Something borrowed somet.., p.28
Something Borrowed, Something You, page 28
“I love you, kiddo.”
“I love you, too, Dad.”
She pulled back and scrunched up her nose. “You didn’t get snot in my hair, did you?”
I pretended to pull something from the top of her head. “Oh yeah, big green chunks.”
“You’re gross.”
I smiled from ear to ear. “But you love me anyway.”
She rolled her eyes but the grin never left her face. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”
“Abso-freaking-lutely.” I pulled the phone out of my pocket and started to scroll. “I’m already ordering you an I’m with Dad T-shirt.”
“Great. I’ll exchange it for an I’m with Stupid one.”
I mussed her hair. “Be careful driving home.”
“I don’t want to wake my mom, so tell her I said goodbye. I’ll come back tomorrow morning if she’s not released by then.”
“Will do.”
After the door closed behind Izzy, I stood there for a minute, still absorbing what had just gone down.
“I guess you gained two daughters today?” Nat whispered.
My head swung around. “You heard that?”
She smiled and nodded her head.
I let out a big breath. “Thank God. Because I wasn’t sure you would believe me when I told you.”
Nat scooted over on the bed and patted the spot next to her. “Grab our little girl and come here, you big crybaby.”
I chuckled and did as I was told, settling our little peanut into her mother’s arms before climbing into bed and joining her. I draped my arm around my wife’s shoulders, and we both looked down in awe.
“Did Izzy tell you she was going to do that?” I asked.
“Nope. She didn’t mention a word.”
“I’m blown away. I still can’t believe she wants to call me Dad.”
Nat smiled. “You’ve been a father to her since the first time you guys met. That might be what most attracted me to you.”
“And here I thought it was my big—”
My wife pressed her finger to my mouth, stopping me from saying what I was about to say. “Shh … don’t say that in front of your daughter.”
I smiled and looked down at Baby Girl Delucia. “What are we going to name this little munchkin?”
“I actually thought of something I really love. I think you’re going to love it, too.”
“Considering it took us six months to come up with Sebastian, I’m curious to hear what you think is going to make us agree on something on the first try.”
“Jacey. J-A-C-E-Y. Like your brother, but a little more girly. You didn’t want to give our son Jayce’s first name, because you wanted him to have his own. This would honor him while still giving our daughter her own identity. Plus, it sounds adorable.”
My damn eyes filled with water yet again. “I love it.”
Nat smiled. “Me, too. Are you crying again?”
“No.” I swiped at the wetness on my cheeks. “I got something in my eyes.”
“Yeah.” She laughed. “Tears.”
We were both went silent again, staring down at Baby Jacey. It was surreal that I was a dad after all these years.
“I can’t believe we have a baby, Hunter. You’ve made all of my dreams come true.”
“I’m glad. Because you’ve done better than that for me, sweetheart. Real life with you is better than any dream I’ve ever had.”
Dear Readers,
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Acknowledgments
I owe everything to my amazing readers. Thank you for giving me your time and allowing my stories to become your stories. You’ve made dreams beyond my wildest imagination come true, and I’m truly humbled that many of you have been with me for so many years. I hope we have many more together.
To Penelope—It always takes me the longest to figure out what I want to say to you in my acknowledgments. Mostly it’s because if I listed all the reasons I’m thankful for you, it would be longer than this book. So, I’ll summarize—it would suck if you weren’t by my side each day. Thank you for … everything.
To Julie—Thank you for your friendship and inspiration. Your stories are as one of a kind as you are.
To Luna—Welcome home! Thank you for all that you’ve helped me with for this book! But mostly, thank you for your friendship and constant support.
To Sommer—I never think you’ll be able to top the last beautiful cover you create, yet somehow you do. This one is simply stunning. Thank you! Thank you!
To my agent and friend, Kimberly Brower—I’m proud to have a front-row seat as you keep growing and changing the book world. When I look back, I’m in awe at what you’ve done for me, but when I look forward, I realize it was only the beginning! I can’t wait for all the new and exciting things we get to announce this year!
To Elaine and Jessica—Thank you for your hard work and pushing me to keep making each story better!
To Dani at Inkslinger—Thank you for keeping me organized!
To all of the incredible book bloggers—Thank you for your constant support. I recognize how lucky I am to have such an amazing group of partners to help share my books. I see you posting tirelessly, day in, day out, and I want you to know I appreciate all that you do. Your passion for books is contagious, and your reviews, videos, and teasers set my books on fire! Thank you for taking your time to read my work.
Much love,
Vi
OTHER BOOKS BY VI KEELAND
Something Unexpected
The Game
The Boss Project
The Summer Proposal
The Spark
The Invitation
The Rivals
Inappropriate
All Grown Up
We Shouldn’t
The Naked Truth
Beautiful Mistake
Egomaniac
Bossman
The Baller
Left Behind
Beat
Throb
Worth the Fight
Worth the Chance
Worth Forgiving
Belong to You
Made for You
What Happens at the Lake
The Unraveling
OTHER BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD AND VI KEELAND
The Rules of Dating
The Rules of Dating My Best Friend’s Sister
The Rules of Dating My One-Night Stand
Well Played
Not Pretending Anymore
Happily Letter After
My Favorite Souvenir
Dirty Letters
Hate Notes
Rebel Heir
Rebel Heart
Cocky Bastard
Stuck-Up Suit
Playboy Pilot
Mister Moneybags
British Bedmate
Park Avenue Player
About the Author
VI KEELAND is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have been translated into twenty-six languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria, Israel, and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children, where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Epilogue
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Other Books by Vi Keeland
About the Author
Copyright
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.
SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING YOU
Copyright © 2017 by Vi Keeland
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Getty Images and Adobe Stock
A Bramble Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates / Tor Publishing Group
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271
www.torpublishinggroup.com
Bramble™ is a trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-35978-0 (trade paperback)
ISBN 978-1-250-35979-7 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250359797
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
Previously self-published by the author as Sex, Not Love in 2017
First Tor Edition: 2024
Vi Keeland, Something Borrowed, Something You
