She looked away from me, and a tear spilled down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb. “Bella, listen to me. Mom and I love you more than anything. You are everything to us. A new baby will not change that. A new baby just adds more love to our family.”
Bella sniffed again and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her pajamas.
“Do you believe me, kiddo?”
She didn’t say anything.
“Did you feel like this when your brother was born?”
She shook her head.
“Do you feel like Mom and I love him more than we love you?”
She shook her head again, this time a little less sure of herself. She blinked up at me. “No.”
“Then why would we love another baby more?”
“I don’t know. I was just scared that you would.”
“There is nothing that could ever make Mom or I love you less, kiddo. I promise. Besides, being the oldest means you’ll be able to talk to us more. We can’t have conversations with Braxton like you and I do.”
“Yeah, because he can’t talk.”
“Exactly.” I chuckled.
She shifted in my lap and wrapped her arms around me. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, kiddo. If you ever feel like this again, will you tell me?”
She nodded.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Good,” I said.
Just then, Rein came back into the room. She was carrying a wooden tray loaded up with food. I could smell the coffee before the eggs, and I inhaled deeply.
“That smells good,” I said.
Rein set it down on the middle of the bed and climbed up with us. There was a small plate of plain scrambled eggs for Braxton. She lay down on her side and began spooning it into his mouth as Bella and I gathered around the tray and dug in.
There were strawberries and fresh pineapple, along with some toast and more scrambled eggs.
“This is a feast,” I said.
Rein smiled at me and then resumed feeding Braxton.
I reached out and put a hand on her ankle. “You alright?”
Rein nodded. “Yes. But I do have something for you. Could you finish feeding Braxton and give me a minute?”
“Uh, sure,” I said.
She handed me his plate and spoon and then put Braxton in my lap.
“Bella, can you come with me a second?” Rein asked.
Bella looked up at me. I shrugged.
She slipped off the bed and the two of them left me in the bedroom with Braxton. I looked down at my son, who was reaching for the spoon in my hand that held a bite of eggs. I guided it into his mouth and went back for more.
“Looks like it’s a feast for just the two of us,” I muttered.
He flapped his arms gleefully and cooed as I filled the spoon with more eggs. I lifted it to his mouth and chuckled as he slurped it between his lips.
Then I spotted the pineapple on the tray. “You want to try something yummy?” I cut off a small piece and slid it on the spoon. “It’s going to be a flavor explosion compared to what you’re used to.”
Braxton took the bite. At first nothing happened, but then his arms flew straight out, and he kicked his legs. I laughed, unable to contain myself, and he blew bubbles with his mouth. Then, when his taste buds settled down, he opened his mouth up wide.
“More?” I asked, laughing. “Alright then.”
Rein
I took Bella down the hall to her bedroom and closed the door behind us. She turned to face me, putting her back to her bed, and tilted her head to the side.
“Why are we in here?” she asked curiously. “I’m hungry.”
“Me too. Don’t worry. We’ll eat soon.” I went over to her closet and pulled open the doors.
“What are you doing?” Bella asked.
“I need your help with something,” I said, stretching onto my tip toes and grabbing a box from the very top of the closet. It was wrapped in yellow paper and had a purple bow on top.
“What’s that?” Bella asked as I turned around.
“A surprise for your dad.”
Bella smiled. “Really?”
I nodded and walked over to her. “I hid it in your closet because I knew it was the only place he’d never see it.”
“What’s inside the box?”
I patted the top of her head. “You’ll have to wait and find out with your dad, okay? It’s a surprise for the whole family.”
“Okay,” Bella said suspiciously, biting the corner of her cheek.
“Come on, let’s go back in.”
Bella took my hand, and we went back into the bedroom where Brayden had Braxton in his lap and was feeding him pineapples.
There was pineapple juice all over the comforter.
I cleared my throat, and Brayden looked up, his face a mask of sheer amusement. “Hey,” he said. “Watch this. He loves pineapple.” I watched as Brayden put a small piece of pineapple on his spoon. Braxton slurped it up and squinted his eyes closed with delight. Then Brayden noticed the mess he was making. “I’ll do laundry later.”
“It’s alright,” I said with a smile. I climbed up onto the bed and sat on my knees. Bella climbed up beside me. It was then that Brayden noticed the purple and yellow box in my hands. His eyes went from the gift to me.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“A present.”
“Apparently.”
“Wise guy.” I smirked.
He pointed his chin to the box and waggled his eyebrows. “Come on, let’s open it.”
“In a minute,” I said. I met his eyes. “Brayden, I just want you to know how happy you’ve made me. How happy you’ve all made me.” I looked at Bella and rested a hand on her shoulder as she smiled back up at me. I stared into my husband’s eyes. “I am so in love with you, and I have been since the first night you kissed me on your mother’s porch. We both had our very first kiss there. In our hometown. I want to spend my life making you as happy as you make me. And so, I have a gift for the whole family.”
I held out the box.
Brayden nodded at Bella. “You want to open it, kiddo?”
“Can I?” Bella asked, looking up at me.
I nodded and passed her the box.
Brayden watched her as she began unwrapping it. I kept my eyes on him. He leaned forward, lifting Braxton up with him so that he could peer down into Bella’s lap as she pulled the top off the now unwrapped box.
Inside, nestled within a bed of powder blue tissue, was a pair of baby shoes.
Brayden’s eyes widened and swept up to meet mine. I covered my mouth and laughed nervously.
“Are you serious?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Really?”
I nodded again. “I went to the doctor last week and took a test. We’re going to have another baby.”
Brayden let out a victorious shout and lifted Braxton up in the air. I couldn’t contain my laughter as Bella hugged me tightly. Brayden closed in on us and put Braxton in my lap, then wrapped his arms around all of us in a massive bear hug.
“The Hennies are soon to be a family of five,” he said, pressing his forehead to mine. “How do you feel about that, Bella?”
She looked up at us from my lap. “I’m excited,” she said, beaming.
“Yeah?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yeah.”
I sensed that there was something that happened between them that I was missing, but I decided not to pry. Even though Bella called me “Mommy,” there was a bond she and Brayden shared that was special and private. He would tell me what was going on if he wished, or she would. I wouldn’t ask. I had never had to, up to this point, and I didn’t see a reason to start now.
I reached up and held Brayden’s face in my hands. His whiskery cheeks tickled my palms as he smiled and stared into my eyes; into my soul. “I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you, too. And you, kiddo.” He ruffled Bella’s h
air. He grabbed the box from where it now lay on the bed and took the baby shoes out. They were little blue sneakers with white laces and plaid insoles. He stuck his fingers in them and held them up, grinning like an idiot. “So, does this mean you think it’s a boy again?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I couldn’t tell until around the three-month mark last time. I just liked these.”
“They’re pretty cute,” Brayden agreed.
He leaned over and put them on his night stand, where I knew they were to likely stay for the rest of my pregnancy. He had a tendency to hold on to sentimental things. I liked that about him.
“Come on,” I said to Bella. “Let’s finish eating. I’m starving. I couldn’t eat before. I was just too excited to tell you guys.”
Brayden pulled the tray over to us. Braxton rolled out of my lap and onto his stomach on the bed. He played with the sheets as the rest of us began picking at the food on the tray.
I popped a strawberry in my mouth and smiled as Bella did the same. After I swallowed, I dabbed at the corners of my mouth with a napkin. “Are you still hoping you have a sister, Bella?”
Bella took some eggs and started eating. “No, I’ll be happy no matter what. As long as the baby is healthy.”
I looked up at Brayden. He was smiling proudly at his daughter.
“That’s good to hear,” I said, knowing that later that night, as Brayden and I lay in bed, he would have a story to share with me about Bella’s change of heart.
Bella nodded. “Yep. How long until the baby is here?”
“About eight months.”
Brayden chuckled. “So, Florida?”
“Florida.” I nodded.
My mind instantly went to our evening in the spa. I thought of the fountains and the colored lights and the way Brayden had looked at me. It was the same way he was looking at me now. Like he had something he cherished and would never let go of.
It was a wonderful feeling.
My mind conjured up memories of rose petals and silk bed sheets and bubble baths. I remembered having Brayden’s hands all over me as we made love over and over. It had been a night of pure bliss, and it was fitting to think that it might have been the night we conceived our child.
Brayden laid down on his back after we all finished eating. Bella snuggled in beside him, tucking herself into his side. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the side of her head as I laid down on her other side with Braxton in my arms.
“Before I forget,” I said. “I need you to promise me something, Brayden.”
Half of his face was buried in his pillow, but he looked at me with one eye. “Anything.”
“Whether this baby is a boy or a girl, I want to hear you promise right now that we will not give them a name that starts with a B.”
Brayden roared with laughter.
Bella looked back and forth between us, missing the humor but wanting to be part of it.
“Okay, okay,” Brayden said. “I can agree to that. With all of you as witnesses, I promise that we will not name our new family member something that starts with the letter B.”
“Good,” I said.
“What about an R instead?” he asked, lifting his head off the pillow to rest it in one hand.
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Will we wait and leave it as a surprise this time?” Bella asked. “Or can we find out if it’s a boy or a girl early?”
“What do you want to do, Bella?” Brayden asked.
She pursed her lips as she considered his question. “Let’s wait again. I liked the surprise at the end.”
Brayden grinned. “Me too.”
“Do I get a say?” I asked teasingly.
“Nope.” Brayden shook his head.
I snuggled Braxton closer to my chest and rested my cheek on his head. I listened to him breathe softly as he drifted off for a nap. Bella reached out and took his little hand in hers, and I looked up to find Brayden staring at me.
“I love you,” I mouthed silently so as not to disturb the kids.
“I love you, too,” he mouthed back.
His eyes glistened with tears, and he closed them for a moment. One escaped the corner of his eye and rolled into his pillow. I reached out and stroked his cheek. He kissed my palm, and we stayed like that for a while, basking in the news that we were going to bring another child into the world.
I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of my slumbering family around me as I placed a hand on my belly.
You will be so loved here, I thought peacefully.
The End
Author Note: Appreciate you picking up mine and Ali’s newest release. This one was a doozy. All of the emotion and heat... I needed a drink and a cold shower. We have a few exclusive (published nowhere else) stories below for you. Hope you enjoy them, and if you’re good with just My Last First Kiss, then thanks again. We do what we do for readers like you.
Opposites Attract - Exclusive
Chapter 1
Ryan
The airport was probably the smallest one I had ever seen, with a few runways mostly taken up by small, private prop planes. The concrete runways were cracked and soiled, but they worked okay, or at least, the fact that I was still alive attested to that. I wasn’t used to rural areas, but this was all for the project, and it was important that I made the most of it. Driving away from my personal luxury jet was painful, though. I already missed the lush seats, the climate-controlled cabin, and the drinks. I really missed the drinks. The jet had been one of the most exciting purchases of my career, and I decked it out to feel like home, especially since I spent so much time in it. It almost felt strange to see it from the outside, sitting in the barely covered hangar bays.
I wasn’t born into the rich life, being the guy from the wrong side of the tracks, or so they called me, but I found that the rich life suited me. I had gotten used to having nearly unlimited money, being able to help whoever I wanted, buy whatever I wanted, and do whatever I wanted without the stress of fiscal limitations. I tried to use my money for positive things, though, things that would help communities, even the world. I felt it was my responsibility to do so, but with that came its own share of critics. Not everyone saw my money and my attempts to help others in a positive light, and that definitely took some getting used to. Until I had made my first million, I’d been pretty naïve at how the world worked.
I stared out the window watching field after field pass by outside. They all looked the same to me except for the occasional spotted cow meandering through the pasture, getting its helping of lush, green grasses. My mind turned to the past and the whirlwind the last decade had been when I literally went from rags to riches in my own life. I had grown up extremely poor, no stranger to the streets. I had hustled since I was old enough to be on my own, trying to help my mother get by. My mother worked two jobs, and though she tried her best to be a good mom, she rarely had time for anything other than work and sleep. My father, well, he was a different story, and one that I tried not to think about.
Before I had boarded my private jet to the West Coast, I had been safely ensconced in my multimillion-dollar lavish penthouse in the building I owned, surrounded by every luxury I could imagine. I had my friends, my technology, my books, and a whole lot of wine, and that was pretty much my life outside the daily grind. It was a dream compared to where I had come from. Now … well, I was in a place where the cows outnumbered the people three to one, my cell service was spotty at best, and the hope of finding a good bottle of wine had pretty much left my thoughts. It was pretty with the wide-open spaces, the hard-working farmers in the fields, and the feeling of country, but it definitely was anything but home.
We drove for quite a while after leaving the airport, but as the roads became a little less bumpy, the SUV arrived in the small town that would serve as the epicenter for my newest venture. I was excited to see where my ideas would come to fruition, where the people lived that I was trying so hard to get on board with everything, and where
I would be spending quite a bit of time for the foreseeable future. My idea had come about one rainy day when I was in the penthouse just reading through the news, thinking about the future of technology, and wondering how I could help with the current environmental crisis. I was billing it as the “Double R Energy Ranch,” which was to become a solar farm and experimental compound for green energy.
Bonanza, Oregon, was one of the first places my team had presented to me. It was abundant with sunshine, had plenty of space for innovation, and boasted some of the cheapest real estate in the area. From the stats and the pictures, it was truly the best place to settle down in for the project. This was the first time I had seen it in person and thought it quaint, to say the least. I was starting to see what the team was seeing. When we contacted the city council, they were ecstatic at my interest in placing the ranch there and had sweetened the deal with some pretty lucrative tax breaks. The state itself was more than happy to oblige seeing as they were bending over backward to bring in jobs. It was a win-win for both the company and the community, so it seemed. Still, I hadn’t expected everything to be so … rustic. I was at least expecting maybe a chain fast food joint or a YMCA around the corner or something, but there was nothing. I didn’t even realize towns like this still existed, but there I was in the center of it, staring at a whole lot of cows and not many people.
The “downtown” area was not so much of a downtown, more like an area with several buildings built closely together. I counted the blocks and quickly since it was one street less than four blocks long that boasted pretty much all privately owned businesses. I had to admit it was cute, but it made me a little shell-shocked compared to my life in the city where my penthouse was larger than most of the houses dotting the scenery. There wasn’t a single traffic light in the whole town, and I was assuming the stop signs were relatively new. I didn’t think I had seen a stop sign without graffiti or stickers on it my entire life. The whole place was spotless, not a lick of trash on the ground, and there wasn’t a police officer in sight.
As I stared out the SUV window watching the town go by, the driver took a right and pulled up in front of a nondescript brick building looking as if it had been there for at least a hundred years. On the outside, a sign hung above the door, swaying in the breeze. It read, “Rooming House,” which I knew was the place I was supposed to be staying while in town. As the SUV parked, I sat there staring at the place, realizing this was the hotel I would be calling home while I was in town. It definitely wasn’t the Four Seasons by any stretch of the imagination, but I couldn’t imagine many people came to visit the little town of Bonanza very often. At least the front door said there was Wi-Fi, and I would be spending most of my time on-site.
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