It certainly doesn’t seem that Lowen has anything to worry about on that front. Her schedule is pretty packed. She’s on the heels of filming Outside Chance in Atlanta, and her romantic comedy, Everybody Hates Me, will be released in time for Valentine’s Day. Somewhere in there she managed to star in Nick’s video for “I Can Love You Right,” a fictional retelling of how the two fell in love. Next up she’s promoting On the Water and producing the first season of a family drama for Netflix.
After that . . . “I’m taking a break.” She smiles like a cat who ate the canary. “Okay, I’ll tell you. Another reason we picked Nick’s house is because he has the best space for a nursery.” She’s grinning as she rubs her hand over her belly, and now that she’s pointed it out, I can see a very small but very distinct baby bump.
“We’re due at the end of summer,” she confides. “I’ve been lucky to not feel too much morning sickness, and since I’m in the second trimester, I think the worst of it has passed.”
She pulls out her phone to show me a picture of her latest sonogram. The arms and legs look like pegs and the head is as big as the body, but the features of a tiny human are easily distinguishable.
“Nick is over the moon,” she says, her eyes brimming. “I wanted a baby, but I didn’t realize how much he wanted one too until I got pregnant. He’s already halfway through writing an album of lullabies, and he’s completely changed his upcoming schedule to make sure he’s not doing anything that will take him away from home when the baby is born. He’s going to be the best dad.”
When I ask if she’s concerned about having a baby with a man who is thirteen years younger than she is, she scowls. “If our roles were reversed, if Nick was the one who was older, would you still ask me that question?” She doesn’t wait for my response. “Honestly, no, it doesn’t bother me. He’s more mature than I am sometimes. Better at taking care of others, for sure. And if you’re asking if I’m concerned about mortality, well, my grandmother was nine years younger than her husband, and he’s been without her now for six years. Age doesn’t predict how much time we have on this earth. Nick’s healthy, and I’m healthy, and we both have a long life ahead of us, knock on wood. And if I die first, then I’ll be lucky to have spent the last of my time with Nick. There’s no other way I’d want it to be.”
The sun, which had moved behind the clouds, makes its return to the sky, illuminating Lowen’s already glowing face like a spotlight. She’s angelic, despite her assertions to the contrary.
“Nick makes me feel like that,” she says nodding out the window. “Like I’ve been behind a cloud my entire life, and finally I’m in the sun. Maybe it’s because he’s younger, but I don’t really ever feel our age difference. He’s an old soul. He’s been an adult longer than I have, in many ways. I think he’s the first person to really get me, and that feeling is incredibly moving. It’s like I finally know where I belong, and it’s with him.”
She gives me a sheepish smile. “I’m really in love with the guy, if you haven’t noticed. In love and inspired. Mostly I’m just really happy. I never knew I could be so happy.”
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I’m smiling so wide my cheeks hurt by the time I finish reading Natalia’s tell-all interview. I lean over to kiss her on the top of the head. “I’m happy like that too, baby,” I tell her, even though I know she already knows. “And I’m so proud of you! You told them who you are.”
“I did,” she says, snuggling into the crook of my arm, a space that she fits against perfectly, even with her growing belly. “But as long as you know, that’s all that matters. The rest of the world isn’t part of our story anymore.”
Want more Ryder Brothers?
The next two books are available now in Kindle Unlimited.
Want by Kayti McGee
Welcome to Hollywood, where wet dreams come true.
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I fell for Marlee the second I met her- gorgeous smile, unimpressed by my stardom… bendy.
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Not even remotely interested in me.
* * *
Of course the girl of my dreams has to be engaged to her hometown high-school sweetheart. Nothing’s ever easy, right?
* * *
Until they break up.
And she moves in with me.
The only person who can help her practice for her next role is me.
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Because Marlee isn’t just new to Hollywood.
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She’s a virgin.
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Available Now in Kindle Unlimited!
Did you love Nat and Nick’s story? Read it again on audio or paperback!
Also in Kindle Unlimited!
Porn Star by Laurelin Paige and Sierra Simone
You know me.
Come on, you know you do.
Maybe you pretend you don’t. Maybe you clear your browser history religiously. Maybe you pretend to be aghast whenever someone even mentions the word porn in your presence.
But the truth is that you do know me.
Everybody knows Logan O’Toole, world famous porn star.
Except then Devi Dare pops into my world, and pretty soon I’m doing things that aren’t like me—like texting her with flirty banter and creating an entire web porn series just so I can get to star in her bed. Again. And again.
With Devi, my entire universe shifts, and the more time I spend with her, the more I realize that Logan O’Toole isn’t the guy I thought he was.
So maybe I'm not the guy you thought I was either.
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*Includes Logan O’Toole’s Tools of the Trade as a bonus.
Now in Kindle Unlimited.
Hot Cop by Laurelin Paige and Sierra Simone
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You have the right to remain sexy.
Anything you say can and will be used to get you in my bed.
You have the right to use my body to give yourself a delirious, life-changing orgasm.
Livia Ward wants a baby before she’s thirty. And she wants it the old-fashioned way—by having as much sex as it takes with a man she’s hand-picked to make up the second part of the equation. What she doesn’t want is a boyfriend.
Officer Chase Kelly is exactly the kind of cocky jerk this librarian has sworn off, but he is undeniably hot. And he’s better in bed than Livia ever expected her baby daddy to be. It’s trouble from the start, but her deadline is rapidly approaching.
Both of them think they can give each other what they want--a few nights of fun for Officer Kelly, a no-strings baby for Livia--but this hot cop is about to learn that sex, babies, and love don’t always play by the rules.
Now in Kindle Unlimited!
Also by Laurelin Paige
Visit my website for a more detailed reading order.
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Also in Kindle Unlimited
Ryder Brothers
Close
Want by Kayti McGee (coming soon!)
More by JD Hawkins (coming soon!)
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Written with Sierra Simone
Porn Star | Hot Cop
Other books by Laurelin Paige
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The Dirty Universe
Dirty Filthy Rich Boys - READ FREE
Dirty Duet: Dirty Filthy Rich Men | Dirty Filthy Rich Love
Dirty Games Duet: Dirty Sexy Player | Dirty Sexy Games
Dirty Sweet Duet: Sweet Liar | Sweet Fate (early 2019)
Dirty Filthy Fix (a spinoff novella)
Dirty Wild Trilogy: Coming 2020
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The Fixed Universe
Fixed Series: Fixed on You | Found in You | Forever with You | Hudson | Fixed Forever
Found Duet: Free Me | Find Me
Chandler (a spinoff novel)
Falling Under You (a spinoff novella)
Dirty Filthy Fix (a spinoff novella)
Slay Trilogy Slay One: Rivalry| Slay Two: Ruin | Slay Three: Revenge | Slay Four: Rising
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/> First and Last
First Touch | Last Kiss
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Written with Kayti McGee under the name Laurelin McGee
Miss Match | Love Struck | MisTaken | Holiday for Hire
Acknowledgments
My heart is full of so much thanks and sometimes the simple saying of it is the best way to express my gratitude.
* * *
So thank you to Kayti McGee, JD Hawkins, Rebecca Friedman, Candi Kane, Melissa Gaston, Anthony Colletti, Chris Yonkers, Michele Ficht, Erica Russikoff, Nancy Smay, And Arndt at Lyric Audiobooks, Marni Coleman, Elena Wolfe, Jacob Morgan, the LARCs, The Sky Launch members, my readers, Mom, Tom Barnes, the three Kidlet Barnes, the real life Nick and Kate that inspired Nick and Nat, and my God in heaven.
Let’s stay in touch!
Join my reader group, The Sky Launch.
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Follow me on Bookbub, Amazon, and Instagram.
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Like my author page.
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Sign up for my newsletter where you’ll receive a free book every month from bestselling authors, only available to my subscribers, as well as up-to-date information on my latest releases.
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Visit www.laurelinpaige.com to find out more about me and all my books.
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About Laurelin Paige
With over 2.4 million books sold worldwide, Laurelin Paige is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author. Her international success started with her very first series, the Fixed Trilogy, which, alone, has sold over 1 million copies, and earned her the coveted #1 spot on Amazon’s bestseller list in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia, simultaneously. This title also was named in People magazine as one of the top 10 most downloaded books of 2014. She’s also been #1 over all books at the Apple Book Store with more than one title in more than one country. She’s published both independently and with MacMillan’s St. Martin’s Press and Griffin imprints as well as many other publishers around the world including Harper Collins in Germany and Hachette/Little Brown in the U.K. With her edgy, trope-flipped stories of smart women and strong men, she’s managed to secure herself among today’s romance royalty.
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Paige has a Bachelor’s degree in Musical Theater and a Masters of Business Administration with a Marketing emphasis, and she credits her writing success to what she learned from both programs, though she’s also an avid learner, constantly trying to challenge her mind with new and exciting ideas and concepts. While she loves psychological thrillers and witty philosophical books and entertainment, she is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She's also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn't do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio. She currently lives outside Austin, Texas and is represented by Rebecca Friedman.
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www.laurelinpaige.com
[email protected]
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