“Actually he is.” I extended a hand toward Kash and said, “Liam Taylor, nice to meet you. Eli Jenkins is my boss; he and Mason were the ones who talked to me when the girls first moved here. They work at my dad’s gym.”
“Isn’t that convenient for you,” he scoffed. “Why the hell are the two of you here at nine in the morning?”
“Anyway!” Rachel chimed in. “We came to surprise the girls for Christmas next week. Are they . . .” She trailed off and her eyes shot over to Kash. “Um . . . here. Are they here?”
“Yeah, of course.” Rhys and I stepped back, and I whispered to Rachel as she passed, “They’re decent too.”
“Thank God,” she whispered, and sent me a thankful smile.
“Mom!” Kira said excitedly at the same time as Kennedy rounded the corner and screeched, “Dad!”
Kash looked at Kennedy and pointed to me. “Who the fuck is he, and why is Rhys with Kira?”
“Oh Jesus,” Rachel mumbled. “Coffee anyone? I’ll show myself to the kitchen.”
I had the urge to join her. I could only imagine how this day was going to go. I just hoped their whole trip wasn’t a constant repeat of the first few minutes.
December 19
Kennedy
“DAD, STOP IT,” I hissed.
He hadn’t stopped glaring at Liam for the last hour and a half since he and Mom had shown up at our door. Kira and I should have known that they would come to California; we got together every year for a vacation around Christmas. But my parents hadn’t mentioned anything, and I would have thought with Juarez’s guys being able to find Kira and me, that would have prevented my parents from being anywhere near us now. Then again, I hadn’t forgiven my dad up until a couple weeks ago for his role in the whole Rhys situation, and we had only talked once more since then on the night Matthew had shown up. So there was a chance that he knew there was no longer a threat against us. Regardless, a little warning about their arrival would have been nice. It was awkward sitting across from my parents with the guy who had just finished satisfying me minutes before their arrival.
“I don’t like him,” he stated.
“Dad!” Kira and I snapped at the same time Mom said, “For Christ’s sake, Kash!”
“Mason didn’t like me either, if that helps at all,” Liam said with a shrug.
“Is it supposed to?” Dad asked. “If Mase didn’t like you, then I have to wonder what you did to make that happen. It’s weird that the only person who likes you is Eli.”
“And us,” I blurted out. “Kira and I like him, Dad. Even Rhys likes him.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t get me started again on the Rhys thing. I didn’t send him here so he could go from one daughter to another.”
We all groaned, and Mom just sat there shaking her head like she didn’t know what to do with Dad anymore. “How about we go get some lunch?” she suggested.
“It’s not even eleven,” Dad shot back.
“I swear to God, Kash, you are still such a child. Get up and take us all out for some damn lunch.”
I bit back a laugh when Dad immediately stood up from the love seat.
“I don’t know how I put up with you sometimes,” Mom mumbled, and then turned to look at Liam. “Do you see this? Take it all in because that daughter of mine is just like her daddy,” she said with a nod in my direction.
“Wow, thanks, Mom.”
She winked. “Love you, sweet girl. Okay! Everyone get ready, and let’s go eat. I am in need of some Mexican food from California.”
Dad sat right back down when he realized we all still needed to change, and Mom turned to glare at him. “What? They’re not ready to go!”
“Get. Up. I need to talk to you outside.”
Dad grinned at her, and I knew exactly what he was doing and what he was about to say. “Aw, come on, someone needs to be hard on him to get him initiated into the family. Don’t be mad, Sour Patch.”
And there it is, I thought to myself before making a gagging sound.
Liam burst out laughing at hearing Dad’s nickname for Mom, and both my parents turned to look at him.
“Can I help you?” Dad growled.
“No, sorry. I just—I finally understood something that Kira and Kennedy told me awhile back, and I see why it’s funny now.”
“I don’t like you,” Dad reiterated.
Liam nodded and bit back a smile. “Understood.”
BY THE TIME we got back from the restaurant, Dad was so in love with Liam he wouldn’t let him stop talking. In Dad’s defense, he had tried to continue hating him. He’d made sure to talk only to Rhys, and then it was only about stuff that was going on in the department and about undercover operations. I don’t know how, but Liam had somehow injected himself into their conversation with a comment I hadn’t been able to hear. All I knew was that my dad had looked shocked for about ten seconds before smiling and including Liam in on every conversation he’d had throughout the rest of lunch.
I’d asked Liam what he’d said to him when we were on our way back to the condo, and he had just looked at me with a serious expression and said, “I’d rather not be killed, so I can’t tell you.”
“Who would be killing you?” I’d asked in amusement. “Dad or me?”
“Guess we’ll never know,” he’d mumbled. That had been the end of that.
“Girls, we have something we’re excited to tell you about,” Dad announced suddenly after we’d been back at the condo for about half an hour.
Mom smiled widely and sat up on the love seat as she waited for Dad to tell us the news.
“I know originally we didn’t know how long you’d have to be here, and I know this wasn’t exactly something you wanted to do.” He cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Kira. “But after almost seven months, I can now say that it’s safe for you to come back to Florida.”
“Really?” Kira screamed excitedly. “Oh my God, finally!”
But only she and Rhys looked happy about the news. My stomach dropped, and even though I wasn’t looking at him, I could feel Liam’s eyes on me.
“It’s safe now?” I choked out. “But how do you know? Matthew found us.” I wasn’t worried about more guys finding us, but I wasn’t ready to leave.
“Out of the five men who had the possibility of getting out, two of them were denied parole, one is dead, and the other two are already back in jail—as of a couple days ago. There was only one other man helping Juarez’s crew, the guy funding that Matthew kid, and he was caught when we looked up the bank card Matthew had been given. He was one of the gang members’ sons, and he didn’t make it three days in jail before a couple members from a rival gang had him taken out. The three members who had been released retaliated, and it obviously didn’t go well. One was killed, the other two killed a man and were caught.”
“That’s a nice bedtime story,” Kira said sarcastically, but her face still showed how excited she was to be going home.
I finally turned to face Liam, and my chest constricted at the terrified look in his eyes. It looked like he wasn’t even breathing as he waited for my reaction. Cupping my hand against his cheek, I said, “It’s time for me to go back to Florida . . .”
He exhaled heavily as if someone had hit him, and his gaze dropped to my lap.
“ . . . so that I can pack all my things and move to California for good.”
Arctic-blue eyes shot back up to mine and widened. “Are you serious? You hate it here.”
“It’s not so bad.” I shrugged. “But I do need to get everything from back home. I mean, after all, I have to get my cow.”
Liam’s lips twitched up before spreading into a wide smile. “Hell yeah, Bessie.” He grabbed my face in his hands and pulled me closer to kiss me thoroughly—never once caring that my parents were sitting a few feet away.
“Hell. No. You’re not staying!” Dad yelled.
“Kash, stop. I moved to Florida for you,” Mom reminded him, and he scoffed.
“It’s official. I don’t like him again.”
I leaned back an inch to look into Liam’s eyes and laughed softly. “You really thought I would leave? I’m yours,” I whispered.
“You are,” he agreed, his voice equally soft. “And I’m so fucking glad you’re staying, Moon.”
Epilogue
December 23 . . . One year later
Liam
I OPENED UP the door to our new house and called out for Kennedy as I stepped inside. There were still random boxes scattered throughout the place that I knew I needed to unpack since Kennedy couldn’t, but right now I needed to do something that was more important.
“Moon?” I yelled.
“In here!” she called back.
“Where is here?” I mumbled to myself as I walked through the house trying to find my wife.
Although our parents had tried to stop us, we had our wedding in Vegas at the beginning of July. We didn’t have the cliché Vegas wedding, that had never been the plan. We just wanted to get married in the city where we’d met. Thanks to Kennedy devoting all her time to planning since we’d set a date that was only two months after we’d decided to get married, the night ended up being amazing.
Once our parents understood that we would be having an actual wedding, and that everyone was invited, they stopped trying to push for a wedding that was in California or Florida, and just tried to get us to wait. We didn’t see the point in waiting. We were already living together, we knew that we would eventually get married anyway, and as we revealed to our families at the reception, we’d found out that Kennedy was pregnant in May.
We’d bought a house and moved in just a couple weeks ago; and thank God we were finally in here, because Kennedy was already a few days past her due date.
I turned the corner into the nursery and found her folding clothes and putting them away.
“Hi! How was work?”
“Long. How are you feeling? How’s Chase?” I asked as I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her.
Kennedy placed her hands on her swollen stomach and sighed. “He’s good. I’m just ready for him to be here.”
“Do you think it’ll be tonight?”
“We’ll see. But the doctor said if it’s not within the next few days, she’s going to induce me on the twenty-sixth.”
“Good,” I whispered against her neck, and placed a kiss there. “I have a Christmas present for you.” I brought the small, wrapped gift around her and held it up for her to take.
“It’s not Christmas yet!”
“It’s for you and Chase. Just open it.” I let my hands rest where hers had been, and waited as she tried to find a spot to start opening the wrapping paper. “It’s small, and kind of more for us than for him . . .” I trailed off when she opened the present and inhaled sharply.
“Oh my God,” she breathed, and I knew those pregnancy hormones were about to kick in at any second. “It’s perfect,” she choked out, and held up a copy of Goodnight Moon before turning in my arms to look at me. “Thank you. I love it and I love you.”
“I love you too.” I smiled and wiped away the tear that had fallen down her cheek. “Merry Christmas, Moon.”
THE END
Acknowledgments
AS ALWAYS, A very big thank you to my husband, Cory. I know I must have driven you crazy with this one! Thank you for helping out with even more than you usually do as I’ve sat around doing nothing but writing while waiting for our baby girl to arrive. I will never be able to repay you for how much you have done. Love you!
To my editor, Tessa Woodward, and my agent, Kevan Lyon . . . you’re both incredible! Thank you for cheering me on through this story, and thank you for not getting annoyed with me when I trashed the first draft, just to do the same with the second draft a month before it was due. I think we can all agree that we love the third draft so much more.
To my readers . . . there will never be enough thank-yous to y’all. For helping promote, for reading, and for loving my characters, just thank you. I know this story will mean more than others, and I hope you enjoyed seeing how Liam turned out, as well as getting glimpses of all the other characters!
Immerse Yourself in the World of Molly McAdams
TAKING CHANCES
Her first year away is turning out to be nearly perfect, but one weekend of giving in to heated passion will change everything.
Eighteen-year-old Harper has grown up under the thumb of her career marine father. Ready to live life her own way and to experience things she’s only ever heard of from the jarheads in her father’s unit, she’s on her way to college at San Diego State University.
Thanks to her new roommate, Harper is introduced to a world of parties, gorgeous guys, family, and emotions. She finds herself being torn in two as she quickly falls in love with both her new boyfriend, Brandon, and her roommate’s brother, Chase. Despite their dangerous looks and histories¸ both men adore Harper and would do anything for her, including taking a step back if it would mean she’d be happy.
FROM ASHES
Aside from her dad, who passed away when she was six, Cassidy Jameson has only ever trusted one man: her best friend, Tyler. So of course she follows him to Texas when he leaves for college. She just didn’t expect to be so drawn to their new roommate, Gage, a gorgeous guy with a husky Southern drawl. The only problem? He’s Tyler’s cousin.
Gage Carson was excited to share an apartment off campus with his cousin. He didn’t mind that Tyler was bringing the mysterious friend he’d heard about since they were kids . . . until the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen jumps out of his cousin’s Jeep. There’s something about Cassi that makes Gage want to give her everything. Too bad Tyler has warned him that she’s strictly off-limits.
Despite everything keeping them apart, Cassi and Gage dance dangerously close to the touch they’ve both been craving. But when disaster sends her running into Tyler’s arms, Cassi will have to decide whether to face the demons of her past . . . or to burn her chance at a future with Gage.
STEALING HARPER
A Taking Chances Novella
Chase Grayson has never been interested in having a relationship that lasts longer than it takes for him and his date to get dressed again. But then he stumbles into a gray-eyed girl whose innocence pours off her, and everything changes. From the minute Harper opens her mouth to let him know just how much he disgusts her, he’s hooked.
But a princess deserves a Prince Charming who can make her dreams come true. Not a guy who can turn her life into a nightmare.
All good intentions go out the window when Harper starts to fall for the guy Chase has come to view as a brother. He wanted to protect her by keeping her away, but he can’t stand to see her with anyone else, and he’ll do anything to make her his. But when it comes down to Harper choosing between the two, will Chase have the strength to step back from the girl who has become his whole world if it means she’s happy?
Lines will be crossed. Friendships will be put to the test. And hearts will be shattered.
FORGIVING LIES
A matter of secrets . . .
Undercover cop Logan “Kash” Ryan can’t afford a distraction like his new neighbor Rachel Masters, even if she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. To catch a serial killer, he needs to stay focused, yet all he can think about is the feisty, long-legged coed whose guarded nature intrigues him.
A matter of lies . . .
Deceived and hurt before, Rachel would rather be a single, crazy cat lady than trust another guy, especially a gorgeous, tattooed bad boy with a Harley, like Kash. But when his liquid-steel eyes meet hers, it takes all of Rachel’s willpower to stop herself from exploring his hot body with her own.
A matter of love . . .
As much as they try to keep it platonic, the friction between them sparks an irresistible heat that soon consumes them. Can Kash keep Rachel’s heart and her life safe even as he risks his own? Will she be able to forgive his lies . . . or will she
run when she discovers the dangerous truth?
NEEDING HER
A From Ashes Novella
She’s the Girl Next Door
Maci Price isn’t really into relationships. Having four very protective older brothers has always made having a boyfriend very difficult anyway. But her friend is set on finding her the right guy—and thinks the mysterious Connor Green is the perfect pick.
He’s Her Brother’s Best Friend
Connor Green is trying to find himself again. He loved, then lost, and it’s time for him to pick up the pieces. His brooding is making his friends crazy, but Maci, who has grown up into a gorgeous and incredibly sexy woman, is about to break the spell.
They’re Made for Each Other
When Maci starts up old pranks to get Connor out of his slump, an all-out war leads to a night that will break all their rules . . . and a relationship they must keep hidden. Together they’re electric. Apart they’re safe. And soon they’ll each find that they’re exactly what the other needs.
DECEIVING LIES
A Forgiving Lies Novel
Rachel is supposed to be planning her wedding to Kash, the love of her life. After the crazy year they’ve had, she’s ready to settle down and live a completely normal life. Well, as normal as it can be. But there’s something else waiting—something threatening to tear them apart.
Kash is ready for it all with Rachel, especially if “all” includes having a football team of babies with his future wife. In his line of work, Kash knows how short life can be and doesn’t want to waste another minute of their life together. But now his past as an undercover narcotics agent has come back to haunt him . . . and it’s the girl he loves who’s caught in the middle.
Trent Cruz’s orders are clear: take the girl. But there’s something about this girl that has him changing the rules and playing a dangerous game to keep her safe. When his time as Rachel’s protector runs out, Trent will turn his back on the only life he’s known—and risk everything if it means getting her out alive.