by Jess Bryant
Cooper was the best of both of them and Lulu hadn’t known love could be so complete until he’d come into the world.
The baby in her arms hummed softly and Lulu shifted gently, tucking the blanket more firmly around the little bundle. She loved Connor with her whole heart. She adored Cooper. She’d been certain that she was giving her boys one hundred percent of her heart. Then she’d found out she was pregnant again and when she’d heard the baby cry out, when she’d seen tears on Connor’s cheeks as he held their daughter for the first time, her heart had grown again to allow even more love to fill her.
Lani sniffled again but remained asleep and Lulu settled herself again too.
Her gaze went back to her husband and she smiled when she saw him watching her. Connor’s intense blue-green gaze caressed over her, pausing on the sleeping bundle before returning to meet her gaze. He smiled softly and she smiled in return. He mouthed the words that never failed to make her heart flutter and she ached to go to him.
“I love you too.” She whispered back at him.
He winked and went back to playing with Cooper and Dawn. He was a fantastic dad, just as she’d known he would be. He loved her with his whole heart and never held anything back from her. He’d worked hard to give her the life he thought she deserved. He wanted nothing more than to make her happy. And he did. Every day. He was her perfect match in every way. They were perfect for each other. They wanted the same things and their life together was perfect.
Or, almost perfect.
Lulu nuzzled her nearly one year old daughter and hid a secretive smile. There was one more thing that would make her life perfect. She knew it would make Connor happier than he’d ever been as well. There was one thing she hadn’t been able to give him yet that he’d told her he wanted from that first night together when they’d decided they would spend their lives together.
They’d gone home to Fate after that magical week in Mexico. They’d gone on dates and worked themselves into each other’s lives. They’d moved in together. They’d brought their families together. They’d gotten engaged and then married. They’d started their own family and she’d given him a son and then a daughter.
But there was one more piece of the puzzle to complete their family and she was keeping a secret.
Tonight, once their children were tucked into bed. Once their brothers and sisters and parents had gone to their own rooms. When she finally had Connor alone and in bed with her, once she was tucked safely and firmly in his arms, right where she belonged, she would tell him the secret she’d been keeping for almost three weeks.
She was pregnant, again. He was going to be a father, again. And here, in the same magical place where she’d first told him she loved him, where she’d told him about her dreams for the future and their family, she would tell him their dream was finally coming true.
They had a big house on the hill. They had a white picket fence. They had two chocolate labs that were messy and rambunctious. And they were going to have three children, just like they’d planned.
Their third child was due on their wedding anniversary. Their family would finally be complete. And they would all live happily ever after… just the way it was always meant to be.
Acknowledgments
I want to thank all of my readers. That’s you! If you’re reading this, I feel like just saying thank you isn’t enough. Whenever I think about someone else reading my words and my stories, I have instant panic attacks and assume everyone will hate the book and me and I’ll have to change my name and disappear into a fake identity. But you keep me going with your love and your support and your reviews and posts and shares and likes. So thank you for accepting me and my stories into your world and for enjoying the worlds I create as well.
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Maren – Thank you for trusting me with a few of your most beloved characters. The Bounty County/Fate, Texas Crossover is one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. Lulu needed a fairy godmother to sprinkle some wisdom and Sierra delivered, just like you do for me all the time.
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Tarrah – Thank you for being my sounding board, my therapist and my rockstar. You push me to be a better writer every day. Your help and guidance are invaluable but it is your friendship I truly treasure.
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And now for the people that make me look good. Nikki Brackett, your proofing saved me. Amanda Walker, your gorgeous cover and design expertise give this book an incredible love at first sight feel and great first impression. If people judge this one based on the cover, I’ll be flattered, as should you. Last, for the Give Me Books girls who always go above and beyond and the Kinky Girls who never fail to make promo look easy, thank you for all your hard work and support.
About the Author
Jess Bryant is an avid indoorswoman. A city girl trapped in a country girl’s life, her heart resides in Dallas, but her soul and roots are in small town Oklahoma. She enjoys manicures, the color pink, and her completely impractical for country life stilettos. She believes that hair color is a legitimate form of therapy, as is reading and writing romance. She started writing as a little girl, but her life changed forever when she stole a book from her aunt’s Harlequin collection, and she’s been creating love stories with happily ever after’s ever since.
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Jess holds a degree in Public Relations from the University of Oklahoma and is a lifetime supporter of her school and athletic teams. And why not? They have a ton of National Championships! She may be a girlie girl, but she knows her sports stats and isn’t afraid to tell you that your school isn’t as cool as hers… or that your sports romance got it all wrong.
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For more information on Jess and upcoming releases, contact her at [email protected] or follow her on her many social media accounts for news and shenanigans.
Also Available From Jess Bryant
The West Brothers Series
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Something To Talk About
Too Good To Be True
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Fate, Texas Stand-Alone Novels
It Had To Be You
Call Me, Irresistible
Stay A Little Longer
Should’ve Been Us
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Bomar Boys Series
No Regrets
No Apologies
No Fear
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Fated Mates Duet
Unbreakable Bond
Unbelievable Faith
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Holiday Novellas
Once Upon A December
Call Me, Irresistible
A Fate, Texas Novel
Impulsive. Irresponsible. Impossible.
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Lemon Kelly lives in a world that is fast, loud and a little bit crazy. She left her small hometown for the bright lights of Nashville and has been living her dream ever since. She's traveled the world and plays her music for crowds of adoring fans. She has everything she ever wanted. Only the wants of a 17-year-old girl vary greatly from the needs of a grown woman. Is it selfish to want something more, something like the love she writes songs about?
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Can a girl have two dreams? Or will she have to give up one to get the other? And if so... which? Fame or a family of her own?
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Stable. Solid. Safe.
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Shane Lowry likes his quiet, controlled life. The always responsible small town deputy is a father to his three daughters first and foremost. Nothing comes before them. He had to grow up fast and early and he's long since stopped letting silly things like lust control his actions. He doesn't even date. So why does he find himself so drawn to the lively girl next door turned country music superstar that is the complete opposite of what he should want in a woman?
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If he lets her in, she'll shake up his entire world. He knows it. But is that a good thing or a very bad thing?
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Th
e sparks between them are undeniable. The pull irresistible. And if they take a chance they just might find what they've both been missing.
Stay A Little Longer
A Fate, Texas Novel
Where do you go when there’s no place to hide?
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Country music superstar, Trent Thorne, is on the run. The secret he’s kept hidden from the world is no longer a secret at all. He trusted the wrong person, a man he’d thought he was in love with, and instead of a happily ever after, all he’d gotten was outed. Unwilling to sit around and watch his private life get plastered all over the news, Trent hits the road and somehow ends up in his best friend Lemon’s small hometown of Fate, Texas.
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He only intended to crash there for one night, but in Fate, one night can change everything.
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Lance Nichols knows a thing or two about hiding. He’s so deep in the closet he can’t even see daylight. The former womanizer finally admitted the truth to himself a few years ago, but he never thought he’d be able to say the words out loud, not his family, not to his friends, and certainly not to his secret celebrity crush when the guy stumbles awkwardly into his life.
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But the words come easily with Trent. Everything comes easily with him. Talking, touching, and even opening up about all the things he’d never told a soul.
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Fate brought these two together, but will it also tear them apart? One newly outed man refuses to go back in the closet. The other can’t imagine coming out of his. The world is closing in on their little bubble, but before it does, can they figure out how to coexist and be part of each other’s lives? Can Lance stop hiding and take a chance on love? And what happens if Trent decides to stay a little longer… maybe even forever?
It Had To Be You
A Fate, Texas Novel
Austin Evans is a playboy, a flirt and a charmer. He’s dated half the female population of Fate, Texas and figures he’ll get around to the other half before he ever decides to settle down. Fate, however, has other ideas. Because one night with the prim and proper town doctor isn’t nearly enough. He can’t get her out of his head, doesn’t want her out of his bed and if he can convince her to give him half a chance he’ll keep her in his life forever.
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It was supposed to be one night. One night of passion. One night of scorching hot, mind-blowing, earth-rocking fun. It was a one night stand that somehow turned into two nights, then three and four… and Victoria Sands knew better. Of course she knew better. She was a good girl, a smart girl. She knew better than to continue seeking him out, knew better than to keep falling into his arms, knew better than to let her heart get involved, but when it came to Austin her logical, rational brain never stood a chance to her body’s desire.
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They’re complete opposites. She’s the town princess and he’s the boy from the wrong side of the tracks. She grew up in the mansion on the hill and his mother is the woman that cleans it. She thinks everything through and he goes with his gut instinct. The one thing they have in common is that they’ve never felt anything like the sparks that flare between them.
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But is that enough to build a life on? A family on? And what about forever?
Note from the Author
The Fate, Texas Novels are not a series. They are a set of standalone novels that all feature the small (imaginary) town of Fate, Texas. These books can be read in any order or on their own. Some characters will appear in more than one of the novels as secondary characters and often a secondary character in one novel will end up being featured in their own novel. My Fate is a small town and as such, everyone knows everyone, so expect to see familiar names and locations throughout these books, however, each book features one couple and a guarantee of a Happily Ever After. Welcome to Fate, y’all.
xoxo, Jess