“If only you’d said something at the time.”
“I got distracted by saying other things.”
“And they were good things.”
“Thank you.”
He pinched her side. “But when I say you got me something special, I mean it. And the things I could get you pale in comparison. So please, open your damn presents. They were... I mean, I had a few days to try and put together a way to show you that I was onboard, and...well, it didn’t go exactly as planned. But they’re a part of showing you how I really feel. They’re real, I promise.”
She climbed off his lap and went to the box. There were five presents in there. He knew them by heart.
“Bring the whole box over,” he said. It wasn’t heavy.
She gave him a curious look as she set it on the coffee table. “Is there any order I should open them?”
“I’m not that organized.” He leaned back, bracing his legs wide, and crossed his arms over his chest. Then he dropped his hands to his side. “Should I have an answer there?”
She gave him a crooked smile. “No.”
“Okay.”
She pulled out one of the small packages first. She ripped into the paper, and sighed. “Aww, this is cute.”
That was the yellow sleeper with the bunnies on it. “I picked yellow because I don’t care if our baby is a boy or girl. I just want them to be healthy.”
She beamed at him. “Nice.”
“And I did some research, and the zipper is better than snaps for middle of the night diaper changes.”
Her eyes went wide again. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit. Okay, good to know.” She bit her lip.
“Keep going.” His heart pounded in his chest. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea. But he wanted to see it through.
The next one was the heavy present. A bottle of non-alcoholic sparkling wine which she wiggled at him. “We can drink this when I finish, yes?”
“Yes.” Yes, yes, a million times yes.
“Good.”
She stared down into the box. “There’s a big one that seems kind of jammed in there, and then two smaller ones. Which next?”
“Pull that big one out.” He was proud of this one. He licked his lips as she ripped the paper off, and laughed when she gave the present inside a confused look. “You need to, ah, open the package, I think.”
She did as much, and the body pillow started to inflate in her hands. The squeal she let out was downright sinful. “What is happening?”
“It’s a body pillow. Pull it all the way out of the package.”
She did, then she danced around with it. “It’s my new boyfriend.”
“I thought I might be your new boyfriend.”
“You’re my it’s-complicated.” She gave him a soft smile. “And my baby daddy, apparently. These are all amazing.”
He gestured to the box. “Keep going. There are two more.”
The next one was a massage bar, vanilla and lavender, which he ordered online from an all-organic prenatal something something. It cost him twenty bucks plus expedited shipping, and it was worth every penny for the moment she held it out and asked if he’d use it on her tonight.
Hell yes. And every night for the rest of her pregnancy.
She took a deep breath before she picked up the final present. Holding it in her hands, she came around the coffee table and sat next to Tom.
“Thank you,” she breathed, leaning in to kiss him. “I just...this is all perfect. I’m sorry I was too angry before to see that you were trying.”
“I was bumbling, mostly. This was my big plan, and it wasn’t enough. But I’m glad you’re opening them now.”
She went to stand up, and he stopped her. “Open this one here. I want to show you something about it.”
Nodding, she carefully ripped the paper open.
Inside was a hand knit blanket. Yellow and blue striped. It was a bit fuzzy in parts, but clean. Meticulously clean. That’s what came with having a control freak for a mother. He turned over the top corner and showed her his initials on the inside.
“This was yours?”
He nodded. “My baby blanket. We can put it in the nursery, or let the kid drool on it. Whatever you want.”
“It’s in amazing condition,” she said, stroking it carefully.
“I wasn’t allowed to wreck it.” He shrugged. “Our kid can do whatever he wants to it. Or she. Mabel Hank.”
Blanket gripped firmly in her hand, Chloe climbed into his lap. “I love you too, Tom. I love you so much it scares me, but I’m in. Baby blankets, rules about sleepers, regular dinners. I’m in.”
THEY SPENT THE NEXT twenty-four hours mostly naked, or as naked as was reasonable when the temperature outside was stubbornly stuck at minus twenty.
Chloe had adorable double-thick wool socks and a thick sweater she wrapped around herself when she made coffee.
He liked looking at her tug them on just as much as he enjoyed peeling them off her when she hurried back to bed.
And when she tumbled under the afghan, legs spread on either side of him, her softness made way for his hardness.
He loved being inside her. Loved the sounds she made and the greedy way her body clung to him. Like maybe she could love him too, at least like this.
This was a start. It was a connection unlike any others. Real, honest, open. Vulnerable.
He made himself go slow. To show her how much she affected him. He didn’t hold back anything—not his reactions, or his requests, or all the ways he found her incredible. He poured it all out there so she could see him.
Really see him.
And when they finally packed up, it was only to go as far as his cabin on the edge of the lake. There was still a lot to be sorted out, but one thing was no longer in question.
They were done with distance.
Whatever happened next, it would happen to them together.
IF YOU ENJOYED LOVE on the Edge of Reason, you might enjoy the other books in the Pine Harbour series! An excerpt from Olivia and Rafe’s book, Love in a Small Town, can be found on the next page.
The Pine Harbour Series
Love in a Small Town (Olivia & Rafe)
Love in a Snow Storm (Dani & Jake)
Love on a Spring Morning (Ryan & Holly)
Love on a Summer Night (Zander & Faith)
Love on the Run (Dean & Liana)
Love in a Sandstorm (Jenna & Sean)
Love on the Outskirts of Town (Matt & Tasha)
Love on the Edge of Reason (Tom & Chloe)
AN EXCERPT FROM LOVE in a Small Town, Pine Harbour #1
It was bad enough that after going through a very public divorce from the man Olivia still loved, she had to serve him breakfast four times a week. That she looked forward to those mornings...well, that wasn’t great either. But Rafe worked two jobs and lived in a tiny one-room apartment. And the other option for eggs and bacon was his mother’s café.
Liv shuddered at the thought of spending even one morning a week with her ex-mother-in-law. So she couldn’t fault Rafe for keeping his regular stool at the diner she worked at, even if it didn’t help the official party line held by all six hundred people in their small town of Pine Harbour—that their split had been her fault and Rafe was completely innocent.
The former point was true. The latter was not. Parsing the difference with the town busy-bodies was a futile effort though, so she let the whispers slide. They just added to the steaming pile of crap that was her life.
But the absolute worst was that today, Rafe had brought a date to breakfast.
And she’d serve him eggs and paste on a smile, but then she was calling a real estate agent. Whatever cosmic joke had made her fall in love with Rafe Minelli had delivered its final punch line.
He wasn’t in uniform today—either of them—but he still looked achingly good. Faded blue jeans that she recognized from the irregular rip on one of his solid thighs. Old enough that she’d washe
d them many times. The denim would be soft, and when he turned around, his wallet would be clearly imprinted in his back right pocket. And even though she wanted to grab a butter knife and gouge his heart out, first she wanted one more look at his magnificent ass.
Because she was a glutton for punishment, and Rafe delivered in bucket loads. Tall, dark, and handsome didn’t do him justice. Olivia grabbed a washcloth and wiped down the counter as she watched him guide his date to a booth under the window.
No! She wanted to shout. You sit at the counter and ask me if it’s been busy. I bug you that you need a haircut and we both remember that time I gave you a trim in the bathroom. How you slid your hands under my shirt and teased my nipples while I squealed for you to hold still. The walk down memory lane cut sharper than usual because it wasn’t shared. Even though she knew she needed to move on, let go of Rafe and start dating again, she wasn’t prepared to see him do just that. And the pretty blonde woman sitting across from him twisting the shit out of a sugar packet was wearing one of his plaid shirts, so Olivia couldn’t even pretend it was a breakfast meeting—not that Rafe would ever have business that needed to be discussed in a diner.
He was a full-time police officer and a part-time soldier. Had been a full-time son and a part-time husband, too. No room for a wife, definitely no room for a side job. No, this was definitely a morning-after-a-sleep-over breakfast and Olivia had to serve him fucking coffee. She wrenched the carafe from the warmer, grabbed two menus from under the counter, and pasted on her sweetest eat-shit-and-die smile before squaring her shoulders and approaching the couple.
“Coffee?”
They both nodded and Olivia silently lifted each of their white ceramic mugs and poured. For someone who just got laid, Rafe didn’t look happy. His eyebrows were pulled together, hooding his gaze, and he had faint dark circles under his eyes. Maybe he was realizing just how awful a human being he was to bring...
“Do you need to see a menu, Natalie?” His voice sounded strained too. He dumped two creamers in his cup and stirred roughly.
Natalie, huh? Olivia swung her gaze to the other woman. She looked nervous. Had he told her that he used to be married to their waitress? Used to wake her up with his tongue and his hands and his love, but not as often as he didn’t—he’d have to be home for that—and now they pretended to be friends a few times a week?
“I’ll just have some toast, please,” she said quietly.
Rafe sighed. “Don’t be silly.” He looked up at Olivia, his dark brown eyes unreadable. “Two breakfast specials please. And can I talk to you for a minute?”
“We’re swamped,” she said breezily, waving at the mostly empty diner. “I’ve got ketchup bottles to refill and napkins to stack, so—”
“One minute, Liv.” He pushed out of the booth and towered over her. “In private.”
KEEP READING NOW! VISIT www.zoeyork.com for links to your favourite ebook store.
About Noelle Adams
NOELLE HANDWROTE HER first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she writes full time, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.
She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances. For more information, please check out her website: noelle-adams.com.
You can find a printable version of a complete book list for Noelle Adams here.
About Samantha Chase
NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary romance, Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan's Return in November 2011.
Although she waited until she was in her 40s to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well.
With almost fifty titles currently to her name, she has no plans to slow down. You won't find her books with the erotica or paranormal titles, all of her works are pure contemporary romances.
When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene...oh, and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.
You can find out more at her website: https://www.chasing-romance.com/.
About Zoe York
NEW YORK TIMES AND USA Today bestselling author Zoe York is a busy working mom of two young boys, wife to a very understanding soldier, and creator of modern, sexy, small town contemporary romances. Her debut novel, What Once Was Perfect, started the popular Wardham series, and her first military romance, Fall Out, was released as part of the international bestselling SEALs of Summer super bundle.
Zoe is also author of the Hate F**k and Frisky Beavers erotic romance series (with Sadie Haller) under the name Ainsley Booth .
She lives in London, Ontario, and is currently chugging Americanos, wiping sticky fingers, and dreaming of heroes in and out of uniform.
Find out more at her website: http://www.zoeyork.com/
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