“Which tablecloth do you prefer: the white or the silver?” asked Kat. I turned back to look at her, my hand resting on my stomach. She held up two neatly-folded tablecloths for me to choose between. I squinted and bit my lip, considering them.

“I think the silver is a little fancier, right?” I remarked, grabbing for the silver one. Kat pulled them both away and raised an eyebrow.

“No, no. You just sit. Beverly and I will take care of it. You need to rest,” my sweet front desk clerk insisted. I giggled and gave her a spontaneous hug.

“Kat, I’m not an invalid. I can walk around and put up decorations just fine,” I assured her, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She shook her head firmly.

“Nope. Go sit in your chair over there. You can dictate whatever you want from over there. We can handle it,” she commanded, guiding me across the room to my armchair. It was specially designed by my own whims, my own taste. The head interior designer and I clicked on every level, and in the past year I had spent a lot of long brunches and dinners poring over plans and blueprints and patterns with her. It was amazing, finally getting to put my own touches on the resort. While my father’s vision for the place had been truly a sight to behold, it was time to accept that his presence and influence over the Peppertree was ending. It was my time now to make the place suit my tastes, have it reflect who I was.

It had been a year since Chase and I married each other in that last-minute, sloppy Vegas wedding. I had fallen so hard, so fast, and I knew I was lucky to have had Chase there to catch me as I fell. The last several months had been some of the best of my life, and I had Chase to thank for that. Now, it was our anniversary, and I wanted to do something special for him.

Beverly came over and tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up, breaking out of my deep thoughts, and gave her a smile. “Hmm?” I murmured.

She grinned. “God, you look happy,” she commented. Then she added, “What’s on the menu for your fun anniversary dinner?”

“Well, you know how a million years ago we had that fantastic French chef working down at the lodge restaurant? He was a friend of my father’s,” I told her.

She nodded, looking confused. “Yeah. Didn’t he quit after your dad passed?”

“Yes, he did,” I sighed. Then I perked up. “But a few months back I gave him a call. He had gone back to Paris to teach at some famous culinary school there, but he was bored and tired of city life. As we were talking, I started to get the sense that he wanted something different. So I worked up the courage to ask him back.”

“Oh wow,” Beverly said, sitting on the couch beside my chair.

“Yes. It was pretty nerve-wracking. I mean, Chef Louis is a big deal, both here and in France. But after some discussion, he agreed that coming back to the Peppertree might just be the change he was craving,” I explained. “So he came back, and along with the other Michelin chef we hired seven months ago, he’s been helping to train our kitchen staff.”

“That’s great, Haley!” she exclaimed. “So all the people you already had got a free, Michelin-star education in the culinary arts?”

I laughed. “Pretty much. I’m really proud of them. They’ve all learned so much. Of course, my two chefs will stay in control of the kitchen for the time being, but all my staff have learned how to do things the right way. Chef Louis taught Lauren, one of our line cooks, how to make this really nice beef bourguignon. I’m so amazed at how far she’s come. I mean, I saw the potential in her when I hired her years ago, but she’s really come into her own. It takes a lot of guts to handle criticism from Chef Louis-- he can be a little harsh sometimes, and Lauren is so quiet and shy I worried she might crumple under the pressure. But actually she’s become kind of his pet project. So tonight, she’s making that dish for us, and Chef Louis is providing his special fougasse with olive oil and sundried tomatoes.”

“Damn,” she swore, “that sounds good.”

“You’re telling me,” I laughed, patting my belly.

“I bet everything sounds pretty great to you right now,” Beverly added with a smile. “You know, you’re not even showing yet. Has that crazy hunger kicked in already?”

I nodded. “Yes. Yes, it has,” I assured her firmly. She giggled.

“And he doesn’t know?”

“Not yet, no. I wanted to wait until I was super sure before telling him. I didn’t want a false alarm or anything. That would break his heart,” I explained.

“So you’re going to tell him tonight?” she prodded excitedly.

I beamed at her happily. “Yes. That’s the plan.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet! I bet he’s going to cry,” she remarked.

I snorted. “Maybe. But I doubt it. He doesn’t seem like the crying type.”

“Well, sad crying, no. But happy crying? I bet he will,” Beverly teased.

“Aw. That would be really cute. I guess we’ll see,” I mused.

“So when does Chase fly in? Where was he, anyway?” she asked.

I watched as Kat pulled up a chair and stood precariously on top of it to string up a banner with HAPPY ANNIVERSARY across it in big, sparkly lettering. I winced, almost too afraid to watch her. All afternoon I had kept offering to help her, but she wouldn’t let me lift a finger to do anything. It was a sweet gesture, but I hated feeling like a useless spoiled brat sitting here doing nothing.

“God, I hope she doesn’t fall,” I mumbled. Then I realized Beverly had asked me a question and I shook it off. “Oh. Sorry. I think his flight gets in any minute now, actually. He was off in San Francisco, closing some major deal for a beach-side condo building there. He’s had his eye on snatching up some more west coast properties for the past few months. I think our little trip to San Diego in July sparked some new obsession in him or something,” I chuckled.

“Oh yeah, how was that?” she asked.

“It was awesome. The zoo was even cooler than I had expected. I can’t wait to go back there sometime after the—”

“Ouch!” exclaimed Kat, who was cradling her hand to her chest. A big black stapler went tumbling to the floor with a clatter. Beverly hopped up and ran over to help Kat get down from the chair.

“What happened?” I called out, getting up to walk over.

Kat waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, nothing. I’m fine. Just nearly stapled my own hand to the ceiling, that’s all,” she admitted. “This is why I never liked art class. All those staplers and scissors and hot glue guns. I’m too accident-prone for that life.”

Beverly was looking over Kat’s hand, examining it. She had very recently finished her final year of medical school, and was about to embark on a residency. I was elated, because the hospital they assigned her to was right here in town, which meant that I would get to hang out with my best friend much more often than we had been able to before. In fact, for the time being, she was crashing here at the Peppertree in one of the newly redesigned suites. She had begged me to let her pay for the room, but I refused. She was my best friend, and the privilege of having her close by was payment enough for me.

Besides, it wasn’t like I needed the money. Nor did the Peppertree. Even though it was still under major renovations, our success had skyrocketed in recent months. That was largely due to the fact that Chase’s brother Luke had recommended the resort to one of his celebrity friends, a swimsuit model named Gisella who had a huge following on Instagram. She stayed for a week, snapped a bunch of photos of herself posing and lounging around the property with a bunch of popular hashtags, and our fate was sealed. The Peppertree was trendy now, the kind of place where young socialites and influencers came to stay when they wanted a break from the hectic lifestyle of the big city.

“Ohh, just a little blood,” Beverly commented, clucking her tongue. “Come on. Let’s wash it off and clean up. Haley, do you have bandages in your bathroom?”

“Yes, of course,” I told her.

“All right. Just a minute,” she answered.

She led Kat into the bathroom to clean and wrap her stapled hand while I sat quietly, thinking about how much had changed in the past year. At the start of our one-year “fake” marriage, I had been overwhelmed, wondering how the hell I could possibly survive a whole twelve months of lying to everyone we knew. Of hiding my true feelings for the man who first broke my heart back in college. I couldn’t keep myself from falling for him. In fact, there were times when I thought perhaps I had never actually fallen out of love with him in the first place. After all, there had not been any other men who could have even come close to taking his place, not since college. I had thrown my heart, body, and soul into the Peppertree instead of trying to date other people. I had so easily given up on finding someone, accepting that I would just have to be lonely forever, if I couldn’t have the man I truly wanted: Chase.

But now? He was all mine. My dream, that impossible dream that used to keep me awake at night, was coming true. We were together, and it was amazing. We were both incredibly busy, of course. Chase had his gigantic business to attend to, and I had the Peppertree. On top of that, Celia had officially moved to London to be with Liam after their wedding last month. The two of them were constantly sending us photos, calling us long distance to chat. Celia and I had become good friends, as we seemed to have a lot in common. In fact, I had even started to take over some of her old responsibilities. Celia had just landed a job at a publishing house in London, and Liam was a journalist. The two of them worked well together in their own industry, just like Chase and I worked well in our business. It was a lot to juggle, and life was pretty hectic. Chase was constantly flying all around the world to check out new properties, to follow the progress of renovations and rebranding of old locations. He took a very hands-on approach these days, different from the detached way he used to conduct business. That meant the job took up more of his time, but it was paying off. As it turned out, clients adored Chase and were always much more willing to get involved when he was present-- which was a surprise to no one. That kind of handsomeness and charisma landed major deals.

Sometimes I did miss him, but he made sure to spend as much time as possible here with me at the Peppertree. The eventual goal was for me to travel with him on almost every trip, but for now, I had to stick around the resort and oversee the renovations. Luckily, in the future, I would be able to pass off most of my responsibilities to my staff. I was training a few of them, Kat included, to be able to handle operations here without me. It was bittersweet, training other people to take over what had essentially been my entire life for years and years, but I knew that it was time for me to relinquish a little control. The Peppertree was not the sole focus of my life anymore, and that was okay. I could keep the Peppertree and sustain my father’s legacy without having to totally sacrifice my own dreams to do so.

I dreamed of being a mother, of raising a child and knowing the kind of love only a parent can experience. I dreamed of being a wife, of loving a man who loves me and would do anything for me. That kind of love I already had with Chase. It was strange to picture my life without him in it. I often wondered how the hell I had managed to survive so long without him. It wasn’t like I didn’t have the strength and independence to carry on. I was a tough lady and I could handle all kinds of things a lot of other people would struggle with. But life was just so much sweeter, so much more complete with Chase around, that it was bizarre to think the portrait of my life had ever excluded him.

Beverly and Kat came back out of the bathroom, both giggling. Kat had her hand wrapped in gauze and Beverly was telling her some joke or pun. I rolled my eyes even as I smiled. Sometimes I wondered if part of why Beverly finally agreed to take me up on my offer to let her stay here had something to do with Kat. The two of them had become quite close. In fact, there seemed to be some kind of magic in the air around the resort the past few months. Everyone appeared to have an extra spring in their step, to be happier and lighter than usual. Coworkers who had previously disliked each other had resolved their differences. Employees who had seemed perpetually stressed-out and nervous now whistled and sang as they worked. It was like someone had cast some kind of lovely spell over the Peppertree, and it showed. There was even love in the air. More than a few couples had paired off from my staff, which I didn’t mind at all as long as it didn’t distract too much from work. I generally just turned a blind eye to the romances blossoming all around me. If people wanted to fall in love, who the hell was I to stop them? Especially considering the bizarre details of my own love story.

I had married my college sweetheart out of nowhere in order to secure a crazy deal to get the Peppertree and to give Chase an heir. That was insane. So who was I to judge other people for dating their coworkers? As far as I was concerned, love was the most beautiful and elusive thing on the planet, and if you were lucky enough to find it wherever it showed up, then you might as well grab it and hold it close for as long as possible, regardless of circumstances.

“Hey, what’s all this?” Beverly was asking. I looked over to see a couple of the kitchen staff members walking in carrying a few bottles of what looked like fancy champagne. Beverly glanced over at me with an eyebrow raised. “You sure you should be drinking bubbly in your current condition?” she asked pointedly.

I laughed and walked over to take one of the bottles and hold it up. “It’s sparkling apple cider, Beth. Calm down. I’m not going to chug a bottle of Prosecco, okay? Chase gets champagne, and I get Martinelli’s,” I giggled.

She blushed and smiled in relief. “Phew. I was a little worried there for a second.”

“Alright, Dr. Howser, you’re off-duty. I think Haley knows what to do and what not to do perfectly well on her own,” Kat teased. She nudged Beverly’s shoulder playfully and she stuck out her tongue in response. The two girls started helping the kitchen staff carry in the massive platters of food. My jaw dropped as I watched the procession. Chef Louis and Lauren brought up the rear of the little parade, and Lauren was glancing up at the Frenchman adoringly. She was still a little starry-eyed about getting to work with such a famous culinary master.

“Uh, guys? You do realize it’s just two people who are supposed to be eating all this, right? This is enough food for twelve, not two,” I remarked.

“No, not two. Two and a half,” Lauren corrected. She gave me a wink directed toward my belly. I shot Kat a scandalized look.

“Geez, Kat, did you tell absolutely everybody? It’s supposed to be a surprise. It won’t be much of a surprise if Chase gets here and someone blurts it out before I get a chance to,” I pointed out.

Kat blushed and shrugged. “Sorry. I’m just really excited. You know that’s going to be the most adorable baby the world has ever seen, right?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen your husband. Those cheekbones could cut glass,” Lauren remarked.

“And you’re stunning, of course,” Beverly added.

“Thanks, guys. But just… don’t let the cat out of the bag too soon, all right?” I sighed.

“Our lips are sealed,” Kat piped up, making a zipping gesture across her mouth.

Just then, my phone chimed to let me know I had received a text message. There was a collective gasp from everyone and I laughed as I checked my phone. My heart skipped a beat and I announced, “Okay! He’s in the taxi on his way up the mountain. He’ll be here any minute now! Everybody, scatter! Go back to what you were doing before. I don’t want anything to stand out until he gets all the way up here.”

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Kat gushed. “I don’t know if I can keep a straight face.”

“Come on,” Beverly said, linking arms with her. “I’ll go downstairs with you and help you maintain your composure when he walks in. Good luck,” she added to me with a wink.

“Thanks, everyone. Sincerely,” I told them all. Everybody nodded and hurried off back to their usual positions so Chase wouldn’t be tipped off about the surprise.

I fretted over some petty details on the table and took a minute to spiff up my hair and makeup in the bathroom. I was wearing the same white dress Chase had gifted me before our reception in Chicago, and as I looked in the mirror it hit me that this might be the last time for a while that I would be able to fit in it. The ribbon-tied waistline might not suit me for the next nine months, I thought. That image filled me with so much excitement and joy that I nearly burst into happy tears, but I forced myself to calm down.

About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door and I rushed to answer.

“Hi, baby,” Chase greeted me. He was holding a bouquet of lilies, my favorite flower, and he instantly pulled me into a tight hug. He kissed the top of my head and stroked my hair. “God, I have missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” I murmured into his powerful chest. This was where I felt the safest and happiest, locked away in Chase’s strong arms. Nothing could hurt me here.

“Oh, hey. What’s all this?” he asked suddenly, peering around me to look at the dinner table laden with elaborate dishes. I grinned up at him.

“Happy anniversary!” I wished him, standing on tiptoe to kiss him.

“This is amazing, sweetheart. But that’s a lot of food.”

“I know, Chef Louis went a little bananas,” I laughed. “Do you want to sit down and start making a dent in it before it gets cold?”

“Yes, actually. I’m starving,” Chase agreed. We sat down to dinner and spent the next hour and a half eating and talking. He told me all about his success over in San Francisco, about how all he had to do was mention to the seller that he was the co-proprietor of the Peppertree Resort and the seller immediately agreed to the deal.

“Wow, I didn’t realize we had that level of clout,” I confessed.

“Oh yes. I get calls about the Peppertree constantly. My clients keep asking me to give their properties ‘The Peppertree Treatment’ and asking to see photos and blueprints of the designs. I can’t wait until you can start going to these meetings with me, Haley, since you’re the mastermind behind it all,” he complimented.

“Well, thank you, but you know none of it would have been possible if not for your help. You’re the one who made it happen,” I told him honestly.

Chase grinned, taking a sip of his champagne. “Well, we are a fantastic team. In more ways than one,” he added flirtatiously. Then he gestured at my glass. “What are you drinking? It certainly doesn’t look like champagne.”

“Oh, this? It’s just apple cider,” I answered simply.

He frowned slightly. “Why? I thought you loved champagne. Aren’t we celebrating?”

I bit my lip. It was time to break the news. My heart was pounding as I slowly got up and retrieved a little wrapped present from the coffee table and brought it over to Chase.

“What’s this? I thought we agreed we weren’t going to give gifts,” he noted.

“Just open it,” I urged him, taking the seat beside him.

He looked mildly suspicious, but he began to unwrap it anyway. When he stripped away the paper and opened the box, his jaw dropped. He looked up at me with that familiar spark burning in his beautiful green eyes. “Haley, is this…?” he murmured softly.

I nodded. “Yes. It’s a pregnancy test. And yes, I sanitized the hell out of it,” I giggled.

He picked it up gingerly, examining the little window. There was a clear blue cross there.

“You’re… we’re… you’re serious?” he asked, almost breathless.

I nodded again. “We are. I’m pregnant, Chase.”

He threw his arms around me and kissed me passionately, cupping my face like I was the most precious item in the whole universe. “Sweetheart, this is amazing. I can’t believe it.”

“Believe it!” I told him, leaning forward to kiss him again.

“Well, it definitely won’t hold a candle to your gift, but I have to admit that I got you something, too,” he told me, taking a small box out of his coat pocket.

“So much for not giving gifts. We never do follow the rules, do we?” I laughed. I took the box from him and opened it to reveal a gorgeous, sparkling diamond ring. It was much smaller and more delicate than the massive rock he had given me last year, and tears sprang to my eyes.

“It’s exactly what I wanted,” I whispered. “I love you so much.”

“I know,” Chase replied sweetly. “I love you, Haley. Now and forever.” I slid the ring onto my finger and it fit perfectly. Chase stood up and scooped me up into his arms. So blissfully happy I could hardly think straight, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him as he carried me into the bedroom.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading My Playboy Fiance! Hope you loved it as much as I loved writing it. I have some special treats for you tucked inside this book.

My amazing friend and writer Nicole Elliot has a few stories to share with you, including Virgin’s Dirty Boss, which is ONLY available inside this copy! Can you believe it?

Keep reading for some spicy hot and super naughty reads. Don’t forget to click on the link at the end of the book to download your free copy of My 2 Cops.

Love ya!

Katerina