Foundations: A Happy Ever After Romance (The Walsh Series Book 9) Read online

  Foundations

  Kate Canterbary

  Vesper Press

  Contents

  About Foundations

  Before you dive in…

  Part I

  Preface

  1. Lauren

  2. Matthew

  3. Lauren

  4. Matthew

  5. Lauren

  6. Matthew

  Where Were Drew and Tara?

  Will Max Love Again?

  II. From the Walsh Family Vault

  7. A Visit to New Hampshire: An Andy and Patrick Deleted Scene

  8. Game Night: A Walsh Family Bonus Chapter

  9. An April Morning: A Walsh Family Bonus Chapter

  10. The Costume Party: An Alex and Riley Halloween Bonus Chapter

  11. The Awkward Conversation: A Halsted Family Holiday Bonus Chapter

  12. Walsh Associates Takes on 2020

  13. Walsh Associates Assistants Take on 2020

  Also By Kate Canterbary

  About Kate

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Kate Canterbary

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any forms, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the author.

  Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner's trademark(s).

  Editing provided by Julia Ganis of Julia Edits.

  Proofreading provided by Erica Russikoff of Erica Edits.

  Additional proofreading provided by Jen Graybeal of Jen Graybeal Editing Services.

  Cover design provided by Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations.

  Created with Vellum

  About Foundations

  Fall in love. Get married. Have a baby. Live happily ever after.

  That was how it was supposed to go, right? Love and here comes the bride and babies and forever.

  But sometimes, forever has a strange way of sorting itself out.

  Like a post-baby dry spell with no end in sight—unless a naughty schoolteacher pulls on her fancy panties and takes matters into her own hands.

  Foundations is the Underneath It All (Matt and Lauren) novella featuring Six Years Later, the happy-ever-after novella originally published in The Walsh Brothers plus the Jenga, Cocktails, and Cookies novella originally available only to Kate Canterbary’s newsletter subscribers, and two additional bonus scenes.

  For pumpkin spice and pervy girls

  Before you dive in…

  If you need some tunes to set the vibe, check out Kate’s book playlists on Spotify.

  Join Kate Canterbary’s Office Memos mailing list for occasional news and updates, as well as new release alerts, exclusive extended epilogues and bonus scenes, and cake. There’s always cake.

  If newsletters aren’t your jam, follow Kate on BookBub for preorder and new release alerts.

  Part I

  Preface

  Six years after Matthew and Lauren met in Underneath It All

  Three years after the end of Necessary Restorations

  Ten months after the end of Thresholds

  Between the last chapter and epilogue of Missing In Action

  Between the last chapter and epilogue of The Magnolia Chronicles

  Between the last chapter and epilogue of Before Girl

  Three months after the last epilogue of Coastal Elite

  One year before the start of Boss in the Bedsheets

  1

  Lauren

  The text message arrived early, barely past seven in the morning.

  Andy: I'm coming over with my camera and I have the costumes.

  Andy: Props too.

  Andy: Do you think 17 pumpkins is too many?

  Andy: Never mind. I don't care if it's too many. I'm bringing all of them.

  Andy: Also, I have vodka.

  Andy: And that cinnamon-sugar rim mix.

  Andy: Because the only time I lick a rim is when it's covered in sugar and spice.

  I barked out a laugh at her messages as well as the wild shifts in our lives. Not long ago, Andy and I cherished our lazy Saturday mornings. We wouldn't have texted each other at this hour unless it was to announce the previous night's choices were coming back to haunt us.

  But here we were, a world away but still right around the corner from the women we used to be. And these new-but-totally-the-same versions of us were dressing my three-month-old baby in a load of seasonal outfits this morning and photographing every inch of it. The baby and the themed photo shoot were new. The apple pie mules we planned to mix up when the baby tired of our antics and went down for a nap were the same.

  "What are you laughing about?" Matthew rolled over, pressed his face to my belly.

  I drove my fingers through his hair. A touch of silver shined in the morning sun. Also new. "Andy's coming over. We're taking the autumn photos I told you about." He murmured something indecipherable into my skin and wrapped his arms around my waist with a throaty growl. God, those growls. "Didn't catch that, babe."

  He lifted his head, saying, "It's too early for photos."

  I looked to the bank of windows bathing our bedroom in warm light. We'd moved into this suburban Boston home a little less than four months ago but there were days when I expected to wake up in our old loft and see the waters of Boston Harbor right outside.

  "Don't worry," I said, kneading the back of his neck. "We won't dress you up or pose you in a pile of leaves."

  "Thank god," he murmured. He leaned into my touch, squeezed me tight. "Feels good." He pushed my t-shirt up with his chin and pressed a kiss above my belly button. Silvery-purple stripes reminded me a baby grew strong and healthy under that skin. Those were also new.

  "What time did Madeleine get to sleep?" I asked.

  Matthew took the late shift last night. We traded off. It was better when everyone operated with an insufficient amount of rest. We couldn't have one of us cheery and chipper while the other went full zombie. Also, we could swing this setup. Matthew was in the office on a reduced timetable and I wasn't due back at school for another week. This routine worked while we inched Maddie toward a consistent schedule and us back to our previous lives. If such a thing was possible.

  I had my doubts.

  "Around two," he replied, his scruffy cheek raking over my skin. "She fought it. Hard. Kept dozing off then waking herself up. Stubborn little girl." He laughed, kissed my belly again. "Wonder where she gets that."

  "It's a mystery," I mused.

  "If that's what you want to call it."

  I ran my nails over his scalp. He growled against my skin, a low, rumbly sound I hadn't heard enough of recently. Even with my parents helping out since Maddie's arrival and bunking in our guest room, we didn't get nearly enough alone time. What little time we had was dedicated to catching up on sleep. Our bundle of joy brought us a great many gifts and blessings but she hated keeping to her bedtime.

  She had to be coaxed to sleep, trapped in it. She never went willingly and if she sensed that we meant for her to sleep, she revolted. Demanded a change, a feeding, a burp, a cuddle. Anything but a restful, uninterrupted night.

  Mat
thewhew pushed up on an elbow, craning his neck to see into the bassinet at the foot of the bed. Finding it empty, he returned to his spot on my belly, asking, "Did she run out for coffee? I hope she remembers how I take it."

  "My mom took her for a walk," I said, running my fingertips over his shoulders, down his spine. "She usually takes the long way around on the weekends."

  It was my indirect way of saying please fuck me straight through the mattress before I die of sexual starvation.

  After six years with this man, I knew how to ask for the things I wanted. To be fair, I'd known how to ask since the very first night but that was a different story. I knew and I'd never held back before. But our lives were different now.

  Everything, it was upside down. All new.

  New house, new baby, new roles. We weren't the same Matthew and Lauren anymore. We were husband and wife, mom and dad. The roles we'd known for the past six years were transforming and nothing we did during my pregnancy actually prepared us for this.

  For the time and patience necessary to recover from childbirth.

  For the losing battle of breastfeeding.

  For sleep schedules and growth spurts and the endless piles of laundry. So much laundry.

  For the seismic shift in the ways we met each other's needs.

  This was a new era for our relationship and I wasn't the only one stumbling through it.

  I didn't know how to ask for the things I needed right now and Matthew didn't know how to touch me anymore. He treated me like the most fragile glass in the world, a Fabergé egg of a wife. He hesitated when I reached for him. He stayed on his side of the bed unless I dragged him over to mine. He restricted his kisses to my tummy and kept his growls from turning into filthy demands.

  Despite the sting of this shift, we loved each other more than I thought possible. It was more intense than ever but it was an intensity founded in distance. We gazed at each other from across the room in awe, as if to say, Look what we made. Look what we have. Look what we are. Look at where we are now.

  We had a good thing going here. We had a healthy, mostly happy baby and a roof over our heads and enough family to keep us fed and supported through the toughest of times. And yet it would be great if we could teach each other what we needed and how to give it. How to find ourselves again.

  "Have I told Judy how much I appreciate her taking the dawn shift? Because I do," he replied. "I'm going to miss that when your parents leave at the end of the month."

  Not capitalizing on the empty house, are you?

  Sigh.

  "I believe you've mentioned it," I said. "I'm sure Ellie will be great in the mornings too. She's not my mom but I'm really excited she's going to spend the band's hiatus year with us."

  "And Tiel," he added, still speaking to my belly.

  If only he'd scoot a little lower.

  "And Tiel," I agreed. "She's going to love having her best friend in town again." I brought my hands to his shoulders, pressing deep into his muscles. Massaging but also directing him toward an area of common interest. "My dad went with my mom and Maddie. On the walk. We have the place to ourselves."

  "That's why it's so quiet." Matthew pushed up on one arm, staring at me with drowsy eyes. "Do you want to shower first? Or should I get in there?"

  I slapped my hands against the sheets. The man I married never would've asked that. He would've tossed me over his shoulder and marched into the bathroom because we were showering together. My husband, the caveman and water conservationist. "No. I need—I mean, no," I replied. There was no hiding the irritation in my voice. "No. That's not what I'm saying. Why aren't you—what do I have to do?"

  Matthew blinked at me, stifled a yawn. "What's wrong, sweetness?"

  You're suddenly immune to my charms and I'm going crazy without you.

  I didn't say that. I wanted to but—but what if it was different for him too? What if he still loved me but after seeing six different people stick their hands in my vagina, he wasn't especially excited about visiting there himself? Maybe his attraction was waning after watching lactation consultants tugging at my nipples like competing dairymaids. If any part of that was true, I wasn't ready to hear it.

  I gathered my hair in my hands, twisted it into a messy bun. "I don't know. Nothing."

  He shifted closer. "No," he said, drawing the word out. "Tell me." I reached for my hair again but he caught my hand in his, lacing our fingers together. "Tell me."

  I started to ask for all the things I needed, the things I wanted to feel with him again. But I stopped myself. This conversation wasn't a quick one and we had to talk before we got back in the saddle. We didn't have time to do both. This morning was not our own but the evening offered a range of possibilities.

  "I want to go out tonight, just the two of us," I said. "And I don't mean out for coffee or salads like usual. I'm talking about an actual restaurant where we sit down and then place our order."

  Our current rendition of date night involved a midday trip to Starbucks or Sweetgreen while Maddie napped. It was a tiny tragedy but it had been all we could manage at first. I didn't like leaving the baby for long and until now, I hadn't felt capable of putting myself together for the evenings-out scene. I was good with athleisure wear and forgiving summer dresses but anything beyond those pushed my limits. And my energy.

  But that ended here. I was putting on real, non-maternity clothes. A nice pair of panties and a bra too, and not one of those breakaway nursing getups. I was washing and blow-drying my hair. A full face of makeup. I wasn't stopping at tinted moisturizer and lip balm. No, I was going all the way to contoured cheeks and shaped eyebrows.

  And I was seducing my husband tonight if it was the last thing I did.

  I tipped my chin up, fortifying myself in this course of action. "I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind watching the baby."

  "Okay," he replied. "And then you'll tell me what's bothering you?"

  I reached for him, urging him closer—come closer closer get on me closer—until he kneeled between my legs and braced himself over me. I knew he wasn't going to give me his weight, not even if I asked. He had it in his head that I was going to shatter and nothing I did changed his mind.

  "I miss you," I confessed, gazing up at him. His brows knit together. A frown tugged his lips down. He didn't understand. "I miss you and I want to spend some time with you. That's all."

  "I miss you too." He leaned down, dropped a kiss on my forehead. Everything inside me clenched at the pure sweetness of that one kiss but there was no pleasure in clenching around nothing. "You talk to your parents. I'll make reservations." He traced a line from my brows down my nose. "Do you want to see a movie or do anything in addition to dinner?"

  I shook my head. If it meant getting time together, we could sit in the car in an empty parking lot. We didn't need any distractions. "If we're watching a movie, I'd rather do it in bed with you."

  Where I can get my hand down your pants without breaking any public decency laws.

  "Okay. I have to meet Patrick to walk through some properties but I'll make the plans." He sealed the promise with another forehead kiss. "I wish you'd tell me what's wrong."

  "Isn't missing you enough?" I asked.

  "Yeah but," he replied, his voice trailing off. "I'm right here. Like always."

  I nodded but couldn't gather the right words to explain my struggle to find my way in this new version of us. Maybe I was the only one struggling. Maybe I was the only one missing the people we used to be together.

  "Are you worried about going back to school?" he asked. "It's all right if you need more time. Don't rush it. Like I've said a hundred times, you don't have to go back until you're ready. I don't want you pushing yourself."

  Of all the complicated questions, he had to ask that one. I was scheduled to return to school in one week, starting off with mornings and then transitioning to full days. This was the first time in more than a decade where I'd missed the first day, the first month, and most of the first quar
ter of school.

  And I couldn't find an ounce of regret.

  I'd planned for my maternity leave. Of course I had. If there was one thing I did to an obnoxious degree, it was planning. But even though I'd positioned my co-deans Drew and Tara to run the school flawlessly, I'd struggled to imagine myself not being there. In the months leading up to Maddie's birth, I wasn't certain I'd actually stay away. Through it all, I assumed I'd return early. Three months seemed like an eternity and I knew my parents were coming to help and Matthew was taking time off and my sisters-in-law were always there for me and—and I'd just go back to work when school started in September. There was no need to wait until mid-October.

  Then Maddie arrived and nothing seemed more important than her. I loved this little girl like I couldn't believe. I wanted to snuggle her all day, every day. I hated the idea of leaving her and there were moments when I couldn't imagine doing it. But there were also moments when I couldn't imagine staying at home another minute. I wanted to witness every second in my daughter's new life but I also wanted my work.

  More than anything, I didn't want to feel guilty. I wanted to feel good about my choices without focusing on the sacrifices inherent in them.