‘Yes, of course, but—”
“Then I guess we have a nine-year-old daughter.”
“Brad, you are the sweetest man I know,” Sarah said before she kissed him.
Abby whispered to her husband, “I think they’re managing all right, even with an audience.”
“Yeah, but I still haven’t gotten my coffee.”
Sarah jumped off Brad’s lap to pour the coffee.
“Hey, tell my brother to go away and you come back to my lap, young lady!”
Sarah smiled at Brad. “I can’t serve coffee and sit in your lap at the same time.”
She poured and Brad carried the cups to the table. He tempted her into his lap once again with his outstretched arms, but she sidestepped him this time, taking her own chair, though it was right next to his.
“I suddenly feel like we’re interrupting something,” Nick said to his wife, acting dense.
“Does that mean you’re going to leave?” Brad asked him.
“No, not after the hard time you gave me when I was courting Abby.”
“You weren’t courting Abby. You were courting Patricia, though I couldn’t understand why. At least I’ve made the right choice.”
“That’s because I’ve been a better example for you.”
Brad glared at his brother. “Have you finished your coffee yet?”
“Nope. I like to savor my coffee.”
“Fine! Then Sarah and I will go to my bedroom so we can have some privacy!”
As he got up to grab Sarah, Abby shouted, “No! I can’t let you take Sarah to your bedroom.”
Brad looked at Sarah with pleading in his eyes. “Come on, Sarah. Tell Abby you’ll be good.”
“And what do you tell Anna if she sees me going to your bedroom?”
“Tell her I’m going to be her daddy. That’s all she needs to know.”
“So when she grows up and wants to go to a single man’s bedroom, you’ll say…”
Brad shook his head. “Damn it, we’d better get married in a hurry.”
Sarah grinned at him. “I don’t think I’ve said yes, just yet.”
He leaned over and kissed her again. In no time, she was wrapped up in his arms. When he released her that time, after several minutes, he said, “I don’t know how long I can kiss you in public and behave myself.”
“And that’s why you can’t take her to your bedroom!” Abby announced.
“Maybe I’d better say yes.”
“I’m all for it,” he said and pulled her from her chair into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her deeply.
“And maybe we’d better finish our coffee, so these two lovebirds can enjoy themselves,” Nick said finally. “Welcome to the family, Sarah.”
“Thank you, Nick,” Sarah said, smiling broadly. Those words sounded so good to her ears.
“Me, too, Sarah. This is what I was hoping for all along.”
“Me, too, Abby. I finally found a friend who’ll last my lifetime.”
“All right, enough of this sentimental stuff,” Brad said, interrupting. “Goodbye, Nick and Abby.”
Nick smiled at his brother. “We’re going. You have half an hour before the kids go to bed. And you have to put them in bed. That’s your payment for having some privacy.”
“You’ve got a deal,” Brad said, holding on to Sarah.
When the door closed behind his brother and sister-in-law, he kissed Sarah several times. Suddenly he released her.
“What’s wrong?” Sarah asked.
“I’ve made a mistake.”
“You—you don’t think—”
One look at her face and he knew she misunderstood. “No, Sarah, don’t pull away. I mean— Well, I think I overestimated my control. I can’t keep kissing you and not— You know.”
“You haven’t changed your mind?”
“No, sweetheart, I haven’t, but I’m not sure what to do now. Because I can’t keep kissing you without things getting out of hand.”
“Brad, shouldn’t we talk?”
“About what?”
“Our getting married. I mean, we haven’t talked about it.”
“We’ve been talking about it ever since we got back from Denver. I’m the one who held you after you shot that man. I’m the one who held you in my arms after you delivered the babies. I’ve been loving you every step of the way. I just couldn’t tell you until tonight.”
“Oh, Brad, I love you so much.”
“And I love you, too. We’re going to have a great family—you, me, Anna and Davy.”
“Can we tell them?”
“Sure, why not? Of course I think Davy and Robbie might get too excited about it, but we’ll be stern.”
She grinned at him. “Okay, you be the stern one and I’ll be the excited one.”
“I like that, sweetheart. Let’s go tell our family.”
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II BV/S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
First published in Great Britain 2008
Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Judy Russell Christenberry 2008
ISBN: 9781408903926
Table of Contents
Cover
Excerpt
About The Author
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Copyright
Inherited: Instant Family Page 13
