Twins on the way change everything!
Firefighter Liam McBride is back in Loon Lake for the summer. Ellie Harding, his sister’s childhood friend—and cancer survivor—is perfectly willing to shelve her dreams of a forever family while they have a fling. But then they find out she’s pregnant—with twins! Are they on the path toward happiness? Or a collision course toward heartbreak?
The sunshine streaming in through his uncovered windows made the highlights in her shiny hair glow, and he itched to run his fingers through all those dark and reddish strands.
He tried to think of a word to describe it and couldn’t. Brown was too plain a term to describe all that lustrous silk.
“What color is your hair?” Oh man, had he actually asked that out loud? What was wrong with him?
“What?” She gave him a quizzical look.
Liam shrugged and hoped his face wasn’t as flushed as it felt. “Meg has a thing about people calling her hair red and I, uh, just wondered if you had a name for your color like she does.”
She ran a hand over her hair. “It’s chestnut. Why?”
Liam nodded, but didn’t answer her question. He’d embarrassed himself enough for one day. “Are you planning on telling me why you’re here?”
She rubbed her hands on her thighs and drew in a deep breath. “I know we decided this summer was no strings attached, but—”
“About that, Ellie, I—”
“I’m pregnant.”
* * *
SMALL-TOWN SWEETHEARTS:
Small towns, huge passion
Dear Reader,
I met Liam and Ellie while writing The Marine’s Secret Daughter and looked forward to telling their story. It wasn’t until I started writing that I realized their light banter hid some very deep emotions. As a writer, I love my characters, so torturing them wasn’t easy, but I needed to peel back the layers to expose their pain so they could heal.
After surviving childhood cancer, Ellie Harding believes in grabbing on to life. So when she gets a chance to be with her longtime crush—who also happens to be her best friend’s brother—she knows she could get her heart broken. What she didn’t expect was to get pregnant...with twins!
After the loss of his mother and a colleague to cancer, Liam McBride knows the heartbreak the disease can cause, so he’s fought his feelings for his little sister’s friend. He steps up when Ellie becomes pregnant, but can he protect his heart?
If you’ve read my first two books in the Small-Town Sweethearts series, you’ll recognize some familiar faces in His Unexpected Twins. But don’t worry if you haven’t read them because this one, like the others, is a stand-alone story.
I hope you enjoy Liam and Ellie’s journey to a happy ending. Please join me later this year for a Christmas story set in Loon Lake, with a former naval aviator and the single mother who sees past the lieutenant’s surly outer layer.
I love to hear from readers! Please visit my website: carrienichols.com.
Carrie Nichols
His Unexpected Twins
Carrie Nichols
Carrie Nichols grew up in New England but moved south and traded snow for central AC. She loves to travel, is addicted to British crime dramas and knows a Seinfeld quote appropriate for every occasion.
A 2016 RWA Golden Heart® Award winner and two-time Maggie Award for Excellence winner, she has one tolerant husband, two grown sons and two critical cats. To her dismay, Carrie’s characters—like her family—often ignore the wisdom and guidance she offers.
Book by Carrie Nichols
Harlequin Special Edition
Small-Town Sweethearts
The Marine’s Secret Daughter
The Sergeant’s Unexpected Family
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In loving memory of my cousin
Captain Donald “Chuck” Elliott
of the Springfield (MA) Fire Department.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Excerpt from Their Last Second Chance by Shirley Jump
Excerpt from Love and the Laws of Motion by Amanda Weaver
Chapter One
“How about that new guy from—”
“No.” Ellie Harding paused mid-slice in the sheet cake she was dividing into equal squares to scowl at her friend’s attempts at matchmaking.
Meg McBride Cooper stood on the opposite side of the rectangular table, a stack of plain white dessert plates cradled against her chest. Ellie and Meg were volunteering at the payment-optional luncheon held weekly in the basement of the whitewashed clapboard church on the town square in Loon Lake, Vermont.
“I don’t need or want help finding a date,” Ellie said, and considering what she’d survived in her twenty-seven years, going solo to a friend’s wedding shouldn’t even be a blip on her radar. Did her friends think she couldn’t find a date on her own? Memories surfaced of how she’d sometimes been treated after her cancer diagnosis. She knew her friends didn’t pity her, but experiencing being pitied behind her back as well as to her face as a child had made her more sensitive as an adult.
Ellie pushed aside memories and went back to slicing the chocolate frosted cake with vigorous strokes. Heck, guys called her. Yep. They called all the time. Slice. They called when they needed a shortstop for a pickup softball game or a bowling partner. Slice. One even called last month, asking if she had a phone number for that new X-ray tech. Slice.
Meg plopped the plates onto the table with a thunk and gnawed on her bottom lip as she gazed at Ellie. Yeah, Meg was feeling guilty and wanted to confess something.
“Spill it,” Ellie ordered.
“Now, don’t get mad, but...” Meg sighed. “I asked Riley if he knew anyone who might be interested in being your date for the wedding.”
“Uh-oh. Is Meg trying to set you up with arrestees...again?” A fellow volunteer, Mary Carter, came to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ellie, another sheet pan clutched in her hands. Mary was the future bride in question and a transplant to their close-knit central Vermont community, but she had jumped into town life and activities with enthusiasm. “Really, Meg, don’t you think Ellie can do better than a felon? I’m sure if I asked, Brody could contact one of his old army buddies. I’ll tell him to only choose ones that have never been arrested.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “I’m sure asking Brody won’t be necessary, Mary.”
“Just in case...” Mary set the cake next to the stack of plates. “Ellie, what are your feelings on speeding tickets, because—”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Meg interrupted and made an impatient sound with her tongue.
Ellie stifled a giggle at their antics but couldn’t decide if she was grateful or annoyed. Now that her two besties had found happily-ever-afters, they seemed to think it their sworn duty to get her settled, too. So what if she hadn’t found Mr. Right yet? Between long shifts as a nurse in the ER and studying for a more advanced degree, she led a full
, busy life, thank you very much.
Mary winked at Ellie. “At least I’m not trying to set her up with someone who’s been arrested.”
“As I’ve told both of you already, that guy wasn’t under arrest.” Meg planted her hands on her hips. “He just happened to be in the building and Riley recruited him for a police lineup, that’s all there was to it. No crime. No arrest.”
Ellie continued to slice the cake. “If there was no crime, why was there a police lineup?”
“I meant he didn’t commit a crime.”
Mary slanted a look at Ellie. “Please correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the witness identify him?”
“Mary,” Meg huffed. “You’re not helping.”
“Sorry,” Mary said, but her grin told a different story.
Ellie sucked on her cheeks to stifle a laugh, grateful to be off the hot seat, even temporarily. She appreciated her friends’ concern but she wasn’t a project. At times like this, Meg conveniently forgot she hadn’t dated anyone for five years until Riley Cooper came back to town after serving in the marines in Afghanistan. Ellie decided not to point that out because her friends meant well. And she didn’t want to turn their attention—and matchmaking attempts—back to her.
Meg blew her breath out noisily, disturbing the wisps of curly red hair that had escaped her messy ponytail. “I’ve explained this to you guys like a thousand times already. It was a case of mistaken identity. I swear.”
“Uh-huh, sure.” Mary laughed and elbowed Ellie. “Ooh, maybe Riley can get the sheriff’s department to start an eligible bachelor catch-and-release program.”
“You guys are the worst,” Meg grumbled, and began laying out the plates.
“Yup, the absolute worst, but you love us, anyway.” Ellie grinned as she plated cake slices.
“Yeah, it’s a good thing—Ooh, Ellie, how about that oh-my-God-he’s-so-gorgeous guy coming down the stairs? If I wasn’t hopelessly in love with Brody...” Mary bumped shoulders with Ellie and motioned with head.
Ellie’s gaze followed Mary’s and her heart stuttered. Liam McBride. What was he doing at the luncheon? She’d had a serious crush on Meg’s brother since...well, since forever. At four years older, Liam had seen her as an annoying kid and had treated her accordingly. By the time she’d matured enough for him to notice, she’d been “his kid sister’s friend” for so long she doubted it registered that she was a grown woman.
“What? Who? Where?” Meg whirled around and made a sound with her tongue against her teeth. “That’s Liam.”
“Liam?” Mary’s eyes widened. “You mean that’s—”
“Ellie’s date for the wedding.” Meg swiveled back, clapping her hands together, her mouth in a wide smile. “It’s perfect.”
“What? No.” Ellie took a step back, shaking her head and holding up the knife as if warding off marauding zombies. She could accept matchmaking between friends. Even being relegated to Liam’s friend zone would be acceptable, but begging for a pity date? Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen. No way. “Absolutely not.”
“No... No?” Mary glanced at Liam again and snapped back to Ellie, looking at her as if she were insane for refusing. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t want—”
“Because he’s Meg’s brother.” Ellie sneaked another glance at the sexy six-foot-two hunk of firefighter strutting toward them.
From his chronically disheveled dark brown hair and broad shoulders to his slim hips, long legs and that touch of confident swagger, Liam McBride oozed pheromones. And Ellie longed to answer their alluring call by throwing herself at his feet, but good sense, not to mention strong self-preservation instincts, prevailed. Thank God, because she didn’t relish getting stepped on by those size 13 Oakley assault boots. To him, she was his little sister’s friend. The girl who used to make moon eyes at him, the teen who blushed and stuttered every time he talked to her. When she’d been diagnosed with cancer in her teens, one of her first thoughts had been that she might never get to kiss Liam McBride.
“Be right back,” Meg threw over her shoulder and rushed to meet her brother as he crossed the room.
“Oh, my. I mean, I had no idea,” Mary whispered, leaning closer to Ellie. “Whenever she mentioned her brother, I was picturing a male version of Meg. You know...vertically challenged, wild red hair, freckles.”
Ellie burst out laughing, but drew in a sharp breath when Liam’s head snapped up. His gaze captured hers and his lips quirked into an irresistible half grin. The air she’d sucked in got caught in her chest. Why did he have to be so damn sexy? As if handsomeness had been handed out unchecked on the day he received his looks.
“Liam takes after their dad,” she whispered to Mary. And not just in physical appearance.
Ellie knew Liam and his dad had buried themselves in work when Bridget McBride got sick. Firefighting was an admirable profession, but relationships needed care and feeding, too. All Ellie had to do was look at her parents to understand the cost when one partner checked out emotionally during a life-threatening situation. She might have survived the cancer that had plagued her childhood, but her parents’ close relationship hadn’t. As an adult she knew the guilt she’d carried throughout her teen years was irrational, but that didn’t stop it from gnawing at her whenever she saw her parents together. What happened to them proved no relationship was immune to life’s challenges.
So she’d admire the sexy firefighter, and if given the chance, she’d take that secret Make-A-Wish kiss, but she’d keep her heart and hopes for the future far, far away from Liam McBride.
“Heart? You listening?” she asked sotto voce before sneaking another longing glance at Liam.
* * *
Liam’s footsteps had faltered at that distinctive laugh. Ellie Harding. Her laughter, like her honey-brown eyes, sparkled and drew him in whenever she was close. Today, her long, shiny dark hair was pulled back and secured with one of those rubber band thingies his sister and niece favored. He shook his head and tried to force his thoughts into safer territory. As his sister’s friend, Ellie was off-limits, a permanent resident of the no-dating zone. It was a good thing they lived three hours apart so he wasn’t faced with temptation on a regular basis. The last time he’d seen her was at his nephew’s christening, nearly nine months ago.
The fact that she’d had cancer as a child and could have died had nothing to do with his resistance to her charms. Nothing at all. He’d hate to think he was that shallow, despite knowing the destruction illness left in its wake.
No. His reluctance was because messing with a sibling’s friend could have nasty consequences. He and his best friend, Riley Cooper, were just patching up a huge rift in their friendship. Riley had broken the bro code and Liam’s trust by getting Meg pregnant before deploying to Afghanistan and disappearing from her life. But all that was in the past. His sister was crazy in love with Riley, who’d come back, taken responsibility for his daughter and convinced Meg to marry him. Riley was also the reason for the glow of happiness in his sister’s eyes these days.
So he’d buried the hatchet, and not in Riley’s privates as he’d longed to do once upon a time. He was even spending saved vacation time in Loon Lake to help his brother-in-law renovate. Meg and Riley were outgrowing their modest cottage-style home after the birth of their second child, James.
His gaze met Ellie’s and objections scattered like ashes. Damn, but off-limits would be a lot easier if she weren’t so appealing. Why some guy hadn’t scooped her up by now was a mystery. He almost wished one had and removed temptation. Almost. Something he kept buried deep and refused to explore railed against the picture of Ellie married to a random dude, forever out of reach. Except out of reach was where she needed to stay, because he’d filled his quota of losing people. From here on out, his heart belonged to his job. Stay back three hundred feet, Ellie Harding.
“Liam, what are you doing here?” Meg asked.
“I mean here...at the luncheon.”
“When you weren’t home, I remembered you volunteered here on Thursdays.” He shrugged. “So, here I am.”
She grinned and looped her arm through his. “You have no idea what perfect timing you have.”
Then she began guiding—yeah, more like frog-marching—him across the church basement toward Ellie of the twinkling eyes and engaging laugh.
Liam’s indrawn breath hissed through his teeth. “Uh-oh.”
“You’re the answer to our problem,” Meg said in a too-bright tone, and squeezed his arm.
“Huh, that’s new.” He gave her a side-eye look. “Usually you’re accusing me of being or causing the problem.”
Meg’s expression was calculating, as if sizing him up for something. Crap. He knew that look and nothing good ever came from it. Now that she was happily married, she seemed to think everyone should be. Living three hours away, he’d managed to avoid her less-than-subtle hints that it was time he settled down. He loved his sister and was happy to help with the interior finishing work on her new home addition, but he wasn’t about to let her manipulate him into any sort of permanent relationship. Even if the intended target had the most beautiful golden eyes he’d ever seen.
He made a show of looking around. “Where’s Riley? Why isn’t your husband here solving your problems? Isn’t that what he’s for?”
“Nah, he can’t help with this one, so enjoy being the solution for once, brother dear.” Meg stopped at the table where Ellie and an attractive dark-haired woman about the same age were dishing out slices of chocolate cake.
“Meg tells me you need me to sample that cake.” He winked at Ellie, who blushed. His breath quickened at her flushed features. Friend zone, he repeated to himself, but his mind kept conjuring up unique and enjoyable ways of keeping that pretty pink color on her face.
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