“W-what are you doing?”

“You mean, besides looking at my beautiful wife?”

I glanced down and caught sight of the bulge in his jeans. Just my luck. His wick was lit. “Yeah, right. We both know what that look of yours leads to.” I crossed my arms over my chest, hoping the disarming gesture would slow his roll. “Put away the weapon of massive proportions,” I told him, lowering my tone to a whisper. “We have guests.”

Cowboy groaned. “This is going to kill me, you know?”

I smiled. “You’ll live.”

He stepped into my space and cinched his arms around my waist. “You sure about that?” he asked, dusting his lips across mine and then nipping gently.

My ragged breath caught in my throat and my pulse raced. The force of attraction between us bonded us together in a way I couldn’t explain and it still blew me away. Cowboy’s high libido was definitely going to be problematic over the next—

“For the love of God, Cowboy!” Bobbie Jo exclaimed from the doorway, holding an empty plate. “You think you could give the poor woman a few weeks before you start trying to sex her up again? She just had a baby, for goodness sakes.”

Maybe Cowboy should have felt deeply ashamed for his behavior, but he just chuckled. “Can I help it if she tastes so sweet?”

The sugary aftertaste still coated my tongue. “Frosting,” I explained to her. “He was just helping me put away the leftover cake.”

“Well, I just came to tell you we’re leaving. I’m sure you’re exhausted and would like to get some rest.” Her eyes cut to Cowboy and narrowed slightly.

Cowboy raised both of his hands in the air and smiled innocently. “Hands off, I swear.”

I rolled my eyes at him and gave her a quick wink. “Don’t worry. I know how to handle this cowboy if he gets too frisky.”

We walked into the living room, where most of our friends and family had gathered quietly in a semicircle around Dan. He must’ve sensed us approach because he turned and grinned wide. “Sure is a hefty little guy, isn’t he?”

Seeing our newborn son sleeping in Dan’s arms made me smile. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” Then I cringed at my words. Crap. It slipped out.

Cowboy came up behind me, placed his lips near my ear, and whispered, “Who’s the fucking doofus who passed the baby to the blind man?”

I elbowed him into silence and motioned to the others standing around Dan. Every one of them were on guard, watching for any little mishap that could possibly occur. I had no doubt our son was perfectly safe and secure.

“He’s healthy and has a good, strong name,” Dan said. “That’s all that matters.”

Everyone smiled at that. When we’d announced we were naming our son Daniel, the old man automatically assumed we’d named our child after him. He had no clue we actually named him after a little boy named Danny who wanted to be a fireman and never got the chance to fulfill his dreams. Or that it was also my father’s middle name. None of us had the heart to correct him.

“Here ya go, little fella,” Dan said softly. “Go back to your mommy.” Then he handed our baby boy to Bobbie Jo.

We all bit our lips to keep from laughing, but no one said anything. Bobbie Jo shrugged and gently laid Daniel in a nearby bassinet, patting him lightly to get him back to sleep. Seconds later, he was out again.

“Thank you for throwing us a welcome home party,” I said, tearing up a little. “It was very sweet of you.”

“No problem,” Bobbie Jo said, offering me a hug. “Any woman who can convince Cowboy to give up his bachelor status deserves a hell of a lot more than a party.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cowboy cut in. “Just wait ’til the right guy comes along and you find yourself in the same position.”

She smiled and gazed over at Austin playing on the floor with Lily. “Not going to happen,” she said. “There isn’t a man out there who can undo the damage Jeremy caused when it comes to my low opinion of men.”

“Hey!” Jake, Ox, Judd, and Cowboy said in unison.

“Sorry. You know what I mean.” Bobbie Jo laughed as she strolled over, lifted her son into her arms, and headed for the door. “Anna, if you need anything, let me know.”

Emily picked up Lily and carried her toward me. “Same goes for me, sweetie.” She gave me a quick hug, then strolled out the door.

Jake, Ox, and Judd shook hands with Cowboy, then each gave me a kiss on the cheek, congratulating us on our new addition. Then they all stepped out, as well. Dan was riding with Ox and Judd, yet he was the last to walk through the door, tapping his cane in front of him. We followed him only as far as the front door, but I was worried about him falling off the porch.

“Watch your step, Dan!”

Ah, damn. Cowboy stifled a laugh while I covered my face with my palm. I needed to stop saying things like that. But Dan just shook his head and continued down the porch stairs, not bothering to respond.

Jake pulled his black Silverado out onto the road, but stopped as Emily motored down the window and leaned out. “Oh, hey, Cowboy! I almost forgot today is May first,” she said, giggling. “So much for Bachelor of the Month. Guess who’s not getting any for the next six weeks?” She grinned as they drove away with the sound of Jake’s laughter echoing behind them.

Cowboy’s eyes narrowed. “Think Jake would care if I kicked out her two front teeth?”

“Cowboy!”

He flashed me a grin. “Oh, come on. You know I’m just kidding.”

“Still, you shouldn’t say things like that,” I said in a chastising tone and turned to walk inside. “It’s not nice.”

“Oh, like what bigmouth said was any nicer?” Cowboy stepped inside and kicked the door closed with his boot. “They’re never going to let me live this down. I’m going to be harassed daily by those assholes for the next six weeks. I should know. We did the same thing to Jake after Emily had Lily.”

I reached up behind my head and unclipped my hair, letting the red strands tumble around my shoulders, then removed the glasses from my face and set them on the counter. Smiling sweetly, I sauntered toward him, grasped him by the collar of his shirt, and pulled him close. “I’m not Emily. As I told you once before, I know how to use my mouth.”

He smirked. “Dear God, I love it when you talk dirty to me.”

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Acknowledgments

There’s always so many people to thank and never enough space to do it in. But I’ll try.

To my husband, Denny, and my boys, Matthew and Andrew, thank you for your encouragement, support, and for ordering pizza on the nights I’m working. To my mom, my dad, Annita, Becca, Amanda, April, Andrea, and the best mother-in-law I’ve ever had, Terry, thank you for being there when I needed someone to listen to my ramblings.

A huge thank you to my critique partner, Heather Boey, for convincing me that Anna was a perfect heroine in her own right. This story wouldn’t have seen the light of day had you not given me the confidence I needed to follow my heart.

Big hugs and kisses go out to my other amazing critique partners who gave me awesome notes, great advice, and all the smiles—Carol, Joy, Sam, Sonya, Rebecca and the two gals who make up Elizabeth Hayley. Also, big thanks to Samanthe Beck, who is a gem for giving me a fantastic cover quote and for not turning me away when I sent her one of those “out of the blue” emails.