by Kait Nolan
Where is the camera when I need it?
The dog rose from a sit and nosed Parker’s hand. She gave a happy burble and Myles jolted awake, his arms coming around her.
“How’s my little cutie pie?” He pressed a kiss to Parker’s downy head.
“Having a little daddy-daughter time?”
“You’re up. Sleep okay?”
“I did. I feel almost like a real human.” Piper crossed over to the chair, perching on the arm and leaning down to kiss him. “Although it’s Father’s Day. I should’ve been letting you sleep in.”
“I have exactly what I want, right here. My two best girls.”
“I read your editorial.”
His eyes brightened. “Yeah? What did you think?”
“It was somewhat hyperbolic, but completely you. You undo me, Myles.”
“Just speaking the truth.”
When he tugged her into his lap, Piper fell willingly, snuggling them both. “I love you. However, you’re still not changing my mind.”
“Aw, come on,” he pleaded. “Just look at her.” He waved Parker’s little arm and bounced his leg, making her giggle.
Piper held out a finger for her to grip. God she was growing so fast. “Yes, she’s the most adorable baby ever. And we’re still not starting on a second one until she’s at least two.”
He mimed a pout that looked an awful lot like one of Parker’s.
“Nice try. Not happening, my love. I’ve made sure of that.”
“As I recall, you were pretty sure of it the last time, and we got the world’s greatest oops out of the bargain.” The grin he flashed held a wicked edge.
Piper looked to the heavens. “Please, dear God, cover your ears and don’t listen to him.”
“Party pooper.”
“Yes, pooper! We already have two. Only one of them goes outside. That’s enough for now. I will, however, make you some Father’s Day pancakes.”
Loaf barked in approval.
“Pancakes sound awesome.”
As she moved into the kitchen, Myles followed, Parker on his hip and a faint frown on his face.
“You’re really disappointed about this, aren’t you?”
“A little, yeah. I mean, I know it’s kind of crazy. But they say it can take a long time to get pregnant with the second one.”
“Or it can happen in an instant. Case in point.” She gave her daughter a smacking kiss. “Now turn that frown upside down and pack an overnight bag for Parker.”
“Why?”’
“Because she’s going to stay at Grandma’s for the night so you can get the rest of your father’s day present.”
His eyes lit with interest. “Which is?”
“A night of completely uninterrupted sleep.” She sent a saucy grin his way. “And maybe me in that negligee you got me for Valentine’s that I haven’t had a proper opportunity to wear.”
One brow winged up. “Oh yeah?”
Piper winked. “I said we weren’t having a second baby yet. I never said we couldn’t practice.”
What’s Next In Wishful?
I hope by now you’ve fallen as much in love with my little town as I have. I’ve got many many stories planned.
Next up in the pipeline is Wish I Might, the story of Reed Campbell (that’d be Cam’s youngest cousin from To Get Me To You) and Cecily Dixon (Norah’s intern). It’s a novella that will be included in the upcoming anthology, Virtually Yours. Look for it April 1, 2016. Better yet, sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gQvcX so you know exactly when it’s released.
As soon as that’s out the door, I finally get my chance at the couple that captured my imagination more than a year ago—Judd Hamilton and Autumn Buchanan. This friends-to-lovers romance has been a long time coming, and believe you me, Autumn has not been pleased about that! She’s been tapping her feet and giving me death glares since February. Not that I blame her. She’s been in love with Judd all her life, and after years of being in the friend zone, she’s finally decided that Something’s Gotta Give. The pool at Dinner Belles on this one is gonna be HUGE!
If you want to keep up with all the action in Wishful (and get to see snips of works in progress) and hang out with like-minded readers, come join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wishfulseries/
You can also like my page on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/kaitnolanwriter
Anyway, thanks for reading! And if you loved the book, please consider leaving a review or telling a friend. These days, it's harder than ever to get a new book noticed. Many of the promotional opportunities out there require a minimum number of reviews—10 at the low end, 50+ at the high. If you enjoyed this book, taking just a minute of your time to click the star rating and write a few words would help me tremendously, and allow me to continue to bring you the stories you enjoy.
Other Books By Kait Nolan
Contemporary Romance
Wishful Series
Once Upon A Coffee (Avery and Dillon): Available for FREE!
To Get Me To You (Cam and Norah): Available for FREE!
Be Careful, It’s My Heart (Tyler and Brody)
Know Me Well (Liam and Riley):
Once Upon A Setup (A Meet Cute Romance with Piper and Myles!)
Just For This Moment (Myles and Piper)
Wish I Might (Reed and Cecily): Part of the Virtually Yours anthology | Sneak Peek at the end!
Something’s Gotta Give (Judd and Autumn): Coming Winter 2016
Meet Cute Romance
Once Upon A Snow Day
Once Upon A New Year’s Eve
Once Upon An Heirloom
Once Upon A Coffee: Available for FREE!
Once Upon A Setup
Meet Cute Romance: Volume 1 (Meet Cutes 1-5)
Paranormal Romance
Mirus Series:
Genesis (an omnibus including, Forsaken By Shadow (Mirus 1.1), Devil’s Eye (Mirus 1.2), and Blindsight )
Riven
Whisper of Shadow (Also available in the Magical Mayhem anthology)
YA Paranormal Romance:
Red
Whisper of Shadow
Excerpt Wish I Might: Wishful #5 from the Virtually Yours anthology.
(Reed and Cecily’s story)
Available April 1, 2016!
Reed eyed Cecily’s dark house as he pulled into the drive. “Think Christoff is asleep?”
“He’s either over at Daniel’s or he’s lying in wait to pounce on me for details the moment I walk through the door.” She shot an amused glance his way. “He was always on your side.”
“Good to know.” Reed got out and hurried around to open her door. “Ma’am.”
She took his offered hand. “You Southern boys certainly have pretty manners.”
“Some old-fashioned things are worth retaining.” He kept her hand in his as they walked up to the front porch, not wanting the night to end.
“You want to sit for a little while?”
He smiled, glad they were on the same page. “Sure.”
She led him over to the little glider.
Reed took the seat beside her and ran his hand over the wooden arm of the glider. “I’ve never seen one quite like this.”
“It’s made of upcycled shipping pallets.”
“Seriously?”
“Daniel made it. You should see some of the things he can put together. He’s working on starting a business of it. The Pallet Palace. I did his website back in the summer. Right now it’s largely custom orders, since he doesn’t have a place to store stock, but he hopes to expand eventually.” She tugged a blanket off the back. “It’s a bit chilly tonight.”
“Welcome to fall in Mississippi. Summer temps in the daytime and cold at night. C’mon.” Reed opened his arms in invitation.
She tucked the blanket around their legs and snuggled in close, resting her head against his chest. He decided it was an almost perfect end to a pretty perfect night—run-in with Annelise notwithstanding.
“So did you ge
t what you needed out of the reading?”
Cecily laughed. “Was that really why you asked me to go?”
“Partly. Mostly I wanted to see you in my world. You fit pretty well. For a Yankee.”
“Really? That’s the part you focus on after everything you know about me?”
So sure she’d be judged on her affluent background. He skimmed his fingers through her silky hair, resisting the urge to bury his nose in the sweet, lemony scent. “It’s the only relevant part. You passed the cornbread test.”
“It was damned good cornbread.” On a contented sigh, she said, “I had fun.”
“Good. There’s a lot of other stuff I want to show you to further your southern education.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“The Sweet Potato Festival is only a few weeks off.”
“Sweet potatoes?” Her voice dripped with skepticism.
“Sure. Vardaman is the sweet potato capital of the world. Once you’ve had sweet potato pie, you’ll never go back to pumpkin.”
“Blasphemer! There is no Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.”
“I’ll concede that it’s worth having both.”
“Generous of you.”
“I’m pretty sure there’s no such thing as too much pie.”
She grinned up at him. “I’ve eaten your grandmother’s pie. This is a true thing. What else?”
“Well, there’s the Spring pilgrimage in Columbus. It’s not as grand as the one in Natchez, but it’s closer and easier to manage. You’ll totally dig all the folks that dress up in period clothes to give the tours of all the antebellum homes.”
Reed knew as soon as the words left his mouth that it was the wrong thing to say. He could actually see the reality of their situation come crashing back down on her. Every fiber of his being wanted to rewind, have a do-over as the light in her eyes dimmed and her expression twisted into regret.
“Reed—”
Please don’t say it.
She pulled away from him, tugging the blanket up to her chin. “I’m interviewing in San Francisco in a few weeks.”
It wasn’t what he’d expected.
Don’t go. But, of course, he had no right to ask that. “Congratulations.”
One corner of her mouth twitched into a wry smile. “That isn’t what you want to say and we both know it.”
“Those Southern manners are too deeply ingrained for me to say what I want to say.”
“It’s a top tier firm. Very prestigious. One of my short list. There’s a big possibility I won’t get the job.”
“But if you do get it, you’re gone.”
She gave a What can I do? shrug.
There was plenty she could do. With the means at her disposal, she could stay if she really wanted to. But he knew how much she wanted to succeed on her own terms, without the help of her family, so he didn’t say a word. How could he, when he admired the hell out of her choice to do exactly that? He’d known her leaving was a very real possibility when he decided to pursue her again. But he’d thought he’d have more time to convince her that staying here was the right move. As usual he’d miscalculated.
He sighed. “I know how hard you’ve worked for this.” Sometimes it was a real pisser to be able to see both sides of a situation.
“I like you, Reed. I’ve always liked you. But I just don’t think it’s smart to start something when I might not be around to finish it.”
“So, what exactly was tonight then?”
“I don’t know. Part business. Part apology. Part what if?”
He nodded, though he didn’t know what he was agreeing with. His mind was full of his own what ifs. What if he hadn’t said the wrong thing at the lake? What if they’d had the last three months to deepen the connection between them? Would she still be planning to leave?
They were useless questions. He had; they hadn’t; and she was. That was reality.
At least she hadn’t called it a mistake.
Looking over at her, he hated the mix of concern and sorrow on her face. “You aren’t going to start avoiding me again, are you?”
Even in the moonlight, he could see her blush.
“No. Quite apart from the fact that I still have a job to do, I’d like to be friends.”
The whole idea left a sour taste in his mouth. But it wasn’t like he wanted to hurt her by saying no.
“Sure.” He rose, letting the blanket slide off his lap. “It’s late. I should be getting on home.”
Cecily unfolded and dug out her key. “See you on Monday?”
“Yeah. You know where to find me.” Reed waited until she’d unlocked the door, then took a step back, lifting a hand in a completely lame wave before shoving both hands in his pockets to keep from reaching for her. “Night.”
He could feel Cecily’s gaze on him as he walked to his car and wondered what she was thinking. Was she second guessing her decision? No, that was probably wishful thinking.
One foot in front of the other. Do not open your mouth and embarrass yourself any further.
His phone buzzed with an incoming text as he slid into the driver’s seat. Pulling it out, he found a message from Selina.
You’re quiet tonight.
Because I’ve been spending time with a real girl, not a figment of technology and imagination. For all the good it’s done me.
A light went on in the house and Cecily shut the door. He cranked the car, staring at the phone until the screen went dark. He didn’t want this. Didn’t want a fake girlfriend. Didn’t want the lie. He wanted the woman he’d just walked away from. And how was she to know that if he didn’t man up and show her?
Reed turned off the engine and sprinted across the yard.
Cecily opened the door before he could knock. “Reed? Did you forget something?”
“Yeah.” He stepped inside, spearing his hands into her hair and claiming her mouth before she could say another word.
Her body gave one quick jolt, her hands coming up to his shoulders. Reed braced to be pushed away, maybe slapped. Then she shuddered and opened to him on a sexy little moan, moving in and wrapping her arms around his neck. Reed kicked the door shut and backed her up against it, caging her with his body, while he devoured her mouth. This wasn’t the slow, languid exploration at the lake. It was pure, unadulterated wanting. He had just enough control to keep his hands in her hair, rather than sprinting over the body she pressed against his.
When he felt even that thread begin to fray, he gentled the kiss and forced himself to ease back, pressing his brow to hers as his breath heaved, fast and unsteady. “I don’t wanna be friends. I’d rather have this time with you now and be torn up when you go than have nothing at all.”
“Sweetie, if you don’t say yes to him after that display, I’m checking you into the nearest mental hospital.”
Reed cranked his head around to see Christoff smirking with approval from the hall. Well, too late for embarrassment. “That’d be Whitfield. Just so you know.”
“Noted,” he said cheerfully.
Cecily tipped Reed’s face back toward hers, rubbing a thumb along the scruff of his jaw. “Not necessary. I may be crazy, but it won’t be for saying no. Now, go away, Christoff,” she said, and tugged Reed’s mouth down to hers.
