What It Takes: A Kowalski Reunion Novel
Page 24
“Uh-oh,” Josh said as he squeezed past the women to sit on the arm of the couch next to his wife. “I told Mitch we should have boxes of tissues on every flat surface. Like party favors.”
Laney felt Ben’s hand at her back and leaned into his touch. There was a lot of talk—about babies and houses and goings on in the family—as the party went on, and they milled around, making sure they talked with everybody. There was food and cake and a lot of laughter, and Laney knew they would gather like this to celebrate for her and Ben, too. Their wedding. Maybe a baby.
There would be visits to Rhode Island, too. She’d been talking to her mom on the phone more often, and they were making progress. And she and Ben had met her parents in Boston for lunch so they could meet him. It had gone better than she’d hoped. She knew, when the time came for them to throw her a bridal shower, Rosie would make sure her mother was invited, and she was actually excited for her mom to see how happy she was in this unexpected place.
The sampler Sarah Kowalski had stitched so many years ago caught her eye. Bless This Kitchen. And it was. Filled with family and love and laughter, the kitchen of the Northern Star was definitely blessed.
“Are you okay?” Ben asked. “You look like you’re going to get weepy on me.”
“I should stitch one of those for our house.”
He followed her gaze and then smiled. “You should. But instead of those dove things at the corners, you should make pink flamingos.”
How lucky was she to find a man who loved her enough to embrace things just because they made her happy? Whether it was her pink chairs or her dancing flamingo or the radio station they listened to in the car, he was all for anything that made her smile.
“You’re getting that look again,” he said.
“What look?”
“Like maybe Josh was right about party favor tissues. I’m hoping those are happy tears you’re trying to hold back.”
“I never could have dreamed this life for myself,” she said, her voice a little hoarse from the unshed tears. “Not without you.”
“We’re going to have an amazing life together, Laney.”
His eyes were full of promise, and she squeezed his hand. “We already do. And I’m going to love every day of it, because I love you.”
* * * * *
Acknowledgments
I can’t adequately express my gratitude to Angela James and the entire Carina Press team, as well as my agent, Kim Whalen, for everything they do for me. So many people have worked hard to make the Kowalski series the best it can be and I appreciate each and every one of them more than I can say.
And, as always, none of these books would be possible without the love and support of my husband, Stuart, and my BFF Jaci. It takes both of you to get me through the day, and I love you both for being here with me.
Also available from Shannon Stacey
and Carina Press
The Kowalski Series
Exclusively Yours
Undeniably Yours
Yours to Keep
All He Ever Needed
All He Ever Desired
All He Ever Dreamed
Love a Little Sideways
Taken with You
Falling for Max
The Boston Fire Series
Heat Exchange
Controlled Burn
Fully Ignited
Holiday Sparks
Mistletoe and Margaritas
Slow Summer Kisses
Snowbound with the CEO
A Fighting Chance
Holiday with a Twist
Also available from Shannon Stacey
and Harlequin
Alone with You
Heart of the Storm
About the Author
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Shannon Stacey lives with her husband and two sons in New England, where her two favorite activities are writing stories of happily-ever-after and driving her UTV through the mud. You can contact Shannon through her website, shannonstacey.com, where she maintains an almost daily blog, visit her on Twitter, Twitter.com/shannonstacey, and on Facebook, Facebook.com/shannonstacey.authorpage, or email her at shannon@shannonstacey.com.
To find out about other books by Shannon Stacey or to be alerted to new releases, sign up for her monthly newsletter at bit.ly/shannonstaceynewsletter.
Introducing the Carina Press Romance Promise!
The Carina Press team all have one thing in common: we are romance readers with a longtime love of the genre. And we know what readers are looking for in a romance: a guarantee of a happily-ever-after (HEA) or happy-for-now (HFN). With that in mind, we’re initiating the Carina Press Romance Promise. When you see a book tagged with these words in our cover copy/book description, we’re making you, the reader, a very important promise:
This book contains a romance central to the plot and ends in an HEA or HFN.
Simple, right? But so important, we know!
Look for the Carina Press Romance Promise and one-click with confidence that we understand what’s at the heart of the romance genre!
Look for this line in Carina Press book descriptions:
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise.
Find out more at CarinaPress.com.
TOUGH.
DEDICATED.
Meet the men of Boston Fire.
Heat things up with the Boston Fire series from New York Times bestselling author Shannon Stacey!
HEAT EXCHANGE
Lydia Kincaid has always been off-limits to Aiden Hunt. She’s his mentor’s daughter. His best friend’s sister. The ex-wife of a fellow firefighter. And now she’s back in Boston. When Aiden’s plan to play it cool fails, he and Lydia cross a line they can’t uncross.
CONTROLLED BURN
Jessica Broussard has no interest in leaving sunny San Diego or her cushy corner office for Boston to help the grandparents she’s never met. She’s unprepared for the frigid winter, the warm reception from her relatives and the hot, scruffy firefighter who lives upstairs.
FULLY IGNITED
When Jamie Rutherford takes a temporary assignment as lieutenant of Boston Fire’s Engine 59, she doesn’t anticipate any problems. She’s been in the fire service for a long time and, even though she’s fairly new to Boston, she knows how to make any firehouse her home. What she’s not prepared for is her reaction to firefighter Scott Kincaid.
Grab your copies now!
Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers and much more!
Visit CarinaPress.com.
Other ways to keep in touch:
Facebook.com/CarinaPress
Twitter.com/CarinaPress
CarinaPress.com/newsletter
We think you have a good book in you!
Do you write in the below genres? Harlequin’s Carina Press wants to see your manuscript.
• Contemporary Romance
• Romantic Suspense
• Historical Romance
• Paranormal Romance
• Mystery
• Erotic Romance
• LGBT
• Science Fiction & Fantasy Romance
Submit today!
All manuscripts receive a thorough evaluation by a Carina Press editor and a decision within 12–16 weeks. What do you have to lose?
To learn more about our submission guidelines, visit us at CarinaPress.com/WriteForUs.
ISBN-13: 9781488022685
What It Takes: A Kowalski Reunion Novel
Copyright © 2017 by Shannon Stacey
All rights reserved. By payment
of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.CarinaPress.com