Loving Liv

by Stacey Kennedy

  “Not only waiting on Luca.” Liv glanced toward the door, finding Miles leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. “They’re waiting for my beautiful wife too.”

  “Okay, you better stop,” Liv said with a smile. “If I get any happier, you might actually make me explode.”

  He chuckled and met her halfway, dropping a soft kiss on her mouth. “If you explode from happiness then I’ll die happy, right alongside you.” He leaned away to place a gentle kiss on Luca’s head. “Get ready, my boy, you’ve got a room full of women who want to love you.” He slid Luca onto his arm like a football and took Liv’s hand.

  They left the nursery, which had been Miles’s home office for the first year of their marriage and headed down the staircase.

  The voices coming from the backyard hit Liv before they even made it out onto the patio. She got one foot out the door and spotted her father standing next to her mother, who sipped her wine in her wheelchair. Then her gaze fell to Aubrey, Benjamin, Grace, and Kendall, all with their significant others, when suddenly there were squeals of happiness and a rush of women overwhelmed her.

  “Oh, my goodness, we flipped a coin, I get to hold him first,” Presley said, scooping Luca up from Miles’s arms.

  Miles laughed softly. “I’m surprised you’re all being so civilized and taking turns.”

  Cora rolled her eyes at Miles. “Of course we’re being civilized. We’re not going to maul your baby.”

  Kenzie grabbed a wine glass off the tray and snorted. “Don’t believe a word she says. Before the coin toss, I swore there might be some hair pulling.” She nudged Liv’s arm with hers. “And not the good kind of hair pulling either.”

  “Lies,” Presley cooed at Luca. “All lies. You sweet baby. Oh, my goodness, he’s so alert.”

  “I swear he came out like that,” Liv said. “But he also sleeps seven hours at night.”

  “Yes, you’re lucky,” said Allie, striding out the back door with a bottle of red wine. She kissed Liv on the cheek and said to Presley, “Damion slept three hours tops as a newborn.” Damion was Allie and Micah’s six-month-old, who was currently bouncing in his father’s arms as he came through the back door. Damion belonged on a baby food jar label with his dark hair and big, bright blue eyes.

  “Well, enjoy the quiet as long as you’ve got it,” Ella said, with a soft smile. “I had one just like this. All quiet and sweet.” She pointed to her five-year-old running around the yard, along with Dmitri and Presley’s two little children, chasing Romeo and Juliet, Liv and Miles’s yellow Labrador Retrievers. “Now look at him.”

  Liv laughed. Maybe a little bit harder as Ella suddenly took off running after him when he began chasing after a bird, heading toward the waterfront. Her husband, Kyler, got there first, scooping their son up sending him squealing in laughter.

  It was a good life. One Liv wasn’t sure she’d ever have, but one that she felt blessed had become hers. All the fears she’d had that they couldn’t make this work were for nothing. Miles saw his friends often. They came out to San Francisco, as much as Liv and Miles went out to visit Las Vegas…and Club Sin.

  Warmth surrounded her as Miles sidled up to her, offering her some fruity cocktail. She took a sip. “Yum. Who made this?”

  “I did,” he said.

  She took a better look at it, the drink had three different colors. “I didn’t even know you knew how to make cocktails. Even after two years, you’re still surprising me.”

  “Don’t be too impressed. I actually don’t know how to make cocktails.” He gestured to the drink. “You don’t remember that specific drink?”

  She took another sip. “Nope. Should I?”

  “That’s the drink you ordered when I first saw you on the cruise.”

  “It is not?”

  He nodded and smiled.

  She glanced back at the drink, remembering that first night on the cruise when she thought Miles was a figment of her imagination. “Oh, my god, you’re right. I ordered a Miami Vice. How did you remember that?”

  “Don’t you know what today is?”

  The answer hit her. “Today is the two-year anniversary of the cruise, isn’t it?”

  He slid an arm around her, bringing her in close, and brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “Any regrets about staying on that cruise with me?”

  She glanced out at her parents, watched as Presley handed off Luca to a smiling Aubrey, with Carter next to her, and all of their other friends circling around them. She smiled at Miles. “Not a single one.” She angled her chin, standing up on her tiptoes. “I love you, Miles, and the life we have.”

  “My heart is now, and is always, yours, Liv.”

  About the Author

  Stacey Kennedy is a USA Today bestselling author who writes contemporary romances full of heat, heart, and happily ever afters. With over 50 titles published, her books have hit Amazon, B&N, and Apple Books bestseller lists.

  Stacey lives with her husband and two children in southwestern Ontario—in a city that’s just as charming as any of the small towns she creates. Most days, you’ll find her enjoying the outdoors with her family or venturing into the forest with her horse, Priya. Stacey’s just as happy curled up indoors, where she writes surrounded by her lazy dogs. She believes that sexy books about hot cowboys or alpha heroes can fix any bad day. But wine and chocolate help too.

  Stacey absolutely loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at stacey@staceykennedy.com.

  Connect with Stacey:

  www.staceykennedy.com

  Twitter @Stacey_Kennedy

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  Acknowledgments

  To my husband, my children, family, friends, and bestie. It’s easy to write about love when there is so much love around me. Big thanks to my readers for your friendship and your support; my editor, Lexi, for believing in me and making my stories shine; my agent, Jessica, for always having my back; the kick-ass authors in my sprint group for their endless advice and support; Priscillia Bernier for the French translations; Karen Roma and Peggy Lee, for sharing their cruise experiences which helped shape this story. Thank you.

  Wonder what Kendall is getting up to? Read on for an excerpt from New York Times bestselling author, Katee Robert’s:

  KISSING KENDALL

  CHAPTER 1

  Kendall Barnes realized she’d made a terrible mistake the second she saw the pseudo-orgy going on by the pool. Did it even count as an orgy if they still had their clothes on and the ship hadn’t left New York? She wasn’t sure, but her face flamed at the way the group of five—five?—people surged and rolled as they made out and ground on each other. She couldn’t be sure, but she was pretty sure that guy had his hand down that girl’s pants and—

  She turned away.

  This was wrong.

  This was very, very wrong.

  “Kendall, those people are—”

  “I know,” she grabbed Grace and steered her away from the scene behind them. She’d known booking this cruise was a risk. Everyone knew cruises were a risk, what with so many people sandwiched in a relatively small space. But Kendall had been prepared to battle norovirus or seasickness or pirates. She was not prepared to deal with people getting to third base right there on the deck. They hadn’t even left port yet!

  Their other three friends had already had their rooms assigned, but she and Grace were left to wander a little bit before theirs were ready. She looked around and finally landed on one of the cruise employees in their official-looking white uniform. “We’ll just report them.”

  “Report them?”

  She didn’t give Grace a chance to argue, towing her along and dodging people streaming onto the ship. The guy in white gave them a professional smile as they approached, his dark skin gleaming in the bright sunlight. “How can I help you?”

  Kendall made a v
ague motion over her shoulder. “Those people…”

  The man leaned a little and smiled. “They’re getting the party started early, it seems.”

  “Party?” She cleared her throat, well aware that her skin had to be crimson at this point judging by the heat in her cheeks. “Don’t you think it’s a little inappropriate for them to be… fornicating… on the deck when this is supposed to be a nice relaxing cruise?”

  His dark brows rose. “Ma’am, that is the least of what you’ll see over the next eight days on the party cruise.”

  Did he just…

  He did.

  She didn’t realize she was tightening her grip on Grace’s arm until her friend grabbed Kendall’s wrist and forced her to let go. Kendall cleared her throat again, striving for calm that she could feel slipping through her fingers. “I’m sorry, I thought you said party cruise, but that can’t possibly be right because I booked a low-key relaxing cruise.”

  His smile went sympathetic. “One of your friends put this together, right? They must have thought it would be a great surprise. That happens from time to time.”

  She heard his words, but they still made no sense. Kendall didn’t make mistakes. When she put together the perfect plan to reconnect with her old college friends, she’d worked with a travel agent to organize it down to the smallest detail. She had very specifically not booked a party cruise. She was not the kind of person who booked a party cruise. If anyone, that was her little sister’s thing. In fact, she was pretty sure Marley went on one last year.

  She shook her head. “There’s been a mistake.”

  “Kendall.”

  She turned to look at Grace. Her friend didn’t look like she was seconds from the panic attack Kendall could feel bubbling up in her chest. Grace’s dark eyes narrowed and she took Kendall’s shoulders. “Breathe.”

  “I am breathing.”

  “You’re two seconds from freaking out.”

  She wasn’t wrong. Kendall closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing. Without the sight of the orgy-in-waiting, she could almost pretend they were on the right cruise. Almost. “We have to get off this boat.”

  “Kendall, that’s impossible.”

  She opened her eyes. “Nothing’s impossible. You just have to speak to the right people.”

  Grace sighed. “Let’s walk through it logically. Even if we could get to the others in time and convince them to leave the ship, our trip is paid for. We’ve all taken this exact block of time off work. We’re here. The only thing that makes sense is to continue the vacation as planned.”

  As planned. Two little words to underscore how thoroughly she’d messed up. Kendall wrapped her arms around herself and tried to ignore pressure building in her chest. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. The whole trip is ruined.”

  “The trip hasn’t even started yet,” Grace’s wry tone snapped her out of it.

  What was she thinking? This couldn’t possibly be worse than any other disaster she’d successfully navigated. She just needed to find the right angle and drag the rest of them along with her. Yes, she couldn’t have possibly anticipated a party cruise in place of the nice sedate one planned, but she hadn’t anticipated that her boss would run off with the front desk manager last year, either. She’d handled that crisis, and she’d handle this one too.

  Simple.

  This time, when she inhaled, it didn’t snag in her chest. “You’re right.”

  “I know.”

  Kendall managed a smile. “Let’s get our rooms situated and then we’ll figure out the rest.”

  “Figure out the rest,” Grace repeated, giving her a look like she was a tiger in a cage. “You know you’re on vacation, correct?”

  “You’re one to talk.” She didn’t comment on Grace’s aversion to vacation wear, which really translated into an aversion to wearing shorts. It didn’t make much difference now, while it was still cold and windy and they were too far north for anything resembling warm, but Grace wouldn’t change her mind once the sticky heat set in. She’d just suffer in silence as if that made any kind of sense. Then again, they all had their quirks. “The only reason you agreed to this is because your CEO forced you to.”

  Grace opened her mouth, seemed to reconsider, and closed it. “Let’s find our rooms.”

  “Checkmate.” Kendall laughed, but it came out half-hearted. One of the cruise people called Grace’s name and she waved her off. “Go get your room and warm up. I’ll see you in a little bit when we meet for drinks.” She needed a drink after this spectacular failure. She managed to keep her smile in place until Grace disappeared into the crowd, and then Kendall let her shoulders slump.

  She should have known this would go sideways before the cruise ship even departed. If there was one law she ascribed to above all others, it was Murphy’s. Anything that could go wrong, did. Every. Single. Time. It started with the death of her parents when she was nine, and it hadn’t let up in the sixteen years since. Not once. She’d thought this trip would be the exception, the turning point she so desperately needed.

  She really should have known better.

  A sensation swept over her, stalling her before she could start pacing. Someone was watching her, their attention a weight she could feel as surely as she felt the cold nipping at her skin. She looked around slowly, telling herself this was silly even as she did. It didn’t matter if someone was watching her. This was a freaking singles party cruise; no doubt people would look at her and assume she wanted in on the activities. They’d be wrong, of course. Kendall didn’t do wild, and she sure as hell didn’t hook up. With her long-running bad luck, it’d end even worse than her handful of relationships had over the years. She shuddered at the thought.

  Her shudder turned into something else altogether when she met blue eyes across the deck. The man they belonged to leaned against the railing, looking particularly unaffected in his weathered jeans and leather jacket. His dark hair barely ruffled in the wind, and his square jaw looked sharp enough to cut herself on.

  She turned her back to him immediately. Nearly two decades of crappy luck was enough for her to develop keen instincts when something would cause her an untold amount of trouble. Like every time her little sister said “I have a great idea,” or whenever the owner of the hotel she worked for smiled and said “I know you have this covered.”

  Whoever that man was, he was trouble with a capital “T.”

  She wanted nothing to do with it—or him.

  Alex Jeffries watched the little brunette scurry across the deck away from him. Everyone else waiting for their rooms seemed intent on starting the party early, despite the fact that the wind chill made the mid-March day feel like spring would never come.

  He fucking hated New York.

  Almost as much as he hated cruises.

  Even though he knew better, he tracked the brunette’s movements as she all but rushed to the harried looking cruise employee, no doubt to demand her room to get her away from the rest of the rabble. That one had high maintenance written all over her, from her pretty floral dress to her black tights and boots and the jacket that couldn’t possibly hold up against this cold. She was the kind of person who dressed for visual appeal instead of function, and he’d met more than his fair share of those over the years.

  “See something you like?”

  “No.” He reluctantly dragged his gaze away from her to look at Lucas. The only reason he was on this godforsaken cruise in the first place. It wasn’t strictly true—Pop bought the tickets and all but strong-armed them both into coming—but if Lucas had made some excuse not to come, Alex could have gotten out of it. He should have gotten out of it.

  Even though he knew, rationally, that his bar, Pop’s, was in good hands for the next nine days, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d arrive back in town to find it burned to the ground. That if he wasn’t there every single day, putting in the time and effort, it would fall to pieces.

  “You sure?” Lucas grinned. “Pop gave me clear in
structions to make sure you had a good time.”

  “I know how to have a good time.” Too good a time. Though if he was honest, it’d been a few years since that was true. He’d packed enough living—and mistakes—into his teens and early twenties to double the gray hairs on Pop’s head, and after the old man’s heart attack when Alex was twenty-two, he’d resolved not to be the cause of any more stress or worry.

  That plan had backfired, though, because now Pop was convinced Alex would die grizzled and alone in the bar the old man opened. It didn’t sound like such a terrible fate from where Alex stood, but telling Pop as much had resulted in these fucking cruise plans. The grandfather he’d grown up with hadn’t known the meaning of vacation, but apparently Mexico was enough to loosen some of those rules, and he expected Alex to fall in line, just like always.

  It was only eight days. He could survive eight days of this bullshit.

  “You’re right. You know how to have a good time. That’s why you’re scowling at everyone.” Lucas sighed. “Look, man, you don’t have to party on this ship if you don’t want to. I don’t plan on it. But no reason not to enjoy yourself while you’re here.”

  Easy enough for Lucas to say. He’d always been the even-keeled friend. The one who didn’t have to make a conscious effort not to fuck up every single second of every single day. The most scandalous thing about him, if it could even be called that, was that he was bi and sort of in the closet about it, but that barely counted as a “problem.” When Alex fucked up, he fucked up, and other people paid the price.

  Better to avoid all that bullshit in the first place.

  Lucas sighed. “I’m not saying go full party animal. Just smile for once instead of scowling. You’re going to scare someone.”

  Someone like the little brunette who’d all but sprinted in the opposite direction the second she laid eyes on him. He couldn’t tell the color of the eyes in question, but she had the most decadent lips he’d ever seen. Pouty and plump enough to have a man thinking sinful thoughts.