Love Loyal and True Read online

  “Ours is cake.”

  Asher shot his fiancé an all-suffering sigh. “Butter Cream, you defeat the whole purpose of a code word if you tell people.”

  “You guys also use frosting,” Loyal said.

  “Whatever,” Asher groused. “Lock the damn door behind you. Your ass is as white as Robert’s.”

  Loyal didn’t feel one bit sorry for his brother for catching them in Roxanna’s reading room last week. “Maybe you should stop walking in where you’re not supposed to be.”

  “Maybe people should stop doing number stuff where they’re not supposed to.”

  “Right. Because you’ve never had cake anywhere but the bedroom.”

  “All right, boys,” Honor mediated with a laugh.

  Roxanna grinned at her, then hooked her arm with Loyal’s. Pressed against his side, the heat of his body had her recalling their tryst in the reading room earlier. She squeezed his bicep and pulled him toward the sliding glass pocket doors connecting the two shops. “They can have their cake wherever they want, and we’ll do our numbers wherever we want.”

  Once on their side, she closed the doors, flipped the lock, then knocked on the glass for Asher’s attention. When he glanced over, she gave him a thumbs up and a grin. He rolled his eyes, but a second later, she saw his aura flare with red sparkles as he watched his fiancé heading into the back kitchen.

  “A hundred bucks says they’re going to have cake in the kitchen right now,” Loyal predicted from behind her.

  Yep. Ace was already on his feet and chasing after her.

  Roxanna let her shoulder brush against Loyal’s chest as she walked past to flip off the lights over their side of the café area. A glance over her shoulder caught him watching her every move as he slowly paced after her.

  As her pulse sped up, she reached to strip off her sweater on her way to the reading room. “What number are we working on tonight?”

  “Five.”

  Oh boy.

  For someone who’d never liked numbers, she positively loved them now. Almost as much as she loved him.

  Thank you for reading!

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Some e-readers ask you to rate a book when you’re done reading...but those simple star ratings are NOT counted as actual reviews.

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  Reviews from readers help authors to be able to continue to write the books you love. If you loved Loyal and Roxanna’s story as much as I loved writing it (seriously, so much fun to write these two!) I’d be so grateful if you’d leave a review for Love Loyal and True at the retailer where you purchased the book by clicking the link below.

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  Love You, Baby (Book 3, Chapter 1)

  Next up in the Must Love Diamonds Series is Love You, Baby.

  “My name is Merit, but you can call me handsome.”

  * * *

  Cocky, sexy playboy? Check

  One night of hot passion? Check

  Pregnancy test two months later? Positive

  * * *

  Single mother Mae Lockhart ghosted her best friend’s new brother-in-law after the wedding, because no way in hell was she going to let herself fall for another irresponsible playboy. Thanks to her bad luck, ignoring him is no longer an option.

  * * *

  Merit Diamond hates that his family doesn’t respect him, but it’s always been easier to bolster a bad boy rep than try to measure up to his successful siblings and risk failure. Then one ordinary Sunday, his dad cuts him off without a penny and the woman who’s been haunting his dreams shows up on his doorstep to tell him he’s going to be a father.

  * * *

  Now he has seven months to get his shit together and earn Mae’s respect. Somehow he must convince her he can not only be a good dad, but the one man she can trust her heart to for the rest of her life.

  * * *

  Chapter 1

  * * *

  One little decision can change your life.

  A wrong decision. A stupid decision.

  A definitely not little decision.

  Mae Lockhart stared at the two pink lines on her home pregnancy test and couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid. Again.

  Her downfall this time? A guy named Merit.

  Upon their introduction the night his father had been elected to the United States Senate, she’d lifted her eyebrows to help hide the fact the man had taken her breath away from the moment she’d laid eyes on him.

  “Yes, my name is Merit,” he confirmed with a sexy grin. “But you can call me Handsome.”

  She laughed. “How many times have you used that line?”

  “Just a few.”

  Yeah, a few hundred, she’d guess. “And how often does it work?”

  “Every time.”

  And what had she done? She’d proved him right the night her best friend and his brother got married two months ago. As they waved the couple off in the groom’s vintage ’69 Camaro with the obligatory Just Married decorations, she’d been overcome with giddiness—and maybe a tad too much champagne—and turned a sultry grin up to the tall, dark groomsman.

  “So, Handsome, what are your plans for the rest of the night?”

  Because she’d had a babysitter for twelve more hours and wasn’t about to give up her opportunity for adult freedom only fifteen minutes after midnight. Not to mention, he wasn’t merely handsome, he was hot as hell in that tuxedo, could charm the panties off a nun, and those gorgeous golden-brown eyes of his promised more fun than she’d had in seven years.

  Actually, seven-plus long, celibate years.

  Sober, responsible, conservative Mae blinked against the sting of tears as she looked at the pink lines again. “One night of fun,” she whispered, “for nine months of pregnancy and eighteen years of—”

  “Mom! Hurry up! I gotta pee.”

  Mae jumped as her six year old son’s fist pounding on the door underscored his plea. She hurried to stuff the test and wrappers back in the box as she rose from the toilet. “One sec, Ian. I’ll be right out.”

  She buried the pregnancy test box in the waste basket, then flushed and washed her hands so she could splash cold water on her face.

  “Mooommm.”

  Mae took a breath and opened the door to find him dancing from foot to foot. “Morning, Scoob.”

  She stepped aside as he rushed past, then pulled the door mostly closed behind her when she stepped into the hall. For a moment, she leaned against the wall, heart thumping hard at the thought of adding a baby to their duo. For six years—seven in two weeks—it had just been the two of them against the world.

  What would Ian say when she told him? Would he be happy he was going to become a big brother? Or would he be upset?

  No. He’d be happy. That’s just the kind of awesome kid he was. The kind of kid she’d never once regretted a day in her life.

  She tilted her head toward the cracked door to ask, “What do you think? Pancakes or eggs this morning?”

  “You said we could have muffins,” he called back. “Remember?”

  That’s right, she’d bought a pack of four at the store yesterday. “I forgot.”

  The toilet flushed and then he opened the door. “Geez, mom, how could you forget?”

  Mae pointed toward the sink. “Wash.”

  He huffed out a sigh, but turned back to do as she said.

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind,” she answered his question.

  “You always say that,” he
grumbled.

  “Because I always do. You’re up extra early this morning.”

  “It’s Friday Fun Day at school today.”

  He had that tone again. How could she forget Friday Fun Day before the 4th of July?

  Because she truly did have a lot on her mind. Monday she was starting construction on Shelby Diamond’s vet clinic, between now and then she had to fix the lawn mower and cut her six-inch tall grass to avoid more dirty looks from her neighbors, and she had to make a casserole for the holiday picnic at her brother’s house tomorrow. Not to mention dishes and laundry both needed to be washed, the house cleaned, bills paid, paperwork filed, and—

  I am pregnant!

  A rush of panic had her drawing in a steadying breath. “Brush your teeth and get dressed, bud. You can watch Scooby Doo while you eat breakfast.”

  “Yes.” He grabbed his toothbrush with a grin, always thrilled when she let him watch his favorite cartoon while she got ready.

  She narrowed her eyes at his reflection in the mirror. Come to think of it, this was the third morning in a row he’d gotten up before she’d had a chance to take her shower. Little smarty pants was working her. Being it was summer school, she decided to let it slide.

  “Make sure that toilet seat goes down.”

  She ruffled his hair before going to her room for a clean Lockhart Construction logo T-shirt and jeans. The TV blared to life as she returned to their one bathroom in their little two bedroom home. While she showered, dressed, and applied minimal make-up, her mind whirled like crazy and her stomach balled up in a tight knot, threatening to reactivate her earlier nausea.

  Now she knew it was morning sickness, not just a stomach bug. And knowing she was pregnant also explained her bouts of dizziness the past couple of weeks. She hadn’t experienced either while pregnant with Ian.

  Speaking of which, she couldn’t help but think about the last time she’d been in this situation almost eight years ago. Things had been so different, and yet, they were so damn similar. She’d been all alone, broke, and determined to love her child even if his father wanted nothing to do with them. She might not be broke anymore, but she was still single, and she would love this baby even if its father wanted nothing to do with them.

  Her pulse skipped at the thought of telling Merit Diamond she was pregnant with his baby. Hell, it skipped more than a few beats at the thought of telling her best friend she was pregnant with her new brother-in-law’s baby. She hadn’t told Honor about her hook-up the night of her and Asher’s wedding. Hadn’t planned to, either.

  That night had been amazing, and yet she’d done everything possible to forget the guy’s smile, his sexy, husky laugh, the fire of his touch on her skin, the feel of him over her, in her, taking her higher than she’d ever gone before. The man was dangerous to her in a way only one other man ever had been, and she refused to go down that road again.

  The first week after the wedding, Merit had texted and left her a couple of messages. He said he wanted to see her again. Her heart had done a giddy little dance, but common sense reminded her she couldn’t afford to let emotions overrule cold, hard facts. She had to keep a clear head for both herself and Ian.

  Asher had made more than enough comments about his playboy younger brother. As the stories went, he was a one and done type of guy, and messages or not, leopards didn’t change their spots. So, she’d ignored him, hoping he’d lose interest and move on to his next conquest.

  The second week, he’d sent her one text and left one message. The third and fourth weeks, he was down to one text each week. Now it had been a month since the last time she’d heard from him, and with each week that had passed, she was convinced she’d been right to not respond. Clearly, one night with her hadn’t magically changed the guy into someone worthy of dating and letting into her son’s life.

  Of course, him being the brother of her best friend’s husband meant she’d run into him sometime in the future, but she’d figured she would deal with that when the time came.

  Unfortunately, this morning, the future had arrived in the form of two pink lines.

  You definitely don’t want to miss what happens when Mae tells Merit he’s going to be a dad!

  Preorder your copy of Love You, Baby right now!

  Recommended Read

  * * *

  A national parks investigator on the hunt for a poacher discovers the feisty woman complicating his case is directly in the killer’s crosshairs.

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  Sparks fly when a headstrong wrangler and an alpha park ranger are thrown together during the search for a poacher killing animals in Rocky Mountain National Park. Having fought hard for her independence, Brittany Lucas resents Mr. Tall, Dark, and Sexy's take-charge authority. Joel Morgan is thoroughly frustrated by the stubborn blond complicating the hell out of his investigation - and the constant desire to kiss her smart mouth shut isn’t helping matters.

  Both try to resist a sizzling attraction that refuses to be ignored, until the stalker turns his sights on Brittany, and Joel discovers he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her—even give his own life.

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  “This book grabbed me from the beginning and I couldn't put it down. I loved Britt and Joel! I loved the action and the suspense and of course the romance!!” ~ Angie, Amazon reviewer

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  Chapter 1

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  Britt Lucas closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath of crisp mountain air. Clean. Fresh. The cold ground was hard beneath her shoulder blades while the late afternoon sun warmed her face. In the middle of May, spring was definitely in the air, although the higher altitude kept the temperature brisk. With the sun descending toward the snow-capped peaks of her beloved Rockies, and the possibility of snow in the forecast, she’d need a parka over her sweatshirt tonight.

  Paelo and the pack mare she’d borrowed from the resort stables grazed on the sweet spring shoots growing where the sun had managed to thaw the winter snow drifts. The mare was hobbled, but her stallion grazed free; a testament to his training.

  As her hearing became more acute, she began to distinguish sounds of other animals in the underbrush surrounding the small meadow. Birds chirped and warbled, and she imagined the light wind through the trees was the swish of their wings navigating the budded branches. Across the creek, a squirrel scolded another forest creature.

  Every once in a while, with the gentle twitch of the breeze, the sweet fragrance of crushed grass from the grazing horses tickled her nose. Stress seeped away, bit by tiny bit.

  Thank you, Mark.

  God, she’d needed this after the past month. Time alone to escape the pitying looks of her co-workers, and Daniel moving on with his life as if he hadn’t just turned hers upside down. He had a new girlfriend to go with his new promotion from the same boss who always put business above family. Her father.

  Six years ago, more than anything, she’d wanted to work by his side and had no doubts about what her future held. One week ago, she’d graduated with a double degree in her hands, then stood in her brand new office at Lucas Technologies’ Chicago headquarters, dreading the next day, the next week, the next twenty years.

  Mark Jennings’ desperate plea for her to give him one last summer at the ranch had given her a sanity-saving reprieve. A chance to do some soul searching. She squeezed her eyes tight with the memory of her father’s reaction to her decision, then resolutely pushed him to the back of her mind. His betrayal had been as devastating as Daniel’s, and pleasing him had always been difficult no matter how hard she tried. No sense dwelling on his disapproval.

  A faint noise registered on her consciousness. As her brain processed the sound of a zipper, she opened her eyes and turned her head with a frown. Ten yards away, Paelo stood alert, nostrils quivering, his attention focused in the direction of her campsite.

  Her pulse leapt at the sight of a man crouched down by her small tent. Her initial thought was one of the park rangers had stopped to say hello
, but the black jeans and shirt threw her off—along with the fact he was rummaging through her stuff. Her pulse flared again, this time at the nerve of the man.

  A split second before she lunged upright to confront him, his hand rose to adjust his black cowboy hat, and sunlight glinted off metal. Her heart pounded a new, panicked rhythm even as she froze.

  A gun.

  No ranger uniform.

  Mark had mentioned rumors of a poacher in the park, but that was months ago.

  The man shifted to glance over his shoulder in her direction. She held her breath, eyes slitted to appear asleep while her mind whirled. Shit. Shit. Shit. Her phone was in her backpack, along with her emergency radio. Camping ax by the tree. Nothing of any help was within her reach.

  The moment he returned his attention to her tent, she darted her gaze to Paelo. He stood half the distance from her as the man. No saddle, no bridle, but still, if she could reach him, she had a chance. A quick, sweeping glance revealed the man appeared to be alone, and no mount that she could see. Hopefully, he’d hiked in and didn’t have a ride nearby to catch up to her.

  Don’t think about that! Move, before you lose the element of surprise.

  After a deep breath to steady her frantic pulse, Britt leapt to her feet and bolted for her horse. He shied away from her headlong approach. Hands outstretched, she frantically murmured words to calm him until she could grab a fistful of mane to swing astride.