Loving You (38 page)
Authors: Maureen Child
“This is why you're crying?”
Tasha blew out a breath, ruffling the hair that fell across her forehead. “Read it, Nick.”
He looked from her tear-washed eyes to the paper in his hand, then started reading.â¦
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My Sweet Tasha
,
I'm writing a letter to both you and Jonas, because I'm not getting any younger, you know. And one of these days, I might wake up dead
.
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Nick chuckled, and glanced at Tasha. Her smile quivered, but there was a peace in her eyes he hadn't seen before. “Go on,” she urged.
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Not that I'm planning on dying anytime soon, but you just never know. But I didn't want to talk about me
.
Tasha honey, you're a wonderful girl. You've been the daughter of my heart since that rainy night in LA ten years ago. I knew then we were destined to find each other. Of course, I figured that I was supposed to help you. To teach you. But you taught me, sweetie. You taught me that a true diamond can't be crushed no matter how many hits it takes
.
And when the bruises around your heart finally heal, I hope you find someone who deserves you. And when you find him, grab him, Tasha, and hold on tight. If you have to choose between being safe and being loved ⦠always choose love
.
As I chose to love you
.
Mimi
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Nick blew out a breath. “She wrote one of these to Jonas, too?”
“Uh-huh. It says he's not to open it until he's eighteen, so God knows what she said to him,” Tasha said with a choked-off laugh.
“She was really something, wasn't she?” Nick lifted his gaze to Tasha's.
“You would have liked her.” Tasha took the letter
and tucked it carefully into its envelope. “She would have
loved
you.”
“As long as
you
love me, baby,” he said, pulling her up close, “that's all I'll ever need.”
Tasha wrapped her arms around his neck and held on. Her heart felt lighter than it had in years. Her future was stretched out in front of her and she saw love in Nick's eyes. A few short months ago, she'd been terrified of losing her only family.
Now she had more family than she knew what to do with. And yet, there was always room for one more.
“So,” she asked, keeping her gaze locked on his, “what are you hoping forâgirl? Or boy?”
He laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. “Girl or boy what?”
Tasha just smiled at him and counted off the seconds until realization dawned on Nick's face.
“Are youâ”
“Yep.”
“You're sure?”
“Way sure.”
His eyes were wide enough to pop out of his head. She hoped they didn't. Her stomach was a little queasy just thinking about it.
“When?”
“In about seven months.”
“Shouldn't you be sitting down?” he asked, looking around the room but coming up empty.
“I'd rather be kissed.”
“We can do both.” Nick bent down, scooped her up into his arms, and cradled her against him.
Then
he kissed her.
And Tasha held on for the ride of her life.
USA Today
bestselling author
Maureen Child
has assumed different identities to write a total of 115 books in several different genres. One of her paranormal westerns was made into a CBS-TV movie called
The Soul Collector.
Her books have won the National Reader's Choice award, the Colorado Award of Excellence, the Prism, and the Golden Quill among others. Maureen's a seven-time finalist for RWA's RITA award and her books regularly hit the bestseller lists. Along the way, she's dodged a few asteroids and also lived through some direct hits. The real secret to a writing career is persistence and adaptability.
Being able to survive an asteroid blast doesn't hurt.
Maureen and her family, native Californians, now live in the mountains of Utah where they're learning to deal with snow.
Visit her at:
www.maureenchild.com
or sign up for email updates
here
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Contents
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
LOVING YOU. Copyright © 2003 by Maureen Child.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Author photo © Melissa Hackett
Cover design by Crystal Ben
Cover photographs by Shutterstock
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].
eISBN 9781466893429
First eBook Edition: August 2015