Naughty & Nice

by J. S. Scott

  Dani just nodded. The pressure was overwhelming. She took a deep breath and looked down Main Street. She pulled up short, causing Mo to stop too.

  "It's so peaceful." She looked down the snow-covered street. Christmas lights shone in every window, casting a soft colorful glow on the snow. The snow muffled the noise from the party and it felt as if they were the only ones in the whole town right now.

  The door to Southern Charms opened and the moment was lost as people spilled out onto the street to look at a Keeneston Wonderland.

  Will walked out with his arm around Kenna. "Good night Dani! Mo! Ahmed!" Kenna waved as they made their way to Will's huge black Ford F-250.

  Dani waved back and slid into the backseat of their car followed by Mo. She was exhausted. She snuggled against her husband's chest and as soon as he pulled her tight against him she felt her eyes close.

  Chapter Twelve

  Church bells rang along the snow-covered streets of Keeneston. Families were waking up from the night before. Kids were running downstairs to find what Santa had left for them under the Christmas tree.

  Marcy and Jake took off their coats and hung them on the hook beside the back door. They had just returned from the hospital and a special early morning visit with their new grandbabies. They had delivered presents to the proud new parents and taken the time to hold their grandson and granddaughter.

  Annie and Cade were playing with Sophie when they had arrived. Sophie enjoyed Cade putting his face near hers so she could grab his nose. Paige and Cole had been resting, which left Marcy and Jake with plenty of snuggle time with little Ryan.

  Marcy looked up as feet pounded the hardwood floor above her. Jake shook his head and grabbed a cup of coffee before heading into the living room.

  Marcy laughed as Pierce and Cy pushed and shoved their way into the living room to open presents. "Okay boys! Who wants to play Santa Claus?"

  Marcy took a seat on the couch and watched as her two grown sons transformed into little boys right before her eyes. No matter how big or how strong they became, they'd always be her little babies.

  Dani opened her eyes and groaned. She was so tired and her stomach was a nervous mess. She had always loved Christmas, but not this year. Not with her in-laws harping on her about not being pregnant. Her parents had arrived from Italy by the time they had gotten home last night. Her father, Tony De Luca, had brought plenty of wine from his winery and had already started supplying the king with it. Thank goodness!

  Her mother, Mary, a blonde-haired beauty from Maine, was just happy to see snow on the ground. Her mother had wrapped her in an embrace and in one single hug managed to make her feel calm, loved, and supported all at once. She needed her mom now because she wasn't feeling well. She leaped out of bed and ran to the bathroom with one hand covering her mouth.

  Mo pushed up onto his elbows as he watched Dani run for the bathroom. The sheet fell from his bare chest as he sat up. She had been acting strange lately. He knew his parents weren't helping. She wasn't eating much at dinner, but then he'd find her stealing sweets from the kitchen almost every night. Her body had changed too. Her breasts were larger and she just looked different to him. His brain began to click the pieces together. And she had been complaining of an upset stomach a lot. They had figured it was stress, but…

  "Dani!" He yelled as he jumped out of bed naked. He stepped into black silk pajama bottoms he had nearby and ran into the bathroom.

  "Ugh. I think I ate something that disagreed with me," she moaned from her place on the floor.

  Mo opened one of the large cabinets and rifled through the items until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out the package with two pregnancy tests in it. He tore it open and handed one to her.

  "I think you need to take this."

  "It's not that. I've been too stressed to get pregnant recently."

  "But, we had that trip last month to the Bahamas, remember?" Mo reminded her. They had made love every day in their private villa, the ocean, the hot tub, the pool, on the private beach, and well, anywhere else the urge hit them.

  "Oh." Dani blushed and he knew she remembered it too. "Give me that!"

  They paced as they looked at the clock on the wall. Dani had taken the test and then placed it on the counter and closed the door, so they wouldn’t just sit and stare at the test, making the three minutes seem like a lifetime.

  "It's time, sweetheart." Mo whispered as he reached for her hand. "How do we do this?"

  "Well, two lines, we're pregnant, one line, we're not. So, we'll just go in together and look."

  They walked into the bathroom and looked down at the test. She felt the tears well up in her eyes. They were going to have a baby. She couldn't believe it. Her hand went to her still flat stomach and in that instant everything changed. This was no longer about her, she had a baby to take care of.

  "I can't believe it sweetheart!" Mo's arms came around her as he lifted her up into a hug.

  He brought his lips to hers and kissed her deeply. She could feel his excitement in the kiss and it just fueled her own excitement. "We have to tell our parents," she squealed. Her mom and dad would be so excited!

  "Not yet. We have some private celebrating to do first." Mo picked her up and carried her to the large bed. "Let me show you how I plan on celebrating."

  The black silk pajama bottoms slid to the ground and she had no doubt about what he had in mind. She scooted back on the bed and opened her arms wide.

  Dani and Mo made their way downstairs and into the living room. Her mother and father had always waited until they were together to decorate their tree, so she found them unloading boxes of ornaments from her childhood while King Emir and Queen Fatima looked on with a slightly curious expression.

  "Why, those are old and dingy. Why wouldn't you get new ones?" the king asked, pushing aside the long sleeves of his white robe.

  "Because these hold sentimental value, Emir. They are from the places we've visited. Some are ones we bought to mark special occasions and these are the ones Dani made as a child. They are better than any ornament money can buy," her father responded.

  "Oh, good morning Dani! We brought the ornaments so we can decorate the tree before we open the gifts." Her mother smiled as she opened the final box. "Honey, is everything okay?"

  "Actually, Mo and I have a Christmas gift for you all." Dani was so nervous to tell them. It made it real. It would no longer be her and Mo's little secret. She waited until everyone looked at them.

  "Well, first we have to apologize. We think you'll love the gift, but it's backordered until next August." Mo smiled and squeezed her hand when he got the expected confused looks.

  "We're going to have a baby!" Dani squealed.

  Her mother rushed from the place she was sitting to give her a hug. Her father shook Mo's hand and then they all turned to Emir and Fatima.

  "I'll drink to that." The king held up a glass of eggnog in toast, "To my daughter and son. May she have a healthy pregnancy and safely deliver to us a baby boy."

  "Salute!" her father and mother toasted in Italian.

  Dani leaned over to Mo, "I still can't believe we're having a baby."

  "It's not just a baby, it's a royal baby."

  The End

  Books by Kathleen Brooks

  Bluegrass Series

  Bluegrass State of Mind

  Risky Shot

  Dead Heat

  Bluegrass Brothers Series

  Bluegrass Undercover

  Rising Storm

  Secret Santa, A Bluegrass Series Novella

  Acquiring Trouble

  Relentless Pursuit

  Secrets Collide

  Final Vow

  Bluegrass Singles

  All Hung Up

  Bluegrass Dawn

  Women of Power Series

  Chosen for Power

  Built for Power

  Fashioned for Power– coming Jan. 2015

  Want to know when each new book is published? Go sign
up on the contact form on http://www.kathleen-brooks.com. I will email you as soon as the next book is published. I will also update facebook, twitter, and my blog with information as soon as I have it available.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Kathleen Brooks is the USA Today bestselling author of the Bluegrass Series. She has garnered attention as a new voice in romance with a warm Southern feel. Her books feature quirky small town characters you’ll feel like you’ve known forever, romance, humor, and mystery all mixed into one perfect glass of sweet tea.

  Kathleen is an animal lover who supports rescue organizations and other non-profit organizations whose goals are to protect and save our four-legged family members.

  Kathleen lives in Central Kentucky with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and a cat who thinks he’s a dog. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached at Kathleen@Kathleen-Brooks.com

  Check out the Website for updates on the Bluegrass Series. You can also “Like” Kathleen on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @BluegrassBrooks.

  Christmas With The Alexanders

  The Alexanders, Book 3.5

  M. Malone

  COPYRIGHT

  CHRISTMAS WITH THE ALEXANDERS

  Copyright © November 2013 M. Malone

  EDITOR: Anne Victory - Victory Editing

  CrushStar Romance

  An Imprint of CrushStar Multimedia LLC

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address CrushStar Romance, 2885 Sanford Ave SW #16301, Grandville, MI 49418

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  ISBN-10: 1-938789-13-X

  ISBN-13: 978-1-938789-13-7

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  For the fans:

  Wishing you the comfort of family and friends

  and all the joys of the season.

  And for Andre. Always.

  BACK COVER

  Kaylee Wilhelm knows what she wants for Christmas—for Elliott Alexander to notice her. Unfortunately, he doesn’t like her much, so she’s spending the holidays with her disapproving parents.

  Elliott’s finally in the position to come home for good. Home means bittersweet memories and the only woman who makes him feel things he isn’t ready for.

  When Kay’s car skids out of control on Christmas Eve, she’s forced to reach out to the only man she trusts to save her. Eli’s a protector, so she knows he’ll come for her, but this Christmas Kay is hoping for a little bit more.

  ** The Alexanders, Book 3.5

  Chapter One

  Elliott Alexander considered himself a pretty good sport. He wasn’t overly sensitive and could take a joke as well as the next guy. But he was on the verge of knocking his younger brother upside the head if he didn’t shut up.

  “So, you opened the door and she was just standing there?” Nick glanced at him, a twinkle in his eye. “She wasn’t peering in the windows like a stalker, was she?”

  Their friend Matt Simmons was telling them about his final week at Eli’s house last summer while he was in physical therapy. Now he was happily coupled up with his therapist, Penny, and living in New Haven again.

  Matt shrugged and Penny laughed along with them. “All I know is I’d been doing some yard work and cleaning because I didn’t want to leave the place a mess. On my way out, I opened the door and there she was, standing on the porch. Judging by the way she was dressed, it wasn’t me she was expecting to open the door.”

  Eli gritted his teeth as their howls of laughter continued. His youngest brother, Jackson, clamped a hand on his shoulder in solidarity. Either that or he was trying to hold him back so he wouldn’t strangle one of them.

  “How did we get on this topic again?” Eli shot Matt a disgruntled look, but his friend didn’t seem daunted at all. He’d lost his intimidation factor it seemed because they were all having a hell of a time making fun of him.

  “Wait, by the way she was dressed? What exactly was she wearing? Or not wearing?” Nick added.

  His sister-in-law, Raina, walked up and pinched Nick’s arm hard enough to make his brother jump. “What did you just say?”

  Eli watched in amusement as Nick’s whole demeanor changed. His normally smooth younger brother turned into a total wuss when his gorgeous wife was around. Raina had a successful career as a model and he could see why. She was far too thin for his taste, but her light brown skin and wild curly hair gave her an exotic look. Best of all, she was something of a ballbuster. It was always a joy to watch her handle his brother.

  Nick held up his hands. “Oh, hey, baby. Matt was telling us about his last week staying in Eli’s house and all the women knocking on the door.”

  He had hoped Raina would corral his brother’s antics, but that hope died when her eyes lit up. “Eli? I never knew you were such a ladies’ man,” she teased.

  Elliott squashed the urge to growl. Half of his brother’s fun in teasing him was watching him get more and more pissed off. “First of all, it was one woman. One. Second of all, I have no idea who he’s even talking about.”

  Matt covered his laugh by taking a sip of the beer he held. “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to rat you out, but I couldn’t keep that to myself. She looked pretty devastated when I opened the door. I guess I wasn’t up to her standards.”

  The group dissolved into laughter again. Eli was the darkest skinned of all his brothers and, to his chagrin, the shortest. With his brown hair and tanned skin, Matt was about as far from Eli’s looks as you could get.

  “I don’t even need to ask what she looked like. Let me guess, petite and curvy?” Nick smirked at Matt’s nod. “There’s never been a busty woman near Eli that was safe. That’s been his type since high school. He had a crush on Janet Reed in the ninth grade because she developed a set of double Ds over the summer.”

  Even Eli had to smile at that one. He could still remember how obsessed he’d been that school year. His poor teenage hormones hadn’t stood a chance against Janet’s suddenly full figure.

  “Okay, I think we’ve had enough fun at my expense. And I really don’t think you want me to start sharing some of my high school memories of you.”

  Nick immediately stopped laughing. Raina looked at him with interest. “Oh really? Maybe I do need to hear this.”

  “Is that the baby crying? I’d better go check.” Nick sauntered off, leaving his wife shaking her head as she followed.

  Eli walked over to the window and shoved the curtains to the side. A profusion of snowflakes turned the landscape into an endless wall of white. Snowstorms were the norm at his house in Northern Virginia but not in New Haven. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been home while it was snowing.

  “She’s just fine where she is. Go on now!”

  Eli turned at the sound of his mother’s voice. His earlier annoyance vanished as he watched Nick try unsuccessfully to take his baby girl back from their mother, Julia. Eli could have told him that wasn’t going to happen. Their mother was beyond excited about having a granddaughter, and she was probably going to have a grip on the baby all night. Finally Nick settled for pulling his wife into his arms instead. He nuzzled her neck and whispered something that made her smile. Eli looked over to where Jackson was similarly cozied up with his wife, Ridley.

  It was a good thing to see his little brothers so settled and happy. He’d left New Haven years ago, sure he’d never return to live there again. But time had a way of putting things into perspective. A way of distilling life to what was important and what was window dressing. He was tired of casual encounters and empty nights. Strangely e
nough, he wanted everything he’d always had growing up. Family, friends, and the certainty that they weren’t going anywhere.

  When he finally came out of his thoughts, he was startled to see his mother, Julia, standing right in front of him. Instinctively he stood straighter. His mom had a way of looking at him as if she’d caught him doing something he shouldn’t have been even when he was doing nothing at all.

  “Mom. Are you okay?”

  She smiled up at him and ran a hand affectionately over his bald head. “I just want to spend a little time with my handsome son. Now, what’s this I hear about a girlfriend at your house? Why don’t you ever bring anyone home to meet me?”

  His brother Bennett was walking up behind his mother, his mouth open as if he was about to say something. When he heard her words, he clamped his lips shut and backed away slowly, sending Eli a sympathetic look.

  “Welcome home,” he mouthed before turning around and going the other direction.

  Eli grunted and took another swig of his beer. “Yeah, yeah. No place like it.”

  And despite knowing that he was in for at least an hour of well-intentioned prying from his mother, he meant every word.

  * * * * *

  Kaylee Wilhelm watched as her mom held her granddaughter in the crook of her arm and bounced her on her hip. Her mom made kissy-faces and talked in a singsong voice as she danced the baby back and forth.

  The two of them formed quite a picture silhouetted against the darkening sky. Kay loved watching them like this when her mom didn’t know she was looking. It was the only time she saw glimpses of how her mom used to be.

  Before she’d disappointed her.