Little Secrets--Holiday Baby Bombshell

by Karen Booth

  “You know me. Once I’m on board with something, I want to be the best. That would be the good side of my competitive nature.”

  Charlotte had to smile. “Are we walking?”

  “It’s up to you. It’s only four or five blocks, but I’m happy to hail a cab if that makes you feel better.”

  “Michael Kelly taking a cab? My stars, you have changed.”

  “I’m just trying to keep you happy.”

  “Good answer.” She hooked her arm in his. “I vote we walk. I feel like I’ve been cooped up inside forever.”

  They started off on their walk and Charlotte was overcome with a feeling that was both unfamiliar and wonderful. She had stability. She and Michael had worked past his problems and hers. She’d made her mark in business, and she’d come to better understand the ways her brothers perceived her. She could officially stop thinking of herself as the family goof-up. From now on, she could just be Charlotte, the real-estate agent. Or the little sister. Or the new mom. Possibly Michael Kelly’s wife, although she wasn’t ready to put the thumbscrews on him yet about that. She’d give him a week or two to propose and then she’d reevaluate.

  “You know,” she began, “I know you were trying to help me, but I now have three more units to sell instead of two. You just ended up making more work for me.”

  “I was thinking about that.” He snugged her closer and put his arm around her as they stopped at a corner and waited for the walk signal. “Not necessarily. I got a text from Alan this morning. The guy from the party? He’s ready to buy. He wants that last unit on seventeen.”

  “Oh, wow.”

  “I told him to contact you about it. I hope that’s okay. I gave him your number, but asked him to hold off on calling you for a few days. I want you to get your rest.”

  The light turned green, and they made their way across the street, hand in hand. “Are you sure? Every sale you turn down is one more chance for Gabe Underwood to unseat you as top agent in the city next year.”

  “I couldn’t possibly care less about Gabe. If he ends up on top, that’s fine. I’ll just have to beat his butt the next year. And for all I know, you’re going to be the one to beat me.”

  “That’s right. You’d better watch your back, Kelly.” Charlotte squeezed his hand a little harder. “That leaves the two units on our floor. We’re going to have to be careful about those. I really don’t want some jerky neighbor living next to us. But before that...” She stopped herself there. Michael had said he wanted to try, but that was all he’d said, and she didn’t want to be the one to put any pressure on him. The man knew very well how to put himself in the hot seat. She was fine simply moving forward as a couple, taking things one day at a time.

  “Before that, we have to decide if we’re going to live in your apartment or mine,” he said, with no prompting from Charlotte at all.

  She was a little relieved Michael wasn’t looking at her right now. The grin that popped onto her face would’ve been embarrassing. How happy she was to be on the same page. “Right. Do you have any thoughts about that?” She looked up to see him deep in thought, bobbing his head, something he did a lot when he was thinking.

  “I hope this doesn’t sound crazy, but I just don’t think one apartment is enough. I mean, Abby needs her space. We both know Thor needs room to roam. We might even be able to convince him that he’s still escaping, but we could just let him into another room.”

  Charlotte laughed. “I’d like to think he’s too smart for that, but I’m not sure.” She started to think out their options. “Are you thinking two units? And we knock down a wall in between?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. How many kids do you want?”

  She stepped in front of him and held up a hand. He stopped cold in his tracks. “Hold on. How many kids? Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Right now, I’m pretty stuck on the idea of one kid and we reevaluate later.”

  He leaned down and kissed her nose. “I feel great. But you know me. I’m a planner. I don’t do anything halfway.” He held up his finger, a sign he was about to make an important point. “Which brings me to the wedding.”

  “The wedding?”

  “I know. This sucks. We’re standing on a sidewalk in New York and I’m still wearing shorts from yesterday. This isn’t the way I would’ve planned this at all. But in a day or two, when you’re feeling better, I’d like to take you to pick out a ring so I can get down on one knee in some place other than a hospital room, profess my love for you and ask you to marry me.”

  “Wow.” Charlotte nearly asked him to pinch her. If it wasn’t so cold out, she would’ve thought she was dreaming.

  “You are planning on saying yes, aren’t you?” He narrowed his vision on her and one of his arrogant smirks crossed his face. “I feel like I can see the gears turning in your head.”

  “Yes, Michael Kelly. I’m planning on saying yes. As long as you’re on your best behavior until then.”

  “There’s always something with you, isn’t there?” He took her hand. “Come on. My legs are freezing.”

  A block later, they arrived in front of the Grand Legacy. Something about the moment warranted a stop and a look up at the building, in all its beautiful glory. The Christmas decorations were still up, the heavy swags of pine and the red-and-gold garland. It wouldn’t be long before they’d be ringing in the New Year in the Grand Legacy. “I love the hotel, Michael. It really is perfect for us, isn’t it?” This was a connection to her family that she cherished, and with the baby on the way, that felt especially important right now.

  “It really is. Which is why I think we just buy the other two units on our floor and figure it out later. I’ll move out of my place and we’ll call an architect about connecting the units.”

  “Four units? Are you crazy?”

  He waited for her to file first through the revolving doors. “No, I’m not crazy,” he said when he’d joined her seconds later in the lobby. “It’s a great investment, with no horrible neighbors to worry about, and it gives us flexibility to figure everything out.” He pressed the button for the elevator. “Sound good?”

  She didn’t have a single complaint. Which wasn’t like her when it came to Michael. So this was the new normal. “I’m sure Sawyer will be thrilled.” The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. They stepped on board. “So, does this mean that our race is over? I’m not really sure how we’re supposed to figure out the winner.”

  Michael gathered her up in his arms and lifted her off her feet, placing the softest and sexiest kiss yet on her lips. Compared to their other kisses in the Grand Legacy elevator, this was the best one yet. “It doesn’t matter. I already got the prize.”

  * * * * *

  If you liked this story of pregnancy and passion, pick up these other novels from Karen Booth!

  PREGNANT BY THE RIVAL CEO

  THE BEST MAN’S BABY

  THE TEN-DAY BABY TAKEOVER

  PREGNANT BY THE BILLIONAIRE

  Available now from Harlequin Desire!

  ***

  And don’t miss the next LITTLE SECRETS story LITTLE SECRETS: HIS PREGNANT SECRETARY by Joanne Rock

  Available December 2017!

  ***

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  Keep reading for an excerpt from CHRISTMASTIME COWBOY by Maisey Yates.

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  Can a former bad boy and the woman he never forgot find true love during one unforgettable Christmas?

  Find out in CHRISTMASTIME COWBOY, the sizzling new COPPER RIDGE novel from New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates. Read on for your sneak peek...

  Christmastime Cowboy

  by Maisey Yates

  LIAM DONNELLY WAS nobody’s favorite.

  Though being a favorite in their household growing up would never have meant much, Liam was confident that as much as both of his parents disdained their younger son, Alex, they hated Liam more.

  And as much as his brothers loved him—or whatever you wanted to call their brand of affection—Liam knew he wasn’t the one they’d carry out if there was a house fire. That was fine too.

  It wasn’t self-pity. It was just a fact.

  But while he wasn’t anyone’s particular favorite, he knew he was at least one person’s least favorite.

  Sabrina Leighton hated him with every ounce of her beautiful, petite being. Not that he blamed her. But, considering they were having a business meeting today, he did hope that she could keep some of the hatred bottled up.

  Liam got out of his truck and put his cowboy hat on, surveying his surroundings. The winery spread was beautiful, with a large, picturesque house overlooking the grounds. The winery and the road leading up to it were carved into an Oregon mountainside. Trees and forest surrounded the facility on three sides, creating a secluded feeling. Like the winery was part of another world. In front of the first renovated barn was a sprawling lawn and a path that led down to the river. There was a seating area there and Liam knew that during the warmer months it was a nice place to hang out. Right now, it was too damned cold, and the damp air that blew up from the rushing water sent a chill straight through him.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept on walking. There were three rustic barns on the property that they used for weddings and dinners, and one that had been fully remodeled into a dining and tasting room.

  He had seen the new additions online. He hadn’t actually been to Grassroots Winery in the past thirteen years. That was part of the deal. The deal that had been struck back when Jamison Leighton was still owner of the place.

  Back when Liam had been nothing more than a good-for-nothing, low-class troublemaker with a couple of misdemeanors to his credit.

  Times changed.

  Liam might still be all those things at heart, but he was also a successful businessman. And Jamison Leighton no longer owned Grassroots.

  Some things, however, hadn’t changed. The presence of Sabrina Leighton being one of them.

  It had been thirteen years. But he couldn’t pretend he thought everything was all right and forgiven. Not considering the way she had reacted when she had seen him at Ace’s bar the past few months.

  Small towns. Like everybody was at the same party and could only avoid each other for so long.

  If it wasn’t at the bar, they would most certainly end up at a four-way stop at the same time, or in the same aisle at the grocery store.

  But today’s meeting would not be accidental. Today’s meeting was planned. He wondered if something would get thrown at him. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.

  He walked across the gravel lot and into the dining room. It was empty, since the facility—a rustic barn with a wooden chandelier hanging in the center—had yet to open for the day. There was a bar with stools positioned at the front, and tables set up around the room. Back when he had worked here, there had been one basic tasting room, and nowhere for anyone to sit. Most of the wine had been sent out to retail stores for sale, rather than making the winery itself some kind of destination.

  He wondered when all of that had changed. He imagined it had something to do with Lindy, the new owner and ex-wife of Jamison Leighton’s son, Damien. As far as Liam knew, and he knew enough—considering he didn’t get involved with business ventures without figuring out what he was getting into—Damien had drafted the world’s dumbest prenuptial agreement. At least, it was dumb for a man who clearly had problems keeping his dick in his pants.

  Though why Sabrina was still working at the winery when her sister-in-law had current ownership, and her brother had been deposed, and her parents were—from what he had read in public records—apoplectic about the loss of their family legacy, he didn’t know. But he assumed he would find out. At about the same time he found out whether or not something was going to get thrown at his head.

  The door from the back opened, and he gritted his teeth. Because, no matter how prepared he felt philosophically to see Sabrina, he knew that there would be impact. There always was. A damned funny thing, that one woman could live in the back of his mind the way she had for so long. That no matter how many years or how many women he put between them, she still burned bright and hot in his memory.

  That no matter that he had steeled himself to run into her—because he knew how small towns worked—the impact was like a brick to the side of his head every single time.

  She appeared a moment after the door opened, looking severe. Overly so. Her blond hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and she was wearing a black sheath dress that went down past her knees but conformed to curves that were more generous than they’d been thirteen years ago.

  In a good way.

  “Hello, Liam,” she said, her tone impersonal. Had she not used his first name, it might have been easy to pretend that she didn’t know who he was.

  “Sabrina.”

  “Lindy told me that you wanted to talk about a potential joint venture. And since that falls under my jurisdiction as manager of the tasting room, she thought we might want to work together.”

  Now she was smiling.

  The smile was so brittle it looked like it might crack her face.

  “Yes, I’m familiar with the details. Particularly since this venture was my idea.” He let a small silence hang there for a beat before continuing. “I’m looking at an empty building on the end of Main Street. It would be more than just a tasting room. It would be a small café with some retail space.”

  “How would it differ from Lane Donnelly’s store? She already offers specialty foods.”

  “Well, we would focus on Grassroots wine and Laughing Irish cheese. Also, I would happily purchase products from Lane’s to give the menu a local focus. The café would be nothing big. Just a small lunch place with wine. Very limited selection. Very specialty. But I feel like in a tourist location, that’s what you want.”

  “Great,” she said, her smile remaining completely immobile.

  He took that moment to examine her more closely. The changes in her face over the years. She was more beautiful now than she had been at seventeen. Her slightly round, soft face had re
fined in the ensuing years, her cheekbones now more prominent, the angle of her chin sharper.

  Her eyebrows looked different too. When she’d been a teenager, they’d been thinner, rounder. Now they were a bit stronger, more angular.

  “Great,” he returned. “I guess we can go down and have a look at the space sometime this week. Gage West is the owner of the property, and he hasn’t listed it yet. Handily, my sister-in-law is good friends with his wife. Both of my sisters-in-law, actually. So I got the inside track on that.”

  Her expression turned bland. “How impressive.”

  She sounded absolutely unimpressed. “It wasn’t intended to be impressive. Just useful.”

  She sighed slowly. “Did you have a day of the week in mind to go view the property? Because I really am very busy.”

  “Are you?”

  “Yes,” she responded, that smile spreading over her face again. “This is a very demanding job, plus I do have a life.”

  She stopped short of saying exactly what that life entailed.

  “Too busy to do this, which is part of your actual job?” he asked.

  On the surface she looked calm, but he could sense a dark energy beneath that spoke of a need to savage him. “I had my schedule sorted out for the next couple of weeks. This is coming together more quickly than expected.”

  “I’ll work something out with Gage and give Lindy a call, how about that?”

  “You don’t have to call Lindy. I’ll give you my phone number. You can call or text me directly.”

  She reached over to the counter and took a card from the rustic surface, extending her hand toward him. He reached out and took the card, their fingertips brushing as they made the handoff.

  And he felt it. Straight down to his groin, where he had always felt things for her, even though it was impossible. Even though he was all wrong for her. And even though now they were doing a business deal together, and she looked like she would cheerfully chew through his flesh if given half the chance.