Bad Boys After Dark

by Melissa Foster

  “Their love is so big,” Tiffany said.

  Sophie fanned her face. “Okay, we need to stop. Seeing Brett with Adeline is enough to make my ovaries explode, but thinking about them with Lorelei is like that old coffee commercial where the kid finally comes home at Christmas. Instant tears.”

  They hugged and checked their hair one more time before heading back into the theater, which was already dark.

  “Did we take that long?” Sophie whispered as they walked down the aisle toward their seats. “Uh-oh. Looks like Brett and Carson got lost with Adeline. Should I go look for them?”

  “No. You know Carson. He has to understand every little thing,” Tawny said quietly. “They probably stopped to talk to the lighting guy or something.”

  They took their seats, and Sophie hoped Brett made it back with Adeline in time for her to see the show.

  The curtain went up, and the stage was pitch-black. A spotlight bloomed to life, illuminating a piano on the left side of the stage. Carson and Adeline walked out of the darkness, and Sophie gasped. “Tawny! Look!”

  Adeline faced the audience and waved. “Hi, Mommy! Hi, Uncle Dylly! Hi, Uncle Micky! Hi, Aunt Tiffany and Aunt Amanda! Hi, Sophie! Look at me! I’m onstage! And I’m gonna play a song!”

  Sophie’s eyes filled with tears, knowing Adeline had the best uncle in the world for Brett to have set this up for her. Carson looked proud as he guided his daughter over to the piano and sat beside her.

  Mick came around to Sophie’s side of the aisle and extended his hand. “Sophie, can you come with me, please?”

  Oh no. Is there a work issue? “Sure.” She stepped from the aisle, and Mick offered his arm. “What’s going on?”

  Dylan rose to his feet and placed a bouquet of flowers in her arms with a wink.

  Sophie’s pulse spiked. “What’s this?”

  Mick guided her toward the stage. Her pulse spiked anew with every step. “Mick?”

  He placed his hand on her back, urging her forward, and said, “Deep breath, Sophie. Breathe.”

  The lights brightened slowly, bringing life to a weeping willow decorated with yellow lights, a makeshift creek complete with running water and surrounded by plants and flowers like the creek in her parents’ backyard. When they reached the stage steps, she saw glittering gold and silver stars hanging from the ceiling, and beneath them Brett waited, looking darkly handsome and nervous in his navy suit and tie.

  “Oh my God.” Her legs trembled. She was pretty sure she might pass out, and grabbed Mick’s arm to stabilize herself.

  “Breathe, Sophie. This is your night.”

  As Mick accompanied her up the steps, a rose-petal path came into view—leading directly to Brett.

  Adeline began playing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and Carson took Sophie by the elbow, as if he knew her legs had turned to jelly.

  UNTIL COMING TOGETHER with Sophie, Brett’s life had been defined by a handful of happy memories followed by weighty, awful losses and several years of trying not to feel anything at all. As he watched his beautiful girlfriend walking across the stage clutching her bouquet, rose petals puddling at her feet, he wanted to memorize the trembling of her lower lip, the sway of her hips, and the look of love in her eyes. He never wanted to forget the sound of Adeline’s piano playing or the rush of emotions coursing through him. It was those all-consuming emotions that sent him forward, unable to wait a second longer to be by Sophie’s side.

  Carson gave an approving nod as Brett took Sophie’s arm and led her up the path to the tree. “Hi, baby.”

  “Brett…?” Her eyes darted to his family in the audience, then back to him again. “What are we doing?”

  “I think you know.” He took her hand and got down on one knee.

  “Oh God.” Tears welled in her eyes.

  “I had a whole speech worked out, but now that you’re here, I can’t remember a word of it.”

  She smiled as tears slid down her cheeks.

  “You’re my diamond in the sky, baby. I want to celebrate our highs and be there to pull each other through the lows. I want to go to bed with you in my arms and wake to your smiling face. I want to make all your dreams come true, baby. I want everything with you. Will you marry me? Be my forever kiss?”

  He rose to his feet, and she stepped closer, the bouquet of roses crushed between them as she whispered in a shaky voice, “Define everything?”

  “Everything, baby. White picket fence, a house in Oak Falls for when you feel like going there, babies, sitting on the porch with a shotgun when our girls go to homecoming.”

  She smiled through her tears, squeezing his hand, and asked, “Are you one hundred percent sure you want children?”

  “Absolutely. I want as many as you want, and I promise to love them and provide for them and parent them enough that they’ll think I’m a big pain in the ass.”

  She laughed and whispered, “That’s good, because I think I’m pregnant.”

  Shocked laughter fell from his lips. “Pregnant? Really?”

  She nodded. “I took a test before we came, and it was positive.”

  “Baby!” he shouted. Tears sprang from his eyes as he hauled her against him. “Oh my God. We’re going to have a baby!” He kissed her hard, both of them laughing as gasps and cheers rang out around them. “Sophie, is that a yes?”

  “Yes!” she said between kisses. “Yes, I’ll marry you!”

  The lights brightened, and rose petals showered them from above as he slipped the diamond engagement ring on her finger. Then he reached into his pocket and handed her another ring.

  “What’s this?” She looked at the gold band and read the inscription on the outside of the ring. “Forever Sophie’s?”

  “You said I could only have a billboard saying you were taken if you had one saying I was.” He held up his left hand, and she slid the ring on his finger. “I’m yours, baby. And see that tree over there? That’s one of our forever-kiss trees. We’ll have two. One in Oak Falls and one in our home here.”

  “Oh, Brett!” She launched herself into his arms as her entire family, along with Grace and the rest of Brett’s family, rushed the stage. “Oh my gosh! My family…?” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I love you so much.”

  “Did I hear baby?” Nana asked as she pried them apart and hugged Sophie. “I knew all that fierce lovin’ would lead to something, but I figured a ring. This is so much better!”

  They were passed from one loving embrace to the next, and when they finally landed back in each other’s arms, Brett saw his father holding Adeline in his arms, standing with his brothers and his mother, and he knew if Lorelei could see them now, she’d be proud of them all. He gazed into Sophie’s beautiful eyes, ready to be the husband she deserved and a father to their children she could be proud of.

  Sophie went up on her toes and kissed him. “Marrying you was one of my secret fantasies.”

  “Baby, I have a slew of new fantasies, each involving my gorgeous, pregnant fiancée.”

  Epilogue

  SOPHIE STOOD IN the master bedroom of hers and Brett’s new vacation home in Oak Falls, which they’d built on the acreage her parents had subdivided from their own property and given them as an early wedding present. She could see her parents’ house from the window, and in the distance, the roof of her grandparents’ home. She put her hand on her burgeoning belly and sighed happily. The last six months had not flown by, and she was thankful for that. She wanted to savor every minute, moving her things into Brett’s—their—home, going together to her doctor appointments, disagreeing on baby names, enjoying Naked Saturdays, and hosting brunch on Sundays. Her gaze traveled to their young weeping willow by the creek. It was too small to carve their initials into just yet, but Lindsay’d had a metal plaque made with their initials inside a heart, which now hung from the lowest branch.

  “You’re not supposed to see your groom yet,” Grace said as she closed the curtains. “It’s bad luck, and I’m not taking any chances wi
th my best friend’s love life.” As the maid of honor, she had been there every step of the way, as had Lindsay, their mother, grandmother, Brett’s mother, and all of Brett’s sisters-in-law, as they’d planned the wedding.

  Then I won’t tell you that he snuck in and we made out before everyone arrived. Or how I already peeked at him standing with his family by the creek, and how my knees went weak at the sight of his father with his arm around his shoulder.

  Grace’s eyes widened. “Oh God. Sophie! Really?”

  “What?” She should know better than to think about kissing Brett when she was trying to keep it a secret—especially from Grace.

  “As if I can’t read that expression? You are wicked!” Her gaze shifted over Sophie’s shoulder as Nana approached.

  “Wickedness seems to run in our family,” Nana said. She fiddled with the chiffon skirt of Sophie’s ivory wedding gown and then touched the slim, pink silk bow tied above her baby bump. “You look beautiful, honey.”

  “Thanks, Nana.” Sophie and Grace had set aside several weekends solely for wedding dress shopping, but they’d found her beautiful gown in the first shop they’d gone into. The princess-cut and flowing material left plenty of room for her expanding belly. Only the halter neckline had to be altered to accommodate her bust, which Brett was thoroughly enjoying.

  “I still don’t know why you two were in such a hurry to build a house when your parents have plenty of room.” Nana smoothed her dress over her hips.

  “Because they’d like a little privacy,” Sophie’s mother said.

  Nana set a hand on her hip and raised her brows. “As if I won’t just walk right in and drag you two out of bed when you need dragging.”

  “I love you, Nana,” Sophie said, “but I’m going to lock my doors until at least eight o’clock in the morning.”

  Nana patted Sophie’s hand. “I’m not worried. Once that baby’s woken you up at three a.m. enough times, you’ll be begging me to spend the night just to care for the sweet bundle.”

  Lindsay breezed into the room, and Amanda, Tiffany, and Tawny followed her in. They all looked gorgeous in pink high-low bridesmaid gowns. Amanda and Tiffany had gotten pregnant on or around the night Brett had proposed to Sophie, and they were excited to be having babies so close together.

  “Are we ready?” Lindsay asked. “Mr. Not so Pure and Very Immense is waiting.”

  “Mr. what?” Sophie asked.

  “I guess you never saw what he wrote in Nana and Poppi’s anniversary journal?” Lindsay asked. “You wrote that you hoped you’d get lucky enough to find love as pure and immense as Nana and Poppi’s, and Brett wrote ‘Happy anniversary’ and signed it ‘Mr. Not So Pure and Very Immense.’”

  Sophie beamed with pride. “That’s my man.”

  “By the looks of you guys, all of y’all have feisty men,” Nana said as she surveyed their baby bumps. “You all look like an advertisement for Planned Parenthood. When does Adeline get a sibling?” she asked Tawny.

  “Where is Adeline?” Sophie asked.

  “She’s out back with Grace’s sisters, whom she found fascinatingly colorful,” Tawny said. “They’re throwing rose petals on the aisle leading up to the gazebo.” Sophie’s father and Poppi had built a beautiful gazebo for the wedding, and Lindsay had decorated it with flowers and ivy.

  “I bet she found them colorful,” Grace mumbled, sharing a knowing smile with Sophie.

  “Adeline looks adorable in her frilly dress,” Sophie’s mother said. “Do you and Carson plan to have more children?”

  Tawny put her hand on her nearly flat stomach and said, “You can only hear ‘Mommy, I want a baby, too’ so many times before you give in.”

  There was a collective gasp.

  “You’re pregnant?” Sophie asked.

  “We didn’t want to tell anyone until after your big day, but…” Tawny’s green eyes lit up as she nodded. “Twelve weeks yesterday.”

  Amanda squealed. “This is so great!”

  “Another baby shower to plan!” Lindsay said.

  There was a group hug around their burgeoning bellies. Sophie had been close to the girls before she and Brett had come together, but the way they’d accepted Grace and Lindsay into their close-knit circle made her love them even more.

  Tawny touched her stomach again. “We’re excited. But we haven’t told Adeline yet, because we were afraid she’d spill the beans. We’ll tell her after the wedding.”

  “Jackie will be over the moon!” Sophie’s mother said. She and Brett’s mother had become close while they were planning the wedding.

  “She is,” Tawny said. “We told her already. She’s so happy that her family is finally coming together after all these years.”

  “Family is everything. And what’s this I hear about you coming back home for a few weeks, Grace?” Nana asked.

  “I see my mother’s been spreading the news,” Grace said. “My sister Amber asked me to teach a screenplay writing class at her bookstore, and I could use the break.”

  “Fresh matchmaking blood!” Nana rubbed her palms together.

  “Mom! You’ll scare her off before she even arrives.” Sophie’s mother shook her head. “Sorry, Grace. I’ll try to keep her on Lindsay’s trail.”

  “No, thank you,” Lindsay snapped. “I do not want to get married. Grace, you and I will have to stick together.”

  “It’s not like I’m moving back or will have oodles of time to try to find a man, Nana, so maybe you should focus on one of my sisters instead.”

  “How about if we focus on getting this wedding off the ground,” Sophie’s father said from the doorway. He looked handsome in a dark suit and pink tie, matching all the men in the wedding party.

  “Are they ready?” Sophie looked at Grace, who reached for her hand and mouthed, Breathe.

  Her father said, “I think Brett’s about ready to come up here and carry you down over his shoulder. That man’s anxious to be your husband, sugarplum.”

  “Okay, girls, let’s go.” Lindsay ushered them toward the door.

  Sophie’s father offered her his arm. “You look gorgeous, sweetheart.”

  “Thanks, Daddy. And thank you for the land and the beautiful wedding,” she said as they made their way downstairs.

  Her father stopped on the third step down, and they both looked at the pictures hanging on the wall. There were already so many of them, a copy of the picture of Brett and Sophie at his brothers’ wedding, the picture Lindsay had taken of them beneath the willow tree, selfies they’d taken over time, and of course they were all intermixed with pictures of their families and friends.

  “Your family is much bigger than mine was when I got married,” her father said. “You might need a bigger wall.”

  Sophie pointed to the bare wall above eye level, which led all the way up to the two-story ceiling. “My brilliant husband-to-be already thought of that.”

  BRETT FIDGETED NERVOUSLY as each of his brothers and sisters-in-law, and the rest of the wedding party, walked down the aisle. Their family was expanding in leaps and bounds, and he was elated that his and Sophie’s baby would have cousins who were close in age. He glanced at his parents, catching his father’s eye, and felt a well of gratitude instead of the anger and hurt that used to live inside him. They still had things to work out, hurdles to overcome, but the last six months had brought them together in a way he’d never imagined possible. He’d asked his mother about her friendship with his father, and she’d said that she’d learned long ago not to close the door on anyone she loved. Brett thought that was a good rule of thumb, though he hoped he’d never be given cause to put it to a test.

  His gaze swept over Sophie’s family and friends smiling as they watched Mick and Amanda walk down the aisle. These were the people who had unknowingly helped change his views and his life. Sophie had opened a door, and everyone here had walked through it, reviving his faith in what could be. What he wanted for Sophie. He knew he should try to remember every detail of their
wedding day, but as Adeline skipped down the aisle instead of walking, as they’d practiced, he knew none of it would stick in his head except his stunning bride, pregnant with their first child, standing at the other end of the rose-petal aisle with stars in her beautiful blue eyes. She was a vision in ivory with her long dark hair cascading over her shoulders, holding her father’s arm and carrying a bouquet beside her beautiful round belly.

  When her smiling eyes landed on Brett, the rest of the world faded away. He didn’t think as he stepped forward, closing the distance between them. It wasn’t until he was standing before her and Sophie whispered, “You were supposed to wait up there,” that he realized what he’d done.

  Chuckles came from their friends and family.

  Brett gazed into Sophie’s eyes and said, “When have I ever done what I was supposed to do?” He glanced at Del, who wore an amused expression. “Sorry, Del.”

  “Don’t ever be sorry for loving my daughter.”

  Sophie turned and hugged her father. “Thank you, Daddy. I love you.”

  “I love you too, sugarplum.” Del kissed her cheek and went to his wife’s side.

  Brett took Sophie’s hand, unable to stop smiling as he gazed into her loving eyes, and said, “Are you ready, Sexy Sophie?”

  Her eyes glittered in the sunlight as she squeezed his hand and said, “For anything.”

  Ready for more Love in Bloom romance?

  Join Sophie’s friend Grace in her search for her own happily ever after in EMBRACING HER HEART, the first book in the Montgomery series.

  In EMBRACING HER HEART…

  Leaving New York City and returning to her hometown to teach a screenplay writing class seems like just the break Grace Montgomery needs. Until her sisters wake her at four thirty in the morning to watch the hottest guys in town train wild horses and she realizes that escaping her sisters’ drama-filled lives was a lot easier from hundreds of miles away. To make matters worse, she spots the one man she never wanted to see again—ruggedly handsome Reed Cross.