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  “Speaking of,” Piper said, “we need to schedule a time to discuss the renovations so I can get started.”

  “How about after I get settled in?” Aurelia asked. “I still have some financial things to work out.”

  Ben’s brows knitted. “You do? I didn’t know that.”

  “What are you? Her keeper?” Piper teased. “Let’s do our thankful rounds so we can eat. I’m starved. Talia, why don’t you start and we’ll go around the table.”

  “Okay.” Talia looked around the table, her eyes settling on Willow and Zane, and then on Bridgette and Bodhi. “I’m thankful that two of my sisters have found such wonderful men, and I’m hoping one of them has a friend they might wrangle into coming to Sweetwater.”

  Soft laughter filled the dining room.

  “Can I go next?” Louie asked.

  Bridgette opened her mouth to say he should wait, but then she realized that some things—like gratitude and I love yous—shouldn’t ever have to wait.

  BODHI LEANED CLOSER to Bridgette and kissed her cheek, whispering, “That’s your boy.”

  Bridgette smiled and said, “That’s our boy.”

  Would he ever get used to how that made him feel? He looked across the table at the little boy who stole his heart more times each day than he could count, and he knew he never would. Alisha smiled at him with the grateful look she’d had in her eyes ever since he’d decided to step down from handling covert missions. He’d thought he’d miss it. But everything he needed to be happy was right here in this room—almost. Dahlia was at home waiting for them.

  “I’m thankful for Bodhi,” Louie practically shouted. “Because now I’m going to be a big brother.”

  There was a collective gasp, and all eyes turned to Bodhi and Bridgette. Excitement rose in Bodhi, surprising him. They hadn’t talked about having children, and he knew she was on the pill, but there was that one percent . . .

  He turned to his beautiful fiancée with an arched brow.

  Bridgette looked like she’d swallowed a frog. “What? No!” She shot a look at Louie. “Louie, Mommy is not having a baby.”

  “Yes, you are,” he insisted. “Molly Graynor’s mommy is getting married, and she told Molly that’s what you do when you’re going to have a baby.”

  “Molly Graynor’s mommy has had three babies out of wedlock,” Piper said. “I don’t think you should take advice on the birds and the bees from her.”

  “What’s wedlock?” Louie asked.

  Bodhi couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “Piper.” Bridgette sighed and nibbled nervously on her lower lip. “Louie, babies aren’t born because men and women get married.”

  “Then how are they made?” he asked.

  Oh shit.

  “Oh my,” Roxie said with a laugh. “He’s definitely your child after all, Bridgette.”

  Bodhi knew nothing about how to handle this, but Bridgette was turning white, and he couldn’t let her flounder.

  “I’ve got this,” Bodhi said. “Louie, when two people love each other very much, they make babies out of their love.”

  “Really?” Louie pointed at Willow. “Then Auntie Willow and Uncle Zane will have babies, and Uncle Benny and Aurelia. And maybe even Uncle Benny and Shira, because he keeps looking at her the way Bodhi looks at Mommy all the time. And Grandma and Grandpa will have babies. I’m going to be a big brother lots of times!”

  Aurelia glared at Ben, Shira blushed, and there was collective laughter and a round of comments about making babies.

  Bridgette excused herself to go to the bathroom, and the pit of Bodhi’s stomach told him something was up. He hoped he hadn’t totally screwed up his answer and went after her.

  He caught up to her by the bathroom and drew her close. “Hey, beautiful. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” She smiled, and as always, it cut straight to his heart. Then she trapped her lower lip between her teeth and touched his chest. “Louie just freaked me out for a minute. We haven’t really talked about having kids.”

  “I just assumed you’d want more. Do you not?”

  She ran her finger along the stretch of tanned skin between his open collar. “With you?”

  He scowled. “No, with some other neighbor-turned-fiancé.”

  “Let me think about my other neighbors.” She tapped her chin.

  He grabbed her ribs and stifled her shriek with a passionate kiss.

  She dragged him into the bathroom and locked the door behind them. He swept his arm around her again and said, “Babies?”

  The idea of having babies with Bridgette made him near giddy.

  “Babies mean stinky diapers and sleepless nights.”

  “I’ll change them.” He nibbled on her neck.

  She scrunched her nose and looked up at the ceiling, feigning deep concentration. “They get up a lot at night.”

  He pressed his lips to hers and felt her smile. “I’ll get up with them. I’m a great night owl.”

  “Gee, I don’t know,” she teased, and put her arms around his neck. “Maybe you should try harder to convince me.”

  He lifted her into his arms, and her pretty dress gathered around the tops of her thighs. “Baby, I plan on doing just that.”

  “It’s going to take a lot of convincing.”

  He gazed into her beautiful green eyes, and as he lowered his lips to hers, he said, “Then it’s a good thing we have forever.”

  A NOTE FROM MELISSA

  I have been excited to write Bridgette’s story since I first met her in Logan Wild’s book, Wild Boys After Dark: Logan. I knew she needed a very strong, independent man, someone who had the ability to love her son, Louie, with his whole heart and bring out the side of herself that she’d ignored for so long. Bodhi Booker surpassed my greatest hopes, and I hope you loved reading their love story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  Each of Bridgette’s siblings will be featured in their own books. Sign up for my newsletter to keep up to date with new Sugar Lake releases and to receive an exclusive short story (www.MelissaFoster.com/News).

  If this is your first Melissa Foster book, you might enjoy my big-family romance collection, Love in Bloom. Characters from each series make appearances in future books, so you never miss an engagement, wedding, or birth. A complete list of all series titles is included at the start of this book.

  Happy reading!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Writing Bodhi and Bridgette’s story was very difficult for me, as I don’t usually write about couples who agree to break up. My heart ached for them, and I’d like to thank Lisa Bardonski and Lisa Filipe for giving me tough love during the writing process and convincing me to stick to my guns. I needed it. A special thank-you to fan Sas Mitchell, for help with research on flowers and their meanings.

  I chat with fans often in my fan club, and they inspire me on a daily basis. If you haven’t joined yet, please do. You never know when you’ll end up in one of my books, as several members of my fan club have already discovered (www.Facebook.com/groups/MelissaFosterFans).

  If this is your first Melissa Foster book, you have many wickedly sexy and fiercely loyal heroes and sassy, empowered heroines to catch up on in my Love in Bloom big-family romance collection. You can find a full list of my books on my website (www.MelissaFoster.com/Melissas-Books).

  If you don’t yet follow me on Facebook, please do! We have such fun chatting about our lovable heroes and sassy heroines, and I always try to keep fans abreast of what’s going on in our fictional boyfriends’ worlds (www.Facebook.com/MelissaFosterAuthor).

  Remember to sign up for my newsletter to keep up to date with new releases and special promotions and events and to receive an exclusive short story (www.MelissaFoster.com/Newsletter).

  For publication schedules, series checklists, and more, please visit the special reader goodies page that I’ve set up for you at www.MelissaFoster.com/Reader-Goodies.

  A special thank-you to editor Maria Gomez and the incredible Montlake t
eam for bringing another Sugar Lake story to life. As always, heaps of gratitude to my editorial team and, of course, to my own hunky hero, Les.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo © 2013 Melanie Anderson

  Melissa Foster is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of more than sixty-five books, including The Real Thing in the Sugar Lake series. Her novels have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown magazine, the Patriot, and more. She has also painted and donated several murals to the Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC.

  She enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and she welcomes an invitation to your event. Visit Melissa on her website, www.MelissaFoster.com, or chat with her on Twitter melissa_foster and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MelissaFosterAuthor.