by Kennedy Fox
“You seriously thought of everything, didn’t you?” I open the drawer but only see one piece of licorice in the middle. I pick up the black strip, and that’s when I notice the large diamond ring around it. “What is this?”
When I turn around, my eyes widen, and I release a gasp when I see Evan down on one knee. “What are you doing?” I blurt out, shocked as I take in his gorgeous face looking up at me with his infamous shit-eating grin.
“Emily, sweetheart.” He reaches for my free hand and holds it between his palms. “I love you more than words can say, and I can’t even begin to explain how much you’ve changed my life. Before you, the world brought pain and disappointment, and now that I get to wake up with you by my side every morning makes living this life worth it. I want you in my world every day for the rest of my life—as my wife.” He grabs the piece of licorice out of my hand and slides the ring off before holding it up between us. “Will you marry me?”
“Are you serious right now? Really?” I cover my mouth with both hands in complete disbelief. Smiling up at me, he nods his head and waits. “Yes! Yes, of course!” The emotions are so strong, I feel like I may burst. My eyes water as he stands up and cups my face, pressing a hot kiss on my lips. Once we part, he grabs my hand and slides the ring on. “I can’t believe you,” I say, staring at the ring. “I had no idea.”
“I’m a pretty good secret keeper.” He winks.
“You are! I didn’t suspect a damn thing. You’re sneaky!” I chuckle as he wraps his arms around me.
“I might’ve had a motive, though,” he admits, pushing his face into my hair. “Since I know we have to wait once the baby’s born, I figured getting us in the house early meant we could christen it now.”
“Is sex never not on your mind?” I tease, pulling back to look into his guilty eyes.
“I knocked you up in a matter of months. What do you think?”
“Always the romantic.” I laugh.
“C’mon, wife to be. Time to break in our new bed.” He leans down to pick me up, and I yelp as he carries me to our new bedroom.
Once the master bedroom is thoroughly christened, we decide to drive over to his parents’ house to officially announce the happy news. Mrs. Bishop is in the kitchen as usual, and Mr. Bishop is sitting at the table reading a newspaper.
“Oh, happy birthday! I didn’t know you two were stoppin’ in today!” She wraps her arms around my bump before rubbing her palms on my stomach. “And how’s the little sweet pea?”
“She’s perfect.”
Evan’s arm is around me, and I’m bursting with so much happiness, she notices instantly.
“Well?” Her eyes nearly bug out of her head as if she’s anticipating the good news.
“Go ahead. Show her,” Evan encourages with a smile on his face.
I hold up my left hand and nearly blind her with the ring. “Oh my goodness!” she squeals, grabbing my hand and gasping. “It’s gorgeous.” She flashes an approving smile.
“You did good.” She pats Evan on the cheek like the proud mama she is.
Mr. Bishop takes notice and finally stands to shake Evan’s hand and give me a hug. “Happy you’re officially joining the family.”
“Thank you. Me too.” I smile wide then turn to Evan. “Since we’re here, let’s go find your brothers and tell them.”
“Okay, but then I’m taking you back to the house to christen another room,” he whispers in my hair, making my cheeks heat right in front of his parents.
Once we find Jackson and Alex and tell them the exciting news, they both give me a hug and can’t stop saying how excited they are to be adding another sister to their family. River is working at the hospital today and Kiera had to pick up a horse out of town, but I plan to text them both a picture later. Evan pinky promises we’ll FaceTime Courtney later and explains how my parents already know. Apparently, the cheeky bastard asked my dad when we visited Houston. Always the proper Southern gentleman.
“Can we go to the B&B before we leave?” I ask, and Jackson and Alex invite themselves to tag along, so the four of us jump back into Evan’s truck and drive over to tell John the news.
“What the hell is this?” John asks the second he sees the four of us barrel in through the side door. “This can’t be good.” He crosses his arms, looking concerned.
“It’s not bad news,” I reassure him, holding out my hand so he can see the ring.
“Well damn.” He relaxes and smiles. “Looks like we have another weddin’ to plan. Congrats, you two.” John pats Evan on the shoulder with an approving nod.
“Baby first, then wedding,” I confirm. “I’m not walking down the aisle ten months pregnant.”
Jackson snorts. “Another party! Yeehaw!” He hip thrusts the air, and Evan punches him in the shoulder.
“I’m shooting you with a tranquilizer,” Evan deadpans.
“I’ll help you,” Alex adds.
“Can’t stop, won’t stop,” Jackson taunts, spinning around and shaking his butt. He looks over his shoulder, then slaps his ass just to get a rise out of his brothers.
“Oh my God.” John groans. “Stop it. You’re giving my face a bad name.”
“I’m the only reason you’re getting laid, and you know it.”
“Speaking of laid, Emily and I have plans that don’t include any of you.” Evan grabs my hand and starts dragging me toward the front door as I burst out laughing.
“Don’t be rude.” I smack his shoulder, laughing.
“Trust me, John wants us out as much as we do.” Evan jerks his head toward John who confirms with a nod.
“Yes and take the evil twin with you.”
“Love you, bro!” Jackson wraps his arm around John’s shoulders and makes a big show out of kissing him on the cheek.
Alex shakes his head, grabbing Jackson by the arm. “C’mon. The horses won’t feed themselves.”
John continues following us as we walk through the main room. He tells us congrats one more time and then wishes me a happy birthday. I give him a side hug to avoid squishing my belly, then laugh at the realization of how something as simple as hugging has become a difficult task.
“My niece will be here soon enough.” John winks.
Evan places his hand on the small of my back as he opens the door, but we both immediately come to a halt at the sight in front of us.
“What the…?” Alex is the first to break the silence.
“Jesus,” Evan mutters.
“Is that a baby?” Jackson gasps.
“A what?” John steps between us and stops when he sees the sleeping baby in a car seat on the porch.
“A baby,” I confirm, stunned.
“Whose baby?” Evan asks what we’re all thinking.
Alex, John, Evan, and I all look at Jackson.
“You think this is my baby?” he bellows. “I double wrap my shit, thank you very much.” He crosses his arms over his chest, and I snort.
“There’s a note!” I spot the envelope taped to the car seat handle. “Oh no.”
“What?” Evan asks, leaning over to see the name written on the front. “Oh shit.”
“It’s for you,” I say, handing the envelope to John.
“What?” All the blood drains from his face when he realizes what I just said.
The air is thick with tension as John reluctantly takes it from me.
“Shit, I didn’t see that coming,” Jackson howls.
Alex nudges him in the arm to shut him up. John opens the envelope and unfolds the piece of paper. We all watch as his eyes scan the letter, which feels like an eternity, but then he drops his arm and stares into space.
“She’s mine.”
This is the conclusion to Evan and Emily’s story, but don’t worry because you’ll see more of them and the whole Bishop family in John’s book!
Check out the synopsis on the next page and be sure to add it to your TBR for June 2018!
PREORDER HERE
John Bishop isn’t your
typical single dad.
Reserved, impatient, and utterly clueless.
Running the family’s bed and breakfast has many perks. Working long hours, picking up after the guests, and hearing couples going at it all night long aren’t any of them. Hooking up with girls who come to the ranch for horseback riding lessons? Best perk of them all.
That is until a baby shows up at his doorstep with a note claiming it’s his. Growing up on a ranch was anything but easy, but raising a newborn is proving to be the hardest task he’ll ever tackle. Leaving the bachelor life behind, his only priority is to hire a nanny who can teach him a thing or two about parenting—except he doesn’t anticipate her being gorgeous and quirky with an unhealthy football obsession.
Mila Carmichael has many talents—making balloon animals, creating origami art, and remaining in the friend zone. Often seen as one of the guys, she’s struck out more times than a rookie baseball player.
Seeking a new adventure, she flies to Texas to visit family and is offered a position she can’t refuse. Helping out a new dad should come easy to her, considering her past experience, but what she doesn’t anticipate is him being an attractive Southern temptation.
But that’s only the beginning.
While growing close to his family and falling madly in love with the baby girl who’s stealing their hearts, things are bound to get complicated. Everyone knows not to mix business with pleasure. That means no late movie nights, no stolen glances, and definitely no kissing behind closed doors. Too bad the universe has other plans—one that’ll threaten taking away the main thing that binds them together.
* * *
ADD TO YOUR GOODREADS TBR HERE
Brooke Cumberland and Lyra Parish are a duo of romance authors who teamed up under the USA Today pseudonym, Kennedy Fox. They share a love of You’ve Got Mail and The Holiday. When they aren’t bonding over romantic comedies, they like to brainstorm new book ideas. One day, they decided to collaborate under a pseudonym and have some fun creating new characters that’ll make your lady bits tingle and your heart melt. If you enjoy romance stories with sexy, tattooed alpha males and smart, quirky, independent women, then a Kennedy Fox book is for you! They’re looking forward to bringing you many more stories to fall in love with!
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AND FIND US ON:
AN ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS DUET
TRAVIS & VIOLA
Checkmate: This is War
Checkmate: This is Love
A FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS DUET
DREW & COURTNEY
Checkmate: This is Reckless
Checkmate: This is Effortless
A SECOND-CHANCE ROMANCE DUET
LOGAN & KAYLA
Checkmate: This is Dangerous
Checkmate: This is Beautiful
BISHOP BROTHERS SERIES
Taming Him
Needing Him
Chasing Him
Keeping Him
BEDTIME READS SERIES
Falling for the Bad Boy
Falling for the F*ck Boy
Falling for the Playboy
Falling for the Cowboy
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