by Grace, Kenna
A Christmas Surprise
Bundle of Joy Series
Kenna Grace
Illustrated by
Ana J. Phoenix
Copyright © 2018 by Kenna Grace
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. All resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
This ebook contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Please don’t read if you are under eighteen.
For inquiries please contact: [email protected]
Cover Design by Ana J. Phoenix ([email protected])
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Contents
Dedication
Description
1. Elliott
2. Clay
3. Elliott
4. Clay
5. Elliott
6. Clay
7. Elliott
8. Clay
9. Elliott
10. Clay
11. Elliott
12. Clay
13. Elliott
14. Clay
15. Elliott
16. Clay
17. Elliott
18. Clay
19. Elliott
20. Clay
21. Elliott
22. Clay
23. Epilogue
Like This Story?
About the Author
Also by Kenna Grace
Dedication
For my loving parents.
If the fathers’ in my books are half as amazing as you are as parents… I know I’m on the right track.
Description
An omega with a mistaken identity and an alpha set up on a blind date experience a Christmas miracle in this full-length steamy, mpreg, second chance romance novel.
Elliott
A string of bad relationships hasn’t made me the most positive person. If love taught me anything, it’s that it only lasts in movies and between the pages of sappy novels. A NYC subway station is the last place I expect to meet anyone, but when some charming alpha mistakes me for his blind date, I foolishly play along. It was only supposed to be a one-time thing, but Clay isn’t like other alphas. When I start falling for him, I know I need to come clean. Except the truth is exposed before I get the chance. I figure that’s the end of our story—until I find out I’m pregnant with his baby.
Clay
Elliott was nothing like how he was described, except in one regard—he was perfect. A failed marriage made me skeptical when I was told the omega was my perfect match. Sparks fly and I can’t deny the chemistry between us, but then the truth comes out. Elliott was lying. He wasn’t my blind date. Things come to a screeching halt when I need to figure out if I was falling for Elliott or the omega he was pretending to be. When I find out he’s pregnant with our baby, I want to give us a second chance and prove Christmas miracles really can come true.
1
Elliott
“Hi, I’m Elliott,” I said, watching myself in the mirror as I brushed back my thick hair.
I pouted my lips as my shoulders dropped in frustration. Why was having to meet someone new always so awkward and embarrassing? I rolled my shoulders back a few times and wet my lips with the tip of my tongue. “Name’s Elliott, it’s nice to finally meet you. Adam has told me so much about you. Having a good time tonight?”
My reflection in the mirror looked almost as awkward as I felt practicing what I was going to say.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. No, correction, I definitely looked more awkward than I felt. I mean, what could be more awkward than practicing talking to a potential date, privately, in front of a mirror?
I took a step back in order to give myself a full look over.
My shoulders slumped further. The entire concept of dating just seemed so silly to think about. I mean, here I was, dressed to the nines, and about to meet someone a friend wanted to introduce me to for the first time. Sure, I looked fine and put together, but it was really just a lie, wasn’t it? I mean, people didn’t normally dress how they would on a first date on a regular occasion. I got that the whole idea was to make a great first impression, but it wasn’t really an impression of who you really were. No, you were just dressing and putting on a personality to impress somebody else.
Standing back up straight, I tugged at the fabric of my dress shirt and released a couple of creases.
“It’s going to be fine,” I told myself aloud. It’s just a couple drinks at a bar. I’ll meet whoever it is Adam wants to introduce me to. Worst case scenario, we don’t click, and I can head back home to call it a night.
I moved away from the washroom mirror and made my way to the living room. I plopped myself down on the couch and grabbed my iPad from the coffee table.
It was already almost eight. Surely Adam would already be at the bar eagerly waiting for my arrival. Or would he?
Navigating to my iTunes library, I began scrolling through a few movies I had purchased. Finally, I settled on a romantic comedy. The Omega’s Vow. I pressed play and reached for the open bag of chips I had left on the other side of the couch.
Who knows, maybe Adam already had a few in him and completely forgot I was even supposed to be there. I chuckled to myself. “Not likely.”
I was only a few minutes into the movie when my phone vibrated inside my pocket. I snaked a couple fingers in and pulled it out.
I sighed when I saw Adam’s name and photo pop up on the caller ID. Well, I guess he didn’t forget. I choked back another mouthful of potatoes in their most glorious form before swiping to accept his call.
“You almost here?” Adam asked, his voice cloaked in the muffled sounds of music playing in the background.
“Listen,” I said. “I was thinking that tonight probably isn’t a great time. I have some running around to do tomorrow, and need to be up early.” I shoveled a few more chips into my mouth.
“What,” Adam whined. “Give me a second.”
I could hear the sound of people shuffling around through the speaker as the music slowly faded into the background.
“You have to come,” he continued.
Judging by how much clearer I could hear him and the lack of our own personal soundtrack playing in the background, I assumed he stepped outside for a minute.
“Lewis is already here and asking about you.”
I rolled my eyes. The odds of slipping out of tonight’s engagement were looking duller by the second. “I mean, I’m sure there will be plenty of other chances for me to meet him.”
I paused for a second to lick the salt off my lips. The foil bag of chips crinkled as I reached my hand back in.
“Wait. Are you just eating junk food and watching movies right now?”
“No,” I lied. I tossed a few more chips in my mouth and chomped down slowly.
“Liar, you totally are. Look, just come out tonight and meet this guy, have a couple drinks, and see how it goes. If you aren’t feeling it, I promise I won’t try to set you up again. Deal?”
Pressing my lips together, I rocked my head back and forth to process Adam’s compromise. As much as I’d rather stay in with a few movies and guilty snacks, his offer deserved a couple seconds of consideration. If this got him off my back, even for little while, it almost seemed worth it. “Be there in fifteen?”
“You’re on the clock,” Adam replied cheerfully. “Oh, and Elliott?”
“Hmm?”
“Maybe try to be a little less cynical when you meet?”
I rolled my eyes. I considered myself more of a realist than a cynic. “See you in fifteen.”
Grunting, I pulled myself up from the couch, and slipped my phone back into my pocket. Heading for the front door, I grabbed a blazer from the hall closet, and began the trek to tonight’s destination.
From a block away, I could already hear music pouring into the streets. The bar was unsurprisingly packed. It was a Friday night, but being New York City, there wasn’t a night of the week where a packed bar was unexpected. It was, after all, the city that never slept.
I stepped into the gloomy lit room and scanned around until I managed to find Adam sitting at a table near the back of the place. I recognized a few of the other people with him, which I took as a promising sign. At least if things didn’t go well with this Lewis guy, I could pretend to be pulled into a conversation and not feel totally out of place.
“About time,” Elliott chimed, standing from the table and walking over to meet me.
I raised my hands to my shoulders and danced my fingers in front of me. “Here I am,” I replied, sounding much more enthusiastic than I was feeling.
Adam looked back to the table from over his shoulder and waved. Almost immediately, one of the men that I hadn’t recognized began making his way over.
Adam’s lips tugged up into a smile. “Elliott, this is Lewis.” He motioned his hand over to me. “Lewis, Elliott.”
Lewis shook my hand. “It’s a nice to finally meet you. Glad you were able to make it.”
I forced a smile and rocked on the heels of my feet. By all standards, he seemed to be an attractive enough dude. Honestly though, he looked just as awkward meeting me as I was about him. “Yeah, just thrilled to be here.”
Just then, Adam stomped down on my foot.
My leg flexed as I pulled back. “Ouch. What the hell?” I glared over to Adam.
He raised his brows and pressed his lips together. “You promised,” he whispered under his breath.
I rolled my eyes. Maybe being described as cynical wasn’t all that far off. “Well, should we get a drink?” I asked Lewis.
He nodded and followed me to the bar.
“What’s your poison?”
“Scotch, single malt and on the rocks,” he replied, scratching the side of his jaw.
I called the bartender over and ordered his drink as well as a rum and coke for myself. We took our drinks back to the table.
“So, what kind of music are you into?” I asked, trying my best to make small talk.
Lewis swirled the scotch around and brought it to his nose to take a whiff. “Probably nothing you’ve heard of.” He took a mouthful of the brown liquid into his mouth and swished it around before swallowing. “I’m not really into the top one hundred charts.”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I sighed. I couldn’t decide what was more pretentious, the way he drank bottom shelf scotch, or his insinuation of my music preferences. “Yeah, you know us omegas are only into what’s popular.”
Looking down across the table, I spotted Adam watching us intently. He nodded his head and gave me a double thumb up.
I raised a brow and shook my head. At this point, I was starting to question how well Adam knew me if he thought Lewis and I were going to be a good match. I brought my cup to my mouth and took a large portion of my drink.
“So, what you do for a living?” Lewis asked.
“I do freelance graphic design.”
“Freelance?” He smacked his lips. “Guess it’s tough out there to find something solid.”
My jaw went slack. Did this alpha-hole really just insinuate working freelance was some sort of last resort option? “Actually,” I began to correct him. “It’s pretty great. I get to work my own hours, I’m my own boss, and if I want, I can even wear pajamas while working.”
Lewis scoffed. “Any job you can do in your pajamas doesn’t sound like much of a hard day’s work.”
I could feel the blood rushing to the surface of my skin. Apparently, I never got the memo that a four-year undergrad, two years of an unpaid internship, and working ten hour days didn’t qualify as a hard day’s work. I knocked back the rest of my drink. “Well, Lewis. Why don’t you tell me what you do, so I can understand what a hard day’s work is,” I replied sarcastically.
“Actually, I’m an aspiring actor.”
Of course, he was. Every pretentious single alpha-hole in NYC seemed to be an aspiring actor. “Aspiring?” I asked. “As in you haven’t been in a role yet?”
“Not yet,” Lewis admitted. He licked his lips before continuing. “My talent just hasn’t been recognized yet.”
“So… you don’t actually have a job then?”
The corner of his lips tugged to the side as he squinted his eyes. “I mean, I have auditions to go to.”
“Ah.” I guess there weren’t many castings for egotistical alphas with the range of a doorknob. “Look, I think I’m going to head out. I have an early morning tomorrow, but meeting you was,” I paused for a second, “it was definitely something.”
I got up from my seat and began heading towards the exit.
“Wait,” Lewis called. “Should we exchange numbers? How are we going to get in touch?”
If I had anything to say about it, we most certainly wouldn’t be. “You know what? If it’s meant to be, I’m sure we’ll run into each other again.”
When I glanced back to the table, Adam was looking over to me with a hand raised in the air. Fortunately, someone pulled him into a conversation before he got the chance to follow.
* * *
The next morning, I woke to the sound of the alarm I’d set on my phone.
Yawning, I stretched my body out against the mattress and blinked the sleep from my eyes. It wasn’t until a couple seconds had passed, and I woke up a little more, that the nightmare of what was my blind date last night resurfaced into memory. I cringed at the experience.
After getting out of bed and quickly showering, I made my way into the Adam and grabbed a piece of fruit and a granola bar. I hadn’t completely lied to Adam last night. I really did have an early morning ahead of me. Today, I was supposed to be meeting a potential new client near City Hall.
I grabbed my messenger bag from the kitchen table and tucked in my iPad, a few pens, and a stack of loose-leaf paper. It wasn’t uncommon to receive unsolicited emails regarding my graphic design, but a majority of them never actually came through with a follow up after our initial meeting.
I still had enough clients to afford my modest rent, but I was by no means living the lavish NYC life that so many twenty-somethings moved here for. Then again, I wasn’t a twenty-something. No, I was a nearly thirty-four-year-old omega with more realistic goals and a pessimistic outlook on those who didn’t have the same.
After making sure I had everything I would need, I began to head to the subway. Normally, the forty-five-minute commute was something of an ordeal. Especially a forty-five-minute commute on a New York subway. Normally though, I wasn’t out the night before on a blind date from hell. I figured I could use the time for a quick nap and take solitude in knowing Adam agreed he wouldn’t be setting me up again.
I scanned my pass at the subway station gates and navigated my way through the crowd until I found my boarding stop. It didn’t take more than a few minutes until my train pulled up. I waited for the herd of people to exit before sneaking my way in and finding an empty seat.
Suddenly, my phone started to ring from in my pocket. I snaked it out and glanced at the caller ID.
A growl escaped the back of my throat. Of course, it was Adam. Why wouldn’t it be Adam? I accepted the call with hesitation. “Adam,” I said. “Before you say anything, I just want to know, had you ever spoken to that Lewis guy for more than five minutes before deciding to play matchmaker?”
/>
He laughed into the speaker. “That bad?”
“That bad would be an understatement.”
Suddenly, a woman approached where I was sitting. “Is that seat taken?” she asked.
I shook my head. “It’s all yours.” I swung my legs over to make some room for her to climb in to the seat across from me.
I could still hear Adam laughing through the phone.
I shrugged. At least one of us was having a good time over last night. “I’m glad you find humor in the shambles of what is my romantic life,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’m sure you’re going to find somebody. I mean, there’s no way you’re going to be single for the rest of your life. Shit, you live in New York City. There’s what, eight point something million people here? There’s got to be at least one you get along with.”
My lips tugged up into a smile. “Don’t be so sure of yourself. I’m one more blind date via my friend extraordinaire away from adopting a few kittens and becoming a recluse.”
Just then, the subway doors chimed and began to pull shut. Static began to build up through the phone speaker.
“Hey, I’m starting to lose connection. I’ll give you a call later, yeah?” Before Adam could even reply, my phone lost signal and the call dropped.
The subway began pulling down the rails and a few people began scavenging down the aisle looking for a place to sit.
Just then, the girl that had taken the seat across from me leaned forward. She placed the book she had secured in her hands down on her lap.