Book Three - Fighting For You

Chapter 1

Hello! Here's the long awaited chapter 1. Thanks for reading the prologue and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. From now on I intend to update ever two weeks. If I can update sooner I will. Please let me know what you think in the comments below, I would really appreciate it.

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Six months earlier

“Aunty Nanny! Aunty Nanny!”

Lachlan frees himself from my grip and runs in the direction of Nancy. Unable to say ‘Nancy’ he calls her Nanny instead. Well I don’t know whether it’s so much he’s unable to, he just doesn’t. He’s stubborn like that. I feel a grin spread across my face as I realise this is one trait he has inherited from me.

I have to confess, for a while it got quite confusing as he calls my Mum Nanny too. We finally taught him to say Aunty Nanny instead and all confusion has now been avoided.

Giggling to myself, I watch as Lachlan’s little feet, now devoid of shoes, slip and slide along the dance floor. He’s trying to sprint but for a two-year-old that’s next to impossible. His little legs are running as fast as they’ll go but he’s making slow work of it. He has a big grin on his chubby face and his blue eyes are shining in excitement.

When Nancy hears him, I watch as she turns around. I shake my head when I look at her, slightly seething at how gorgeous she has become. She always has been pretty but now, at 21, she is even more so. She hasn’t grown any taller but she still has curves in all the right places and her now curly, long, red hair hangs gracefully down her back. She is the girl everyone man stops and stares at.

I’ve always been jealous of Nancy and it hasn’t really changed now. I’ve grown to accept how I look, I suppose I’m pretty in my own way, but I’m not Nancy. I shake my head and chide myself for thinking like this. This is Nancy’s wedding day! She has a right to look even more gorgeous than usual.

And her dress... it’s simple but gorgeous. It’s a snug fitting ivory dress, which reaches the floor and trails out behind her. It’s strapless and has embroidered roses across the top. On Nancy, she looks like a princess.

I watch as her face breaks out into a grin at the sight of Lachlan running toward her. She holds out her arms as in invitation for him to jump into them. Disaster is imminent. I know Lachlan and I know he has other ideas. As of a couple of days earlier, he decided he didn’t like jumping into arms anymore. He finds grabbing onto people’s legs instead is much more exciting. I don’t think I’ll ever understand the mind of a two-year-old.

So, avoiding her arms all together, he throws himself at her legs with such force she loses her balance. As her arms start to flail about, I gasp and stand to run over to help but I quickly realise I won’t make it in time. She tries to grab hold of something but to no avail.

I look around the room for Jason and see him on the other side with Sam and Simon. They’re all laughing and joking, not even noticing the commotion going on at this end. Lachlan is giggling uncontrollably while holding on to Nancy’s legs for dear life. Nancy’s face on the other hand becomes a mixture of shock, humiliation and anger as she falls back, back, back on to the three-tier wedding cake.

Crash.

The hall falls into immediate silence. The men stop talking and look over. Rather than running to her aid, they stare in shock. Nancy’s wedding dress is totally ruined and she is covered head to toe in fruit cake.

Oh my god.

Running over to Nancy, I remove a still giggling and cake covered Lachlan from her legs. Mum appears at my side, offers a me a small smile and takes him away. Then I make my biggest mistake of the evening. Offering her my hand, she grabs it but before I’m able to pull her up I take that moment to look at her properly. Before I can stop myself, my mouth twitches and I start laughing hysterically.