The Barefoot Groom: Bachelor Billionaire Romance (A Last Play Companion) (19 page)

She grinned and the rip roar of the snowmobile sounded into the air. She winked at him and Roman knew it was meant to taunt him.

It worked. Anger flared inside him and he cursed. Turning back into the house, he shut the kitchen door, locked it and huffed back to the living room. Staring at the fire, he pushed open the sleeping bag, thinking that this sleeping bag was probably the same one he’d used all those years ago when his uncle had taken him camping. He rustled in his bag and found his phone charger, taking care to plug in the phone and hoping the power might come back on so it could get a charge.

He laid back on the sleeping bag, staring at the fire and shook his head. “Well, Uncle Jim, I’m here.” He blinked. “But you’re not here to tell me one of your ghost stories.” His mind flashed, again, to the red head and the way she’d winked at him. He did not like her he decided.

Getting up, he got into the bag and begrudgingly tugged it up into place around his head. He forced himself to take in deep breaths and try to relax. He would get some sleep and then meet with the attorney tomorrow and figure out how to get this place sold. Then he would get as far away from the Alaskan Inn as he could get.

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L
iam Bernhard took
a large bite of bienenstich and savored the vanilla flavor as the sweet pastry melted into his taste buds. “There’s enough cream in this to choke a cow.”

“You keep eating like this, and you will be a cow,” countered his older brother, David.

Liam pointed at David’s plate covered with large zwetschgenkuchen. “You’re older than me. Your metabolism is slower.”

David grunted. “I work out.”

Liam grunted back. “Life’s too short to live in a gym.”

The zwetschgenkuchen went to the table and stayed on the square napkin like a forlorn and forgotten friend. Liam didn’t mean to bring up his impending doom, but he just couldn’t see the point of ignoring it like David wanted to. David, Liam’s best friend and partner in crime, had been in a perpetual bad mood, and Liam was tired of living with Eeyore.

The last six months of revelry and dream-making darkened like the German sky above them. They’d skied, golfed, surfed, swum, biked, viewed priceless artwork, toured ancient ruins, dug for buried treasure, and even sailed the high seas. His more recent exploits had taken a domestic turn, and they’d sampled foods across the globe. Even now they occupied two chairs in a small German bakery with a full selection of the baker’s wares spread before them. What did Liam care if he took one bite of everything?

“I’ve been thinking …” Liam trailed off, taking another large bite and chomping away like a kid at scout camp.

“Yeah?” David folded his arms.

“What this adventure needs is a woman’s touch.” Liam had David’s full attention. “I’d like a warm body around once in a while.”

“Exactly
what
do you have in mind?”

Liam reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a business card he’d gotten from his trust fund manager.

“BMB?” David raised an eyebrow.

“Billionaire Marriage Brokers.”

“You’re out of your mind.”

“A side effect from the tumor, I’m sure.”

David glared at the table. “So what, you buy a wife? Isn’t that human trafficking?”

“Hire. I would
hire
a wife uniquely chosen for me.”

“Uniquely chosen by whom?”

Liam picked up a kreple. It looked like a donut. “Pamela Jones.”

David licked icing off his thumb. “Is this prostitution? Do I need to call Mom?”

“Ha ha. No. There’s no hanky-panky. It’s in the contract.”
Besides the fact that the drugs I’m on make
that
impossible …
For that reason alone, he’d been happy to sign up for a business marriage—any marriage. The fact that Pamela could find him a wife who could also be his nurse was a benefit. David was a great brother and buddy, and Ella was an excellent personal secretary, but neither of them knew the first thing about medicine.

According to his doctor-issued time line, Liam had three months left. That was great on paper, but Liam suspected the doctor had been overly optimistic. He couldn’t explain his premonition, just that he knew if he was going to find a bride, now was the time.

Liam wanted to be married before he died. He wanted to know what it was like to have someone to belong to, and if that meant going through Billionaire Marriage Brokers, then that’s what he would do.

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A
nd I’m so pleased
to have the first chapter of Cindy Roland Anderson’s newest release,
Just a Kiss in the Moonlight
. I love her books, check it out below.

B
y Cindy Roland Anderson

I
rony was
something Taylin Nichols had studied at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Yes, she
had
studied. Unlike her twin sister, Ashlee, who seemed to enjoy playing the role of a “dumb-blonde,” Taylin was one of those people who actually liked school and thrived on taking tests.

The combination of her cumulative GPA and excellent score on the college entrance exam earned Taylin an academic scholarship to Mercer and admittance into their nursing program. Now, at the age of twenty-four, she was working her dream job as a newborn nursery nurse at Mitchel Creek Community Hospital in her home state of Georgia.

The irony? Her former boyfriend’s wife was in labor, and Taylin was the nurse who would be attending the delivery. She would get to witness it all—every memorable detail. Awkward didn’t even begin to describe it.

A strand of her blonde hair had worked its way out of her ponytail and tickled her cheek. She tucked it behind her ear before reaching out for her drink to take a sip of her warm, watered-down Diet Coke. She swallowed the liquid, making a face as she set the cup back down. Although she and Ashlee could pass for identical twins, they were complete opposites in most everything. Everything but their choice in men. Both of them had a long string of stupid boyfriends.

Or maybe she was the stupid one. After all, she’d stayed with Ryan all through college thinking they’d get married once she graduated from nursing school. Boy had she been wrong about that assumption.

A few months before graduation, Ryan announced he was marrying his pregnant girlfriend. He’d dumped Taylin faster than the ice cubes had melted in her Diet Coke. Evidently Taylin’s stance on no sex until marriage was okay with Ryan since he had another girlfriend who didn’t feel the same way.

Sighing, Taylin closed her eyes and dreamed about lounging on a beach in Hawaii. Hard to believe that’s where she’d been just a couple of days ago. For two weeks she and Ashlee explored the beautiful islands. They laughed, ate fresh pineapple and relaxed on the white sandy beach, soaking up the sun and talking about the cute guys they’d met the night before.

The jangling of the phone interrupted her daydream.
I should’ve stayed one more day
she thought as she picked up the receiver. “Nursery, this is Taylin.”

“Hey, Mrs. Sorensen is ready to push,” the OB tech said. “The doc is on his way.”

Mrs. Sorensen
. Weird to think that could’ve been her. “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

Taylin rolled her chair back and stood up, straightening her pink scrub top. The tan she’d acquired on her vacation looked even better against the bubblegum pink uniform. It gave her the confidence she needed to face her former boyfriend. At least she knew she looked good.

Taking a fortifying deep breath, Taylin opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Her eyes widened when she heard a shriek coming from one of the rooms up ahead. In the report from the previous shift, she’d learned Ryan’s wife opted to deliver without an epidural. From the sound of things, she might be regretting that decision.

The obstetrician jogged past her and entered the room. One of the labor and delivery nurses stuck her head out the door. “Hey, Taylin, we’re ready in here.”

Taylin pulled her stethoscope from her pocket and wound it around her neck as she made her way to labor room three. Ryan’s parents came scrambling out of the room, excitement lighting his mother’s face. Mrs. Sorensen hugged Taylin enthusiastically. “Oh, honey, we’re so glad you’ll be takin’ care of our little Magnolia.”

Taylin needed to get into the delivery, but she could’ve sworn Ryan’s wife was named Lily. Maybe she had her flowers mixed up. “Uh, Magnolia?”

Mrs. Sorensen squeezed her arm. “The baby. They’re naming her Magnolia Ann Sorensen. All the women in Lily’s family are named after flowers.”

Interesting
. “How sweet and, um…unique.” Just then, Lily let out a very loud scream followed with what Taylin was pretty sure was a curse word. Oh, and she tacked Ryan’s name at the end.

Ryan’s father snickered. He quickly sobered when his wife shot him an irritated glance.

“It’s good to see y’all.” Taylin pointed to the door with her thumb. “But it sounds like I’d better get in there.”

Without waiting for an answer, Taylin pushed through the door and entered the room just in time to hear Lily let out another earsplitting scream. The poor girl was hurting. Why in the world had she refused something to help with the pain?

“Okay, Lily,” Janet, the L&D nurse said in a calm voice. “On the next contraction, we need you to push.”

“
Nooooo!
” Lily whined over the rapid thumping of her baby’s heartbeat that resounded through the fetal heart monitor. “I’ve changed my mind. I want drugs.”

Ryan stood next to his wife, holding her hand and looking very nervous. Just as Taylin turned away, she heard him clear his throat. “Honey, we decided to go natural, remember?”

We?
Taylin’s eyes flickered back over to the couple. Lily’s face contorted with anger, her eyes zeroing in on her husband.

Wait for it…

“NATURAL!” Lily bellowed.

Poor, stupid man
. Taylin looked away and pulled on a pair of blue latex gloves and struggled to hold back a laugh. What idiot would tell his wife who is trying to push out a baby “we” decided to go natural? Lily screamed again, ignoring the nurse’s instructions to push.

Note to self: Do not go natural, even if my clueless husband wants me to.

“I’m the one who is having—” Lily stopped mid-sentence and clamped down on Ryan’s hand. “Wait— no! I just had a contraction!” She glanced up at Ryan, her eyes bulging with panic. “Make it stop. Now!”

Both the doctor and the nurse exchanged frustrated looks. At this rate, Magnolia wasn’t going to be meeting her parents anytime soon.

Janet took control. “Sugar, if you want this baby out, I need you to stop hollerin’ and push. You’re very close, and then I promise the pain will be gone.”

Lily compressed her lips flat, narrowed her eyes a fraction and concentrated, doing exactly what Janet and the doctor instructed.

Minutes later, Taylin watched the miracle of birth take place. In the past six months, she’d seen it hundreds of times. It still never ceased to amaze her. As Lily let out one last painful wail, Magnolia Ann entered the world. Her mother stopped screaming and baby Magnolia took over.

Taylin asked for the time of birth and started the timer for the APGAR. A crying baby was the best sound in the world and Magnolia was doing a fantastic job of it.

Taylin watched Ryan cut his daughter’s cord, a look of wonder on his face. “Oh, Lily, she’s beautiful.” His voice cracked with emotion.

Taylin couldn’t hold back a grin. Magnolia had a cone head and was covered in blood and thick, white vernix. She would look much better after Taylin cleaned her up and the swelling in her head started to go down. Even so, it was cute to know Ryan thought his daughter was beautiful.

The doctor held up the squalling infant for the new mother to see. The labor nurse asked Lily if she wanted the baby skin to skin.

Lily stared at the baby and chewed on her bottom lip. “Is it okay if y’all clean her up first?”

“Sure,” the doctor said. “The nurse will take care of her while we finish up here.” He turned and handed the baby to Taylin.

Laying the baby on the warmer, Taylin noted her color and muscle tone. There was no doubt about her respiratory effort as Magnolia screamed at the injustice of it all.

Taking her stethoscope, Taylin plugged the tips into her ears and listened to the baby’s heart. With her other hand, she and the OB tech scrubbed the blood and vernix with a towel, drying the baby off.

Ryan moved next to the warmer and stared down at his baby. “Is she okay?” he asked tentatively.

The baby continued to wail, her little arms and legs flailing in protest. She left her mother’s warm womb and now lay under a bright light with people scrubbing at her never-before-touched skin.

Taylin met his gaze and smiled. “She’s perfect. Congratulations, Ryan.”

“Thanks.” Tears pooled in his eyes. “And thank you for doing this. I wasn’t—”

For a second there, Taylin was afraid he was going to say something about their previous relationship. The staff knew they’d gone to school together, Taylin just chose not to reveal how close their connection had been.

“I’m so glad you were the nurse. I completely trust you with my daughter.”

Taylin had never seen this side to Ryan. Marriage, and now fatherhood, seemed to have changed him for the better.

“Thank you. Let me get her weight and length and then you can take Magnolia to meet her mama.”

Taylin worked quickly to clean up the healthy baby girl. After she weighed and measured her, she diapered her and placed a pink and blue knit hat on the baby’s head. Magnolia quieted down when Taylin swaddled her in warm, clean blankets.

Picking up the infant, Taylin held her out to Ryan. He hesitated for a second and looked a little unsure of himself. “Just hold out your arms,” she said in a soft voice.

He stretched out his hands and Taylin laid the baby in his arms. “There you go. Make sure to support her head.”

Ryan’s eyes filled up with tears again as he gazed down at his daughter. Taylin reached over and cupped her hand around the baby’s face, shielding her from the bright lights. Magnolia blinked and opened her tiny eyes, staring back at her father.

Taylin had to fight back the emotion swelling in her throat, confused by the tiny spark of envy tightening her chest. It was stupid to feel this way. Sure, being a wife and mother was something she had always dreamed about as a little girl, but she was still young and had plenty of time to find the right guy. Besides that, she’d recently sent in an application for the Vital First Breath program, which would give her the opportunity to travel abroad to teach lifesaving skills for the newborn to areas where there are little or no medical facilities.

Slowly, Ryan turned and walked toward his wife. “Magnolia, I want you to meet the most beautiful woman in the world—your mother.”

Moisture blurred Taylin’s vision as Ryan settled the baby in Lily’s arms. He leaned over and gave his wife a sweet kiss on the mouth. “You did it, honey. You were amazing.”

Ryan’s parents rushed through the door, along with Ryan’s brother and wife. Their excited chatter over the newest member of the family filled the room. Taylin felt out of place and knew it was time to leave.

She grabbed the tube of cord blood and placed it in a biohazard bag for the lab. She asked the OB tech to get the next set of vital signs on the newborn baby and to call when the mother was ready to feed the baby.

More tears gathered in her eyes as she exited the room. She wasn’t exactly sure why she was crying. It wasn’t because she was still in love with Ryan. She wasn’t. She truly was happy for him.

Maybe it was just the fact that she feared she would never find the right man to marry. If that man even existed. Her current boyfriend certainly wasn’t husband material. Sure, he had a great job and recently purchased a condo. But the guy was a total slob and was obsessed with Xbox. Taylin was tired of going to his house only to spend the first hour cleaning it. Come to think of it, the sole reason Jared might still be dating her was for her cleaning services.

The thought depressed her even more. Another tear trickled down her face and she sniffed, wishing she had a tissue to wipe her nose. She needed to get back inside the nursery where she could collect herself. Rushing past the nurses’ station, she kept her chin down and headed for the nursery. She didn’t want anyone to question her emotional display.

Suddenly a body appeared out of another door. Before she could stop, she smacked into a solid chest. Warm hands grasped her shoulders in an attempt to keep her from falling on her backside. Taylin sucked in a startled breath and caught the faint scent of masculine, spicy aftershave. Whoever this was smelled yummy.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She backed up, making the warm hands drop from her shoulders. Her eyes slowly scanned up light blue scrubs, over a pair of incredible biceps, across a square jaw covered with a dark five o’clock shadow, past tightly pressed lips and into stormy gray eyes filled with annoyance.

She blinked and a couple of tears escaped, sliding down her cheeks. The annoyance in the man’s eyes changed to concern. “Did I hurt you?”

Taylin didn’t know who he was, but he definitely wasn’t from Georgia. He sounded just like her sister-in-law, Addie, who was from Idaho.

Embarrassed, she shook her head. “No, just the miracle of a baby’s birth.” She wiped away a tear. “It gets me every time.”

Those unbelievable gray eyes of his softened, and a thoughtful smile parted his lips. “Yeah, I guess it is pretty amazing.”

Amazing was what happened to her heart when he smiled.
Who is he?

She had every intention of finding out.

Hoping her makeup really was waterproof and she didn’t have mascara streaking down her cheeks, Taylin’s mouth curved up into a flirty smile.

Before she could say anything, the alarm of an IV pump sounded from the room he’d just exited. Another L&D nurse came out the door. “Luke, that’s yours.” Then she paused and gave Taylin and Luke a questioning look.

Taylin knew why. She had just run into Luke McKay, the brand new nurse anesthetist all the women were talking about. The new guy had started work a few weeks earlier, but for some reason she’d never worked the same shift as he did, and then she’d gone on her vacation. He was rumored to be a dark-haired, gorgeous, brooding male who only smiled and joked with either his patients, anyone who was a man, or women over the age of fifty. The rest of the staff—who did not fit into this demographic—he basically ignored.

Lifting her eyes, Taylin looked up at the man who towered at least a foot over her petite five-three frame and swallowed. He
was
gorgeous—and no longer smiling—hence the “brooding male” title. Still, he had talked to her, so maybe… she squelched the idea when her gaze met his cool gray eyes, the warmth no longer visible.