Fixing Us, an all-new romantic standalone from Miranda Elaine is available now!
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Blurb
Gabriel Starr is the love of my life, even if he breaks my heart time and time again.
Like a fool, I keep going back, so I’ve made a promise to myself—one final night and then I’m done.
One night of passion.
No pressure. Most importantly, no future.
One month later, a positive pregnancy test tells me different.
Our only option is to raise this baby as friends, but how can we make it work when we can’t even keep our hands off each other?
We finally have the chance to be the family we never imagined we could be.
But first we need to focus on Fixing Us.
Review
5 fantastic stars!
I love, love, love this book! Funny, heartbreaking, heartwarming and beautifully romantic it’s a gorgeous second-third-fourth-and more-chance romance between two people who love each other deeply but who just haven’t been able to make it work… until a surprise pregnancy changes everything.
Squee! I love a surprise baby book, and I absolutely adored how this story all played out. It’s messy yet functional, it’s funny and sweet, and it’s so beautifully romantic, and I was captivated from start to finish.
This is the third book in the Fixing series, but it can easily stand alone. The couples from the previous books appear in this book as friends of these characters, but you don’t need to have read their stories to become invested in this one. This is the story of Leigh (best friend of Temperance from Fixing Her, and who also featured in the second book, Fixing Him) and she is an absolute riot – wild and filterless, she is smart, funny and independent and she cares passionately for her friends and family.
Leigh and Gabe met in high school and fell into mad, wild, all-consuming love. She was the happy, carefree girl with the stable, loving family, dreams for the future and a plan to get there. Gabe was the boy from the group home with a terrible family life, no future plans and few prospects, and he knew that Leigh deserved better. On graduation, he broke both of their hearts when he let her go and encouraged her to chase her dreams without him, knowing that he would only hold her back.
Twelve years later and Leigh is running a successful hair salon, while Gabe runs the local tattoo shop. Their relationship over the years has been complex, falling back together, only to break up when they again come to the conclusion that their future goals don’t align. Leigh wants a family, children and security, Gabe doesn’t think he can provide her with that. Though they love each other fiercely, they just can’t get on the same page and though they’ve tried over and over again, they can’t make it work.
A failed blind date for Leigh leads to her turning to Gabe for comfort, and as always he is there for her. But even while they easily fall back into their familiar passion for each other, they agree that they can’t carry on like they have been and promise to make it their last night together.
“Gabriel Starr, you are nothing but trouble for me.” She’s still tipsy, but her words are the truth. “Please let me move on. Fucking twelve years of us doing this to each other is enough, don’t you think?”
Their plan for a clean break fails dismally when Leigh discovers that she is pregnant. Sensibly and functionally, she goes right to Gabe and puts it all out there for him, with her trademark honesty and forthrightness, which I love. And thankfully, Gabe recognises this as his wake up call as he is faced with having to make the decision of what he truly wants from life, while also recognising that it’s his chance to give Leigh, the love of his life, everything she has ever wanted.
I was fooling myself if I thought I wasn’t going to try to work my way back into her heart and her life. She’s mine, and now all I need to do is prove I’m worthy enough of her trust again.
I love this relationship! Though we haven’t witnessed everything that has gone on between them in the past, I was feeling their connection right from the very beginning. We get a few small glimpses, and the chemistry between them in the present is absolutely undeniable. It’s clear that they love each other, they have a fantastic dynamic, and the blend of banter, snark, flirting and complete honesty is fun and emotional. And I love the playfulness of their relationship as they bicker and argue, trying to be friends in their difficult situation.
Even if you don’t want your ex-boyfriend back you still always want them to think of you as the sexy one who got away, not the girl nude and exposed with her legs in the air while a doctor probes her. Great, fucking great.
… I lie back and my head jerks to Gabe. “But you stay north of the equator.”
“Not a problem, Leigh.” He smiles at me. “But it ain’t nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“Well, it’s definitely something you’re never seeing again,” I snap back at him.
But friendship soon gives way to so much more. They’ve never been able to resist each other, and that’s certainly true the more time they spend together. Things shift and chance in a natural and realistic way and I loved the swoon and the drama of them figuring things out.
“We can do anything as long as we’re together.”
“It’s not that easy,” he says softly.
“It doesn’t have to be easy. We just have to want it bad enough.”
The whole ‘I love you but I’m not good enough so I’ll walk away’ storyline is not a favourite of mine, and it can bring unnecessary angst and drama to a book, but this story is handled beautifully! Gabe’s feelings of worthlessness are absolutely heartbreaking, his situation is completely understandable, and his battle to work through it all and come to realise his worth is beautifully written. His feelings for Leigh are never in doubt, he loves her with everything that he has, and watching him find the strength to grab hold of that and move forward with her is so, so gorgeous.
“I don’t deserve you or this life, angel. But I want to.”
And Leigh is wonderful as she balances the difficult position of supporting her man while not being a doormat. She is there for him, encouraging him every step of the way, but she also stands strong for her and her baby. She protects herself while putting her heart out there, and I just love her!
“I can do this on my own. Don’t show up at my door with a hero complex thinking I need saving. Don’t sacrifice what you want in the process. I don’t want you there unless you are one hundred percent sure that’s where you want to be. I’ll understand. Just don’t come in and out of mine and this child’s life, killing us both a little each time we watch you walk away.”
It’s a wonderful journey for these two as they find their way forward together. I laughed and swooned, and I honestly loved every moment of them together. Their teasing and banter is lots of fun, the heartfelt declarations had my heart pounding, and the sexy time is sizzling! Leigh and Gabe are two people who belong together, and I loved watching them figure that out and then work to make it happen.
“You are so incredible, Gabe. I hope you know that.”
“I must be if in any universe I deserved to have even a slice of your heart,” he says, his chin still atop my head.
“All of it,” I admit. “You possess all of it.”
The story ends in a great place, providing closure for not only Leigh and Gabe, but also some progression for the previous couples in the series – though, again, this can stand alone.
It’s sweet, fun and emotional, with characters that you cannot help but fall for, and I loved this book!
5 stars!
An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Fixing
Fixing Her (#1)
Buy: Kindle Ebook | Paperback
Fixing Him (#2)
Review
Buy: Kindle Ebook | Paperback
Fixing Us (#3)
Review
Buy: Kindle Ebook
Excerpt
Finally, after what feels like a millennium, the door opens and Dr. Mallard enters, smiling. He’s an older man who is always overly happy. I like him, even if I find his
cheerfulness somewhat off-putting at this exact second.
“Mrs. Simms, how exciting to have you here today. This must be your husband.” He walks over to Gabe, who stands, hand extended.
“Sorry, no,” I chime in. “Definitely not my husband.”
“My fault,” he apologizes. “Your boyfriend. This is a new age. Lots of people in lifelong relationships nowadays without marriage.”
Awkward.
“Nope,” I say, popping my P with a bit more attitude than intended. “We aren’t together.” I look over at Gabe, who’s holding his laughter in and I silently yell Help me!
“Just got her knocked up,” Gabe finally speaks. “Classic fairy tale story of ex-sex turning into a baby. Turns out those silly condoms serve a purpose and really shouldn’t be skipped. Who knew?”
“Seriously!” I yell while shooting him daggers with my eyes. All he does to respond is shrug his shoulders and give me an evil grin.
“Okay, Miss Simms, if you can lie back and put your feet up we can check on this little miracle,” Dr. Mallard finally says as the nurse pulls the stirrups out and helps
me assume the position.
Even if you don’t want your ex-boyfriend back you still always want them to think of you as the sexy one who got away, not the girl nude and exposed with her legs in the air while a doctor probes her. Great, fucking great.
“Sure.” I lie back and my head jerks to Gabe. “But you stay north of the equator.”
“Not a problem, Leigh.” He smiles at me. “But it ain’t nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“Well, it’s definitely something you’re never seeing again,” I snap back at him, causing the nurse to let a small chuckle escape.
I try to act cool by the fact that the doctor seems to think sticking a huge wand up me is perfectly normal.
Thump thump. Thump thump.
Our bickering immediately stops. The room is dark and the monitor next to me is lit up.
“Is that—” Gabe starts.
“That’s your baby’s heartbeat,” the doctor interrupts. “And if you look over here, you see that small little bean shape in the middle there.” He points to the picture on the ultrasound machine. “That’s your baby. It’s currently approximately the size of a raspberry.”
“Wow,” Gabe and I both somehow say at the same time.
We finish the appointment with a plethora of information. Gabe is quiet and the silliness that existed in the examination room is gone. We check out and walk side by side. Neither of us bringing up everything we need to discuss.
Does him showing up mean he wants to be involved? Does he assume we will get back together? Can we even do this together? Do I want to?
All the questions are running rampant in my head and instead of saying a single one of them I simply say, “I’ll let you know when I have another appointment.”
“Thanks.” He holds the door to the building open, letting me walk outside, him close on my heels. “I want to be here for you and our child as best as I can.”
I nod, but my mind is still back in that office with that beautiful baby. My baby.
“We ought to talk, Leigh.”
“You’re right. But today I got to hear my—our, baby’s heartbeat for the first time. Let’s not ruin it, okay?” We’re standing in the middle of the parking lot, neither of us
moving to our respective vehicles.
“Okay, but soon.”
About Miranda
Miranda is a loving wife and barely surviving mother of three occasionally good kids. Her hobbies include lying to herself about the calories in donuts and banana pudding, as well as running out of excuses when procrastinating. She’s been an avid reader since she was a young girl. Whether she’s by the pool, curled up in bed, or hiding in the closet, as long as she has a book in her hands she’s happy.
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