BY 
BERNADETTE MARIEAVAILABLE TODAY AT
Genre: Romance/Contemporary
Digital: ISBN 13: 978-1-939217-14-1 ISBN 10: 1-939217-14-8
Print ISBN 13:978-1-939217-15-8 ISBN 10: 1939217156
Purchase link : www.5princebooks.com/buy.htm
THIS BOOK IS SO HOT I AM JUST GOING TO SKIP RIGHT TO THE EXCERPT! HERE YOU GO........HOPE YOU ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS I DO!
Arianna pushed down
on the suitcase and forced the zipper to close. The rest of her apartment was
packed and ready for movers, but she’d need all her clothes before her
belongings arrived in Tennessee.
She looked around
her small, New York apartment. It had been a good home to her for the past
decade. She’d accomplished everything she’d wanted. When she’d moved there, it
was to try her hand on the stages of Manhattan. She’d played in some dives and had
worked her way up to leads on Broadway. She had a few commercials to her credit
and had graced a few TV shows as an extra, but her love was still on stage. But
now it was time to go home, back where her family was. Something would come
together for her there. It always did.
Arianna looked at
her watch. She had barely enough time to get to the airport. If there were any
accidents backing up traffic, she’d miss her flight.
Her brother-in-law,
Zach, had called and said her sister Regan had gone into labor with the
couple’s second baby. She figured she’d arrive just in time to get to hold the
bundle of joy. Then in a few more weeks, her brother, Curtis, and his fiancée,
Simone, would have their first child. She knew moving back to Tennessee was
right, and getting to spoil new nieces and nephews was reason enough to be
closer to home.
The flight had been
miserable. Leaving New York in a January snowstorm always meant delays and
aggravation. It was almost eight o’clock at night by the time the flight landed
two hours late. Carlos would be livid if he’d been waiting at the airport the
entire time.
She made it to
baggage claim, retrieved her two pieces of luggage, and then scanned the area
for her brother. There was no sign of him, or any member of her family,
anywhere.
“I thought I’d
missed you,” the familiar voice behind her said.
She spun quickly to
find John Forrester, Zach’s most trusted building foreman, standing there.
“Missed me? Were you
looking for me?”
“I have been sent to
pick you up. Carlos and Madeline ended up with Tyler for the night.”
Arianna narrowed her
stare on him when he’d commented about her nephew. “I thought Mom was watching
him while the baby was born.”
“Well, it seems as
though your family is going to grow quite a bit tonight. Regan is still in
labor, and Curtis just took Simone in. She’s having her baby today, too.”
Arianna gasped.
“Simone isn’t due for two more weeks.”
“Babies come when
babies want to, and Emily thought she’d better be there for Simone.” He picked
up her suitcases, one in each hand. “C’mon, my truck isn’t too far.”
Who would have
thought she’d get to be there for the birth of both babies in one night. God
had blessed the Keller family—that was for sure. Carlos and Madeline’s kids
were teenagers, and in the next few years, they would be off on adventures of
their own. Eduardo, their eldest, was already working for Zach after school.
Christian, their second son, was an all-star athlete—baseball, she thought. And
Clara, well, Clara was a girl after her own heart. She was an accomplished
musician on the acoustic guitar. And, boy, could that girl sing.
Regan and Zach’s
son, Tyler, was as anxious as any sixteen-month-old child could be for a new
sibling. But Arianna figured he’d need the most spoiling from her to make
everything just right.
As for her, she’d
never wanted children. It just hadn’t been in her plans. Her career had always
been more important. She came and went as she wanted, carried on in any fashion
she saw fit, and, of course, traveled the world.
But now Nashville,
Tennessee called her back home. Perhaps she could share her talent with the
world in some other way.
John led her to his
truck in the adjoining parking lot. She was comfortable with John, she thought,
as she walked behind him. They had been each other’s dates to both of Carlos’s
weddings last year, and they had hit it off, as friends of course. They might
have hit it off more, but he was very conscious of their age difference, even
though she wasn’t worried about the thirteen years between them. His ex-wife
had burned him badly ten years ago, and it was clear he didn’t trust any woman.
Not that she’d been
looking for a man, but she often thought if John hadn’t been so worried about
everything, they might have had something. As it was, they could keep each
other’s company comfortably. Coming home with all her brothers and her sister being
married, that might just be what she needed—someone to keep her company.
John’s truck was
probably one of the most beat up pickup trucks she’d ever had the displeasure
of riding in, and she’d been born and raised in Tennessee—she knew bad pickup
trucks. But that was John’s character. If it still worked, there was no need to
replace it.
He backed out of the
parking lot and headed toward the highway. Also common with John, he didn’t
have much to say unless you started the conversation.
“So, how is the
construction business?” she asked.
“Zach keeps me busy.
That’s for sure.”
“I’ll bet. Do you
think he’ll take some time off after the baby is born?”
John laughed. “Sure
he will. He will work from his office at home.”
Arianna followed
suit and laughed too. That sounded like her brother-in-law.
She watched as John
merged lanes. His tanned skin showed the many years that he’d worked in the
elements. The deep lines around his eyes never made him look old, she thought,
only distinguished. Arianna liked her men distinguished. Age on a man had never
bothered her. Oh, if her parents knew about some of the men she’d dated in New
York, they certainly might have had an opinion on the matter.
She must be feeling
the pang of needing someone to connect with, she decided, because the thought
of running her fingers through John’s salt and pepper shaded hair was almost
irresistible. But she denied herself the pleasure. He probably wouldn’t take
too kindly to the lunatic sister-in-law of his boss making a move on him.
The long flight and
drive out to the hospital must have worn her out more than she’d thought. She
woke to John’s hand on her arm.
“We’re here. If you
hurry, you might not miss the show.”
She rubbed her eyes.
“Aren’t you coming in?”
“Not my place to be.
But I’ll drop your bags off for you. I assume you’re staying at your place?”
She nodded. One of
the perks of keeping your house when you moved away, especially if you knew
you’d be back. “Yes. Of course.”
“That was a sound
business decision to keep the house and rent it out. Benson, Benson, and Hart
keep good care of it.”
“I wouldn’t expect
anything different. I know I have a renter in the basement, too. Hope they
don’t make too much noise. I’m a day sleeper.”
John smiled. “Oh,
he’s a good guy. He won’t bother you.”
Arianna nodded and
looked up at the hospital where her brother worked as an emergency room doctor.
“Guess I’d better go meet the newest members of this crazy family.” She slid
across the seat and placed a kiss on John’s unshaven cheek. “Thanks for the
ride. I’ll take you out for pizza and a beer.”
“Never could turn
down a woman who offered up pizza and beer.”
She opened the door
and climbed out. He was just her kind of man.
The waiting room was
full of Kellers, including Carlos and Madeline, who held a sleeping Tyler.
Carlos stood and
greeted her with a hug when she walked into the room. “I thought you were
babysitting him so he didn’t have to hang out here.”
“C’mon, what’s
better than meeting your baby brother or sister in the middle of the night and
knowing this is the kid you get to beat on for the rest of your life?”
Arianna laughed as
Clara rushed over and hugged her. “Auntie, I have a new song for you. I wrote
it myself.”
“And I bet it’s the
best song ever.”
Arianna pulled her
niece to her side. This was just what she’d needed—her family.
John opened the door
to Arianna’s house. He supposed he’d have to relinquish his key now that she
was home. He shut the door and carried her bags to the bedroom at the top of
the stairs. He didn’t open the door. He knew it was empty, but still, it was
her bedroom.
The house was dark
and quiet; he’d miss that too. There hadn’t been a renter upstairs for months;
he’d had the house to himself. Oh, he kept to himself downstairs in the little
apartment in the basement, but he’d enjoyed using the front door access and the
kitchen from time to time. There was a grill on the back porch, which offered
the perfect view of the sunset. He was sure Arianna wouldn’t mind him cooking a
steak or two for her, just for access to the porch.
John grabbed a beer
from the refrigerator as he passed through the kitchen. He figured he’d better
get his plugged in downstairs. It had been a saver on electricity since the one
he had in his kitchen was old, and Arianna’s kept the beer colder.
He started down the
stairs to his little apartment. The door locked from her side, which kept the
renters out of the house. He’d taken liberty with that since the house was
empty, but certainly he wouldn’t disrespect that rule when she came back home.
His small apartment
was just the right size. He was a simple man who didn’t need much—and who
didn’t have much since his ex-wife took everything he’d ever had. Ten years
after she’d left him for another man, he still wondered what he’d ever seen in
her. Well, he’d never make that mistake again. Women just weren’t worth it.
Most women, he corrected himself. His mind had been preoccupied with one woman
in particular for months. And now he faced the dilemma of knowing she’d be
living only feet from him.
The last thing he
wanted was a relationship—platonic or just sexual. Relationships had never
brought him anything but grief.
John sat down on his
Lazy Boy recliner and turned on his big screen, flat panel TV. A man had to
have his luxuries. He pulled from his imported beer and thought life was good.
But only a moment
later, his mind wandered to Arianna. With her hair piled atop her head, her
eyes dark from lack of sleep, and her ripped jeans, she’d still stirred him up
more than he’d have liked.
Beer and pizza
sounded like a great idea, but he wouldn’t take her up on the offer until he
knew they’d cemented their relationship as landlord/renter and friends—only
friends.
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