Her lips press to mine. Salty tears drip onto my chin—her tears.
My hand presses against her stomach. “We’re having a baby.”
She laughs, even though the tears are still falling. “You sure about this? Like you really want to?”
“With you? Absolutely.” I wipe the tears from her cheeks.
Our mouths move in sync—fierce and bruising turns to tender and slow. All the fear, all the nerves, it all melts away like snowflakes on wet pavement.
Nothing else matters because we’re together. We’ll find our way.
“Uh oh,” Caroline says and the door flies open.
She vomits.
She coughs.
I rub her back letting her know that I’m here.
And then she vomits some more.
She cries.
My heart aches.
“This isn’t how I ever pictured telling you that I’m pregnant,” she yells out into the blackness. “Ugh! I don’t even get a cute little ‘bun’s in the oven’ moment. I get vomit.”
My brows shoot up. “You thought about it? Having a baby with me, you thought about it?”
Caroline sits up and wipes her mouth with the tissue I hand her. She pushes her hair away from her face and her head drops to the headrest. “Of course I have.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “But I thought you didn’t want to have kids?” My voice is rough with emotion.
“I don’t how to explain it, Brant. I’m an in the moment kind of gal. I rarely think about the future, happily ever after. That shit . . . stuff never seems to happen in real life.”
“Seems like you would believe it, being around people getting married weekend after weekend.”
“Guess I’m a cynic.” She laughs and dries her eyes. “I had this one day where I thought about you and me and the whole package.”
We climb out of the car and I help Caroline up the steps to the elevator. “Sugar, I’ve got news for you, my parents have been married nearly forty years. Your mom is getting married. Haven and Tyler are married—and I gotta admit, I never thought Haven would get married. Maybelle and Sawyer are engaged and disgustingly happy. There’s happiness all around. And now, we get to throw a baby into this happily ever after mix.”
She smiles. “You’ve got very good points. I’ll give you that.”
I lead Caroline into the apartment. Julep sits up and lets out a big yawn.
“You get into bed,” I tell her. “I’m taking Julep out.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Come on, girl,” I say and take her leash from the hook. “We gotta have a chat, you and me.”
Julep wags her tail when I clip the metal clasp onto her collar. We ride the elevator and then step out back into the small courtyard.
It’s snowing harder now.
“Okay, here’s the deal, girl,” I tell her as she sniffs the grass and digs her nose into the snow. “Your mom and I are going to have a baby. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t love you any less.”
She continues to walk around lifting snow up with her nose.
“That’s the big news, Julep. Oh, and one day, I’ll ask your mom to marry me. Can I have your permission?”
Julep squats and does her business. Then she moves two steps forward and drops a big deuce.
“I’ll take that—as a yes.”
Caroline
March
“You know, this moment . . . tonight . . .” I gesture around the space. “It’s a little bittersweet.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that it is,” Brant agrees.
Sawyer and Maybelle sway together under the lights in the middle of an empty dance floor. Most of the guests cleared out around ten, the stragglers hung around for about thirty minutes longer. All that remains now is family and close friends.
The last wedding at Cranberry Ridge happens to be two of my close friends. Correction the last wedding I’ll coordinate at this place is for my two friends. What could be a more perfect way to say goodbye?
This place holds so many memories. I’ll never forget Brant singing up on stage. The first wedding and reception we hosted. That time the bride found out the groom slept with her maid of honor and read all their text messages out loud to everyone in the room.
Drama.
No drama at this wedding. Maybelle and Sawyer are blissfully happy. Royston’s here in spirit. Maybelle had fabric from one of his ties sewn into the design of her dress. It’s a sweet and thoughtful gesture to honor his memory.
“Here’s your chance to sing one last time with the band,” I tease.
Brant raises his glass to his lips. “They’re doing just fine without me, sugar.”
“Yeah, I heard something about my big brother singing,” Haven quips.
“That’s definitely something I’d love to see,” Tyler adds.
Chrissy checks in with me and informs me that her staff is almost done.
“We’ll be boxing up the cake shortly and then we’ll get out of your hair.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Chrissy. It was so great to work with you again.”
With Maybelle taking over, it only makes sense that The Tea Room caters the reception. Renovations to the main house start in a month. Maybelle wants the place to be up and running in six months. I can’t wait to see how they transform my childhood home.
“Maybelle loves my appetizers. She has a couple of ideas, like package deals—if a couple book with Cranberry Ridge they can have their rehearsal dinner at either of my restaurant locations. We even talked about product placement in the gift shop. We’re setting up a meeting when she gets back from her honeymoon.”
“Awesome. It’ll be good for business. I’m sure that there are a lot of ways the two of you can cross promote.”
Chrissy nods and scurries off to box up the wedding cake. The room buzzes with people saying their goodbyes. Brant’s mom and dad help get the gifts out to their car. Ma and Ted help too.
I take a long gaze around the barn. My eyes drift to the hallway that leads to my place. Alan and our other two horses are up at Belcourt Estate. Which is nice for me because I can visit them anytime I want.
“Did you have some of the cake?” Brant asks.
“Not yet, being a working guest is hard work.”
He laughs. “Do you want a slice? Better yet, does baby want a slice?” Brant’s hand lands on my stomach.
“Shh,” I press my finger to his lips. “It’s still early. I don’t want to jinx it.”
“Speaking of honeymoons, maybe we should have a babymoon. Get away just the two of us before this little guy comes into the world.”
“Guy? Our baby’s going to be a girl.”
“That’s why you’re not drinking,” Haven stage whispers. “I had a feeling something was up.”
“I wasn’t drinking because I’m working,” I shoot back. “And because I’m pregnant.”
“Oh my god,” Haven chirps with excitement and hugs me. “This is so fantastic. I’m going to be an aunt.”
“Congrats, you guys,” Tyler adds.
“Thank you,” Brant says. “But like she said, it’s early and we haven’t told our parents yet.”
“Yeah, we don’t want to steal the proverbial spotlight from Sawyer and Maybelle by telling Ma and Ted. And then they’re off on a vacation for two weeks.”
“What about Mom and Dad?” Haven asks Brant.
Brant scratches his thumb along his jawline. “We want to tell Caroline’s mom first. Ideally, I’d rather have everyone in the same room at the same time. But this is the hand we’re dealt with all the vacations and her Ma and Ted living in Florida. So, you can’t tell Mom that you found out first.”
Haven holds up her hand. “You’ve got my word. I promise.”
Tyler and Haven walk onto the dance floor leaving Brant and me alone. Still even now, I can hardly believe that I’m going to be a mom. But I guess I wasn’t sure of anything until Brant.
Time has only made us better—as friends
and as a couple. Brant’s found joy in running things at Cardwell Bourbon and helping me with things at Sugar and Julep, the name I finally settled on for my new company.
But now with the baby coming he’s worried about how the stress of it all could affect me. My health. The baby’s health.
I’m up for it and if I need to take a break, I will. I’m not in any rush. Going to enjoy my new-found freedom.
Freedom. Financial freedom. All because of a note that revealed the secret that Samuel Cardwell hid.
I still can’t believe the rumors turned out to be true.
“Wes looks happy,” I mention.
“Wait until I tell him he’s going to have to come work at the distillery with me. No more surfing in Hawaii or taking off to parts unknown.”
“Give him a little more time. One last hurrah.” I blow out a deep breath. “And you guys will be back at the top of the bourbon game in no time. You’ll come up with a great recipe even better than the one my great-grandfather cooked up.”
“Fine, I’ll give him more time. I just hope that my brother is up for the challenge because we have a lot of work to do in order to turn this thing around,” he says and takes a long drink. “I’m going to chat with my parents before they leave. Get some cake.”
“Yes, sir.”
Brant risked a lot for me and my family—his own legacy and his family’s reputation. Ma would have been happy with them buying the recipe. But the settlement was so much more. He did it because he knew, in his heart, that it was the right thing to do.
That’s Brant, a man of honor and integrity.
The band plays their final number and just like that it’s midnight and time to leave the ball. Maybelle and Sawyer walk off the dance floor holding hands.
“Girl, you have stars in your eyes,” Aaron Collins whispers in my ear.
“I don’t know about that, but I do know that those two are going to be so damn happy together.”
“Without question,” he says. “What about you and Brantley? Will we be hearing wedding bells for the two of you soon?”
I smile. “I don’t know. What about you and your new man?”
“Oh, honey, we’ll be happy regardless.”
“Now that I don’t doubt one bit.”
Aaron swallows the last of his wine and then kisses my cheek. “Congrats on your baby,” he tells me.
My eyes pop wide. “What?”
“Your new store, silly. It’s your new baby.”
A shaky breath leaves me. “Oh, right. I’m very excited about my new baby. Thank you.”
Aaron tells me goodbye and I exhale sharply. Keeping this secret is harder than I thought. I feel like everyone can read me like a book.
We step outside to send Maybelle and Sawyer off. When our parents leave and the last car drives away into the night, I step back inside and lock the door.
“Love you, sugar.”
“Love you too. Should we go back to your place?” My hands skate up the wall and I turn off the lights and the gorgeous chandelier one final time.
He shakes his head. “Nope, we’re already here. Julep’s hanging with Tyler and Haven tonight. It’s just me and you.”
We walk through the hallway and I flip on the interior lights. We reach the door to the tack house and I hear Brant exhale a sharp breath.
I push through the door and I’m stunned. Frozen to my spot.
Candles flicker everywhere.
I turn back around and Brant’s down on one knee. His eyes meet mine and all the breath leaves my lungs.
“Whoa,” I inch out. My heart is in my throat.
“Yeah,” he says.
“But how did you . . .”
“Pull this off?” he finishes my question and smirks. “Yeah, I had a little help from Wes, Chrissy, Haven, and Tyler.”
My hands cover my mouth and I suck in a sharp breath.
Brant gives me his sexy, heart-stopping smile.
“Caroline, I’m not good at giving speeches. Well, actually I am, but I don’t like doing it. So, I’m only going to ask you one very important question—will you share your life with me? Marry me, please?”
I laugh. “That’s two questions, technically.”
He rolls his deep blue eyes. “You got me. So, what do you say?”
“I love you.” I start to cry. I’m blaming hormones. “Yes, yes, I’ll marry you.”
Brant stands and brushes the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs before sliding the ring onto my fourth finger. The ring is stunning—a princess cut diamond is the center stone with two smaller ones on either side set in a platinum band.
“Good.” His fingers drift over my bump.
I’m barely showing, but Ma didn’t show until the second trimester when she was pregnant with me.
“We’re going to be so happy,” he tells me.
“Yeah, we are.”
He kisses me and my knees buckle. Brant pulls me closer and I regain my footing. His tongue slides against mine and I soak up the sensation of his big, hard body pressed against me. My heart tumbles in my ribs as our lips collide.
“I have a question for you.” My arms snake around his neck.
“What is that, sugar?”
“How about we move in together?”
He cocks one of his dark brows and smiles. “You read my mind. Your place or mine?”
“Somewhere new,” I suggest. I walk over to my bookshelf, pull out a folder, and hand it to him. “I started making plans.”
“A house?”
“Yeah, I thought we could build one together.”
“I love the idea,” he whispers. “And I love you.”
“But for now, how about we move into your place while we decide on a new house? With all the construction starting on this place soon, I think your place will be just perfect.”
“Yep, that’s a fine idea.” He presses his mouth to mine, kissing me hard and reckless. Then he picks me up and carries me off to the bedroom. “And now I’ve got a few ideas on how we should celebrate.”
“I’m counting on it, cowboy.”
Dear Classy Reader,
Welcome back to Mayfield and Smyrna Hills, where the bourbon flows and the neighbors know everything about you—almost.
Firstly, thank you so much for picking up this book. I hope that you enjoyed Brant and Caroline’s love story. And let me tell you there is so much more to come from the Cardwell family. I’m pleased to tell you that Copper Lining is the next book in this collection.
In this book you met Weston, the youngest Cardwell sibling. This guy has a story to tell. You can bet your bottom dollar that Brant will need Wes’ help to get Cardwell Bourbon back to the top.
While Sweet Agony is filled with mystery and the family secret finally comes out, Copper Lining is all about moving forward and saving the company. Well, things get pretty interesting, to say the least, when the woman who’s slated to help the Cardwell family turns out to be someone Wes knows rather well. Hint, hint. Wink, wink.
So, that’s the news . . . Copper Lining, your next small-town romance is coming→ February 2020! And I flippin’ LOVE Wes. If you like enemies-to-lovers romances with a dash of angst and some serious lol moments then this book is right up your alley.
But first, I’d love to hear from you! What would you like to see from Brant and Caroline in a short story? A newsletter exclusive? Or on Book + Main? If it’s not in the book . . . it can absolutely pop up anytime in the future.
Thank you so much and keep reading for a sneak peek of Copper Lining.
Until next time, byyyeeee!
Xoxo,
Christy
Preview of Copper Lining
Wes and Minka’s story follows Sweet Agony. Curious about the youngest Cardwell sibling? Continue reading for a preview of his story in Copper Lining.
Life isn’t all mai tai’s, coconut cupcakes and the big “O,” but it should be.
I met Wes on a beach in Hawaii. Tall, tan, unruly blond hair and don’t even
get me started on that gritty southern accent.
To the locals, he was Wes, “The manta ray whisperer.” To me, he was an infuriating, too young for me surfer dude.
But that didn’t stop me from falling into bed with him.
Being with Wes was thrilling, but he’s all wrong for me. All wrong for my life. After our week was over, I snuck out of his beach house without a goodbye. I was never going to see him again, right?
How wrong I was when I walked into Cardwell Bourbon a few months later to find Weston Cardwell and those smoldering green eyes staring at me from across a conference table.
Working together will be a challenge. His family is counting on me to save their bourbon empire.
Wes and I have nothing in common except for our hot for each other chemistry—it’s hotter than the copper lining in a bourbon barrel.
But that’s the thing about copper, it’s an effective heat conductor—maybe too effective.
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The Scripted Duet
Unscripted
Perfectly Scripted
The Harbour Series
Bound to Me
Healed by You
Return to Us
Standalone Novels
Fifteen Weekends
Wicked Gentleman
The First Lights
Royal Gentleman
The Cardwell Family Series
Beautiful March
Sweet Agony
Copper Lining—Coming in 2020
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Did you look up the lyrics to that Eric Church song I mentioned in the dedication? A song. A fragrance. Anything can remind you of a memory. Next up, you need to listen to “21 Summer” by Brother’s Osborne. This is your assignment.
Of course, the family secret is just a small component of Brant and Caroline’s relationship. At its core, Sweet Agony is a second-chance romance. Family secret aside, Brant was always going to do the right thing, even if it wasn’t Caroline’s family that his great-grandfather betrayed. And Caroline, that woman was destined for more. Who juggles that many jobs with a smile on their face? A badass woman. A boss. That’s who.
Sweet Agony Page 23