by Violet Duke
âAre you sure, you donât want toââ
âSweetheart, really. Donât do it. We donât need the added danger to you or the baby.â
âBut donât you want to know? I mean with me, and Skylarâ¦â
âTessa, it wouldnât matter what the prenatal gene test said. At least not to me.â His frame stiffened. âAre you thinking of terminating the pregnancy based on the results?â
Horrified, she gasped in outrage. âOf course not!â She glared at him. âWould you still want to marry me if it were positive?â
He tugged her in close and rumbled against her lips. âOf course I would.â
She smiled and relaxed. âSo weâre really doing this?â
âYes. Now take a better look at your present. I think theyâre frigginâ cute as hell and Iâve been holding on to them for days, dying to see your face when you saw them.â
Her heart melted into a puddle of goo.
She opened the bag and broke out into a huge grin as she pulled out the little novelty onesies heâd bought. âHe-Man and She-Ra?â she chuckled.
âYep. I know we wonât know what the gender of the baby is for months, but I wanted to get both just in case. We can return the other or give it to Abby and Connor for their kid if the gender matches.â
She bit her lip to hide the gigantic smile that was trying to break free. âActually, it might be a good idea to keep both. Just in case weâre having a boy and a girl.â
At the slow shock blooming across his grin, she confirmed, âBecause weâre having twins.â
EPILOGUE
âYOU READY TO GO on our honeymoon, sweetheart?â
Tessa giggled. âDid you see the look on everyoneâs faces when we told them what we were doing for our honeymoon night?â
âYes,â Brian chuckled. âAnd Iâd pay good money to see it again.â
He helped his gorgeous wife with her barely showing baby bump into the SUV. Meanwhile, the small group of their closest friends and family were waving and blowing bubbles.
âOh! Did you remember to get the cd back?â
Precious thing. âHoney, I keep telling you, Iâve made over dozens of copies.â And backed up the file in over ten places.
When she just kept right on staring at him, waiting for an answer, he replied lovingly, âYes, I remembered to get the cd back.â
She beamed.
It thrilled him to no end that sheâd loved his little musical surprise for her today. Since heâd wanted Tessa to have something truly special for their wedding day, heâd taken all of willowâs compositions and tracked down her old piano teacher, whoâd been happy to play and record every single one. And though Tessa hadnât heard the music in decades, sheâd recognized it almost immediately when it came through on the speakers as the processional music for her walk down the aisle.
Sheâd burst into tears.
Happy tears, she later reassured him after he nearly had a heart attack and went racing up the aisle to get to her.
âI know you made copies of the cd. And Iâm not being weird. This copy is from our wedding day. So I want to keep it as one of our keepsake memories from the ceremony. Of something my amazing husband did for meâand my sister.â
He stilled for a surprised moment and then broke out into a grin. Per usual, Tessa was always surprising him. Not wanting to spend another second delaying their honeymoon, he quickly slid a kiss over her smiling lips and then ran around to the driverâs seat.
And waited.
âWhatâs wrong?â asked Tessa.
He checked his watch and opened the glove compartment, counting down 3..2..1.
Her phone chirped.
Eyes dancing, she grabbed for the phone and went straight to her calendar.
He knew exactly what sheâd find:
Happy wedding day
Where weâll go: our honeymoon
What weâll do: pitch your first tent in the yardâ¦clothing optional.
She burst out laughing, and the sound hit him square in the heart like it always did.
âExactly how many of these calendar entries have you put in my phone?â
âJust the one,â he said as he finally started up the car. âBecause I intend to give you the rest of the reminders of how much I love you in person every day for the rest of our lives.â
— THE END —
*
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Fear not dear readers, you havenât seen the last of the Sullivans! My spin-off Cactus Creek seriesâfour standalone novels and two novellasâtakes place in that quirky town of Cactus Creek Iâve been referencing throughout all the Nice Girl and Nice Guy books.
Gosh I love this place. I first âcreatedâ this special, ruggedly beautiful town years ago; and since then, all my characters from both the Nice Girl/Guy and Cactus Creek series just up and decided it was the place to be. Though my muse and I tried to keep them from crashing each otherâs series, these defiant characters were not having it! They each thought the other set of characters were far too interesting. Before I knew it, they were all becoming friends, hanging out together, and eventually butting into each otherâs lives with no regard for this authorâs sanity. *grin*
Thus, itâs safe to say that you can count on little cameos from the entire Nice Girl/Nice Guy gang throughout all the upcoming Cactus Creek novels (all available now for sale and/or specially discounted pre-orders) along with a whole new cast of fun, offbeat characters that are as unique as they are lovable. You can check them out HERE and see why fans are wanting to move to this awesome little town!
OTHER TITLES BY VIOLET
NICE GIRL TO LOVE Series
Resisting the Bad Boy (FREE)
Falling for the Good Guy
Choosing the Right Man
Nice Girl to Love: Three-Book Collection
Finding the Right Girl: Nice GUY to Love Novel
CACTUS CREEK Series
A Little Combustible Chemistry (FREE)
Love, Chocolate, and Beer
Love, Tussles, and Takedowns
Love, Exes, and Ohs
Love, Sidelines, and Endzones
A Little Holiday Meddling
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
www.violetduke.com
NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY bestselling author Violet Duke is a former professor of English Education who is ecstatic to now be on the other side of the page writing wickedly fun contemporary romance novels. Her NYT and USA Today bestselling books have been Top 10 bestsellers on Amazon, iTunes, and Barnes & Noble, and featured on IndieReader and GalleyCat as breakout hits. When she’s not writing or feeding her book-a-day reading addiction, Violet enjoys tackling reno projects with her power tools, trying pretty much anything without reading the directions first, and cooking ‘special edition’ dishes that laugh in the face of recipes. She lives in Hawai’i with her two cute kids (daughter Violet & son Duke) and similarly adorable husband.
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SWEET TO YOU
By
Jessie Evans
© 2013 Jessie D. Evans. This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons living or dead, or places, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are prodiuctions of the authorâs imagination and used fictitiously.
Cover image by Grekovâs for Shutterstock. Cover design by Bootstrap Designs.
Editing by Edited Ever After Editorial.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Where thereâs smoke, thereâs fireâ¦
Thou shalt not l
ie, cheat, steal, covet thy neighborâs ass, or date thy sisterâs ex-boyfriendâsimple commandments Maddie Whitehouse has never had any trouble keeping. But when sâmores and whiskey shots lead to skinny-dipping under a full moon with Jamison Hansen at a singlesâ camping retreat, Maddie realizes she has some serious repenting to do. Jamison may not be âtechnicallyâ her sisterâs ex, but heâs close enough. Besides, after the way things ended with her ex-husband, Maddie knows better than to get involved with another bad boy.
Jamison Hansen is fallingâhard and fast. Maddie Whitehouse is as sweet as the pastries she bakes, as unpredictable as Georgia weather in the spring, and lights a fire inside him he doesnât want to put out. And sneaking around to avoid their prying families only makes the chemistry between them that much hotter. Maddie is everything Jamison never knew he wanted, and it isnât long before the sparks between them kindle more serious feelings.
But small towns are dangerous places for big secretsâa lesson Maddie and Jamison learn the hard way. Will the new couple be condemned by a jury of their peers, or live happily ever after? Sometimes forever doesnât come easyâ¦
CHAPTER ONE
âCRAP ON A CRACKER,â Maddie Whitehouse muttered as she stepped out of her friend Piperâs van at the Southern Singles Seaside Camping Retreat to see none other than Jamison Hansen emerging from the pickup truck in front of her.
Jamison Hansenâthe last person she wanted observing her trying to remember how to flirtâlooking ridiculously handsome with the late-afternoon sunlight glinting off his sun-streaked brown hair. His muscled shoulders strained the fabric of his olive green tee shirt, and his corded forearms exuded pure manliness, while his sculpted backside practically demanded that a woman drop to her knees and thank God for whoever invented blue jeans.
Maddie had been looking forward to this singles camping retreat for weeks. Sheâd been so excited when she piled into the van with Piper, Shelley, and Dawn this morning she could barely contain herself. Sheâd talked her friendsâ ears off all the way down to Myrtle Beach, promising to out-hike, out-swim, and out-drink all three of them, so long as they swore to lock her in the van if she let the whiskey get the better of her.
Most of the time Maddie was a level-headed person, but get a little whiskey in her and she became daring to the point of personal endangerment. But the four women had been best friends since they met at Girl Scout camp in junior high, and Maddie knew they wouldnât let her do anything life-threateningly stupid.
Theyâd actually encouraged her to let her hair down, to start her Month of Maddieâher annual month-long celebration of her May birthdayâoff with a bang. They knew the past year had been rough on her and insisted Maddie deserved a break.
A little over a year ago, Maddieâs six-year marriage had ended in disaster when her ex-husband, Serge, left her for another man. Sheâd spent a good eight months grieving the loss of a friend and partner who had loved her wellâif not always with as much passion as she might have hoped forâand only recently emerged from her despair pit.
She finally felt ready to celebrate being single, to flirt and banter and maybe kiss a sexy stranger on the beach after the bonfire burned low. This singles camping trip was going to be the start of a new Maddie, one who wasnât afraid to reach out and touch someone, even if that someone wasnât going to end up being long-term relationship material.
She was turning thirty in three weeks, for goodness sake. She couldnât afford to let any more time slip through her fingers. She needed to start enjoying herself, and put her dreams of home and hearth on hold until she met the right guy.
But now, everything was ruined.
Jamison Hansenâchildhood friend, womanizer, drop-dead delicious firefighter, and a man who smelled so good he shouldnât be allowed within fifty feet of the ocean for fear his yummy man-scent might attract sharksâwas here.
Three months ago, that would have been bad news. Jamison had always treated Maddie like a little sister, someone he was in charge of pestering to her witsâ end while keeping her safe from danger in all forms, including men with amorous intentions. In the old days, he would have cramped her style; now, he was going to ensure she suffered three days of misery while being forced to watch Jamison flirt the panties off of at least one, if not more, of the single women on the trip.
Knowing Maddieâs luck, it would be one of her friends, and sheâd have to endure a play-by-play description of Jamisonâs legendary lovemaking skills the entire trip back to Georgia.
Because Jamison would be getting action this weekend, there was no doubt about that. The man was the Casanova of Summerville, Georgia, a professional smolder-wielder who had bedded half the women in their hometown, leaving a string of broken hearts in his wake. He was also the man who had almost kissed Maddie last February, when an unexpected eruption of mutual attraction had nearly led to a friendly hug becoming something more.
Since then, Maddie had done her best to avoid Jamison, but the fire station was right across the street from her bakery. Maddie couldnât help running into him at least once a week, often enough for his full lips, strong hands, and delicious man-scent to remain in her thoughts and continue to pop up in fantasies so naughty they made her blush just thinking about them.
It was awful. She had never been attracted to Jamison growing up, and she certainly didnât want to be attracted to him now. Even if he werenât the wrong kind of guyâone more interested in conquest than commitmentâhe wouldnât be an acceptable man to lust after. He had already locked lips with Maddieâs sister, Naomi. Sure it had happened over a decade ago, and Naomi was marrying Jamisonâs brother, but any amount of sister-making-out was too much. Jamison was off-limits. Nothing was ever going to happen between them. Ever.
Maddieâs head knew that, but her libido did not, a point proven when Jamison turned and their eyes met, sending a shiver of awareness sweeping over Maddieâs skin, raising gooseflesh on her arms and legs despite the eighty-five degree heat.
Jamison didnât look much happier to find his weekend of fun crashed by a childhood friend than she was, but his look of displeasure only lasted a moment before he smiled and leapt down from the truck bed with the agility of a jungle cat to prowl across the pine-needle covered ground toward her.
âWhat are the chances, huh?â Maddie said, determined to have her firstâand lastâwords with Jamison for the weekend over as quickly as possible. âGuess weâll just have to try to stay out of each otherâs hair.â
Jamison crossed his arms, one side of his lips lifting in a smirk. âIs that your subtle way of telling me not to interfere while youâre trying to hook up?â
âNo,â Maddie said, rolling her eyes. âThatâs my blunt way of saying Iâm not here to cramp your style, and Iâm sure youâll extend me the same courtesy.â
Jamison inclined his head, casting a glance behind Maddie to where her friends were unloading the van. âSo I guess that means those three are off-limits?â he asked in a low voice.
âIf you want to go home with all your man parts intact, yes,â Maddie whispered, flinching when Jamison laughed.
Even his laugh was sexy, a sensual expression of mirth that showcased even, white teeth and that delicious neck Maddie knew smelled better than fresh bread, lavender-scented candles, and a pan of recently fried bacon combined.
âGot it.â Jamison winked at Maddie before lifting a hand to the women behind her and backing away with a husky, âGood day, ladies,â that triggered a sigh from one of the weaker members of the company.
Maddie spun back around to find out which of her friends had become tangled in Jamisonâs smolder-web to find Shelly and Dawn leaning against the van with slightly dazed expressions and Piper wiping drool from her chin.
âAre you drooling?â Maddie as
ked, glaring at the athletic brunette she knew Jamison would have made a play for if Maddie hadnât made it clear that her friends were off-limits. âTell me you arenât drooling, Piper Youngman.â
âWho was that?â Piper asked with a grin, not even bothering to deny the accusation. âI like.â
âMe, too,â Shelly added with a sigh that stirred the fuzzy blond curls falling into her face. âBut you can have dibs, Piper. Since you drooled and all.â
âNo, she cannot have dibs.â Maddie propped her hands on her hips. âJamison is off limits.â
Dawnâs pierced eyebrow rose. âOh, itâs like that, is it? Back off ladies. Studlyâs already spoken for by the birthday queen.â
âNo, itâs not like that,â Maddie said. âI justââ
âAnd what the birthday queen wants, the birthday queen gets,â Piper interrupted, lifting her hands into the air. âI withdraw my claws. Pounce away, sister.â
Maddie rolled her eyes. âI am not going to be pouncing anyone, especially Jamison Hansen.â
âBut thatâs the whole reason weâre here!â Shelleyâs full lips pushed into a pout. âThis weekend is for pouncing. Itâs like Virginia is for lovers except itâs a weekend instead of an entire state.â
âJamison is my sisterâs fiancéâs brother,â Maddie explained. As non-residents of Summerville, her friends werenât privy to the intricate details of her and Jamisonâs relationship. âIt would be like incest.â
âNo, thatâs when you marry a cousin or something,â Shelly said. âI know because my stepsister married her first cousin. She lives in Arkansas, but they went to Tennessee to get married because itâs legal to marry your first cousin there.â
âThatâs it,â Dawn said, frowning as she pulled her shiny blue-black hair into a low ponytail, showcasing the mermaid tattoo on her upper arm. âIâm officially divorcing Tennessee as my birth state. I mean, what is the world coming to when something is illegal in Arkansas but not in the Volunteer State?â