, we’d be flying out to Ecuador to introduce her to Mom’s other family.

“Kade, I thought we had plans. A date.” My lips covered hers, absorbing her words. Again and again. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

Laying her down on the bed, I cloaked her body with mine. “I never should have made reservations. This is exactly where we need to be.”

“I lied. It’s been a long time. Too long. I need you.” Staci’s eyes locked onto mine, and I pressed into her, eliciting a moan from her soft lips.

“Not as much as I need you.”

“Do you think she’s okay? Should I call?”

I clamped my hand onto Staci’s hip as she tried to escape from the comfort of our bed. “Not so fast. Amelia is fine. She has not one but two grandparents to wrap around her finger. We’ll bring her home tonight.”

Staci relaxed back into the crook of my arm and sighed contently. “I miss her. Is that crazy? That’s crazy, right?”

Turning my head slightly, I said, “It’s not crazy. It’s completely natural. You’re her mother, Staci.” My nose brushed her ear. “Want me to let you in on a little secret?”

She nodded.

“I kind of miss her, too.”

It wasn’t a lie. I did miss our daughter, but I also knew how much we needed some time together. Amelia refused to let us sleep, let alone find time to be with one another. It had gotten so bad that some nights I slept in the guest bedroom just to get in a few hours before I had to get up for work. It was hard, but I would never trade it. Not for all the full nights of sleep in the world.

When Staci had told me that I was going to be a father, my mind didn’t go hatching an escape plan or telling her that I didn’t want to be a father like it might have once upon a time. Instead, I immediately pictured a little boy with Staci’s bright eyes and blond hair. Nothing like the ball of dark hair that finally arrived ten days past
her
due date. The moment the nurse handed her to Staci and she let out a small whimper, I knew I was a goner. Amelia Jessica Ford had completely stolen my heart. And I didn’t ever want it back.

She was our happy ending. Born out of a messy, complicated beginning, Amelia was the glue that was going to bind us together. The day Staci told me that I was going to be a father was also the day she finally told me about her past. I sat quietly listening as she broke in front of my eyes but refused my comfort. She wanted to finish her story, to move forward and lay secrets to rest. My brave, strong firecracker. Staci’s face as she held our daughter for the first time was something I would never forget—it was the day she allowed herself to move on.

“Hey, are you still with me?” Staci nudged my ribs with her elbow, and I shook the memories away.

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“Careful, you might give yourself a headache.” She chuckled to herself before adding, “So if we both miss her should we go and pick her up early?”

“A few more minutes; I’m enjoying our bed. Specifically, you naked in our bed. I’d almost forgotten what it felt like.”

We lay silently for a few more minutes, just enjoying each other’s company. It certainly wasn’t the way I’d imagined my life turning out. That a couple of one-night stands would lead to this point.

But I should have listened to everyone around me.

Love wasn’t something you chose, it was something that happened whether you wanted it or not.

Staci and I hadn’t just come together… we’d collided.

Love Collides Playlist

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www.lacotton.com/love-collides