I lay my hands on my stomach, inhaling small breaths. In. Out. In. Out.

Shit.

I reach for Bryant and shake him awake. He groans. “What’s up, Sweetheart?”

I flick on my nightlight. “Don’t panic, okay?”

That’s exactly what he does. He jolts upright, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Is everything alright?”

“Bryant,” I whisper. “I think my water broke.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?” He flips back the covers and gets to his feet.

“It just happened.” I swallow hard, terrified about the labor pains that are already starting to warm my back and stomach.

“The baby is coming. We are going to be . . . I’m going to be a father.” He starts pacing around the room, a huge grin splitting his face. “I’m going to be a father.”

“Honey, calm down. I think we should go to the hospital.” I stiffen as the first real labor pain hits my belly. “Now.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Let’s go.” Wasting no more time, he takes control, as he does in business.

Bryant still owns the LaClaire cruises, but some of his ships now specialize in offering luxury holiday packages to people with disabilities. State-of-the-art amenities as well as the best doctors and therapists, ensure nothing stands in the way of the guests enjoying their vacations. What had begun as a simple idea I brought up to him late one night, has unfolded into something much bigger than us. Some of our favorite days are spent reading heartfelt customer reviews posted online. Most of the customers are regulars, including June Smith—my fragile client from when I worked on the LaClaire—who has been diagnosed with acute fibromyalgia and is unable to move around anymore without a wheelchair. But she’s still determined to live out her days in luxury.

Changing people’s lives has never felt so good, even more so when Bryant and I do it together.

Lance and Bryant’s relationship is still a work in progress, but they have promised each other to never bring up the past again, to move toward the future.

Bryant and I live in Boston, and currently, all his brothers are in town as we near the birth of our baby.

Sitting in the back of the Mercedes Bryant bought me for my birthday, on our way to the hospital, he makes calls to his brothers, and I make a call to Jillian, who helps me run Grace’s Touch, my successful spa business.

“As of this moment,” I pant between labor pains. “I’m officially on maternity leave. You are the boss.”

She congratulates me and we hang up so I can focus on bringing my baby into our world.

* * *

“I’m sure I’m biased, but this has to be the most beautiful baby ever.” A tear trickles onto my baby’s face and I wipe it away. The most perfect little person is gazing into my face with the gorgeous moss green eyes he inherited from his father, completed by my dark, long lashes.

“That’s a fact.” Bryant comes to perch on the edge of the bed. He kisses my forehead. “He’s beautiful, like his mommy.” He runs a hand up and down my arm. “I think it’s time we decide on the first name, don’t you think?”

The moment we found out we were having a boy, we already agreed on the second name. We named him after Lance.

I look up at Bryant, the shadows of exhaustion on his face never taking away from his good looks. “How about Liam?”

“Liam Lance LaClaire,” he whispers, placing a fingertip on our son’s cheek. “I like it. But why did you choose it?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “I’ve always liked the name. And it goes so well with LaClaire.”

“I agree.” His face grows serious. “But, I don’t like the idea of having only two LaClaire’s in the house. There’s room for one more.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“We’re a family. Wouldn’t it be great for all of us to share the same surname?”

I know what he’s talking about. Since our engagement in San Francisco, our lives have been crazy busy, so much so that we had not had a chance to get married. “You’re talking about me, aren’t you?”

“I know this might sound crazy, but why don’t we make it official now?” Bryant stands from the bed, eyes dancing. “The birth of our son is the most amazing moment. Why don’t we create another on the same night?”

“You’re crazy.” I glance from the baby to him. “You want us to get married right now, right here?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t love my crazy.” He plants his hands on both sides of me. “Come on, what do you say? Do you want to be crazy with me? Let’s get married before morning.”

“Mr. LaClaire, morning is less than an hour away. You can’t plan a wedding in a few minutes.”

“Why the hell not?” He straightens and pulls out his phone. “We have a roof over our heads, and Lance is ordained. He can marry us right now. You only need to say the word. Hey, we even have hospital food.” His gaze moves to Liam. “I’m sure the ring bearer will approve.”

My heart fills with warmth. How could I say no to this? He’s right. We didn’t want anything big anyway, and all his brothers happen to be in town. It’s perfect. It’s romantic. “All right. Count me in. Let’s get linked. Call your brothers and get me a laptop. My mother can join us over Skype.”

Bryant kisses me hard on the lips and plants a small kiss on Liam’s forehead. “See, you’re as crazy as I am, baby. Let’s do this.”

“Let’s. It’s time.”

With that Bryant snaps into action again, rounding up everyone and organizing the happiest day of my life.

No flowers, no wedding dress, no music, but this time around my wedding is so much more romantic than my first. Even better, I know it won’t end after only one night.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this book please consider writing a review, and recommend it to friends and family.

To find out which of the LaClaire brothers gets his heart stolen next, click to preorder LaClaire Touch (An After Hours Novel), the next book in the series.

Would you like to be notified when Dori Lavelle releases a new book? Click to join her mailing list.