An Unnamed Baby Comes To Lake Cliff And A Whole New Chapter!
Surprise, Perverts!
I’ve finished it! Lake Cliff 6 is through the writing phase and I’m settling in to edit. If you watched the video, I warned you that we wouldn’t be seeing a lot about this one until it was released. There’s big things in this book and I want you to be surprised. We’re definitely in Lake Cliff but it’s a very different book. I had to find a way to make it feel fresh and keep you guessing.
I didn’t plan to post an excerpt unless I could find one that gave away absolutely nothing about the rest of the book. I realized this chapter is perfect for you. It answers your most important questions from the end of Bleed And Seek in one fell swoop and tells you nothing! Well… We see Lavender’s heart breaking and just how hopelessly in love he is and we’re reminded that he isn’t built like the rest of us. This chapter shows us that this story won’t go where we expected and we should always expect more from Lavender.
I’m thinking about calling this one Find And Keep. It’s fitting and will look good next to the other titles. ALSO! I planned for Lake Cliff 6 to be a fun romp with a baby when I picked his name. Now, I’ve decided on a different path for Sage and Lavender’s son and Archer isn’t going to work. I’ve got to go back and change his name. I haven’t figured that out yet. Names are the bane of my existence. While I make up my mind, here’s a peek at that not nearly edited and finalized chapter:
“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to have your parents here?” Lavender asked as he paused in front of the window and looked down on Chicago. The view usually centered him but even The Langham couldn’t soothe his raw nerves. Everything felt inflamed and tender. How could he do this to us? How could some woman I’ve only met a few times and only heard mentioned in passing turn our lives inside out?
“No. I think it would be best if it was just us, at first. They’ll be here in about twenty minutes,” Sage said as he flipped through a magazine and Lavender nodded as he breathed through the burning in his chest. Sage was in so much pain. Lavender stood by his side as he buried his best friend and sat through hours of legal negotiations with her parents’ lawyers but the two of them couldn’t talk about any of it without fighting.
“Are you sure you want me here?” Lavender asked and Sage’s cheeks puffed out as he tossed the magazine on the table and stood.
“Of course I want you here,” he insisted and Lavender nodded faintly.
“I suppose you don’t have a choice now,” he replied and Sage swore as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“It’s not that I was hiding you or ashamed of you before. Why can’t you be reasonable about this? Look at our lives since we met! You understood when Lane told his family to stay away whenever it wasn’t safe, why can’t you see that this was like that?” He asked.
“What about all the times we visited Chicago, when things were perfectly calm? You loved her enough to have a child with her but we couldn’t have gone to brunch any of the times we were in town?” Lavender said and Sage threw his hands up.
“Don’t you see how complicated that would have made things for everyone? I wasn’t sure how safe it was for any of my friends to hang out with us and I didn’t know she was pregnant until right before the wedding. Her and I agreed that it was best for all of us if we kept a distance. He was always meant to be her son and I wouldn’t be involved unless she needed me. I was willing to accept responsibility for him but I didn’t do it because I wanted to have a child. I just did it for her. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t know how you’d take it and he was never meant to be a part of our relationship,” he explained and Lavender shook his head. It still didn’t make sense.
“You didn’t think he’d have questions and want to meet you some day? Were you going to wait until he was twenty and on our doorstep to tell me?”
“We’d be so solid by then! Our life would be exactly where we wanted it to be and it wouldn’t feel like we were being ripped apart,” Sage said and his voice broke. Lavender turned back to the window as a tear rolled down his cheek.
“I wish we were solid enough for you to have told me before. I thought that was why you married me.”
“We were!” Sage cried. Lavender shut his eyes as Sage’s arms wrapped around his shoulders. Sage trembled behind him as his lips brushed against his ear. “We were so happy and everything was so beautiful and exciting. I didn’t want to scare you by bringing a baby into it if he was never going to be a factor. I just wanted to focus on us and she wanted to focus on being a mom. That’s all she wanted and she was scared we’d change our minds and try and take him from her. So, I gave her space and didn’t push you two together. We decided Archer would be her son and it would have complicated things if we became involved with him. This was never supposed to happen. She was in perfect health, why would a thirty-five year old woman have a stroke?” He pressed his face against Lavender’s shoulder as he fought back a sob. Tears pelted onto the tile in front of Lavender’s toes and his heart felt like it was sliced in two but he pushed his hands into the pockets of his trousers and waited for his vision to clear.
“I hoped that was a choice we’d make together,” he said softly.
“I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want this,” Sage said and Lavender shook his head as he watched the street below.
“I did. Later. I think,” he admitted. He’d spent weeks upgrading the security at home. His collection in the “office” was protected behind so many layers of retina and fingerprint scanners and required so many different codes to access, it was almost too tedious to bother with anymore. And it was all temporary. The whole collection would have to be moved once Archer was old enough to roam the house freely. “I thought we would have more time. It’s my first home, Sage. I wanted to enjoy it with you a bit more before we let a child take over.”
“You want to leave,” Sage whispered and Lavender nodded.
“I could get a place in London and oversee the building of the new store. That would keep me distracted and the distance might give us some clarity. We’d certainly fight a lot less,” he said and Sage stifled another sob as he shook his head.
“Please don’t,” he rasped and Lavender laughed softly.
“What would be the point? I’d suffer for about a week before I turned around and came home. I can be angry and hurt here or I can be angry and hurt in London. The only difference is you won’t be in London,” he said then allowed Sage to turn him. His eyes were shattered and his lip quivered as he gathered Lavender’s face in his hands.
“I will make this up to you and one day you’ll forgive me. We’re going to be happy again, I promise,” he said then kissed him. Lavender sank into it and felt some of the cuts and burns in his heart begin to heal.
“They’ll be here soon, we should straighten ourselves up,” he said then pecked at Sage’s lips before he released him. He followed Sage into the bathroom and dampened a washcloth and handed it to him then prepared one for himself. “I’ve decided it’s time for a more sensible car,” he announced and dabbed at his face then nodded in approval at the mirror. Nothing looked puffy or too red. He glanced at Sage as he blew his nose into a tissue loudly. He looked like he’d been crying. All he did was cry lately.
“What are you talking about?” He asked as he bent over and splashed cold water on his face.
“I can’t put a car seat in the McLaren. I was thinking a Flying Spur might be more appropriate,” he said and Sage’s eyes were wide as he looked up from the sink at him.
“That’s really huge but I’ve got the Honda. We could just drive that,” he offered and Lavender clenched his jaw as his temper bubbled.
“I have my limits and do you really think you’re in a position to deny me a car at the moment?” He said and Sage’s lips pulled in as he nodded.
“You have a point,” he said and they both looked at the door as they heard a knock. “They’re here,” Sage whispered then swallowed hard. “I’m about to meet my son,” he added hoarsely and Lavender gripped his arm.
“We can do this,” he said and Sage’s face softened as their eyes met.
“I love you so much,” he said as he took his hand and squeezed it. Lavender nodded as he pulled their hands against his chest.
“I love you too.” He kissed him quickly then turned him toward the door. “Time to rip off the bandage,” Lavender stated and they both took a deep breath before Sage opened the door.
“Hello, come in,” Sage said gently as he offered George and Kay Breckman an encouraging smile. They were still as frail and devastated as they were at the funeral and the reception. Lavender bowed his head solemnly as he waved them in. It was so rare for him to witness actual grief. He spent more than twenty years delivering death but grief was never his purview and his victims rarely deserved it. Grief still hadn’t touched him personally but it was profoundly unsettling to see Sage and the Breckman’s struggling as they stared at each other behind brittle smiles. Lavender’s eyes dropped to the rather elegant stroller and he became impatient as it was pushed past him. The hood was down, blocking the baby but he nodded slightly. He’d done his research and ordered the same Silver Cross Aston Martin edition stroller. It would make much more sense to buy an Aston Martin instead of a Bentley…
“Thank you for agreeing to meet us here,” George said as he offered Lavender his hand and he nodded as he took it.
“Of course. This is a second home for us, we’re often here,” he said and George appeared to relax. Sage promised the Breckman’s they’d bring Archer to Chicago regularly so they could see him. They were also welcome to visit Lake Cliff but Kay confessed that the drive back would be incredibly emotional for them without Archer. While they were too distraught and unprepared to raise an infant, letting go of Archer right after losing Madeline was difficult for them.
“He fell asleep on the way over, so we kept this down so he wouldn’t wake up,” Kay whispered as she pushed the hood back and Lavender could feel Sage’s chest lock as they stood next to each other, his tightened as well as he held his breath and leaned so he could see into the stroller. Lavender’s nose began to tingle and burn as a head full of golden curls caused his heart to flutter. He was in awe of Archer’s cheeks, they were so full and looked so soft. And how could a nose be so tiny and perfect? He was dressed in a rather dapper navy and white striped knit jumper and Lavender’s head tilted as Archer waved his tiny fist and yawned. His eyes opened and they were the softest green and Lavender knew him. His eyes began to blur again and he sniffed hard to clear them then nodded as he stared down at Archer.
“I think he’s more of an Aston Martin sort of fellow, don’t you?” He asked as he looked at Sage. He was just as dazed as Lavender.
“What?” He laughed.
“I don’t think the Bentley would do,” Lavender decided and and Sage shook his head slowly. The Breckmans looked completely baffled.
“I really don’t think he cares,” Sage said and Lavender waved dismissively.
“You wouldn’t understand,” he said as he smiled at Archer. He would, one day. Lavender knew because he could see it in his eyes. They were so much like Sage’s but there was a spark of something clever and quick. Lavender saw it and he felt it. And Lavender loved him.
If you haven’t read the Lake Cliff series, you’d better hurry! This one’s going to be a wild ride and a lot of fun. And super filthy, despite this very sad excerpt. You’ll be glad we got that out of the way, the rest is absolutely bananas. Here’s the whole damn series in a bundle for $3 to get you caught up:
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The Boys Of Lake Cliff on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ESNpv9
