Broken Love (33 page)

Ryder’s arm pulled me closer as he gazed down at me. “I know, but knowing you had such a huge part in this, and will continue to, is more than amazing.”

“It was Kate’s name and work that caught Michael’s eye … not mine.”

He shook his head. “You are amazing, do you know that?”

I snuggled back down into Ryder’s side. “This whole day has been amazing.”

“Yes, it has.”

We both settled in while my body began to relax.

I swore I heard a little girl’s voice calling out Ryder’s name as sleep started to claim me. Smiling, I whispered, “Kate,” before drifting into a dream where Ryder carried a little girl with light-brown curly hair and bright blue eyes on his shoulders.

And her name was … Kate.

One year later

MY MOTHER SIGHED. “Ava, you need to slow down. You’re making me a nervous wreck with how you’re rushing all over the place.”

“We’re late.”

Hearing her sigh only made me sigh … again. “Ava, I’m just saying I think you need to slow down. I mean, you’re building a house on the ranch, you’ve just remodeled part of the house in Helena, and now you’re rushing around Paris. You
need
to slow down!”

Ryder and I had decided to move into Lizzy and Robert’s house while having a house built on the ranch. Once the ranch house was completed, we would live there full time, but spend time in Helena as well. As much as I loved the old house in Helena, I was still a country girl at heart and I wanted to raise my child in the country.

I laughed. “Mom, we’re late and I have to be there early.”

“Sweetheart, you’re pregnant!”

“So? Why is me being pregnant have anything to do with this?”

I knew I wasn’t being fair to my mother. It had to be hard for her with me living in Montana. Then throw in I was expecting my first child in a few months. My parents, Walker, Liza, and Nickolas had flown into Paris yesterday and it had been nothing but rushing ever since we picked them up from the airport.

“It doesn’t, I’m your mother and it’s my job to worry. Anyway, change of subject.” Turning to Lucy and Nate Sr., my mother asked, “Are you both just so excited?”

“Yes. Beyond excited!” Lucy exclaimed.

Nate walked in and got everyone’s attention. “We really need to head down to the limo now if we want to be there early.”

“Ava, do you need to use the restroom before we leave?” my mother asked as Nate laughed.

“Yeah, Ava. Do you need to use the potty?” Nate teased as his father smacked him across the back of the head.

Rolling my eyes, I placed my hand on my six-month pregnant belly. “I’m good, Mom.”

My father came up and walked next to me. “Cut your mom some slack. She is jet lagged and hasn’t seen you in months. Let her baby you some.”

Smiling, I stopped, reached up, and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m so glad y’all are here. I really am. I’ve missed you both so much.”

He kissed my forehead softly. “We’ve missed you too, sweetheart. We are both so proud of you. I know tonight the main focus is on Kate’s work, but I want you to know that when they preview your spring line, I’m going to be yelling out that you’re my daughter.”

Laughing, I felt the tears build up in my eyes. “I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too.”

My eyes filled with tears as I blinked rapidly to keep them back. Ryder took my hand and kissed the back of it. “You ready?”

Taking in a deep breath, I replied, “As I’m ever going to be.”

Ryder held the limo door open and helped me as I crawled in. Lucy, Nate Sr., Jennifer, Jackson, Dani, and Nate, as well as my parents, all followed in behind me. Ryder slid in last and sat next to me. My heart started to pound in my chest as I looked at Kate’s family. This was it. This was the moment they had been waiting for.

My mother snuggled up next to my father and smiled when he whispered something in her ear. I was so happy my family was here. Walker and Liza would be taking a separate car since they had Nickolas and didn’t want to arrive as early as we had to.

I couldn’t help the smile on my face as I watched Jackson and Jennifer. The two of them had grown close over the last year. Both insisting they were only friends, but I could see the way they looked at each other. I knew Jennifer struggled with the fact that Jackson was so in love with her sister. If only she would try to open her heart to the idea. I could see Jackson was tearing himself up by fighting his feelings for Jennifer.

Turning to look out the window, I decided to do something about the two of them once we got back to the states.

Turning to ask Ryder if he remembered my Tic Tacs, my latest pregnancy craving, I noticed Lucy. She was staring at me.

“Are you okay, Lucy?”

She smiled sweetly. “Very much okay. I just want to say one thing while everyone is in the car.”

I squeezed Ryder’s hand.

Nate threw up his hands and said, “I swear it wasn’t me who had sex with that model in the bar last night.”

Everyone turned to look at Nate. “Oh, was that not what you were going to talk about?”

Nate Sr. shook his head, “Jesus H. Christ. And this is what I spawned.”

Covering my mouth to hide my smile, I peeked up at Ryder who was shooting Nate a dirty look.

Lucy cleared her throat. “No, but thank you for clearing that up for us, darling.”

Nate smiled and nodded his head as Jennifer punched him in the arm while Jackson and Dani laughed.

“What I wanted to say was thank you to Ava. Since you came into our world in a whirlwind flash, nothing has been the same. Because of you, we are about to see our beloved Kate’s dreams come true. But I don’t want this to just be about Kate, because you, my sweet girl, should be so proud to have two of your own designs in this show. I can’t express enough how proud we all are of you, Ava. It warms my heart to see you be able to follow your dreams, and I know if Kate was here she’d be saying the same thing.”

Oh dear. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry. Dani handed me a tissue and I dabbed the corner of each eye while my mother reached over and took my hand.

“Thank you, Lucy, so much.”

Ryder reached over and rubbed my stomach. “Kate is here. Tucked away and enjoying every moment.”

“She is!” Jennifer said with a huge smile.

When we found out I was having a girl, there wasn’t a second thought to what her name would be.

Kate.

“We’re here,” Ryder said.

While Ryder and everyone went to their seats, I made my way backstage. Any last minute adjustments, I wanted to be a part of.

“There she is!” Renee said as she walked up and hugged me. “How are you feeling?”

“Amazing! Tired! Nervous … scared … I may puke.”

“You can blame that all on the little one,” Renee said with a laugh while rubbing my stomach.

By the time the show started, something kicked in and I was running on adrenaline and excitement.

I cried when each of Kate’s designs went out. Peeking out, I watched Ryder and his family do the same. I even saw Nate quickly wipe a tear away. Jackson sat with a huge smile on his face. I couldn’t help but notice when he reached for Jennifer’s hand and held it.

Kate’s wedding gowns would be in the Barcelona wedding show along with three of my own. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to fly in for that because it was a week before my due date. I was holding out hope though. Even though Ryder had already said no.

Michael was introduced after the show and walked out on stage. Renee came up and stood next to me as I looked over the two models in front of me. “You both look beautiful,” I said with a huge smile.

They both wore dresses I had designed that were a throwback to the early nineteen thirties. One was called the Lizzy and the other Kathleen. Named after the two women who inspired the designs.

I reached up and adjusted the pin holding the pill cap hat on the one model. “The black lace looks amazing up against your blue eyes,” I told the model.

“Thank you, Ms. Montgomery.”

“Ava, please call me Ava.”

“This is it!” Renee called out.

Michael was introducing a sneak preview of the spring line of
Ava Grace
. My heart raced as the first model walked out. Renee took my hand and squeezed it and said, “Welcome to the party!”

Laughing, I adjusted the hat one more time before ushering the next model out. Taking a few deep breaths, I turned to Renee. “What if I fall?”

Shaking her head, she simply said, “Don’t. A pregnant woman falling on a runway will not look sexy at all.”

Michael introduced me as I said a quick prayer I wouldn’t trip, slip, or puke. When I walked out, the only person I saw was Ryder standing there with a huge bouquet of white and pink roses. I focused on him at first as I started walking. Looking around, I smiled and said thank you before kissing Michael on each cheek. Turning to my parents, I almost started crying. My father and Walker were both wiping tears away. Liza and my mother were wearing huge smiles on their faces while clapping like crazy.

I brought my attention back to my handsome husband. Taking the flowers, I kissed him on the lips. “Thank you.” I said as I wiped my tears quickly away.

“I’m so proud of you, Ava.”

“Thank you, but do you know what I want more than anything?” I asked.

He shook his head. “What?”

“A peanut butter and strawberry sandwich on sourdough toast.”

With a wink, he replied, “I’ll get right on that.”

When he placed his hand on my stomach, Kate kicked. We both looked down at his hand and then back up at each other.

Closing my eyes, I smiled. Life had never been so utterly perfect.

Thank you, Kate.

Kelly Elliott is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling contemporary romance author. Since finishing her bestselling Wanted series, Kelly continues to spread her wings while remaining true to her roots and giving readers stories rich with hot protective men, strong women and beautiful surroundings.

Kelly has been passionate about writing since she was fifteen. After years of filling journals with stories, she finally followed her dream and published her first novel,
Wanted
, in November of 2012.