by Devney Perry
“I’ve never done those before,” Aria said.
“Me neither,” Gemma said.
“What are you doing?” I asked, hearing what sounded like wind in the background.
“I’m on my way to Arizona.” She whooped. “Finally. Though I’m tempted to keep this car forever and not tell Londyn. It’s been so much fun to drive all summer.”
Aria hadn’t been able to get away from work for a while, but we’d all assured her there was no rush. One of her staff members had quit and with the busy tourist season, she’d needed to stay close to The Gallaway. Clara and her son, August, had visited Oregon and offered to drive it to California, but Aria had insisted on driving it to Arizona. She was committed to this handoff.
“Drive safely,” I said.
“I will. I have two weeks off and I’m in no rush. Clara’s asshole of a boss is going to be gone when I get there so that’s a bonus.”
Gemma and I shared a look.
Aria and I had talked often since my trip to Oregon. She’d also reconnected with Gemma and Londyn, bringing Clara into the loop too. The five of us had a weekly girls’ night video chat. It had originally started as a book club but after six chats where no one had mentioned a book, we’d called it what it was—wine club. Though I’d be switching to sparkling grape juice for the next nine months.
Clara hadn’t been able to make last week’s chat. Her boss had needed some last-minute help preparing for a trip to Europe. But Aria had been there and she’d spent the first ten minutes of the call reminding us that Clara’s boss—Broderick “Brody” Carmichael—was a prick. She’d even done the air quotes around his nickname.
Gemma and I suspected that Aria’s hate maybe wasn’t hate at all.
It was too bad Brody was going to be gone while she visited Arizona. Two weeks with the billionaire might have made for an interesting wine club chat.
“Text me when you get there,” I said. “And say hi to Clara.”
“Will do. Bye.”
“She’s got a thing for the boss,” Gemma said, carefully detaching the baby as I put my phone away.
“Totally.” I draped a cloth over my shoulder and reached for baby Jake. “I’ll burp him so you can freshen up.”
“Thanks,” she said and handed him over before disappearing into the powder room.
I kissed Jake’s cheek as I patted his back. His hair was thick and dark like Easton’s. I suspected our baby would have the same.
“You’re going to be a cousin,” I whispered. “Do you think we’ll have a girl or a boy?”
He answered with a juicy belch.
“Yeah, I’m thinking boy too.”
Gemma returned, looking beautiful in her sage dress, and the two of us walked outside, me carrying the baby, to where everyone else was standing around the photographer on the front lawn.
Easton came over and took his son from my arms. “Hey, bud. Did you get a snack?”
The baby burped again, causing his father to chuckle.
“Okay.” Carol clapped, her smile wide. “Everybody ready?”
After a chorus of nods, Jake took her hand and the two of them led the family around the corner of the house.
JR held out his elbow to escort Liddy behind his parents.
Easton tucked the baby in the crook of an arm and laced his fingers with Gemma’s before the three of them set out across the lawn with the photographer.
Leaving me and Cash to trail behind.
I took one step onto the grass but he put his hand on my elbow to stop me.
“I have something for you.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a square, velvet box.
“What is this?”
He handed it to me. “Open it.”
I lifted the lid, revealing a diamond bracelet, and gasped. “Cash, it’s beautiful.”
“There was a guest here a few years ago,” he said, taking the jewelry from the box and clasping it around my wrist. “Some famous author you loved. She had a bracelet like this and you told me twice how much you loved the style. Simple and elegant—something like that.”
Not something. Those had been my exact words and he’d remembered. How long had that been? Seven years? Eight?
Part of me wished we had figured it out sooner. That we’d realized there had always been more than friendship between us. And the other part of me was happy exactly the way our love story had played out. Because looking back on those moments of friendship, knowing that Cash knew me better than any person dead or alive, made these little moments precious.
I rolled my wrist, letting the diamonds catch the light, then looked into my husband’s sparkling hazel eyes. They were prettier than diamonds and I hoped our baby would inherit them.
“What is this for?”
He brushed a kiss to my lips, then took my hand, leading us on the path to our family. “Just because.”
The Runaway series continues with Forsaken Trail.
Forsaken Trail
Aria Saint-James has planned the perfect getaway: sweatpants, takeout and two weeks alone with her sister and nephew. Nowhere on that list is wearing a low-cut dress and uncomfortable heels to attend a wedding where she knows neither the bride nor the groom. Toss in her nemesis, Brody Carmichael, and her road trip to Arizona is officially a bust.
But at least there is champagne.
She blames the bubbly for falling into bed with Brody that night. Enemy or no, the billionaire is irresistible in a tux. But after their one-night tryst, Aria has no choice but to cut her vacation short, returning home to escape his devilish smile, vowing never to see Brody again.
Except Aria gets a surprise a few weeks later—she’s pregnant. When he learns that she’s carrying his child, Brody offers Aria the chance of a lifetime. The catch? She has to live under his roof until the baby is born.
Either they’ll kill each other in nine months. Or discover love buried beneath their hate.
Order Forsaken Trail
Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading Quarter Miles! I’m so thankful you picked up a copy of Katherine and Cash’s story.
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Special thanks to my editing and proofreading team: Elizabeth Nover, Julie Deaton, Karen Lawson and Judy Zweifel. Thank you to Sarah Hansen for the cover. Thanks to my agent, Kimberly Brower.
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A huge thanks to Perry Street. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of readers to follow me along on this journey. Your support and excitement truly mean the world to me. Thank you to the incredible bloggers who read and help me with promoting new books. I am beyond grateful for all the work you do to support me and the romance community. To the Goldbrickers, thanks for motivating me to 2000 every single day.
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And lastly, to my friends and family. You are the fuel that keeps me going. Thank you!
About the Author
Devney is a USA Today bestselling author who lives in Washington with her husband and two sons. Born and raised in Montana, she loves writing books set in her treasured home state. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her family. Writing one book, let alone many, was not something she ever expected to do. But now that she’s discovered her true passion for writing romance, she has no plans to ever stop.
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