The Barefoot Groom: Bachelor Billionaire Romance (A Last Play Companion)

by Taylor Hart

  The commanding way she said it, like some prison warden, made him laugh again.

  With her thumb, she swiped the screen on her phone and pushed in a code. “Apparently you like to go around breaking into people’s places. What? Did you hear about Jim and think you could come squat here or something?” A horrid look washed over her face. She pinched her lips. “Well, you can’t.” She pressed a button and put the phone to her ear, pinching her lips in satisfaction.

  On reflex, he took her phone away from her and pushed end. He didn’t need this kind of publicity for breaking and entering at the moment. His agent definitely wouldn’t be happy about something like that. “Now, hold on.”

  Nails scraped his hand as she tried to retrieve what he’d taken. “Hey!”

  Altering his stance, he held the phone out of reach. “I said hold on.” Apparently, she wasn’t really going to kill him, so that was a relief.

  Relentless was what he would call her antics for getting the phone back. “Give me my phone!”

  It wasn’t that he thought she was dangerous or that she wasn’t owed an explanation, but the aggressive way she reached for her phone made him want to keep it. He easily faked right and dodged left.

  She fell fast. She’d clearly planned on the weight of his body to ram against but ended up landing on the floor instead.

  It struck him that he was acting like a teenager. She clearly knew his uncle and was just trying to protect his property. “I’m sorry,” he said it quickly, but sincerely. He reached a hand out to help her up.

  The woman scowled at his hand and stood by herself. She sucked in a long gulp of air, plucking her phone out of his hand. “You better tell me who you are and what you want.” Her eyes were on fire. He couldn’t help thinking it matched her hair.

  He let out a breath and held back a laugh. “I’m the owner.”

  The words hung in the air, and she studied him for a second, examining him the way he would examine a new play that coach had added to the playbook. Intensely. Carefully.

  “You’re Jim’s nephew?” It wasn’t as much a statement as something that came out of her mouth with as much mystifying power as he felt. She looked him up and down, this time her eyes going into slits. “The great Roman Young.”

  This time, he did laugh. “Guess that description’s accurate.” He couldn’t say he didn’t like the way ‘great’ sounded in front of his name.

  Without warning she laughed, hard and without humor. She shook her head and picked up the shotgun, putting it behind the kitchen door. “Selfish. Selfish. Selfish.”

  He was confused. “What?”

  She tsked her tongue. “Of course you don’t want me to call the police with the media coverage you’ve had lately.” She shuffled to the same cupboard he’d searched earlier and whipped it open, pulling out a box of matches. “Do you know how many things need to get done around here? How many times I’ve had to run over here to keep the riffraff out at night and check stuff? Do you have any idea how much needs to be done before people can stay here, and we’re supposed to be opening in two months?” She shook her head and held up the box of matches. Her expression shifted from anger to exasperation. “Seriously, why didn’t you start a fire? It’s cold in here.”

  He ran his hand over the stubble on his face. Before he could move to help, she had already walked into the main room and was making noise. He followed and watched as she expertly built a fire, trying to blow off her little rant about his selfishness. People never understood him. “I couldn’t find a switch or matches.” The belated reply to her belittling observation about the fire sounded lame, even to him.

  She whipped her head back. The red curls and her green eyes looked enchanting backlit by the flame. She grinned, and, at that point, he knew she was every bit as bewitching as he’d first thought, but not at all helpless. “The power’s out, genius. Oh, and don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone you beat up on a girl.”

  Awkward. After all, what was she? He cocked his head and sized her up. Probably five foot eight, definitely slight of frame. Underneath that snowsuit he couldn’t imagine her being too big. Without thinking, he checked her left hand. Checked the finger that would matter. For some reason, he was disappointed that a band encircled it. “Sorry.” He meant it.

  She laughed, and this time it was rich and wonderful. He told himself to stop even thinking about her laugh.

  “Jim’s nephew.” She shook her head. “Wow. I mean, I knew you owned the place, but I … Jim said you weren’t the kind that would come. He said I’d probably have to communicate via email.” She grimaced and moved for a small closet off of the main doors. “Well, I have to go.” She tugged out a sleeping bag. “Power’s off. Here’s a sleeping bag. You’ll have to sleep on the floor in front of the fire tonight if you want to keep warm.” She tossed it at his feet and then paused.

  He couldn’t believe this. “What do you mean? Won’t the power come back on soon?”

  She took off toward the kitchen, waving him back with her. “Uh—don’t hold your breath.” She walked through the swivel kitchen door and he followed. She picked up a piece of paper off the table and shoved it at his chest, taking a match and lighting another lantern. “Good thing you’re here, here’s a list of all the stuff that needs to be fixed. You saved me having to email it to you.” She moved to the kitchen door and threw back a grin. “I’ll see you in the morning if you survive the night.”

  He couldn’t decide if he liked her or not. He rushed to the kitchen door and threw the door wide. “Hey, isn’t there a hotel or something?”

  She moved for a snowmobile, but turned back. “Maybe you should have come to the funeral and you could have met someone who might be willing to help you out.” Her cat-like eyes flashed wide.

  He jerked back, unprepared for the direct emotional hit.

  She slung her leg up and onto a snowmobile. “You are in a bed and breakfast.”

  He moved out onto the deck, ticked off, their eyes locked.

  She grinned and the rip roar of the snowmobile sounded into the air. She winked at him and Roman knew it was meant to taunt him.

  It worked. Anger flared inside him and he cursed. Turning back into the house, he shut the kitchen door, locked it and huffed back to the living room. Staring at the fire, he pushed open the sleeping bag, thinking that this sleeping bag was probably the same one he’d used all those years ago when his uncle had taken him camping. He rustled in his bag and found his phone charger, taking care to plug in the phone and hoping the power might come back on so it could get a charge.

  He laid back on the sleeping bag, staring at the fire and shook his head. “Well, Uncle Jim, I’m here.” He blinked. “But you’re not here to tell me one of your ghost stories.” His mind flashed, again, to the red head and the way she’d winked at him. He did not like her he decided.

  Getting up, he got into the bag and begrudgingly tugged it up into place around his head. He forced himself to take in deep breaths and try to relax. He would get some sleep and then meet with the attorney tomorrow and figure out how to get this place sold. Then he would get as far away from the Alaskan Inn as he could get.

  Get it FREE for a limited time HERE!

  Also by Taylor Hart

  The Last Play Series

  Last Play (Free for a limited time!)

  The Rookie

  Just Play

  A Player for Christmas

  Second String

  Bachelor Billionaire Series

  Almost Everything

  The Unfinished Groom

  Snow Valley Series

  A Christmas in Snow Valley: The Christmas Eve Kiss

  Summer in Snow Valley: First Love

  Spring in Snow Valley: The Bet

  If you love Bachelor Billionaire Romances, you may enjoy Billionaire Marriage Brokers….check out the first chapter of, my friend, Lucy McConnell’s newest release The Resilient Bride…..

  The Resilient Bride Chapter 1

  Liam Bernhard to
ok a large bite of bienenstich and savored the vanilla flavor as the sweet pastry melted into his taste buds. “There’s enough cream in this to choke a cow.”

  “You keep eating like this, and you will be a cow,” countered his older brother, David.

  Liam pointed at David’s plate covered with large zwetschgenkuchen. “You’re older than me. Your metabolism is slower.”

  David grunted. “I work out.”

  Liam grunted back. “Life’s too short to live in a gym.”

  The zwetschgenkuchen went to the table and stayed on the square napkin like a forlorn and forgotten friend. Liam didn’t mean to bring up his impending doom, but he just couldn’t see the point of ignoring it like David wanted to. David, Liam’s best friend and partner in crime, had been in a perpetual bad mood, and Liam was tired of living with Eeyore.

  The last six months of revelry and dream-making darkened like the German sky above them. They’d skied, golfed, surfed, swum, biked, viewed priceless artwork, toured ancient ruins, dug for buried treasure, and even sailed the high seas. His more recent exploits had taken a domestic turn, and they’d sampled foods across the globe. Even now they occupied two chairs in a small German bakery with a full selection of the baker’s wares spread before them. What did Liam care if he took one bite of everything?

  “I’ve been thinking …” Liam trailed off, taking another large bite and chomping away like a kid at scout camp.

  “Yeah?” David folded his arms.

  “What this adventure needs is a woman’s touch.” Liam had David’s full attention. “I’d like a warm body around once in a while.”

  “Exactly what do you have in mind?”

  Liam reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a business card he’d gotten from his trust fund manager.

  “BMB?” David raised an eyebrow.

  “Billionaire Marriage Brokers.”

  “You’re out of your mind.”

  “A side effect from the tumor, I’m sure.”

  David glared at the table. “So what, you buy a wife? Isn’t that human trafficking?”

  “Hire. I would hire a wife uniquely chosen for me.”

  “Uniquely chosen by whom?”

  Liam picked up a kreple. It looked like a donut. “Pamela Jones.”

  David licked icing off his thumb. “Is this prostitution? Do I need to call Mom?”

  “Ha ha. No. There’s no hanky-panky. It’s in the contract.” Besides the fact that the drugs I’m on make that impossible … For that reason alone, he’d been happy to sign up for a business marriage—any marriage. The fact that Pamela could find him a wife who could also be his nurse was a benefit. David was a great brother and buddy, and Ella was an excellent personal secretary, but neither of them knew the first thing about medicine.

  According to his doctor-issued time line, Liam had three months left. That was great on paper, but Liam suspected the doctor had been overly optimistic. He couldn’t explain his premonition, just that he knew if he was going to find a bride, now was the time.

  Liam wanted to be married before he died. He wanted to know what it was like to have someone to belong to, and if that meant going through Billionaire Marriage Brokers, then that’s what he would do.

  Get it Here!

  And I’m so pleased to have the first chapter of Cindy Roland Anderson’s newest release, Just a Kiss in the Moonlight. I love her books, check it out below.

  Just a Kiss in the Moonlight Chapter 1

  By Cindy Roland Anderson

  Irony was something Taylin Nichols had studied at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Yes, she had studied. Unlike her twin sister, Ashlee, who seemed to enjoy playing the role of a “dumb-blonde,” Taylin was one of those people who actually liked school and thrived on taking tests.

  The combination of her cumulative GPA and excellent score on the college entrance exam earned Taylin an academic scholarship to Mercer and admittance into their nursing program. Now, at the age of twenty-four, she was working her dream job as a newborn nursery nurse at Mitchel Creek Community Hospital in her home state of Georgia.

  The irony? Her former boyfriend’s wife was in labor, and Taylin was the nurse who would be attending the delivery. She would get to witness it all—every memorable detail. Awkward didn’t even begin to describe it.

  A strand of her blonde hair had worked its way out of her ponytail and tickled her cheek. She tucked it behind her ear before reaching out for her drink to take a sip of her warm, watered-down Diet Coke. She swallowed the liquid, making a face as she set the cup back down. Although she and Ashlee could pass for identical twins, they were complete opposites in most everything. Everything but their choice in men. Both of them had a long string of stupid boyfriends.

  Or maybe she was the stupid one. After all, she’d stayed with Ryan all through college thinking they’d get married once she graduated from nursing school. Boy had she been wrong about that assumption.

  A few months before graduation, Ryan announced he was marrying his pregnant girlfriend. He’d dumped Taylin faster than the ice cubes had melted in her Diet Coke. Evidently Taylin’s stance on no sex until marriage was okay with Ryan since he had another girlfriend who didn’t feel the same way.

  Sighing, Taylin closed her eyes and dreamed about lounging on a beach in Hawaii. Hard to believe that’s where she’d been just a couple of days ago. For two weeks she and Ashlee explored the beautiful islands. They laughed, ate fresh pineapple and relaxed on the white sandy beach, soaking up the sun and talking about the cute guys they’d met the night before.

  The jangling of the phone interrupted her daydream. I should’ve stayed one more day she thought as she picked up the receiver. “Nursery, this is Taylin.”

  “Hey, Mrs. Sorensen is ready to push,” the OB tech said. “The doc is on his way.”

  Mrs. Sorensen. Weird to think that could’ve been her. “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

  Taylin rolled her chair back and stood up, straightening her pink scrub top. The tan she’d acquired on her vacation looked even better against the bubblegum pink uniform. It gave her the confidence she needed to face her former boyfriend. At least she knew she looked good.

  Taking a fortifying deep breath, Taylin opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Her eyes widened when she heard a shriek coming from one of the rooms up ahead. In the report from the previous shift, she’d learned Ryan’s wife opted to deliver without an epidural. From the sound of things, she might be regretting that decision.

  The obstetrician jogged past her and entered the room. One of the labor and delivery nurses stuck her head out the door. “Hey, Taylin, we’re ready in here.”

  Taylin pulled her stethoscope from her pocket and wound it around her neck as she made her way to labor room three. Ryan’s parents came scrambling out of the room, excitement lighting his mother’s face. Mrs. Sorensen hugged Taylin enthusiastically. “Oh, honey, we’re so glad you’ll be takin’ care of our little Magnolia.”

  Taylin needed to get into the delivery, but she could’ve sworn Ryan’s wife was named Lily. Maybe she had her flowers mixed up. “Uh, Magnolia?”

  Mrs. Sorensen squeezed her arm. “The baby. They’re naming her Magnolia Ann Sorensen. All the women in Lily’s family are named after flowers.”

  Interesting. “How sweet and, um…unique.” Just then, Lily let out a very loud scream followed with what Taylin was pretty sure was a curse word. Oh, and she tacked Ryan’s name at the end.

  Ryan’s father snickered. He quickly sobered when his wife shot him an irritated glance.

  “It’s good to see y’all.” Taylin pointed to the door with her thumb. “But it sounds like I’d better get in there.”

  Without waiting for an answer, Taylin pushed through the door and entered the room just in time to hear Lily let out another earsplitting scream. The poor girl was hurting. Why in the world had she refused something to help with the pain?

  “Okay, Lily,” Janet, the L&D nurse said in a calm voice. “On the ne
xt contraction, we need you to push.”

  “Nooooo!” Lily whined over the rapid thumping of her baby’s heartbeat that resounded through the fetal heart monitor. “I’ve changed my mind. I want drugs.”

  Ryan stood next to his wife, holding her hand and looking very nervous. Just as Taylin turned away, she heard him clear his throat. “Honey, we decided to go natural, remember?”

  We? Taylin’s eyes flickered back over to the couple. Lily’s face contorted with anger, her eyes zeroing in on her husband.

  Wait for it…

  “NATURAL!” Lily bellowed.

  Poor, stupid man. Taylin looked away and pulled on a pair of blue latex gloves and struggled to hold back a laugh. What idiot would tell his wife who is trying to push out a baby “we” decided to go natural? Lily screamed again, ignoring the nurse’s instructions to push.

  Note to self: Do not go natural, even if my clueless husband wants me to.

  “I’m the one who is having—” Lily stopped mid-sentence and clamped down on Ryan’s hand. “Wait— no! I just had a contraction!” She glanced up at Ryan, her eyes bulging with panic. “Make it stop. Now!”

  Both the doctor and the nurse exchanged frustrated looks. At this rate, Magnolia wasn’t going to be meeting her parents anytime soon.

  Janet took control. “Sugar, if you want this baby out, I need you to stop hollerin’ and push. You’re very close, and then I promise the pain will be gone.”

  Lily compressed her lips flat, narrowed her eyes a fraction and concentrated, doing exactly what Janet and the doctor instructed.

  Minutes later, Taylin watched the miracle of birth take place. In the past six months, she’d seen it hundreds of times. It still never ceased to amaze her. As Lily let out one last painful wail, Magnolia Ann entered the world. Her mother stopped screaming and baby Magnolia took over.