by Tamie Dearen
“So... I guess this means I won this round, right? Since you gave in and consented to marry me right away?”
“No way! This was my plan all along. I actually won this round.” Her competitive spirit trumped her fearful contemplation.
“Ha! Nice try. You have to admit you lost. I got my way and proved my superior powers of persuasion.”
“Then does that mean I won every previous round for the past two years?”
“No. I think the past two years only counts as one round.”
“No way—”
He swallowed her answer with another fierce kiss as the elevator doors opened. Again, she felt her willpower leave her as she succumbed to the thrill of pleasure coursing throughout her body. When he drew his lips away, she blinked through a fog of desire.
She muttered as he led her stumbling off the elevator.
“You cheat.”
Epilogue
One year later
“NO!” SAID CHLOE, FORCING Micah to sit beside his brother, Ellis. “You’re sick. You have to drink your medicine.” She handed each one a paper cup filled with water, and felt their foreheads. “You have a temper-chure. Three hundred. We have to operate.”
“No, I’m the doctor,” Micah declared. “Ellis can be sick.”
“I’m not sick,” said Ellis. “I’m a pilot.”
“I’m a pilot. You can be the helper,” said Chloe.
“You can’t be the pilot—I’m the pilot.” Ellis stomped his foot.
“I’m an Iron Man, like Daddy.” Micah ran in circles around the other two.
“No, I’m an Iron Man.” Ellis chased behind him.
“I wanna be an Iron Man,” said Chloe.
“You can’t,” said Micah. “You’re a girl.”
Chloe’s tears were immediate. “Momma! Micah said I can’t be an Iron Man!”
Charlie chuckled. “I guess you can be an Iron Man. Girls run that race, don’t they Papa Steven?”
“That’s right,” Steven agreed. “Anyone can be an Iron Man. You don’t have to be a boy.” But the three-year-olds had already moved on to another topic.
“This is the best Christmas ever!” Anne declared, gazing around happily at her family, relaxing in Gram’s warm family room, complete with a blazing fire.
“You say that every year, Mom,” laughed Emily.
“But this year is the best of all. Grandpa’s coming tomorrow. Both my girls are happily in love and married. Much better than last year when Charlie was all in a turmoil over Josh.”
“Yes,” Josh agreed. “I much prefer this Christmas to last year. Although I’m thoroughly stuffed after having Christmas lunch with Ron and Kay.”
“Maybe next year you can talk them into coming to our house for Christmas,” Anne suggested.
“I have to agree with your Mom,” said Steven. “I feel better now both of you are married and secure.”
“And miserable,” Charlie said, rubbing her back as she arched to balance her huge belly. “Don’t forget miserable.”
“And swollen,” Emily added, lifting her feet to view her sausage toes past her equally large abdomen. “I’m ready to have this baby today.”
“No way. I’m already overdue—you can’t have yours before me.”
“It’s not a competition, Charlie,” Emily teased. “And anyway, I’m overdue, too.”
“By one day—that doesn’t count. I’m a week overdue. My stomach is so big I can barely fit in any of my maternity clothes.”
“It’s not just your stomach that’s big.” Josh grinned, waggling his eyebrows as he stared at her chest.
Charlie flung him a playful swat, but whispered in her sister’s ear, “I’m up to a C-cup. What about you?”
“Me, too,” she whispered. “And even those bras are getting tight.”
“No fair—you better not get bigger boobs than me.”
“Grace said to get ready for a show when your milk comes in.”
“Adeline is so cute. I can’t believe she’s a month old already.” Charlie wore a wistful smile. And she’s already got Brad wrapped around her little finger.”
Josh fed another log into the roaring fire. “I suppose everyone has noticed my fire is still burning.”
“Your fire?” Charlie mocked.
“Yes, my fire. The one I made from all the heavy logs I carried inside all by myself.”
“Awww. Poor baby. Are you tired from carrying all that weight for a sum-total of... what... maybe five or ten minutes? Try carrying this weight around for nine months! Ughh! My back hurts!”
He shrugged. “About the same, right? One fire. One baby.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, you’re right. The fire was much harder. One baby. Twenty logs.”
“Nine minutes. Nine months, all day and all night.”
In his best Lord of the Rings, dwarfish imitation Josh said, “That still only counts as one!”
Unable to hold a straight face, Charlie started chuckling.
“Made you laugh—I win!” Josh said, as she pummeled him playfully on his arm.
Spencer approached, balancing three mugs of hot chocolate. “I’ve brought your beverages as ordered.” He handed one to Anne and then gave Charlie and Emily their cups.
“My back is killing me,” said Charlie, as she tried to find a comfortable position to sit.
“I know,” said Emily. “Mine, too! I keep trying to shift this boy around. I think he’s jabbing his heels into my spine. He’s probably got big feet like his dad.”
“Sorry about that.” Spencer grinned with no hint of repentance.
“It seems like before, I could walk around or lay down with my feet up, and my back would feel better. But I guess maybe the baby’s so big that there’s just no room for her anymore.” Charlie grimaced as she pressed her hands on her lower back. She glowered at Josh where he sat with a smug smile, watching her squirm. “Why don’t you make yourself useful? Can’t you rub my back for me or something?”
“How about if I time your labor pains for you instead?”
“This isn’t...” Her eyes grew big. “Do you really think it could be?”
Anne jumped up from her chair, almost spilling her hot chocolate. “I had back labor with the twins.”
“I’ve been watching. It seems like you’re grabbing your back about every five minutes or so,” said Josh.
“Really?” said Charlie. “Yay! Finally! And I get to beat Emily!”
“Should you go to the hospital?” Emily’s smile stretched from ear to ear.
“Probably soon,” said Josh. “It’ll take about thirty minutes to get there from here.”
“You should call Jace in,” said Charlie. “He’s been so excited about doing his job.”
“Jace! It’s time!” Josh called out.
Jace came running in two seconds, flat. “It’s time? Now?” He glanced from Josh to Charlie.
Josh nodded. “It’s time.”
Jace disappeared and reappeared a short moment later, totally out of breath. “I’ve got the bag. It’s ready to go! Are we going to the hospital?”
Emily stood and motioned Jace over to her. “We’ll probably follow behind your mom and dad in just a few minutes. That way we won’t have to wait so long at the hospital. You don’t mind riding with us, do you?” Suddenly, Emily’s face turned ashen. “Ohmygosh!”
“What’s wrong?” asked Spencer anxiously.
“I... uhmm... I don’t think we’ll wait to go to the hospital. I’m pretty sure my water just broke.”
“Ohmygosh,” said Charlie. “I’ll be so mad if you beat me!”
“CAN YOU SEE, GRAM? Do you need a boost?” Anne bantered as they peered through the maternity ward window at the two babies in adjacent beds.
“I can see just fine. I guess I can die happy now, not that I intend to kick the bucket anytime soon.”
“I hope not, Gram. I’d hate to lose my matchmaking partner in crime.”
“Well, I hope
by now I’ve taught you well enough to continue without me when I’m gone.”
“I could never hope to live up to your master reputation, Gram. Plus, Steven made me swear I would stop.”
“Well, I certainly hope you had your fingers crossed. You never know when there might be another emergency. After all, we still need to find a woman for your father. And Spencer has three single sisters, doesn’t he?”
“Actually... I’ve been meaning to ask your advice about that. You see, his sister, Olivia’s been kind of in and out of a relationship—”
“Eh-hem!” Anne jumped as Steven cleared his throat behind them. “What exactly were you two discussing?”
“We were talking about my two great-great grandchildren, Austen Margaret Branson and Maxwell Steven Marshall.”
Distracted, Steven gazed through the glass. “Charlie did it. She managed to beat her sister by a whole three minutes.”
“I can’t believe Austen’s already got a headful of blond hair,” Anne commented. “That must be some pretty dominant blond hair since both Chloe and Jace have it, too. I thought for sure Charlie’s dark brown would win out.”
“I’m sure Josh will be reminding her about how his genes beat out her genes for the rest of their lives,” said Steven. “I’ve never seen a couple more competitive than those two.”
“Well, I was surprised at Maxwell’s curls,” said Gram. “Was Emily’s hair that curly when she was a baby?”
“No,” said Anne. “It was dark brown like that, but straight as a board until she was a teenager. And Spencer’s hair is pretty straight, but Olivia and Hannah have curly hair.”
“They’re so cute—both of them.” Steven’s pride beamed in his eyes. He elbowed Anne. “Doesn’t it make you want to have another one?”
“No! That’s not even funny.”
“Then why are you laughing?”
“I barely have the energy to handle the twins. I’m ready to spend some time being a grandmother with these two sweeties. It’ll be nice to send them home when they cry.”
“You can tell they’re going to be heartbreakers. I was noticing Max has been making eyes at that little girl next to him.” Gram laughed. “Maybe we should see if we can get her bed moved closer to his.”
“You know, Gram,” Steven said. “You’re such a schemer, I almost believe you’re serious. I’m hoping you’ve finally given up on your plotting and planning. Haven’t both of you done enough of that?”
“Give up plotting and planning?” Gram gave Anne a conspiratorial wink. “Never!”
From the Author:
HER BEST MATCH WAS my first book and is still near and dear to my heart. I wrote and shared it, chapter by chapter, with my friends and family, who laughed when they recognized many of the characters, including my two daughters. My husband complained that I killed him off fifteen years ago, but he is truly my romantic inspiration for Steven Gherring. My Emily is a true bookworm and my Charlie has already adopted two kids.
If you enjoyed the story, I hope you will take a moment to leave a short review at your favorite book retailer and/or Goodreads, so other readers like you can discover The Best Girls Series.
When you subscribe to my newsletter, you can download free books, including The Best Is Yet To Come, prequel to Her Best Match. Subscribe to TamieDearen.com and get your free books!
I’d love to hear from you. Please contact me on my website, TamieDearen.com, or simply respond to your monthly newsletter.
Read on to see what’s next in The Best Girls adventures, Olivia’s book, Best Intentions.
About the Author
Tamie Dearen lives with her very romantic husband of thirty-four years. She has two beautiful daughters, two amazing son-in-loves, and one awesome grandson. She plays piano, flute, harmonica, keyboards, and guitar and loves composing and art. And she hates housework. She has been a dentist in private practice for thirty years. Tamie stays busy playing keyboards on her church’s praise team and teaching graduate students each week. In her spare time, she writes books. Contact Tamie on her website (TamieDearen.com) for news of the latest releases and monthly prize drawings.
Books by Tamie Dearen
Sweet Romance
The Best Girls Series:
The Best is Yet to Come
Her Best Match
Best Dating Rules
Best Foot Forward
Best Laid Plans
Best Intentions
Sweet Romance
A Rose in Bloom
Christian Romance
Noelle’s Golden Christmas
Haley’s Hangdog Holiday
Holiday, Inc. Boxed Set
The Alora Series
YA/Fantasy
Alora: The Wander-Jewel (FREE)
Alora: The Portal
Alora: The Maladorn Scroll
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