Free Christopher and Jaime (Pianos and Promises #1) by Jennifer Peel

the man who held my hand and never let go that day, or even for the next couple of days. It was like no one else existed outside of our little family. During the ceremony, Chris held my gaze and frequently reached up and stroked my cheek; he even stole kisses between the preacher’s flowery words. I felt loved and adored.
    Then the kiss the bride moment came and I thought he would be dramatic about it, like he was with Bianca, dipping me down and showing off, but it wasn’t like that at all. He took me in his arms and whispered for my ears only, “You’re so beautiful.” He ran his hand down the length of my cheek before he leaned in, and with gentle sweetness, pressed his lips against mine. I felt cherished. It felt different from the wild, passionate kisses we had been sharing in the days leading up to our wedding. Those kisses spoke of making up for lost time and enjoying this newfound aspect of our relationship, but our first kiss between husband and wife felt like forever.
    But now forever was lost.

Chapter Six
    I placed the card our bug made near his bedside, along with Benny the cow. The card broke my heart. She drew a picture of the three of us all holding hands with a big heart around it. I hated that her big heart was being broken.
    I settled in by his side. He looked worse this morning. I could see more bruising on his scruff-filled face. I knew he would hate that he wasn’t clean shaved, but I always liked the five o’clock shadow. His brow was furrowed and I could see frustration on his swollen face. If he was aware at all, I was sure it was killing him to be bedridden. He was the kind of person that never called in sick, and if ever he was sick, he would go anyway and push through it. I admired his dedication, I only wished he was equally so with Allie and me.
    I found myself holding his hand. It was what we did, and I knew we never would again. That thought ached so much, I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath.
    I intruded into his thoughts again, too. I opened the journal and it fell open to the page where he had attached his grandma’s funeral program. I had felt as if my own grandmother had died when she passed away. Miss Allison had taken a nasty spill and ended up in the hospital. It only got worse from there—infection and then pneumonia. Her body couldn’t recover. I was there with Chris when she passed. He held one of her hands, and I held the other. I remembered the tears welling up in his eyes. I had saved mine. I wanted to be strong for him.
    “Thanks for always being there for me,” he whispered across her lifeless body.
    It’s a horrible thing to listen to the heart monitor slowly retire, especially when it’s a loved one. It was like watching an hour glass trickle away until the last grain of sand fell.
    It was a rough time for Chris all around, and maybe for me, too. At the time, they had just found out they were pregnant with Allie. Shock was an understatement. And like I said, Bianca’s reaction was atrocious.
    I understood being scared, but she was vile, referring to her unborn baby as an infectious disease or parasite that was going to ruin her figure. I think she purposely ate less. I believe her attitude gave Christopher some pause, though he never said anything to me. But, oddly, after Miss Allison’s passing Bianca began to behave better about the impending arrival. I tried not to be suspicious about it, because I was insanely jealous. At the time, I threw myself into finishing my master’s program to deal with my unfavorable feelings.
    I flipped through the pages of Chris’ thoughts on the subject. Besides the grief I already knew he felt because I lived it with him, there was a passage I was caught off guard by.
    Gran’s estate sale took place today. It was more successful than we had anticipated. I wish I could say what a relief that was, or even how happy I am about it, but selling off my memories and disappointing the woman who raised me has brought neither. Even