Jamie McGuire - Eden

We had spent the last ten month is utter bliss. I finished my senior year at Brown as any other student, sans husband and child. No more looking over my shoulder. No more fear. Life was normal. Better than normal. We were living our happily ever after, and our daughter watched our absolute joy in our new freedom.

“Nina Grey Ryel,” the announcer called.

I walked up the stairs and across the stage, taking my diploma from the president. She greeted me, and I made my way across, shaking the hands of people I’d never met, but were obviously important at Brown University.

Beth and Jared, Tucker, Josh and Lisa were among my classmates, and we were all both sad and excited that we had finally made it to graduation.

After the ceremony, we made our way to the gate, and danced through the famed Van Winkle gates with the band and Bruno, the Brown mascot. Beth and I laughed and skipped all the way down the street, meeting my family at the end.

I was surrounded with hugs and kisses from my in-laws, and even from my mother. Eden reached for me, and Jared handed her to me, trading her for a kiss. Eden wrapped her chubby arms around my neck, tangling her fingers in my hair, and opening her mouth to give me a big, wet baby kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, thank you!” I said with a smile.

“I thought we could meet for dinner,” Lillian chirped.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Do we need to bring anything?”

“Nope,” she winked. “I’ve been at it all morning.” She kissed me again, and then nuzzled Eden’s cheek before kissing her children goodbye. “See you at six!”

Jared stuffed his hands in his pockets. “We might be a little late, Mom. We’ve got to make a stop.”

“Oh?” I said.

“It’s your graduation present.”

“What is it?” I said, lighting up.

Jared laughed. “You know I won’t tell you!”

I feigned disappointment. “I loathe surprises!”

“No, you don’t,” he said, hugging me to his side.

Claire winked at Jared. “We’ll see you guys at dinner. Congratulations! Bye, Edie!” She kissed Eden’s fat fingers, and then she and Ryan walked to her Exige, wrapped in each other’s arms. Bex rolled his eyes and reluctantly followed.

“I need to change,” I said.

“Okay. We can do that, too.”

Jared drove to the outskirts of town. We were on the same road as the warehouse, so I squirmed in my seat with excitement, believing Jared was taking me to see Eli. But we stopped several hundred yards from the warehouse. I could barely see it.

Jared pulled into the driveway of a two-story house.

“Where are we?”

“Home,” he smiled.

“Huh?” I said, taken aback. I looked at the house again. It was white with green shutters and porch with a swing. Very Norman Rockwell.

“Let’s go,” Jared said. As soon as his door shut, mine opened, and then he opened the back door to unfasten Eden from her car seat. “Come on!” he said, barely able to contain his enthusiasm.

I held his hand, and we walked to the front door. Jared used the key, and then pushed the door open. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The inside was identical to the loft. The same pictures on the walls, the same decorations, even the same layout. The only difference was that the upstairs wasn’t visible.

“It’s ours?” I said, overwhelmed.

“It is. Our bedroom is upstairs, down the hall from Eden’s, and there’s a guest bedroom, too.”

I hugged him tight, burying my face in his chest. “Jared! I love it! I can’t believe you did this.”

He suppressed a smile. “Cynthia isn’t happy.”

“She’ll get over it!” I said, looking around in awe.

We trotted up the stairs, and I gasped at our bedroom. It was like nothing had ever happened to our loft. It was the same. Excited to see the new additions, I rushed to Eden’s room. Jared had made sure to decorate it exactly as it had been at Cynthia’s. He sat Eden down in her crib with some toys, and then led me to the guest room by the hand. It was empty, and the walls were white and bare.

“You left this one for me, didn’t you?” I said, squeezing his hand.

“I didn’t know how you’d want it, so I thought I’d just leave it alone. A blank canvas.”

“I love it. I love all of it. I will sleep better tonight than I have since we lost the lost.” I looked at him. “You gave me back our home. I can’t tell you what this means to me.”

His eyebrows pulled together. “Not even a fraction of what you mean to me.”

I leaned up on the balls of my feet and wrapped my arms around his neck. My lips pressed against his, and I smiled at the warmth he emanated. I’d missed how hot he felt against my human skin. His strong hands pressed against my back, and he pulled me closer, every emotion he’d ever felt coming through in that kiss.

“I’m happy,” I whispered. “I’m so happy…,” I said against his mouth, “and it’s all because of you.”

The End.

Thank you so much for reading the Providence series! I hope you enjoyed following Jared and Nina’s journey and spending time with the characters as much as I did. Finishing my first series, I’m torn. I’m looking forward to writing something new, but I am terrible with goodbyes. Nina and Jared have a special place in my heart, like my first born. I have spent so much time with them that they feel very much like family. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’ve seen them through to the end.

Thank You.

Jamie

I must thank the person who pushed me to begin Providence. The same person who swung her pom-poms every step of the way, through every book, and in between. My dearest friend Beth, I thank you so much. Your support, encouragement and insistence has brought Providence — and me-to the end of this series. Every good thing that has happened to me in the last three years stemmed from your insistence that I could.

I would also like to thank my mother Brenda for her assistance in any way I asked, or that she could.

Many thanks to authors Jessica Park, Tammara Webber, Abbi Glines, Liz Reinhardt, and EL James for your advice, your encouragement, and direction. I adore each and every one of you, and I am so very glad that we crossed paths;

To Jim Thomsen for his patience and expertise;

To Dr. Ross Vanhooser for believing in me and putting action and risk behind that belief;

To Harmony Hempfling, who is the best listener, and a fantastic beta reader.

To Maryse at Maryse.net and reader Nikki Estep for their enthusiasm and being instrumental in my success as an author;

And to my amazing husband, Jeff. You are infinitely supportive, patient, and love me even when I’m ignoring you for fictional people. You are my partner in life; my everything, and I wouldn’t think of doing any of this without you. I wouldn’t want to. Thank you so much for being everything that you are.