Novels by Eileen Pryce

Anna peered through the common bathroom door on the first floor before stepping out casually as if nothing had happened. She walked past Dave, who was sitting on the couch in their living room and reading a report on his tablet, with Zach crawling on the floor."Zach, baby, come here." She called for Zach's attention, which was never hard to get. "Let's play outside."And his reaction was predictable. He was running toward his mother excitedly. His smile was so big that it was going to explode.Being a child seemed fun, didn't it?She followed him, running out of the house to their yard barefoot. She couldn't help her own smile from forming on her face at seeing him and another happiness she had just found out about today.She was pregnant with their second child.But be quiet. Anna wanted to make a surprise for her husband.Oh, she couldn't wait to see his reaction!"Zach, come here. Mommy wants to say something to you."Zach halted his running to look at his mother with an indescrib

Three years later.She watched everything. Their every move, laugh, giggle, scream, and more. She couldn't help but grace a wide smile over that. It was too good to be true. But it was what that was as it was the reality.Baby Zach was now three years old and in his active days. He had run on every corner of the house and was always excited to run outside.Although it tired their body from following him around, she didn't complain, especially Dave. He always had the energy to play with him and never ran out of ideas. He raised their child with all his heart.She shook her head to force herself back to her place. She couldn't only observe them all the time, as she needed to finish the cookie dough.Zach had the exact liking as hers for sweets. So she tried to be the best mom by baking them instead of buying them outside or ordering chefs to make them. It was cheaper and could adjust to her family preferences, which she wanted, not too much sugar.As Dave said, sugar was a killer.She

"Hi, baby boy. I'm happy you're awake, and I can hold you. Your mother must feel the same way. But she's resting now, so let's not disturb her and play with me instead." His voice was laced with happiness as his eyes flitted the same feeling. There was nothing happier than this moment when he finally held baby Zach. And the fact that he was born healthy was wonderful. It could be perfect if his wife's recovery went well.Baby Zach wriggled his tiny hands and managed to capture Dave's finger. He gripped it though his eyes were still closed. Baby Zach might sense familiar and safe, so baby Zach didn't cry, which made Dave's heart swell with pride and warmth. Only his touch could do that, and he couldn't be more proud of that."What do you think about this world? It's amazing, isn't it? You have me, your mother, and your entire family by your side. And in the future, you will find your own friends."Baby Zach was just quiet, and if his grip was not still on his finger, Dave might have th

A few months later.Anna was closing drawers after checking what was inside was still inside.It might be confusing. The point was Anna had just finished looking at their baby’s needs, such as clothes, diapers, socks, blanket, and more. She wanted to make sure everything was ready when the time came, which was soon. Her due date should be this week, and she couldn’t be more excited to finally welcome their baby.She moved to the only bed in the room. It was big and had four wooden walls on four sides to protect the baby from falling. And it was the one Dave said could accommodate her body while breastfeeding their baby. She even could sleep on it too.Her hand touched the doll on the nearby side and placed it neatly between another doll and the pillow. She had some, mainly cute animal characters, to accompany him while he was sleeping.Yes, him. Their baby was a boy.“Do you like it, honey? It’s nice, right? Your father prepared them for you.” She spoke as her hand caressed her so big

"I saw everything, Anna. I know what you hide behind your back." His eyebrows raised as if waiting for her to reveal it by herself. There was no point in hiding it anyway since it was why he approached her. He already saw her enjoying the ice cream!"What do you mean?"So she was going to play with him. Unfortunately, he didn't want to pretend that he did not see that. "The bowl. Ice cream."And she could only force a grin."Come here." His hand reached out to invite her to come near him."No. You will scold me.""That means you know you were doing wrong. How many bowls have you had?""Hmm. Five?""Count it correctly, honey.""Okay. Okay. Nine." She raised both her hands in the air and surrendered herself."No, honey. The bowl in your back is the eleventh."He actually didn't have a problem with her enjoying the ice cream. But Anna liked overeating, and she might have more if he didn't watch her."Good job Dave. She needs to be more careful with her health." Rebecca, standing beside h

Finally, the day they had been waiting for came. It was hectic but also fun. Their friends and families gathered together to celebrate the happy day. What was more pleasing than that?The vow went well. Although Anna felt more nervous, everything was perfect this time compared to the real one. Her father led her to the altar and handed her to Dave, which generally did at a wedding ceremony. And she and his husband stated their vow again and became husband and wife one more time.And to make it perfect, he sealed their vow with a kiss on her lips. Then cheers and applauses filled the hall.It was indeed a favorable moment. And it lasted until night."It's a pleasure to finally meet the newest Mrs. Byrne." Alexander greeted Anna and took her hand to land a quick kiss, like how a gentleman met a lady for the first time. "My name is Alexander Green.""Oh!" Anna couldn't help but show her surprise. She heard a lot about him from Dave, but this was the first time they met in person."Based

RUBYI couldn't believe this. Wyatt was coming here and, without shame, asking my employee for me. And what did he call me? His soulmate? Unbelievable!And it was more difficult to believe he was really waiting for me. He did not show his presence directly, but he came back from time to time and made sure everyone in the store knew he was watching me.Oh, God!"His car is still here," Judy reported when I walked out of the kitchen to deliver a fresh batch of cookies. "It's been three hours, and he's still here."I glanced outside—we have a big window and glass door that showed a view of the street—and confirmed her words. Wyatt's car was here, meaning he was still inside the cafe or nearby place in this downtown area."Maybe he has a meeting with someone." I tried not to sound concerned and proceeded to place cookies on the display."Didn't he say he's waiting for you?" Rita joined with another batch in her hands. There was more in the kitchen and macaron, too."Right. He kept asking

WYATTShe was so beautiful.No.She is always beautiful, whether now or years ago when I first met her. It seemed all these years did not change her beauty at all. And if it was, it merely added more. She is beautiful but in a more mature way.However, her beauty wasn't the only thing I loved about Ruby. She is a fantastic woman with a caring and loving personality. And I knew she would be a good mother someday, which I finally witnessed."Are you going to see her leaving like that?"Kevin's question rang in my head as the memory of yesterday's event kept flashing like a movie. From the moment he first brought me to the daycare center, I met my son for the first time and saw the mother of my son till I had to let Ruby go after my attempt to fix everything failed.I sighed as I leaned my head on the chair. Ruby refused to listen to me, not even let me finish my explanation. I knew the incident hurt her deeply, and whatever excuses I had, it wouldn't make sense. I was drugged, and Tina

RUBY "Hello, Austin. Can I join?" I grunted inwardly at that question. Wyatt already got the ticket, so of course, he would come. Austin nodded, and I was tempted to coax him to change his mind. But then I must remind myself I was the one giving approval. Taking it back would need a logical reason, which I couldn't find at the moment. Wyatt sat on the empty space opposite me and on the other side of my son. He looked at Austin, and somehow, I felt the odd way he did that. He seemed like someone was longing and in pain. Also, I spotted happiness as well as love. Did he really know? "Do you like the book?" He started the conversation. Austin nodded again, this time more enthusiastically. "Yes. I love Superman." "Do you want to be a Superman?" My son tilted his head up so the two most beautiful blue eyes I knew met. "Mommy said, as long as I'm being a good boy and good to friends, teachers, and others, I'm a Superman." His eyes blinked twice after he said that, making

WYATTI watched the interaction of those two people sitting under the tree from my place: Ruby and Austin. One is a woman in my life, and the other one is...Those clear blue eyes...The age...Is he my son?"Here," Kevin said beside me as he thrust a paper bag as well as an envelope.My forehead creased not for the paper bag because I knew he had bought lunch for me but for the envelope. "What is it?""Information." He replied while gesturing with his chin in Ruby's direction. "About your son."My brows furrowed more. My son? It only meant that he already knew this all along. "When did you know? And why didn't you tell me?" I asked, my voice was firm at the sudden anger coursing throughout my body.But what made me angry, actually? Was it really because he just told me now? Shouldn't I be grateful, then? Or not, I wouldn't know at all.He raised both hands in surrender. "Calm down, Wyatt. I'm on your side. I also found out about him recently."Did I believe him?Well, it wasn't the

WYATT"I don't understand why you're so obsessed with this place," I said after kicking the car door closed. I then followed Kevin, who was already leading the way toward the daycare center with a box in his hands. Inside were children's books we would deliver to every child at the daycare center.I wouldn't have been here if I hadn't lost the damn bet. And it was all Kevin's idea."Didn't we meet them yesterday? Don't you think they're adorable?" He responded with a question instead of answering my complaint.Okay. This was the second day I was here after he dragged me here and made me do a volunteer job to play around with the children. They were indeed adorable. But my question wasn't about them. It was Kevin's motive that intrigued me."I saw you playing well with George, Martha, Austin, and others." He continued."Don't change the topic."He laughed, which convinced me more that he had an agenda behind this scheme. "You should familiarize yourself with children." He talked about

RUBY"Here is the last order. This one for... Betty Hunter." I said as I placed the cake that I just finished decorating on the counter. It was a mid-size cake in broken white and simple decoration."Wow. Well done, Ruby. This is so beautiful." Judy, the woman standing at the counter, replied. She was the one assigned to deal with customer and their order."Simple is always the best." I winked before glancing at the clock on the wall. "Oh, it's already eleven. I have to go." I made a quick turn back to the kitchen while untying my apron."Is it fried rice today?"I could merely hear Judy's voice because the thin wall had separated us already. "Yes. And an omelet. He loves omelets." I couldn't help a smile from tugging on my lips saying that. Talking about him always warmed my heart."It must be delicious. I could smell it." Rita chimed in from the kitchen, making me shift my body toward her. She was working on a batch of cookies, placing them one by one to bake them later. Meanwhile,