Inked on Paper (41 page)
Authors: Nicole Edwards
Epilogue
KORA WAS ANXIOUS AND edgy, and she couldn’t calm her nerves no matter how hard she tried. She’d been at the hospital for over an hour, coming when her mother had called to let her know that Trina was in labor, and any minute now, Kora would be an aunt.
For the past sixty minutes, she’d been pacing the waiting room; however, it wasn’t the birth of her niece that had her on pins and needles.
No, that honor belonged to Donovan.
Since the day they’d met at Sam and Trina’s baby shower a little more than two weeks ago, they had spent endless days and nights together until he’d had to go back to New York last Monday. She hadn’t seen him in five days, and truth was, she hadn’t expected to see him again this soon.
Although they had talked on the phone every night since he’d gone back and probably sent a few hundred text messages back and forth during those days, she still missed him fiercely. So, if there was anything good that had come out of Sam’s cheating with her sister, it was the fact that she would get to see more of Donovan.
“Madison/Brashwood family.”
Kora stopped pacing, then turned to see a smiling nurse standing in the doorway of the waiting room. Taking a deep breath and smoothing down her shirt, Kora followed her parents over to see what the woman had to say.
“Mom and baby are fine. You’ll be able to go back to see them in about twenty minutes.”
Janet nodded, then grabbed hold of Kora’s father, hugging him tightly. Kora did her best to be happy for them, but the truth was, it still stung, what Sam and Trina had done to her, but more so that no one seemed to realize how shitty it was except her. And Donovan.
He’d been more than happy to share how he felt about the whole ordeal one night over dinner. In fact, he had even offered to confront Sam, but she had begged him not to. It was done and over, and though she would live with the reminder for the rest of her life, she wanted to put the past behind her.
Kora looked up in time to see a familiar woman walk into the waiting room, and she noticed it was Sam and Donovan’s mother. She gave Kora a quick glance, but she offered not even as much as a smile.
Looked as though Sam still hadn’t come clean to anyone.
Suddenly needing a breather, Kora tapped her mother on the shoulder. “I’ll be back,” she said, then headed out of the waiting room. She kept walking until she was outside. The brisk evening air felt good against her clammy skin, but it did little to slow her rapidly pounding heart.
She pulled her phone from her pocket, hoping to find a message from Donovan, but there wasn’t one. He should be there soon. He’d promised her he would be there, and for the first time in a long time, Kora had chosen to trust someone.
To trust him.
DONOVAN’S FLIGHT HAD BEEN delayed, and by the time he got to the car waiting to take him to the hospital, he had learned from the text from his mother that the baby had been born. Not that the timing mattered all that much, but he had wanted to be there with Kora by then, to stand at her side and make sure she remained strong.
They’d spent a significant amount of time getting to know one another in the past couple of weeks, and he had learned that no matter how hard she tried, what Sam and Trina had done to her still hurt. Which was to be expected. He wanted nothing more than to take away that pain, but he couldn’t. Only time would help her heal.
Once at the hospital, Donovan made his way inside, stopping at the gift shop and grabbing a flower arrangement for the baby before making his way up to the labor and delivery floor. The nurse smiled at him when he approached, then rattled off the room number when he asked. He peeked into the waiting room but found no one he recognized in there, so he ventured down the hall.
When he got to the hospital room, he heard voices coming from inside. They sounded calm and cool, happy even. That had to be a good thing.
Rapping his knuckles on the wood, Donovan pushed open the door and joined everyone inside, his eyes searching for Kora before he did anything else.
“Donovan,” Trina greeted. “We’re so glad you could make it. Would you like to meet your niece?”
Donovan gave Trina a brief nod, not bothering to look her way, then set the colorful flower arrangement down on the table beside her bed. “In just a minute,” he told her.
Without hesitating, he made a beeline for Kora. She was standing at the back of the room, behind everyone else, and he ignored the questionable looks as he sought her out.
“Hey,” he greeted, his chest swelling from how good it was to see her. The past five days had been hell, being away from her, only talking to her on the phone. He’d wanted to see her, to hold her, to fall asleep with her in his arms, but that had been impossible.
Kora’s eyes widened, and she looked almost scared as he neared.
He smiled, then wrapped his arms around her, pulled her against him, and crushed his mouth to hers. Not even the gasps from his mother could pull him away from this woman. And he didn’t stop kissing her until she’d relaxed and put her arms around him.
When she smiled against his mouth, he forced himself to pull back, grinning down at her. He knew what he’d done would cause a scene, but he didn’t much give a shit.
Placing his arm around Kora’s shoulders, he turned to face the rest of the people in the room.
“Sorry, had to get that out of the way,” he informed them, speaking to them as a whole. “I heard she’s doing well.” He nodded toward the baby.
“What the hell’s going on here?” Sam asked, his eyes narrowed on him and Kora.
“Nothing,” he replied nonchalantly. “Just came into town to meet my niece.”
“Then what’s this?” Sam fluttered his hand back and forth, apparently his attempt to refer to the kiss.
“What does it look like?”
“It looks like my brother’s hooking up with my girlfriend.”
The silence that followed that statement was deafening. Donovan cast a quick glance at Trina, who was lying on the bed with the baby in her arms, staring up at Sam in shock.
“Actually,” Donovan said, locking his gaze with Sam, “she’s my girlfriend.”
Kora slid her hand up the back of his shirt, causing him to suck in a breath and look over at her. She was smiling, and he suddenly wanted to spend the rest of his life making her look just like that.
“You hungry?” he asked her softly, pretending that there weren’t half a dozen sets of eyes glued on them at the moment.
“I am,” she confirmed.
“Then let me take you to dinner.” He looked back at Sam. “It was great to see you and congrats on the little one. I know y’all will be incredibly happy together.”
Sam glared at him, and Donovan couldn’t help but feel a little vindication on Kora’s behalf. What these two had done to her was shitty, and it didn’t even matter to him that Sam was his brother. This woman deserved a hell of a lot better than anyone in this room had shown her.
He fully intended to make sure they knew that from here on out.
And he planned to start by asking Kora to move to New York with him.
After dinner.
And maybe after dessert, which he fully intended to have in bed. Her bed.
The End
♥▫▫▫▫♥▫▫▫▫♥
I hope you enjoyed Presley and Jake’s story. This book took me entirely by surprise and I loved every single second of writing it. It was very interesting to look at my writing process from the “outside”.
Inked on Paper is standalone novel, but if you’re interested in checking out one of my many series, you can check them out
here
.
Want to see some fun stuff, you can find
extras
on my website. Or how about what’s coming next? I keep my website updated with the books I’m working on, including the
writing progression of what’s coming up for my standalone novels
.
Want a simple,
fast
way to get updates on new releases? If you’re in the U.S., you can also
sign up for text messaging
- just text NICOLE to 64600 or
fill out the form here
. I promise not to spam your phone. This is just my way of letting you know what’s happening because I know you’re busy, but if you’re anything like me, you always have your phone on you.
If you want to see what’s going on with me each week,
sign up for my weekly Hot Sheet
! It’s a short, entertaining weekly update of things going on in my life and that of the team that supports me. We’re a little crazy at times and this is a firsthand account of our antics.
And last but certainly not least, if you’re interested in getting monthly updates and announcements, you can
sign up for my monthly newsletter
.
And,
as always, thank you so much for reading. I hope you’ll be able to leave an honest review as this is the best way to share your thoughts about the book with others.
♥▫▫▫▫♥▫▫▫▫♥
About Nicole
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author Nicole Edwards lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, their three kids, and four rambunctious dogs. When she’s not writing about sexy alpha males, Nicole can often be found with her Kindle in hand or making an attempt to keep the dogs happy. You can find her hanging out on Facebook and interacting with her readers - even when she’s supposed to be writing.
Nicole also writes contemporary/new adult romance as Timberlyn Scott.
Nicole would love to hear from you!
Acknowledgments
I have to thank my family first, for putting up with my craziness. From my sudden outbursts when I think of something that needs to be added or when I question why one of the characters did what they did, to the strange hours that I keep and the days on end when I’m MIA because I’m under deadline or just engrossed in a story… Y’all are incredibly tolerant of me and for that, I am forever grateful. I love you with all that I am.
My street team – The Naughty & Nice Posse. Ladies, your daily pimping and support fills my heart with so much love. You are a blessing to me, each and every one of you.
My beta readers, Chancy and Denise. Ladies, I’m not sure thanks will ever be enough. However, not only are you the ones who catch the weird things and ask the bigger questions, you’ve both become my friends and you keep me going.
My copyeditor, Amy. Punctuation and grammar… well, that’s not my strong suit. But it is yours and you are truly remarkable at what you do. You simply amaze me and I am so glad that I found you.
Nicole Nation 2.0 for the constant support and love. This group of ladies has kept me going for so long, I’m not sure I’d know what to do without them.
And, of course, YOU, the reader. Your emails, messages, posts, comments, tweets… they mean more to me than you can imagine. I thrive on hearing from you, knowing that my characters and my stories have touched you in some way keeps me going. I’ve been known to shed a tear or two when reading an email because you simply bring so much joy to my life with your support. I thank you for that.
By Nicole Edwards
The Alluring Indulgence Series
What’s hotter than a Texas cowboy? Seven Texas cowboys.
All with a heart of gold and a sexy, devious side.
Holidays with the Walker Brothers
Come see how hot these powerful men and their lovely ladies can get.
All from the comfort of the infamous Club Destiny.
Love cowboys?
Love smokin’ hot cowboys and the sweet, sexy cowgirls they love?
Come on in and stay a while.
Sexy is just the beginning for these down home cowboys.
Add in a little country music, some big dreams and you’re in for a ride.