“A counter-offer, huh?” Tyler kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re right, sweetheart. You’re a natural negotiator. I accept your terms and am looking forward to a lifetime of bargaining with you.”
“And I’m looking forward to letting you win occasionally. So, yes, I will be thrilled to be your wife.”
“Letting me win?” His voice held a note of challenge.
“Of course.” She gazed down at the sparkling ring on her finger and smiled.
“The only reason you won this time is because desperation put me at a big disadvantage.”
“If that’s the case,” she whispered, sliding her hand down his chest to his fly. “I’ll just have to keep you desperate, won’t I?”
“Oh, baby,” he groaned. “With a promise like that, I look forward to conceding—every time.”
EPILOGUE
After a hectic day at the office, Tyler followed the kids’ squeals through the solarium to the backyard where Annie reclined on a chaise lounge in a sundress, watching Noah and Mandy swim while she fed their brother.
“I’m holding Sammy when Mommy’s done.” Mandy stuck her tongue out at Noah. “You had him first yesterday.”
“Nuh-uh.” He splashed her in the face. “Daddy got him first last night, remember?”
“Yeah, but you held him first after he was done.”
Tyler had a news flash for them. Daddy was going to hold Sam first tonight, too. A flood of gratitude made it difficult to draw a breath as he crept up behind Annie’s chair, watching his six-week-old son nurse. It had been an incredible year.
Annie had become his wife on Christmas Eve with Sabrina as her maid of honor. They’d had a small candlelit ceremony at Ben’s Pocono Mountain estate with approximately sixty guests in attendance. Tyler had asked both Luke and Ben to share the role of best man. However, Ben awarded Luke the honor of standing up with Tyler during the ceremony and claimed the privilege of filling in for Annie’s dad, instead.
In addition to walking her down the aisle, Ben treated them to a fairytale wedding complete with a Cinderella-style coach, twinkle lights flickering in the trees, and a bridal gown and reception that would’ve put any celebrity’s wedding to shame. Tyler cringed every time he thought of what Ben must have paid to pull off such an elegant extravaganza only two months after Tyler proposed.
They’d taken a family honeymoon in Disney World during Mandy and Noah’s holiday break from school, and when they’d returned, Tyler had hired Dorothy, a lovable, fifty-six-year-old widow who’d become more of a surrogate grandma than a live-in housekeeper and nanny. With Dottie’s assistance, Annie had started college in January.
Tyler leaned over the back of her chaise and whispered in her ear, “Have I ever told you how beautiful you look when you’re feeding our son?”
She tipped her head back and kissed him. “Hi, you’re home early. How come?”
“I thought, since we gave Dottie the week off, you could use a little break.”
He stroked the baby’s cheek with his knuckle. “I bet you’re already counting the minutes until the kids go back to school.”
“Not at all. This is like a vacation compared to my life before I had Sam.”
Despite what a huge help Dottie was, for a while Tyler had regretted encouraging Annie to start college. The combined strain of preparing with the district attorney to testify, attending classes, adopting each other’s kids, and her pregnancy had taken its toll on her. Fortunately, Jared O’Donnell had accepted a plea bargain right after he learned she was on the prosecution’s witness list, so she hadn’t been forced to sit through a lengthy trial.
Whatever regret Tyler felt, however, had vanished after seeing the delight on his wife’s face in May when she’d made the dean’s list. She’d looked almost as proud as she had after their last dinner party. Their guests were still talking about what wonderful evening it had been—especially Paula Larson, who’d taken his advice and had reconciled with Greg. Although, Paula and Annie could never be called close friends, Paula had graciously given Annie tips on many of the finer points of formal entertaining, while Annie had shared strategies with Paula on how to economize and stretch her husband’s income.
“Daddy!” The kids shrieked in unison and clambered out of the pool. They raced each other up the terrace’s stairs and flung their soaking wet bodies against him.
There was nothing like soggy kisses and hugs at the end of the day.
He pulled two bags of peanut M&M’s out of his pocket and gave the packages to them. “Those are for after dinner. If you give me fifteen minutes with your mom, I’ll put my bathing suit on and go swimming with you.”
The kids dropped their candy on the glass-topped table and dashed back to the pool. Tyler sank onto the edge of Annie’s chaise. “Did Sabrina stay to have lunch with you and the kids after you got back from your check-up this morning?”
“Uh-huh. She seemed a little distracted, though. I think she’s seriously considering accepting Ben’s proposal.”
“Her thirtieth birthday is only a few weeks away. That could be pushing her over the edge.”
“I think holding Sammy has more to do with it than her age.”
Spearing his fingers through his hair, he sighed. “I don’t know whether to be happy about it or not. It’s obvious she’s still crazy about Luke.”
“It’s her life, Tyler. She wants to have a family. Last September, did you ever think we’d end up happily married to each other?”
“I guess you have a point.” He couldn’t imagine life without Annie, now.
“How about we throw a big surprise party for her birthday?”
“Are you sure? It’s only three weeks away, and you have the kids—”
“I have Dottie to help me.”
“Okay. Maybe Ben will convince my sister to turn it into an engagement party.” He leaned forward and kissed Annie.
As he drew back from her, she whispered, “The doctor gave us the green light.”
He glanced at his watch and winced.
“What’s the matter?” She passed Sam to him so he could burp his son while she adjusted her sundress.
“I just realized how long it’ll be before I can get all three of our little monkeys into bed.”
“Ahh.” She chuckled. “Well, Sam is ready to go to sleep now, and I don’t suspect we’d get an argument from Noah and Mandy if we dragged them out of the pool to have their candy before dinner while they watch a DVD.”
He patted the baby’s back. “Mmm—so that gets me out of going swimming. How does it help me get you alone so I can show you how much I love you?”
A mischievous smile curled her mouth. “As a wise young lawyer once argued during an extremely persuasive bargaining session, children are the whole reason man invented locks.
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About the Author
Laurie Kellogg is a two-time winner and seven-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® award, the winner of Pacific Northwest Writers Association® Zola award, and a Romantic Times® American Title I finalist. She began writing to avoid housework and has since resorted to naming the dust-bunnies multiplying as fast as real rabbits while she plots love stories that are Steamy, Heartwarming, Romantic Fun!
Laurie also writes red-hot romantic comedies under L.L. Kellogg which she’s branded as A Little Naughty and a lot of Fun! If you would like to k
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By L.L. Kellogg
Hypnotic Seduction
The Seduction Series—Book One
Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist
(as Subliminal Seduction)
She has a problem relaxing with men
Frumpy wallflower Hannah Oliver is nearly thirty and has a serious self-image problem. Growing up in her centerfold mother’s shadow and being raised by her pious grandparents has left her so self-conscious about her matronly, D-cup figure she gets tongue-tied around good-looking guys. So when Hannah discovers her fiancé/employer boinking her roommate, she’s not only devastated—she’s unemployed.
He’s got a problem fending off women
Pharmaceutical CEO Jordan Calder has a huge image problem too—his professional image. Most guys would kill to be publicly proclaimed a world-class lover, but other men don’t share his dark, shameful past. The only thing women have ever wanted Jordan for is what he can give them in and out of bed. So when his grandfather drags dowdy Hannah into his office as an executive assistant candidate, Jordan hires the mousey woman on the spot.
Could hypnosis be a solution?
After miraculously landing her plum new position, sexually frustrated Hannah resorts to hypnosis to boost her self-confidence with men, hoping to attract another mate. Unfortunately, a post-hypnotic suggestion compels her to kiss her sexy playboy boss, who she then stupidly falls for in and out of bed. Despair induces her to use similar hypnotic principles on him—in the form of subliminal messages—to convince the man she loves that he wants a happy-ever-after with her. But as everyone knows, desperate measures usually spell disaster.
Read an excerpt of Hypnotic Seduction
Find other books by Laurie Kellogg
A Little Bit of Déjà Vu
Return to Redemption Series—Book One
Winner of the Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® award
Winner of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association® Zola award
Sometimes destiny has the last word....and laugh
Fate thrust them together
Blackmail and deception tore them apart
Nineteen years later, their children’s love reunites them
Now, only truth and forgiveness can make them a family
Margie Bradford is picking up the pieces of her shattered life following her husband’s death. When her meddling cousin encourages her to make a fresh start with her teenage daughter, unsuspecting Margie takes a reading specialist job in the small town of Redemption, PA. The last person she expects to encounter is Rocket Manion, the ex-NFL quarterback and Dr. Phil wannabe who broke her heart nineteen years ago.
Divorced teacher and head football coach Jake Manion experiences an eerie sense of déjà vu when his son announces he’s gotten his girlfriend pregnant. The feeling simply grows stronger when Jake learns the girl’s mother is Maggie, the same woman on whom he’s wasted nearly two decades of bitterness.
While planning their kids’ wedding and helping them grow up too soon, Jake attempts to pick up right where he left off—in Margie’s bed. But no matter how irresistible his kisses are, she isn’t stupid enough to let him hurt her again. Or is she?
Read an excerpt of A Little Bit of Déjà Vu
The Great Bedroom War
The Return to Redemption Series—Book Two
Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist
She’s trying to forget the pleasure in her ex’s arms
He’s doing his damnedest to remind her
Fledgling entrepreneur Samantha Riverà is in charge of her own life for the first time and determined to keep it that way. She’s attempting to banish her call-all-the-shots ex-husband from her dreams, but it’s kind of tough forgetting the Zorro look-alike who’s willing to do anything for her, except give her the only two things she wants—another baby and his love. When their 14-year-old daughter Dani—who’s maintaining a shaky remission from leukemia—rebels, Sam foolishly seeks advice from her Don Juan ex, who, incidentally, could charm the knickers off a nun.
When Nicolàs Riverà returns to Redemption, PA, to help control his defiant daughter, he discovers he not only has serious competition for Sam’s affection, but Dani has a crush on a boy who is the last kid Nick wants her interested in. The boy is a horn-dog rebel who reminds Nick way to much of his teen-aged self. Sam never understood that, even to a second-generation Latino man, familial responsibility is still númerouno. She also has no concept of how terrified this reformed bad-boy and businessman is of losing her to another high-risk pregnancy. The death of their premature son devastated Nick, and his refusal to sire another child incited The Great Bedroom War that ultimately destroyed his marriage. Now, he’ll stop at nothing to get his family back—even if it means blackmailing his way back into his ex-wife’s home to become a greater presence in his sick child’s life—and, with any luck, Samantha’s bed and heart.
Turn the Page to read an Excerpt of The Great Bedroom War
(The Great Bedroom War Excerpt)
Every red-blooded American male has one of two things on his mind at the end of a romantic evening. Samantha Riverá prayed her date was wondering if the Phillies had won.
She slanted an uncertain smile at Adam Chase as he walked her to the wraparound porch that hugged one corner of her home in Redemption, Pennsylvania. “A penny for your thoughts?”
“That’s all?” His chuckle warped into a soft snort. “Considering the rate of inflation, what I’m thinking is worth at least a buck. Although it would probably get my face slapped.”
Her stomach lurched. Okay, scratch baseball....unless he was considering sliding into a metaphorical home plate.
“Ahhh.” Sam gave a slow, perceptive nod worthy of a carnival psychic. “S-E-X.”
“Hey, I admit it’s been a while, but I still remember how to spell it,” he said, laughing. “I was actually wondering if you have any idea how long it’s been since—”
“Is this the third Tuesday in September?” she teased, trying not to recall the last incredible night she’d spent in her ex-husband’s arms.
“I meant for me.” Adam turned serious, ignoring her attempt to be funny. “This is our sixth date, Sam. Do you realize how hard it is—”
Oh, jeez. She smothered a smile over his choice of words. Evidently she was the one with sex on the brain. Except, despite how much her body had hungered to be touched since her divorce, emotionally she wasn’t ready.
Not even for second base.
“—I mean, what I’m trying to ask, not very successfully,” he began again. “Are you interested in me as more than a friend, or not?”
“Of course.” A woman would have to be lying on a mortician’s slab not to be attracted to a golden hunk like Adam. His sun-streaked hair, bronzed face, and broad shoulders made him look more like a California surfer than a prominent doctor.
“Then quit trying to laugh your way out of asking me in for coffee.”
She froze in her tracks, sucking in a deep breath and inhaling the cloying scent of the petunias she’d planted along the walkway. “I-I’m sorry, Adam. I can’t yet. I have a teenage daughter to set an example for, and I need to feel a lot more than physical attraction to sleep—”
“You’re not over Nick, are you?”
She swallowed her reflexive denial. The shame and resentment that Adam’s astute diagnosis ignited became a fire-breathin
g dragon puffing from her neckline and singeing her cheeks. Instead of answering, she gazed up at the Queen Anne Victorian farmhouse her ex-husband had surprised her with seven years ago for her twenty-fifth birthday. Admitting the truth was bittersweet—like swallowing a piece of jagged, hard candy whole.
She wanted to be over Nicolás Riverá. Except in the thirteen years she’d been married to the second-generation Mexican-American, he’d become ingrained in her life—and psyche.
“It’s been over a year since he left you and Dani,” Adam pointed out, no doubt interpreting her silence as ambivalence.
“That’s not entirely accurate.” She could imagine the way Nick would bristle at Adam’s words. All Nick would hear was an implication that he was an irresponsible lout who’d abandoned the mother of his child the way his biological father had left Nick’s mom. “I deserted Nick when I refused to move to Los Angeles with him. After growing up in Philly, I thought he’d had enough of living in the city, too.”
“I can understand you not wanting to leave the slower pace of a small town. But divorcing him—”
“My reasons weren’t just about leaving the life I’ve made here.” Although, it truly would’ve broken her heart to say good-bye to her friends, not to mention the covered bridges and country charm surrounding Redemption. Samantha shook her head and heaved a regret-filled sigh. “That was the tip of the iceberg. Our marriage was in trouble long before that.” Ever since she’d lost their son.
“So what’s the problem?” Adam wound a blond tendril of her shoulder-length hair around his index finger. “Forget him and move on.”
The Parent Pact (Book Three of The Return to Redemption Series) Page 23