“So, when’s the big day?” I ask with a sly smile, carefully sliding a book into its new home on the shelves of Turn the Page bookstore. The question is directed at Lexi—my best friend and sometimes coworker—who is currently holding the ladder steady below me. I feel her eyes burning into me as I shuffle the stack in my arms, my main concern being the well-being of the precious cargo I’m holding rather than my own safety.

“I swear to God, Liv, I’m going to buy you a harness. One of these days, you’re going to fall off this damn thing. And I won’t be around to help you.”

I force out a laugh. “More like, you won’t be around to laugh at me. And it’s, like, five feet off the floor. Not exactly life-threatening.”

“Well, that, too,” she responds with a smirk.

I giggle as I turn back to the task at hand. Turn the Page isn’t exactly the biggest bookstore in the world. Honestly, the ladder might be a bit superfluous. I’m sure I could reach the top shelves if I just stretched on a step stool. But I won’t lie; I sort of love the feeling of being among the stacks, the ladder sliding up and down the shelves as I do my best impersonation of Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Not that Lexi knows anything about that. I keep my Disney musings strictly to after-hours. Not even Charlie Price —my adoptive father for all intents and purposes—knows about my princess time. I have an image to uphold after all.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I say, shooting a look down at Lexi. “When are y’all getting hitched?”

She gives me a bemused grin, throwing in one of her patented eye rolls for added effect. But she can’t hide the happiness dancing behind her eyes. “Shut up. We still have a long way to go before that happens. And that’s if I don’t scare him away first.”

Now, it’s my turn to roll my eyes. Ian Taggart, Lexi’s boyfriend and one of the best guys I’ve ever met, plays for the Washington Rampage. Like, as in the Washington Rampage—the hottest baseball team in the major leagues. And Ian is by far their best player. Now that the season has started up again, Lexi has been traveling back and forth between Seattle and our quiet town of Maple Lake, Colorado, quite a bit. This week the Rampage are on the road—hence the reason Lexi is currently helping me at the store.

“Oh, please. That man is head over heels in love with you. It’d be sad if it wasn’t so damn sweet. Pretty sure you could kick him in the balls for no reason whatsoever, and he’d drop to his knees and beg you to do it again, just so that you were touching him.”

She giggles. “You have such a twisted mind, Liv. Like, who even thinks of shit like that? And, besides, why would I ever want to kick him in the balls? That would ruin my plans of having a few little Ians running around. Don’t you think Ian would be the best dad?” she adds on with a dreamy sigh.

I fake a retch. “God, you two are so cute, it’s disgusting. I think I liked you better when you hated men. At least that, I could understand.”

Lexi smiles. “Speaking of men…have you heard from Brandon?”

I groan at the mention of Ian’s teammate and best friend—aka the biggest mistake I’ve made in the past year.

“He’s texted a few times,” I say nonchalantly, turning my head back to survey the books before me. I send up a silent plea to whoever might be listening that Lexi drops it.

Ha. Like that’s ever happened.

“And? What did you say?” she prompts.

I blow out an exasperated breath. “I don’t know, Lexi. I’ve been busy. I can’t exactly just drop everything when some guy tries to make a booty call.”

“So, in other words, you’ve been avoiding him.”

Yes.

“No. You know how hard I’ve been working to get this place in order before Charlie retires. I know he keeps saying it’s a few years out, but I beg to differ. If I have it my way, he’ll be resting at home, enjoying his books, before peak tourist season even begins.”

“That’s only a few months away, Liv. How do you plan on talking him into that?”

“I have my ways,” I say with a sly grin.

She laughs, knowing that means I plan to extort Charlie’s fatherly love for me and get him to do exactly as I wish. He has a hard time saying no to me when I truly set my mind to something.

But, really, it’s for his own good. Charlie has been working his ass off, building this store. And, after nearly fifty years, it’s high time he got a break. I can handle this place.

Hell, I can make this place flourish. By the time I’m done, Turn the Page is going to be a household name in the western US.

As if reading my mind, Lexi launches into my plans to franchise the store, her questions coming rapidly now that the topic has been broached. I breathe a sigh of relief that talk of Brandon has been abandoned. I have enough on my mind without adding him to the mix.

As I’d predicted, the morning after my night with Brandon, I woke, full of regret. I hadn’t meant to spend the night with him. But, after about the fifth orgasm, I’d just sort of passed out. What can I say? It’d been a while. My body wasn’t used to so much…excitement.

I expected him to kick my ass to the curb the moment he realized I was still in his room at the cute little B&B in town. Wanting to avoid the uncomfortable situation that was sure to follow, I slipped out from under his arm, trying my damnedest not to jostle him as I slithered out of bed.

It didn’t work.

“Morning,” a gruff voice, still laced with sleep, said from behind me.

My hand paused its efforts in seeking out my jeans, my spine stiffening as I’d been caught.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stay the night,” I mumbled dumbly, my cheeks flaming from embarrassment.

I couldn’t even bring myself to turn and look at him. Surely, he felt just as awkward as I did.

The springs of the mattress squeaked as Brandon moved on the bed. A content groan and the sound of the sheets rustling made me think that he was stretching. And, despite my embarrassment, that was a sight I just couldn’t miss.

Looking back over my shoulder, I wasn’t disappointed by what I found. Muscled arms reached up above his head, his broad chest on full display, dark ink covering every square inch of exposed skin. I hadn’t gotten nearly enough time to explore those lines last night, and my fingers twitched in anticipation of finishing their quest.

A soft chuckle pulled my eyes from his gorgeous body to the sideways grin adorning his face. “You like what you see, Tink?”

His snarky comment made me all too aware that my bottom lip was pulled between my teeth, and I could practically feel the saliva building in my mouth as I stared at him.

Pull yourself together, Olivia. It’s just a fucking body.

A ridiculously beautiful body that’s practically begging to be touched. But that is beside the point.

“Don’t call me Tink,” I bit out.

It’d taken all of three minutes after I met him for the nickname to make an appearance. I was used to it. Coming in at barely five feet with stupid-high cheekbones and an upturned nose, I’d heard it all over the years. Pixie, fairy, elfin queen. Tinker Bell was just one of the many things I’d been called growing up. But there was something different about the way Brandon called me Tink. It made me feel…different.

And different wasn’t good.

He held his hands up, as if in apology. “Sorry. You didn’t seem to have a problem with it last night.” His grin returned, spreading across those full lips, reminding me of all the places they’d been mere hours ago.

My face.

My neck.

My breasts.

My—

“I need to go,” I blurted, stuffing my legs into my pants and yanking them up as fast as I could.

Luckily, I’d pulled my shirt back on last night after our last tryst. I wouldn’t have been able to stand and talk to him as long as I had if I’d been topless.

“What’s the rush?” he asked, giving me pause.

I turned and gave him a wary look, finding him lying back on the pillow with his hands linked behind his head, biceps on full display.

I mean, really, whose arms looked like that in real life? It just wasn’t fair.

He looked down at the empty spot on the bed. “It’s rather lonely over here, all by myself. What do you say, you climb back in here and keep me warm?”

I pulled my lip back in between my teeth, his offer sounding way too good to pass up. But, no matter how amazing it seemed, I knew I had to leave. Last night was a mistake. The fact that I’d even momentarily considered jumping back into bed with him was all the proof I needed.

“I wish I could, but I’ve got to get to work. Not all of us are bazillionaire baseball players.”

He shot me another grin. “Believe me, baby, I work. Where do you think I got these?” he asked, flexing his hands behind his head, causing the muscles in his arms to tighten.

“Right. Well, I should be going,” I said again, turning toward the door. The sooner I got out of there, the better.

“Can I stop by later?” he asked, stopping me dead in my tracks.

Looking back over my shoulder, I gave him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “You said you worked at the bookstore, right? Can I come see you in a bit?”

“Why?” I asked stupidly, my mouth hanging open in confusion. His question didn’t make any sense.

“To say good-bye before I leave?” It came out as more of a question than an answer.

Nothing that was happening was right. I was supposed to spend the night with him, have mind-blowing sex, and then go about my merry way. He wasn’t supposed to be asking me if he could come visit me at work. That wasn’t how any of this worked.

But he was also Ian’s best friend, and with what was developing between Ian and Lexi, I didn’t want to be the cause of any discord between them. Her best friend being a mega-bitch to his best friend could potentially be an issue.

“Sure,” I heard myself saying, telling myself it was strictly because of Lexi.

Hell, I’d probably already fucked things up for her. I normally didn’t get involved with friends. Or friends of friends. It made things…sticky. But Brandon was leaving. I’d never see him again. A guy like him had girls lining up to be with him. So, if I could just get through the next few hours until he left without causing any major fallout, I’d be in the clear.

I ignored the tiny part deep inside me that fluttered at the idea of him wanting to see me again before he left.

Brandon smiled at me as I turned back toward the door.

“See you in a bit, Tink.”

Like hell he would. As soon as I got home, I was calling in sick.

“Earth to Liv.”

Lexi’s voice brings me back to the present.

“Did you hear anything I just said?”

I didn’t, my mind too wrapped up in memories of Brandon. But I’m sure as hell not going to tell her that.

“Erm, I…” I turn back to the shelf before me, my eyes scanning for something I can use to save me from having to admit to my friend that I tuned her out to daydream about my biggest mistake.

I must move too quickly because, the next thing I know, I’m clinging desperately to the ladder, my head swimming as the room spins around me.

“Liv, are you okay?” Lexi’s voice sounds far away as I struggle to catch my breath.

Resting my head on the top rung of the ladder, I slowly breathe in and out, trying to calm the whirling in my head and the sudden rush of nausea flooding my stomach. I feel Lexi’s hands come to rest on my hips, and I’m grateful for the reassurance that she won’t let me fall.

When I finally feel like I can lift my head without spewing the contents of my stomach onto the books before me, I gingerly climb back down the ladder with Lexi’s help. She helps me over to the chair in the corner of the room, rushing off to the restroom as soon as I’m seated.

She’s back before I can even get my bearings, a damp cloth in her hands. She presses it against the nape of my neck, perching her ass on the arm of the chair as she pats me on the shoulder.

The cool cloth makes me feel better almost immediately. The room is still spinning slightly, and the worry that my lunch might make a reappearance if I get up too quickly is still there, but the worst of it has passed. And, as such, I can’t help but give my best friend some shit.

“Thanks, Mom. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been here to grab a towel and coo in my ear.”

She gently shoves me, careful not to jostle me too much. “Shut it. You went white as a fucking sheet. Don’t scare me like that, and I won’t have to play mother hen.”

“I just wanted to give you some practice for all those little Ians you’re going to have.”

She giggles. “Seriously though, what was that?”

I shrug. “Not sure. It’s happened a few times in the past week or so. I brushed it off as lack of food the first couple of times, but that can’t be it this time. Not after I just inhaled that sandwich at lunch.”

“Maybe you should get in to see the doctor. Just to be safe.”

I brush away her comment. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably just need more vitamins. I’ll pick some up at the store on my way home tonight. I’ll admit, I haven’t exactly been the healthiest lately. Been too damn busy with this place to worry about trivial things like my health,” I say jokingly.

She playfully swats at me. “You need to take care of yourself.”

“Yes, Mom. I promise I’ll take my Flintstones vitamins every day from now on.”

She rolls her eyes at me again. “God help your child if you ever decide to reproduce.”

I scoff. “Ain’t nobody got time for that. Besides, you have to find someone who actually wants to have sex with you in order for that to happen. And, Lord knows, that ship has sailed.”

Except…

Oh, shit.

I shove past Lexi, my momentary spout of dizziness and nausea forgotten as I frantically rush to my purse. Pulling out the planner that holds each and every detail of my life, I search for the red frowny face I use to mark the start of my monthly nuisance.

Nothing this month.

Or last…

I desperately flip back another page, but I already know what I’m going to find.

Son of a bitch.

I’m pregnant.