Authors: Leanne Banks
Harlequin Special Edition September 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Maverick for Hire\A Match Made by Baby\Once Upon a Bride (30 page)
She laughed and repeated, “A baby.”
“And you fainted from low blood pressure?”
“Apparently it happens. I stood up quickly, stooped over even quicker, and everything went black. My doctor checked me out and everything's okay. I'll probably worry every step of the way because of the last time.”
“You're not going to be worrying alone. Instead of worrying, we're going to think something positive every time we do. We're going to take good care of you and the baby.”
“
We
are?”
“Yes,
we
are. Are you going to take this spokesperson position with The Mommy Club?”
“I thought about it long and hard, and here's what I've come up with. With this pregnancy, I want to take good care of myself. So I've talked with the practice about going part-time. That would also be good when I go back to work after the baby's born. If I'm part-time, I can easily take a spokesperson assignment once every couple of weeks. That's sort of what I ironed out with The Mommy Club Foundation's representative. What do you think?”
“I think it's smart. I think all of it's going to play into your strengths. I'll help you any way I can.”
“I haven't told you the one thing I was going to tell you before you flew off. I was going to come see you this afternoon, after the workshop.”
“What did you want to tell me?”
“That I love you. That I think I started loving you that first night we met at the winery. Oh, I put the brakes on because I knew getting involved with you would probably rock my life, and it has. But in the best way possible. I love you, Adam Preston.”
His arms around her, he pulled her even closer. “Can we get married sooner rather than later?”
“We can get married as soon as you and the state of California allow.”
“You want a dress, don't you? Bridesmaids? A church?”
“I don't need a princess gown, just something I like and that you'll think I look beautiful in. As far as bridesmaidsâMarissa, Sara and Tina. I'd like to keep it simple if we can.”
“Would you like to have it at Raintree?”
“Sara and Jase's wedding was at Raintree, and it was beautiful. We can keep it intimate, have a harpist, an elegant ceremony Marissa can help plan. She's good at that.”
“As soon as possible,” he decreed. “We've put the cart before the horse, and I want to get caught up. I don't want our child to put two and two together too easily when it comes to his birth.”
“Or her birth. A girl would want to know every detail.”
“Are you saying a boy would be oblivious?”
“I'm not sure. I guess we'll find out. Do you think your dad will come?”
“I don't think he'd miss it. You have a lot of friends, Kaitlyn. How are we going to keep it small and intimate?”
“Intimate has to do with the setting and a state of mind and the way the ceremony's handled. If we keep the guest list to seventy-five or a hundred, I think we'll be okay. I know we'll be okay because the kind of wedding we have simply doesn't matter. What matters is what we do
after
the wedding.”
“You mean the honeymoon?” he asked, kissing the tip of her nose.
“
After
the honeymoon.”
“Let's not skip the pleasure of the honeymoon. Where do you want to go?”
“I've always wanted to spend time in Carmel.”
He swung her up off the floor and held her tight. “Then Carmel it is.”
Laughing, she asked, “Are you going to grant my every wish?”
“Every wish within reason. That's what we can do for each other.”
She took his face between her hands. “And just what would your first wish be?”
“That you'll spend every day and night with me.”
“We won't get anything done!”
“Sure, we will. I can teach, and we can work together on Mommy Club projects. You can be a spokesperson, and I'll drive you to and from your events. You can be a doctor. When you come home, we'll have dinner and talk about our day. On the odd weekend we have nothing to do, we can drive somewhere and have another honeymoon. At least until the baby's born. We'll make this work, Kaitlyn. I promise we will.”
“I have no doubt we'll make it work, because I love you and you love me.”
“And baby will make three.”
Then Adam bent his head and gave her the gentlest, yet most seductive kiss of their courtship. It was a promise that when they got married they'd make everything workâfor all of them. Because their love was going to be so big, and so wide, and so high, that it would surround everyone they knew. It would touch everyone they knew.
After the kiss, Adam rested his forehead against hers. “Your town house or my condo?”
“How about a place of our own?”
“I second that.” Then he kissed her again.
Epilogue
“D
on't open your eyes,” Adam commanded as he guided Kaitlyn across a wide porch to the door of a house he hoped she'd like.
“I can't open my eyes. You have your hands over them,” she pointed out with a laugh.
“My hands could slip but I don't want you to see until we're inside. Just lift your foot up over the doorstep, and we're there. Or I could carry youâ”
“You already carried me over the threshold to our honeymoon suite in Sacramento, and over the threshold of each hotel room as we drove along the coast. I think I can manage to step over this one.”
The wedding had been perfectâKaitlyn dressed in white satin; him in a tux; Sara, Marissa and Tina in cocktail dresses of their choosing. Since they'd wanted to get married quickly, they'd kept everything simple, yet meaningful. He remembered his vows. He remembered Kaitlyn's.
“What makes you think this is the right house?” she asked.
“You'll see,” he assured her, and led her inside. Once inside the living room, he took his hands from her eyes.
She blinked then slowly looked around. The living room had a vaulted ceiling with beautiful wood beams. The plank flooring had a rustic look. A floor-to-ceiling native rock fireplace was the centerpiece in the room.
“Oh, Adam.”
In front of the fireplace sat a caned-back rocking chair. On it was a four-foot teddy bear with a big blue bow around its neck.
Kaitlyn walked toward it, her smile tremulous. “It looks perfect there,” she said softly.
“I thought so, too. And check the view out the window. On a clear day, you can probably see Raintree Winery. But no matter what, you can see those mountains in the distance.”
“You listened to everything I said, everything I wanted.” Her voice caught and he knew Kaitlyn was full of the emotion that he felt, too.
“Thanksgiving is almost here.”
“Do you think we can be moved by then?” Kaitlyn asked.
“If we sign the contract on the house today, if we get all of our friends to help us, if we can find a table big enough for Dad and Iris, Tina and Erica and the two of us.”
“And soon there will be three.”
Adam laid his hand on Kaitlyn's tummy. “And soon there will be three. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He could see the bottomless world of it in her eyes, and he knew their future would be filled with a lot of happy and forever after.
* * * * *
Enjoy this sneak peek from
New York Times
bestselling author Diana
Palmer's TEXAS BORN, the latest in
THE LONG, TALL TEXANS
miniseries.
Forced from her home by her cruel stepmother, Michelle
Godfrey is out of luckâ¦until Gabriel Brandon comes to her rescue. The tall,
brooding cowboy is devilishly handsome, but he's her guardianâand nothing more.
As Michelle grows into the woman she's always wanted to be, can the shy beauty
show Gabriel that she's the only one he needs?
***
J
ust for an instant, Gabriel worried about
putting Michelle in the line of fire, considering his line of work. He had
enemies. Dangerous enemies who wouldn't hesitate to threaten anyone close to
him. Of course, there was his sister, Sara, but she'd lived in Wyoming for the
past few years, away from him, on a ranch they co-owned. Now he was putting her
in jeopardy along with Michelle.
But what could he do? The child had nobody. Now that her idiot
stepmother, Roberta, was dead, Michelle was truly on her own. It was dangerous
for a young woman to live alone, even in a small community. And there was also
the question of Roberta's boyfriend, Bert.
Gabriel knew things about the man that he wasn't eager to share
with Michelle. Bert was part of a criminal organization, and he knew Michelle's
habits. He also had a yen for her, if what Michelle had blurted out to Gabriel
once was trueâand he had no indication that she would lie about it. Bert might
decide to come try his luck with her now that her stepmother was out of the
picture. That couldn't be allowed.
Gabriel was surprised by his own affection for Michelle. It
wasn't paternal. She was, of course, far too young for anything heavy. She was a
beauty, kind and generous and sweet. She was the sort of woman he usually ran
from. No, strike that, she was no woman. She was still unfledged, a dove without
flight feathers. He had to keep his interest hidden. At least, until she was
grown up enough that it wouldn't hurt his conscience to pursue her.
Afterwardâ¦well, who knew the future?
***
Don't miss TEXAS BORN
by
New York Times
bestselling author Diana Palmer,
the latest installment in
THE LONG, TALL TEXANS
miniseries.
Available October 2014 wherever
Harlequin® Special Edition
books and ebooks are sold.
Copyright © 2014 by Diana Palmer
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ISBN-13: 9781460338742
A Match Made by Baby
Copyright © 2014 by Karen Rose Smith
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