Post by breelavery on May 13, 2009 22:03:41 GMT -5
“Delinda, we’re supposed to be getting married in ten minutes,” Danny said as he entered the room where his fiancé and her girlfriends had been getting ready.
She nodded and turned to face him, one hand resting on her growing belly. “We’re not getting married.”
“What?”
“The wedding’s off, Danny. It’s clear that you don’t love me and I’m not going to put myself or my child in a position where we’ll be unhappy for the rest of our lives.”
“What about your feelings?” Danny couldn’t believe this was really happening. He’d known for a while that he wasn’t in love with her but for the sake of their child he hadn’t said anything.
“I love you but the feelings aren’t as strong this time. Let’s face it, Danny. If I wasn’t pregnant we wouldn’t be standing here right now. This baby is the only reason we stayed together.”
“Delinda—”
She shook her head, warding off his protests. “It’s okay. I know.”
“Know what?” He desperately wanted to believe that this was really happening but he couldn’t wrap his mind around what Delinda was saying. Months ago he had resigned himself to the fact that his new role in life would be husband and father. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t in love with the mother of his child he had to stand by his family. So he’d proposed, sacrificing the chance to finally be with the woman he loved, and eventually he had come to terms with the fact that he would spend the rest of his life with Delinda.
“I know that you’re in love with Sam. I’ve seen it. Everyone’s seen it.”
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“Because I wanted you to come to me, Danny. I wanted you to realize that this was a mistake and go after the woman that you truly love. This isn’t the life either of us wants.”
“Then why did you accept when I proposed?”
“I convinced myself that this would be best for our baby. That we needed to be married and create a family but I was wrong. I never should have said yes when you asked me to marry you. We would have been miserable and our son wouldn’t have had the life he deserves. You can still be part of his life just not like this. Not with a fake marriage and a fake life. You belong with Sam, Danny.”
“But Sam’s gone. She left an hour ago.”
“Her flight doesn’t leave for another two hours. You can catch her at the airport. Go to her. Tell her you love her so that the two of you can finally be together.”
“What about us?”
“Talk to Sam. Decide what to do and then we’ll work something out. Your son will know you even if we don’t stay in Vegas. You’ll always be part of his life.”
Danny smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank me for doing something you should have done months ago just go catch Sam before she makes a huge mistake. Make things right between the two of you and don’t ever let her go again.”
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“SAM!” Danny weaved his way through the heavy airport crowd toward the brunette sitting in front of a long row of windows.
Sam looked up and hoped flared in her heart when she saw Danny making his way toward her. She wanted to believe this was real but she couldn’t because he was supposed to be getting married today. Right now. He was supposed to be at the church with Delinda.
He finally reached her and sat down in the chair next to her. He’d never run that fast in his life and he had no desire to repeat the experience.
“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be getting married.” Her voice was tight and carefully controlled, not giving away anything that she was feeling at the moment. She had to do this. She couldn’t stay and watch the man she loved raise a family with another woman, one she considered her best friend. She didn’t resent Delinda but she did which that their positions were reversed.
“I’m not getting married. We called the wedding off.”
The hope she’d felt just moments earlier made itself known again but she refused to give in to it. This couldn’t be happening. Things like this never happened to her. She just didn’t have that kind of luck. She never had and it didn’t make sense to her that her luck would start changing now. “Don’t do this.” She was barely holding onto her control and she didn’t want to start crying in front of him. “Please don’t give me hope when there is none. Just leave.”
He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look up at him. “Listen to me, Sam. Just shut up and listen. I’m not marrying Delinda because I don’t love her. It took me this long to realize it and I had a little push in the right direction but what’s important is that I’m here now. It’s you, Sam. I love you. I always have. There’s never been anyone else.”
She sobbed once and shook her head. “You can’t do this now. I begged you months ago to be with me and you pushed me away because Delinda was pregnant. You broke my heart, Danny, and I still haven’t put it back together. I can’t—I won’t put myself through that again.”
“That’s too bad because I’m not leaving until you believe me. You’re the only one I want to be with. The only one I’ve ever wanted to be with. I know that I hurt when I proposed to Delinda but I want to make it up to you. Give me that chance, Sam. Let me show you how much you mean to me.”
Tears were now streaming freely down her face but she made no move to wipe them away. “How can I trust you? I gave you everything—everything—and you threw it back in my face. You left me standing there with my heart lying in pieces all around me. My whole life I’ve had to rely on myself and I never trusted anyone until I met you. I thought, this is it, this is the man I can spend the rest of my life and I’ll never have to worry about being hurt. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I won’t go through that again, Danny. I don’t have anything left to give.”
Danny felt his own heart break at her pain and he knew that he would do anything to heal her heart and make her see that she could trust him again. He hated that he had hurt her so badly before but he was going to make it up to her even if it took the rest of his life. “Baby, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I got caught up in the fact that Delinda was carrying my son but I’m here now. I’m here now and I’ll never leave you. I’ll never hurt you again. I want to be with you. All you have to do is say yes.”
“I want to. I really do, but—”
“Don’t over think this, just answer with your heart. What is it telling you?”
“I need your whole heart.”
“You have it, Sam. You’ve always had it.”
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
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Two years later
“Daddy!” Spencer McCoy exclaimed, taking a running leap and landing between his father and almost step-mother. The eighteen-month-old giggled excitedly as he bounced on his knees.
“Hey, buddy, what are you doing up so early?” Danny asked as he opened his eyes.
“Fireworks!”
“Buddy, we can’t see the fireworks until it’s dark outside.”
“When dark?”
“Not for a few hours.”
Spencer nodded and looked over at a still sleeping Sam. “Aunt Sam up?”
Sam shifted in her sleep and burrowed deeper into the blankets. “Too early. Go back to bed, Spence.”
“No seep. Up, up, up!”
She groaned and reached out, wrapping an arm around the little boy’s waist and pulling him against her side. “No up. It’s time to sleep, little big man.”
To Danny’s surprise, Spencer settled down and snuggled into Sam’s side. His son was usually a morning person but he must have been tired from staying up late the night before because not five minutes later, his green eyes were heavy with sleep. “Night night, Daddy,” he sighed.
Danny smiled and pressed a kiss into Spencer’s blonde hair. “Night, buddy.”
Sam’s lips twitched with the ghost of a smile as her brown eyes slowly blinked open. “He has to get that from Delinda.”
Danny laughed softly and reached across his son to stroke his fiancée’s cheek. “If he spends anymore time with you, he’ll sleep all day and stay up all night.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a perfectly acceptable lifestyle.”
“Marry me.”
He’d asked everyday since he had stopped her from leaving and every time she’d she wasn’t ready yet but today she hesitated. She looked down at the little boy curled into her side as he slept and at the man across from her, watching her intently with her moss green eyes and something in her heart shifted. Whispered that it was finally the right time. “Yes.”
Danny’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting that. He’d gotten used to hearing “I love you” in response to his proposal and her answer threw him for a loop. “What?”
“Yes. I’ll marry you. I want to marry you. I want to wake up like this every morning with the man I love and a little boy that I’m crazy about. This is everything I’ve wanted since I was a little girl and I’m finally ready to get married.”
He smiled and leaned across his son, brushing his lips over hers. “Do you have any idea how happy you just made me, Samantha Jane?”
“As happy as you made me that day in the airport when you convinced me not to leave. You’re everything, Danny, and I don’t want to spend another day not being your wife.”
Spencer wriggled in his sleep and hummed softly. “Stars go blue.”
It was part of the course to Sam’s favorite song and Danny couldn’t help laughing. “That song could be the theme for our relationship.”
Sam giggled softly and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before closing her eyes. “I love you.”
Before he could respond, she was sleep again and Danny was content to watch the love of his life and his son sleep. They were his whole world and he wouldn’t change that for anything. He and Sam had been through a lot but ultimately they had made it and he would never take that for granted. He’d almost lost her once and he wasn’t going to put himself in that position a second time. His entire life was in this bed with him and that was all he needed to be happy. “I love you,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around Sam and Spencer and closing his eyes.
She nodded and turned to face him, one hand resting on her growing belly. “We’re not getting married.”
“What?”
“The wedding’s off, Danny. It’s clear that you don’t love me and I’m not going to put myself or my child in a position where we’ll be unhappy for the rest of our lives.”
“What about your feelings?” Danny couldn’t believe this was really happening. He’d known for a while that he wasn’t in love with her but for the sake of their child he hadn’t said anything.
“I love you but the feelings aren’t as strong this time. Let’s face it, Danny. If I wasn’t pregnant we wouldn’t be standing here right now. This baby is the only reason we stayed together.”
“Delinda—”
She shook her head, warding off his protests. “It’s okay. I know.”
“Know what?” He desperately wanted to believe that this was really happening but he couldn’t wrap his mind around what Delinda was saying. Months ago he had resigned himself to the fact that his new role in life would be husband and father. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t in love with the mother of his child he had to stand by his family. So he’d proposed, sacrificing the chance to finally be with the woman he loved, and eventually he had come to terms with the fact that he would spend the rest of his life with Delinda.
“I know that you’re in love with Sam. I’ve seen it. Everyone’s seen it.”
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“Because I wanted you to come to me, Danny. I wanted you to realize that this was a mistake and go after the woman that you truly love. This isn’t the life either of us wants.”
“Then why did you accept when I proposed?”
“I convinced myself that this would be best for our baby. That we needed to be married and create a family but I was wrong. I never should have said yes when you asked me to marry you. We would have been miserable and our son wouldn’t have had the life he deserves. You can still be part of his life just not like this. Not with a fake marriage and a fake life. You belong with Sam, Danny.”
“But Sam’s gone. She left an hour ago.”
“Her flight doesn’t leave for another two hours. You can catch her at the airport. Go to her. Tell her you love her so that the two of you can finally be together.”
“What about us?”
“Talk to Sam. Decide what to do and then we’ll work something out. Your son will know you even if we don’t stay in Vegas. You’ll always be part of his life.”
Danny smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank me for doing something you should have done months ago just go catch Sam before she makes a huge mistake. Make things right between the two of you and don’t ever let her go again.”
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“SAM!” Danny weaved his way through the heavy airport crowd toward the brunette sitting in front of a long row of windows.
Sam looked up and hoped flared in her heart when she saw Danny making his way toward her. She wanted to believe this was real but she couldn’t because he was supposed to be getting married today. Right now. He was supposed to be at the church with Delinda.
He finally reached her and sat down in the chair next to her. He’d never run that fast in his life and he had no desire to repeat the experience.
“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be getting married.” Her voice was tight and carefully controlled, not giving away anything that she was feeling at the moment. She had to do this. She couldn’t stay and watch the man she loved raise a family with another woman, one she considered her best friend. She didn’t resent Delinda but she did which that their positions were reversed.
“I’m not getting married. We called the wedding off.”
The hope she’d felt just moments earlier made itself known again but she refused to give in to it. This couldn’t be happening. Things like this never happened to her. She just didn’t have that kind of luck. She never had and it didn’t make sense to her that her luck would start changing now. “Don’t do this.” She was barely holding onto her control and she didn’t want to start crying in front of him. “Please don’t give me hope when there is none. Just leave.”
He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look up at him. “Listen to me, Sam. Just shut up and listen. I’m not marrying Delinda because I don’t love her. It took me this long to realize it and I had a little push in the right direction but what’s important is that I’m here now. It’s you, Sam. I love you. I always have. There’s never been anyone else.”
She sobbed once and shook her head. “You can’t do this now. I begged you months ago to be with me and you pushed me away because Delinda was pregnant. You broke my heart, Danny, and I still haven’t put it back together. I can’t—I won’t put myself through that again.”
“That’s too bad because I’m not leaving until you believe me. You’re the only one I want to be with. The only one I’ve ever wanted to be with. I know that I hurt when I proposed to Delinda but I want to make it up to you. Give me that chance, Sam. Let me show you how much you mean to me.”
Tears were now streaming freely down her face but she made no move to wipe them away. “How can I trust you? I gave you everything—everything—and you threw it back in my face. You left me standing there with my heart lying in pieces all around me. My whole life I’ve had to rely on myself and I never trusted anyone until I met you. I thought, this is it, this is the man I can spend the rest of my life and I’ll never have to worry about being hurt. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I won’t go through that again, Danny. I don’t have anything left to give.”
Danny felt his own heart break at her pain and he knew that he would do anything to heal her heart and make her see that she could trust him again. He hated that he had hurt her so badly before but he was going to make it up to her even if it took the rest of his life. “Baby, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I got caught up in the fact that Delinda was carrying my son but I’m here now. I’m here now and I’ll never leave you. I’ll never hurt you again. I want to be with you. All you have to do is say yes.”
“I want to. I really do, but—”
“Don’t over think this, just answer with your heart. What is it telling you?”
“I need your whole heart.”
“You have it, Sam. You’ve always had it.”
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two years later
“Daddy!” Spencer McCoy exclaimed, taking a running leap and landing between his father and almost step-mother. The eighteen-month-old giggled excitedly as he bounced on his knees.
“Hey, buddy, what are you doing up so early?” Danny asked as he opened his eyes.
“Fireworks!”
“Buddy, we can’t see the fireworks until it’s dark outside.”
“When dark?”
“Not for a few hours.”
Spencer nodded and looked over at a still sleeping Sam. “Aunt Sam up?”
Sam shifted in her sleep and burrowed deeper into the blankets. “Too early. Go back to bed, Spence.”
“No seep. Up, up, up!”
She groaned and reached out, wrapping an arm around the little boy’s waist and pulling him against her side. “No up. It’s time to sleep, little big man.”
To Danny’s surprise, Spencer settled down and snuggled into Sam’s side. His son was usually a morning person but he must have been tired from staying up late the night before because not five minutes later, his green eyes were heavy with sleep. “Night night, Daddy,” he sighed.
Danny smiled and pressed a kiss into Spencer’s blonde hair. “Night, buddy.”
Sam’s lips twitched with the ghost of a smile as her brown eyes slowly blinked open. “He has to get that from Delinda.”
Danny laughed softly and reached across his son to stroke his fiancée’s cheek. “If he spends anymore time with you, he’ll sleep all day and stay up all night.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a perfectly acceptable lifestyle.”
“Marry me.”
He’d asked everyday since he had stopped her from leaving and every time she’d she wasn’t ready yet but today she hesitated. She looked down at the little boy curled into her side as he slept and at the man across from her, watching her intently with her moss green eyes and something in her heart shifted. Whispered that it was finally the right time. “Yes.”
Danny’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting that. He’d gotten used to hearing “I love you” in response to his proposal and her answer threw him for a loop. “What?”
“Yes. I’ll marry you. I want to marry you. I want to wake up like this every morning with the man I love and a little boy that I’m crazy about. This is everything I’ve wanted since I was a little girl and I’m finally ready to get married.”
He smiled and leaned across his son, brushing his lips over hers. “Do you have any idea how happy you just made me, Samantha Jane?”
“As happy as you made me that day in the airport when you convinced me not to leave. You’re everything, Danny, and I don’t want to spend another day not being your wife.”
Spencer wriggled in his sleep and hummed softly. “Stars go blue.”
It was part of the course to Sam’s favorite song and Danny couldn’t help laughing. “That song could be the theme for our relationship.”
Sam giggled softly and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before closing her eyes. “I love you.”
Before he could respond, she was sleep again and Danny was content to watch the love of his life and his son sleep. They were his whole world and he wouldn’t change that for anything. He and Sam had been through a lot but ultimately they had made it and he would never take that for granted. He’d almost lost her once and he wasn’t going to put himself in that position a second time. His entire life was in this bed with him and that was all he needed to be happy. “I love you,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around Sam and Spencer and closing his eyes.