Chasing the Stars, page 21
Hayes had always been able to make me feel happy and loved, but knowing that we were actually together again, along with Harley, I had never felt so happy.
Not just happy.
I felt loved. I felt safe. I felt complete bliss.
I grabbed my purse—the purse that Hayes had given me before I left Maverick—and left my room. I stood at the top of the stairs and observed my boyfriend and daughter playing in the living room floor below. My heart melted as I watched the incredible scene.
Hayes was sitting cross legged with Harley sitting next to him, while he rolled a toy school bus across the carpeted floor. I watched her little hands clap and face light up every time Hayes would make a noise. Hayes’s face would light up in return as he watched her excitement.
I cleared my throat and descended the staircase as Hayes’s eyes watched every move I made. He gathered Harley in his arms and walked to the bottom of the staircase without ever breaking eye contact with me.
I took one last step down as he gasped. “You look absolutely breathtaking.” He turned to Harley. “Isn’t Mama gorgeous?” She squealed in response as he made eye contact with me again. “She thinks you’re gorgeous too.”
“Thank you,” I said. I let my eyes travel over his body that was dressed in loose jeans and a dark blue button down shirt. He looked sexy. “You look very handsome.”
He kissed me gently on the cheek. “Are you ready?”
I held my hands out for Harley. “Yes. Just let me take her to Amelia’s room and I’ll be ready.”
I took Harley in my arms before I climbed the stairs. I kissed her head that was now full of hair the same color of Hayes’s. She looked just like her daddy. I gave her a tight hug before I knocked on Amelia’s door and then entered the room.
“You look beautiful,” Amelia said as she took Harley from my arms.
“Thank you.”
She picked up a DVD off the table. “I rented a movie. I had no idea if she was at the movie stage or not, but I made sure it wasn’t too boyish.” She gestured toward her little boy. “He loves superheroes. A little too much.”
“Right now she’ll watch anything that catches her eye. So, if he wants to watch a superhero movie, she’ll be fine.”
“You better go. No need to keep Mr. Sexy waiting,” she said, making both of us laugh.
“I guess I should.” I gave Harley one last hug and kiss before telling her how much I loved her. “Thank you,” I told Amelia as I closed the door behind me.
I had no idea why, but my nerves were racing in a way I had never experienced before. It wasn’t as if I were going on a date with a stranger. I was going out with a man that I had loved for over a year. A man I shared a child with.
Nothing to be nervous about. Just the hottest guy ever made waiting for you down stairs. Just the love of your life. No big deal.
I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled. Yeah, no big deal.
Chapter 34
Hayes
I drove Mac to my dorm where I had created, what I hoped, was a nice romantic environment. It had started to rain earlier in the day which meant it was extremely cold outside. I had wanted us to be alone for our first date, therefore I had come up with the idea to have a date in my dorm.
I had kicked Carson out, forcing him to sleep at a hotel I was paying for. I would’ve paid for Mac and myself a room but I didn’t want to cheapen our date by taking her to a hotel room. After taking Harley to an indoor play area, I had brought her back to my room for a nap while I decorated.
“So I wanted this date to be special. I may have gotten a little cheesy though so don’t laugh. Just know that you are special to me,” I told her as we stepped in front of my door.
“I’m sure I won’t think it’s cheesy,” she whispered against my lips before kissing me.
I opened the door and allowed her to go in first. I heard her gasp as she glanced around the small dorm room. “You did all of this for me?” she asked referring to the small twinkling lights I had strung across the ceiling.
I stepped behind her and placed my hands around her waist. “I did. Harley helped. I mean she napped while I did it, so that really did help.”
“It’s beautiful and definitely not cheesy. It’s like indoor star gazing.” She pointed to the floor where I had laid out a blanket. “You thought of everything. As always.”
I shrugged. I’d do anything for her. “I try.”
“Won’t the food be cold?”
“Nope. Miranda went and picked it up for us just a few minutes ago.”
She turned around then draped her arms around my neck. “You really did think of everything. I have no idea how I got so lucky.”
I kissed her lightly. “You didn’t get lucky. You got stuck with me.”
She shook her head. “No, Hayes. You are so wonderful. I really do feel like the luckiest girl. And I’m so happy that you’re Harley’s dad. You’re amazing with her.”
“I love her very much,” I said before kissing her again, harder this time. I pulled away and grasped her hand, pulling her toward the blanket. “Sit down.”
She sat down and looked at the bag of food. “Harold’s? You got us Harold’s.?”
“I really hope that’s okay. I haven’t had one in so long that I can’t wait to devour one of those burgers.”
“It’s perfect,” she whispered before I captured her mouth with mine. I had missed kissing her over the last year. Now that I had her back, I felt like I couldn’t kiss her enough.
Her fingers found my hair, urging me closer as my hand roamed over her backside. She was absolute perfection to me. Every single thing about her.
I pulled back because both of us were starting to fight for air. “Do you remember that night at Chickie’s Chicken?”
“What about it?” I asked cautiously. She had gotten pissed at me that night because she had remembered Baylee kissing me.
“I was watching you eat and you licked your lips, and I so badly wanted to do that. That’s what set my bad mood off. The fact that I wanted to lick your lips but couldn’t.”
I laughed as I smoothed my thumb over her cheek. “Baby, you can lick my lips anytime you want.”
“Oh really?” she asked, bringing her lips close to mine.
“Yeah.”
“Hmm,” she said before pulling back. “Maybe later. I’m kinda hungry right now.”
“Tease,” I joked as I took the burgers out of the bag.
We both ate our burgers and fries greedily as we talked about Harley. She took up most of our conversations, but we were still able to get back to the way things had been in the past.
Conversations were easy because we just got each other. That’s what happens, I guess, when you’re meant for someone.
You just get each other.
After we had eaten, I pulled her to her feet and wrapped my arms around her. “Do you remember the night we danced in the rain?”
“Of course. It was one of the first times I ever felt happy.”
“Well, I don’t feel like going outside right now, but it is raining. Want to dance with me?”
She smiled as she placed her hands behind my neck. “I’d love to.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and hit play. We started swaying to the music as I watched her eyes. I knew the exact moment she realized what song was playing. “Oh my gosh. This is the exact same song we were listening to that night.”
I nodded. “It is. This is my way of showing you that every moment I’ve spent with you meant something to me. I treasured every second of being with you and I will for the rest of my life. I love you, Mac.”
She brought my lips to meet hers before whispering, “I love you too.”
Epilogue
Mackenzie
“Which cabinet did you put the paper plates in again?” Hayes hollered from the kitchen of our new house. We decided to follow our old high school dream and move in together our second year of college. We changed the plans a little and rented a house instead of an apartment because Hayes wanted to have a backyard for Harley. He also wanted to buy a house, but I had persuaded him to rent until after we graduated college and had secured jobs.
“The one on the far left,” I yelled back from Harley’s room where I was dressing her in her birthday outfit. A pink shirt that had a big, purple “1” on it and a purple tutu. Every time she saw the outfit hanging in her closet, she’d say “Pwincess,” while pointing frantically.
“Okay. I think everything is ready to go. The backyard is all set up,” Hayes said as he leaned against Harley’s doorframe.
“Pwincess,” Harley told him as soon as I slipped the tutu on her.
He stepped in front of her and squatted down. “You’re Daddy’s beautiful princess.” He placed a kiss on her cheek before picking her up and turning to me. “She’s the prettiest one year old I’ve ever seen.”
“Yes she is,” I told him before kissing his cheek. “Now, I need to go double check everything is ready before all the guests arrive.”
“You don’t trust me when I say everything is ready to go?”
I smiled sweetly. “I trust you. I just need to see it with my own eyes first.”
“Okay. Well the birthday girl and I will be on the couch waiting for her guests.”
I walked into the backyard and my breath caught. Hayes had made sure everything was in place, including party hats and streamers, but that wasn’t the surprising part.
Hayes, Luke, and Carson had spent the last two days constructing a swing set that included a Princess playhouse in the middle. It was huge and beautiful.
“What do you think, Mama?” Hayes asked as he placed an arm over my shoulder.
“It’s amazing. She’ll love it. I can’t believe you built it for her.”
He kissed Harley’s cheek. “I told you I didn’t need to hire it done. I may have had some help from Carson and Luke and supervision from Brad, but I like knowing I built it for my daughter.”
“I like how you included a baby swing. Smart thinking,” I told him as I walked closer.
“I didn’t want to take any chances with her getting hurt.”
I sat down in the bigger swing and began swinging my legs back and forth. “Do you remember that night that we went to that party and then we went to the park?”
He placed Harley in the baby swing. “I don’t. Why?”
“Well. we didn’t exactly use the equipment. We used the back seat of your Jeep in the parking lot of the park,” I said looking away. I had no idea why I still felt shy around Hayes when we talked about sex.
“Oh. Yeah. I remember that. Wanna reenact that night after we find a sitter?” He winked as Harley squealed with delight.
I laughed out loud. “No. Well maybe. I was asking because that was the night that Harley was conceived.”
He stopped pushing Harley for a moment. “How do you know that?”
“Because that was the only night we didn’t use protection.”
“Oh,” was all he said as he stared at me. A slow smile spread across his face and I knew he was going to say something sexual. “Wanna completely reenact that night? Because I do. Down to every last detail.”
I let my legs fall as I realized exactly what he was asking. “You want to have another baby?”
“I do. I really, really do. I love being her dad and I love sharing her with you. It would be amazing to have another child to share with you. It would also be nice to call you my wife.”
It would also be nice to call you my wife.
I couldn’t reply because at that moment, Luke and Chloe followed by Carson came barreling outside.
“See what I built?” Luke asked Chloe, pointing to the swing set.
She patted his chest. “It looks great, honey.”
“He hardly did anything,” Carson yelled as he placed his gift for Harley on a table. A part of me wondered if I should check his gift out first. It would be just like him not to buy anything for Harley but instead buy Hayes and me a package of condoms.
A moment later, I was distracted by Connie, Brad, Tina, and Amelia exiting the backdoor. I smiled every time I looked at Brad. I would be forever grateful that he survived the gun shot. I couldn’t bear to think about a life without him.
He gave me a hug as he whispered in my ear. “You did it. You survived an entire year of motherhood.”
“I had a lot of help. Especially from you.”
“Not a problem. You know I love that little girl. And her mama,” he said as his eyes fell on the backdoor. I watched a smile spread across his face as he watched Miranda walk down the back steps. I knew he had feelings for her but decided not to press him about it. I could wait until another day.
Hayes’s parents arrived a short time later and we all began eating the hamburgers and hotdogs that Hayes had grilled. Harley relished in the attention that she received from everyone and I tried not to think about Hayes’s proposal of having another child and his mention of me becoming his wife. My entire body fluttered just thinking about it.
I wanted to relax for once and enjoy the day. I sank down beside Hayes in the outdoor glider before he pulled me close. “Thank you,” he whispered in my ear.
“For what?”
“For today. For chasing the stars with me and giving me our family. Our destiny. I definitely think we need to celebrate tonight.”
I looked around at all of the people I loved. It was definitely a day of celebration. A celebration of Harley’s life, family, and friends.
“I couldn’t agree more.”
The End
Acknowledgements
First, I want to say thank you to everyone that picked up a copy of Chasing the Stars! I love every single one of you and I hope you chase the stars and find happiness like Mackenzie and Hayes.
Carlos, my wonderful husband, thank you so much for all of your love and support. You encouraged me each and every day and I am so thankful. I love you very much.
P & B, my amazing children. Thank you for understanding that I needed to write. You bring joy to my life each and every day. I love you to the moon and back.
A huge thank you to my beta readers, Jamie Taliaferro and Liz Dellinger. I appreciate all of the help you provided me while writing this book. It means a lot to me!
Margaret Faria, Red Coat PR, We Stole Your Book Boyfriend, The Book Enthusiast, and The Star Chasers, I can’t even begin to thank you enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank you to my editor, Anna Coy.
And of course, thank you to everyone that has encouraged me. I love you all!
About the Author
J.D. Rivera lives in Oklahoma with her husband and two boys. Her life consists of school projects, homework, cartoon shows, and little league sports. She loves Diet Mountain Dew, the OKC Thunder, costume jewelry, the beach, and reading.
Find her on social media:
Facebook.com/writerjdrivera
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J.D. Rivera, Chasing the Stars
