Surrender To You (25 page)
Authors: C.S. Janey
I sucked in a breath as he took my hand in his.
Oh god, was he going to propose?
He was!
Wait! Wait!
My mind screamed at me but all I could do was stare at him.
“I love you, Elle. I know this might be rather soon, but I’m a man who knows what he wants.”
He opened the box and my eyes widened, the gorgeous diamond ring inside winking at me even in the weak light shining into the room. My heart pounded as he pulled it out and held it between two fingers.
Kissing my hand, he squeezed gently as he looked straight into my eyes. “Elle, will you make an honest man out of me and marry me?”
My heart felt as if it were going to pound right out of my chest. I felt happy and sick all at once.
So I did the only thing a girl in my situation could do. “Simon, I’m pregnant.”
He froze, the grip on my hand tightening as I began to cry.
Then, in the beautiful way he seemed to have perfected, he pulled me close and held me to his chest. As he stroked my hair, the tears slowly subsided. His very touch calmed me in a way nothing else ever had. I felt his love for me in his touch, his every action only doing more to show me how he felt. So why, when I had seen that positive, had I freaked out?
“Are you sure?” A whisper, the three words spoken on a breath, his voice shaky. Two fingers under my chin lifted my swollen eyes to meet his. In them, nothing but tenderness. And a love I could always count on.
“Yes,” I whispered, feeling foolish for even doubting him a second. “I’m sure as a girl can be, but the line was nice and dark pink.”
Simon’s face lit up, his grin bigger than I’d ever seen it before as he crushed me to him, hugging me hard enough to steal my breath. His mouth found mine and after a few long, deep kisses, he whispered against them.
“I’m gonna be a father. My god, Elle, you’ve just made me the happiest man ever.”
“You’re…you’re not mad? It wasn’t planned…”
He pulled his head back with a laugh. “Hell no! Are you kidding me?”
The knot in my chest loosened just a little.
“No.” I shook my head, unable to keep my lower lip from wobbling. “I wasn’t sure what you’d think. I missed a few pills when…”
He caught my face in his hands.
“Never, ever think I’d be upset about that when I knew how upset you were. It takes two, you know.” He grinned again. “I can’t wait to be a father and I’m glad it’s with you. So now you know what you have to do right?”
I bit my lip and shook my head. “No, what?”
He grinned and held up the ring. “Simon says you have to surrender and say yes, you’ll marry me.”
Shaking, I held my hand up as I beamed back at him. “Well in that case, I surrender to you, Simon. Wouldn’t want to break the rules.”
And as he slid the ring on my finger with a laugh of pure joy, I’d never felt more home in my entire life than I did in that very moment.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
One Year Later
“I can’t believe it’s been over a year since you both died.”
I was visiting the cemetery, crouched down between Liliana’s and Stefan’s graves.
Stefan Elliot Pierce ~ Loving father, brother, son and friend
and
Liliana Nicole Pierce ~ Loving mother, daughter and friend.
So simple, yet those words said so much.
I knew they weren’t there, not really, but I still talked to them anyway.
Because both of them had brought me home.
Really, they’d both saved me because I’d still been lost and hadn’t known it.
A debt I could never truly repay.
“I miss you both, so much.”
I knew tears streamed down my face. I didn’t care.
“Thank you for bringing me home. Without you, I’d have never met Simon and gotten married. I wouldn’t have my son. I wouldn’t have fixed my relationship with my mother. I wouldn’t have gotten a little more time with either of you. You made me face my fears and helped me heal fully. I owe you my life.”
I touched a hand to each headstone as I heard Simon approach.
He bent down beside me, our son in his arms.
Samuel Pierce Worthington, who at eight pounds and six ounces had come screaming into the world just a mere three months ago, saw me and started kicking his legs and waving his arms.
“Somebody wants his mommy,” Simon said with a laugh, holding Sam out toward me.
I swiped the tears away then reached over and took him into my arms. As he clutched the front of my shirts in his tiny fists and snuggled up to me, I breathed in his wonderful baby scent. Simon put his arm around my back and kissed my cheek.
He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t need to.
By now, he knew me all too well.
We’d gotten married three months after he’d proposed, the ceremony taking place in Penny’s backyard at her insistence. Since her family, Simon’s family and mine were the only people in the world I wanted to share the moment with, it had been the perfect choice. The only choice.
Simon and I, wanting it to be a complete surprise to everybody including ourselves, had waited until the birth to find out if it would be a boy or girl. We’d discussed names but nothing had been decided until the birth. And when they’d placed our beautiful baby boy in my arms, Simon gazing down at us with a look of love that still made my heart squeeze, the decision about his name had been an easy one.
Samuel for Simon’s maternal grandfather and Pierce, for the two people in the world who’d never given up on me. Who had loved me even when I’d failed to love myself.
Determined to not let that be for nothing, I’d spend my life paying it forward. It was the least I could do for the second chance I’d been given.
As Sam let out a cry and jolted me out of my reverie, Simon laughed.
“Well, Samuel says it’s time for dinner and Simon says he agrees. What about you?”
With a grin, I held out a hand for him to help me stand up.
“I say it’s time to go home.”
And we did.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Elizabeth’s story is just one of many women. Women who are mistreated. Women who are attacked, raped, abused or otherwise harmed by those who don’t care who they hurt.
It’s not just women though. It happens to men, too. To children.
It happened to me.
Abuse has lifelong effects that simply don’t matter to the abuser. Some people will be able to ‘move past it’ with therapy, while others end up in worse situations, or take their life.
We should never shame victims of abuse. They deserve a life full of happiness and should not be looked down upon when their lives become a mess. They should be held up, given a hand, and told how much they are worth every single day. If you care about them, don’t give up on them - some have darker places to come back from than others and may simply take more time.
If you are the victim of sexual abuse, never stay quiet. Speak out when you have the chance and don’t be afraid. More often than not, there will people who will back you up. If someone doubts you, find someone who will listen. Somebody
does
care and they
will
listen.
Do what you need to do until you can say something if you’re afraid. Most of all, stay safe and be smart.
And just remember, abuse in any form is never,
ever
your fault.
You are worth something. You matter.
Never let a bully tell you or convince you otherwise.
If you need help and don’t know where else to turn, contact:
National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
About The Author
C.S. Janey is a big fan of romance - writing and reading.
The mother of one, she currently spends her days writing, reading, attending college to receive her BBA in Accounting, and protecting her son from himself as he pretends that he is a superhero.
Surrender To You
is her first contemporary adult romance novel. Intended to be the first of a series, the story can be enjoyed as a stand alone. She also has many other works in progress and hopes to share them with the world soon.
Look for Grace’s love story in the future, along with Yvette’s.
To keep an eye out for those stories, as well as other exciting information, connect with the author at the locations below - and follow to stay up to date!
TWITTER:
FACEBOOK:
GOODREADS:
WEBSITE:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you, first of all, to everyone in my life who has supported me to this point. I know you will continue to do so and nothing could possibly make me happier.
To my author friends that I talk to quite often - Danielle Taylor, Jennifer Howard, Christa Simpson - you three are the best friends a girl could ever have and I am honored to be called such! Thanks for all your advice and, more often than not, your ear when I’m rambling about things that most people might find embarrassing. ;)
To A.M. Khalifa - thanks for all your wonderful advice, your friendship, and your input on the cover.
To the indie author community - you are all fantastic! I have never met such wonderful and supportive people in my life. It is amazing and I am proud to be a part of it.
To anyone who has offered me advice, or put advice up on the internet for authors to read, thank you. Your contribution is not going unnoticed.
To the readers and fans - thank you for supporting me by purchasing this! Thank you for reading and reviewing. Thank you for commenting and participating on my Facebook page, letting me know how much you are waiting for my book. Thanks, thanks, thanks! And I will try to write faster and procrastinate less in the future. ;)
To all the authors who responded to my list – thank you and I hope you find some great new readers! You will be listed in the future automatically, so no need to reapply every time I put out the sign-up.
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I put out a sign-up for authors to get listed here in my novel!
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Mystery
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