Between the Sheets (22 page)

On the fourth push, baby Noah is
born.

Matt cuts the cord and the little guy
is placed on Shelly’s chest.

All eight pounds, two ounces, and 21
inches of him. He’s a big boy. Mia finally hit eight pounds at her
last appointment. She was a tiny little thing compared to this
linebacker.

I can’t help but get choked up. Tears
slide down my cheeks as I watch the new family get
acquainted.

Shel looks over at me with glassy eyes
and says to her newborn baby, “Noah, meet your Auntie Melly
Belly.”

“
Hi, baby Noah.” My words
come out as a squeak. “Congratulations, Shel. Matt. I love you
guys.”

“
I love you too,” she says.
“Thank you for being here.”

“
You were there for me too.
I wouldn’t have missed it.”

“
I can’t wait to do it
again,” she says through tears. Matt’s eyes look like they’re about
to pop out of his head.

She’s crazy. I’m in no hurry. I have
my little princess and I want to enjoy her as long as possible. In
fact, I need to see her right now. “I’m gonna go. I’ll be back in a
bit.”

“
It took some master ninja
skills but I did it, little sister.” Tyler leans down and presses a
kiss to the top of her head.

“
What’s that?” she
says.

“
Surprise,” I reveal myself
from behind my husband, and I’m holding our baby girl.

Shel squeals with happiness. “I can’t
believe you got her in.”

“
Shh,” Ty
whispers.

“
Well, bring over my
niece,” Matt says. Ty takes her from my hands and snuggles her to
his chest. He walks around Shel’s bed to stand next to his
brother-n-law. “Noah, let me introduce you to your cousin. This is
Mia.”

“
Baby Mia,” Ty says in his
soft daddy voice. “This is your baby cousin, Noah.” The two men
hold their babies close together. Mia has a head full of dark hair.
Noah has a soft thin patch of blond. “He may be younger than you,
but he’s going to be like a big brother and always protect you.
Just like I did for his mama.”

I glance at Shel and we’re both
sobbing fools.

“
Look at that,” Shell
says.

“
It’s awesome,” I tell her.
“We have so much to be thankful for.”

“
Absolutely,” she agrees.
“Mia’s your Thanksgiving baby.”

I smile at her, wiping a tear from my
eye. “And Noah’s your Christmas-New Year’s baby.”

“
I can’t believe they were
both born two weeks early.”

“
Impatient like their
mamas.”

She blots her face with the tissues
from a nearby tray.

My heart squeezes at the sight of our
husbands holding our babies. “We sure are married to the most
gorgeous men ever,” I murmur.

“
Our soul
mates.”

“
And we’re
parents.”

“
Our babies are going to
grow up together.”

I nod. “And we’re going to grow old
together.”

“
Best friends forever,” she
says.

But I correct her. Nah. Not just
friends.

“
Sisters, Shel. Sisters …
forever.”

The end.

You’re back! That must mean you’ve read
Against The Wall and you were dying to see what happened next with
Mel and Ty. Right? Thank you so much for joining me on this fun
ride of love and friendship. I am amazed and humbled by all the
messages I’ve received about ATW. Nora emailed me about her book
club in Texas (Hey ladies!). Dawn tweeted to let me know she is
spreading the word of Shel and Mel to the WhoDat Nation. And Olga
and Jennifer have it covered on Facebook. And those are just a few.
I wish I could name you all, one-by-one. Hearing from all of my
readers is like having Christmas every day. It’s the most exciting
feeling ever, to know people are reading my books and like them so
much they’re actually talking about them. Truly amazing!

Please, continue to chat about Against The
Wall and Between The Sheets. If you haven’t already done so,
consider leaving a review on your retailer’s site and
Goodreads
.
ATW has hit Amazon’s Top 100 Best Selling lists for contemporary
romance and romance. Let’s keep it there with reviews and “likes”
on
Amazon
. Positive, honest reviews are so instrumental to
the success of an author and I’d like to thank each and every one
of you for all your thoughts, ratings, likes, reviews, and
comments. You’re the reason ATW is doing so well. Thank you, thank
you, thank you!

So what’s next? Many of you have asked about
Summer. Will she get her HEA? Has she found it already? At first, I
thought I didn’t want to write her story because I don’t really
like her all that much. But then, she’s been tapping on my temple
with a candy apple red acrylic nail trying to wake me up, “Hello!
There’s a story here. Where’s my Matty or Ty?” It’s not Chase? I
guess we shall see.

Until then …

Happy reading,

Julie

Saying thank
you to my circle of supporters can never get old. I’m so lucky to
have such a strong support system in my corner as I manage a
family, a full time job, and my love for writing
stories.

An enormous
round of thank yous and standing ovations go out to my hubby, my
kids, my mom, my sister, Lyndsi Hanley, Heather Fueger, and Andrea
Soule. Without your support, and willingness to help, my books
would never leave my own computer. You make it possible. Thank
you.

Adult Romance

Against The
Wall

Between The
Sheets

More Than A
Friend Request

Young Adult

The Double
Threat Series

So I’m A Double
Threat

Double Threat
My Bleep

Double
Time

Double Threats
Forever

You Act So
White

© 2012 Julie Prestsater

All rights reserved. No part of this
book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission except in the case of a reviewer using brief
passages.

This book is a work of fiction. Any
references to historical events, real people, real products, and
real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters,
places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination,
and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living
or dead, is entirely coincidental. The author also acknowledges the
copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of any and
all wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction.

Cover Photo: © Yuri Arcurs |
Dreamstime.com

Visit Julie on the Web at
www.juliepbooks.com.