Baby Surprises 7 Book Box Set Read online

  “Oh, Tami, that’s fantastic!” she said happily. “I was wondering when you two were going to make it official.”

  Anyone could have seen how much Jason loved Tami. It was in his every look and gesture. Looking back, Juliette realized that he always had loved her. It had taken Tami a bit longer to see how he really felt, but he’d never pushed it on her. He’d simply waited for her to heal and then caught her when she was ready to fall again.

  Tami sighed, and Juliette heard the water slosh gently around her. “I don’t want to sound too sappy, but honestly, I never thought that I’d ever be this happy with anyone. He’s just…such a good person. And he loves me. And he loves Wyatt, too.”

  Juliette fervently agreed. Jason was the best thing that had ever happened to her friend and the best father that Wyatt could possibly have.

  “You deserve it. You and Wyatt both deserve the absolute best in life,” she said, her voice a little more emphatic than she’d meant for it to be—the pain in her back had returned, sharper than ever.

  She pressed her hand to the pain and moved away from the counter. She’d probably pulled something with the amount of tossing and turning she’d put in last night, and maybe leaning against it was pressing on something she’d aggravated. Walking seemed to ease the pain, so she let her breath out slowly and tried to get back on track with the conversation.

  “Are you okay?” Tami asked, worry creeping into her voice.

  “Sure. Just fine,” Juliette said. “Probably just nervous about today.”

  “Okay,” Tami said doubtfully. “Just try not to have that baby at dinner, okay?”

  “Ha-ha,” Juliette said drily. She was so close to her due date now that she’d just be happy to have the baby any time at all. Although, she had to admit, going into labor during dinner would not be ideal. “I’ll do my best. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

  “Yeah, you do that,” Tami said. “I can’t wait to hear about all of the drama.”

  Juliette laughed, even though drama was the last thing in the world she wanted. It wasn’t really what she expected, either. Dominic’s family was nice. Her family was great. There was no real reason why both sides shouldn’t get along.

  She wished that Rob had been able to make the trip down, too, but her brother had bigger fish to fry, between his new apartment, the job he’d been in for almost a year now, and his two meetings a week. He’d assured Juliette that he’d be flying out the second her baby arrived, which was only days away at this point, and Juliette had been content to wait a little longer.

  She hung up the phone, placing it on the counter, then pulled her casserole out of the oven. The cheese crackers she’d crushed and sprinkled on the top after soaking them in butter were just turning that darker shade of golden brown that told her that they were done. It smelled amazing, and she decided that her friend was right about one thing, at least: anyone who didn’t like potato casserole was crazy.

  “My God that smells good,” Dominic said as he walked by with the vacuum again. “How come you don’t make it more often?”

  “Because it’s southern tradition to have it for special occasions,” she said. “Birth, death, and meeting your boyfriend’s family.”

  “I think we need more special occasions,” he said with a grin.

  Juliette didn’t get to reply because he pulled her against him and kissed her, nipping at her lower lip and teasing her tongue with his. By the time he was done, her knees were weak.

  “You okay?” Dominic asked.

  “Better for that,” Juliette admitted. “But you’re gonna have to get out of the kitchen. I’m in the final stages of my freak-out.”

  “Are you sure it’s just the food?” Dominic asked, his tone growing serious.

  “You don’t know why I’m worried?” she asked incredulously as she stood on tiptoes to try and pull down the serving dish.

  “No,” he said as he came back. He reached easily over her head and grabbed the dish, pulling it down to rest it on the counter. “I really don’t. You and my mom have seen each other a lot lately. I’m assuming you’re equally familiar with your own family?”

  “That’s not the point,” Juliette said as she checked the green beans that were bubbling on the stove.

  “Enlighten me then, oh wise woman.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, but he was grinning, and Juliette smiled in spite of herself. She walked over and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his broad chest. Dominic returned the hug, moderating his grip so that he wasn’t squeezing her belly too tightly.

  “I just want everyone to get along,” she said softly.

  He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “They will, baby girl,” he said. “My mom loves you.” He tilted her chin up so she could see him smiling at her. “And if the video calls are any indication, your parents love me. Which, let’s be honest, is no surprise because I’m amazing. And if your food is half as good as it smells, my siblings will want to take you home with them.”

  Juliette laughed. “Is everything going to come back to food with you today?”

  The doorbell rang before Dominic could reply, and Juliette caught her breath. “Oh my God, they’re here.”

  “Yep,” he said. “Right on time, too. Do you want to get it or should I?”

  “I’ll—” Just as she spoke the pot on the stove began to boil over. “Shit! Dominic—”

  “I’ll get it,” he said, ducking out of her way as she hurried across the kitchen.

  Juliette could hear the clamor in the hall and deduced that it was his family that had arrived, not hers—they were a distinctly chattery bunch.

  “What smells so good?” Tyler, Dominic’s younger brother, asked the minute the door closed behind him.

  “Juliette is making a million things in there,” Dominic said.

  “I’m gonna go find out which one smells the best,” Ashley said.

  “Enter at your own risk,” Dominic replied.

  “Hey,” Ashley said a few seconds later, leaning around the wall and sticking her head into the kitchen. “Can we come in?”

  “Sure,” Juliette said, dashing around trying to put things in serving dishes.

  No sooner had Ashley reached for one of the crumbled cracker pieces on the potato casserole, Dominic’s mom smacked her hand away. “If you’re not going to help Juliette then get back out there with your brothers,” she ordered.

  “I am helping!” Ashley protested. “They used to employ food tasters, right?”

  “Not in this kitchen,” Lorna said, swatting at her daughter once more.

  Dominic ducked into the kitchen and grabbed his sister’s hand. “Quit bugging my woman,” he ordered. “Come out to the balcony and help me prove a point to Tyler.”

  Ashley grinned and followed him out. “What are we proving?”

  “You’ll see,” Dominic promised as they walked away down the hall. “But I’m right. That’s the most important thing.”

  “I probably don’t want to know what the point he’s trying to prove is,” Lorna said as she dished the green beans out into a glass bowl. “I get them together, and they act like they’re still kids.”

  Juliette nodded. “It’s pretty cute, actually.”

  “You mean when they’re not under your feet,” Lorna countered.

  “Ashley looks good,” Juliette said when she was sure that she’d heard the balcony door close behind the group.

  Lorna smiled in relief and pride. “She really does, doesn’t she?” she asked. “She’s met a new guy, and she never even talks about her ex anymore.”

  “That’s fantastic,” Juliette said as she transferred the roast from the slow cooker to a serving dish. “I’m really happy things worked out for her.”

  Lorna put her hand on Juliette’s arm. “I hear Rob’s doing better,” she said softly.

  Juliette nodded. “He is. It’s still early days, of course, and he has a long road ahead of him, but I couldn’t be prouder—”

>   She stopped mid-sentence and pressed her hand to her back once more, glad that she’d put the roast down before the pain flashed through her.

  “Sorry,” she said sheepishly when Lorna looked at her in concern. “I must have slept wrong. My back is killing me today.”

  Lorna’s lips parted, but before she could speak there was another ring of the doorbell. “I guess that would be your parents,” she said. “You go answer it if you like. I’m happy to finish up here.”

  Dominic had ducked in off of the balcony, so they answered the door together. From the way he was grinning smugly, she assumed that he’d proven his point. Whatever it was. One truly never knew what he’d get up to when his siblings were around.

  “There’s my little girl!” Juliette’s father swept her into a hug that was returned enthusiastically.

  When Roger finally let go of her, Carol stepped in. “You look so beautiful,” she said, cupping Juliette’s face in her hands. “You’re glowing!”

  Juliette smiled. The “glow” at the moment was probably stress sweat, but she appreciated the compliment anyway.

  “Thank you.” Then she stepped slightly to the side. “And this is Dominic. In person at last.”

  They’d all spoken on video calls, but this was the first time that her parents had been able to get out to see the couple.

  Dominic held his hand out, but Roger brushed it away. Then he pulled him in for a hug as well.

  “It’s good to meet you, son.”

  Juliette saw the look in Dominic’s eyes when he bent to hug her mother. She would have sworn that there was a sheen of tears there. With a shock, she realized that it had probably been a long time since a man had called him that. If they ever had.

  Lorna came out of the kitchen and gave Carol and Roger a smile. “Hi, I’m Lorna. Dominic’s mom.”

  “You did a good job with him,” Carol said promptly.

  “I can say the same about you and Juliette,” Lorna agreed. “I was always afraid that Dominic would settle down with someone who couldn’t stand the sight of me, but Juliette has been absolutely wonderful.”

  Dominic rolled his eyes. “When I’m this much of a mama’s boy? Come on, you should have known better.”

  “I appreciate you being so good to her. You helped with setting up the nursery, right?” Carol asked, her voice wistful.

  “I did,” Lorna said. “I’m happy to be a stand-in for when you two can’t get out here, and there’s still plenty of shopping to be done. Maybe we can all go out after dinner to look at clothes? There are some insanely cute boutiques around here.”

  “I’d love that,” Carol said happily.

  Juliette felt a flood of relief wash through her as Ashley and Tyler also came in from the balcony and introduced themselves. Why had she been so worried?

  Chapter 23

  Eventually, when his siblings had glanced toward the kitchen no less than three times each, Dominic suggested they move the party into the dining room.

  An hour later, and the meal seemed to have fulfilled its promise. At least, if Juliette could judge from the satisfied expressions on everyone’s faces as they sprawled on the couches and chairs. In Ashley’s case, the floor was good enough: she was spread-eagled on the rug. Juliette sat on the couch in the circle of Dominic’s arm, listening to the conversation flow around her. She was pleasantly full and less pleasantly exhausted, so she was happy to simply listen.

  She winced suddenly as the pain in her back flared again. Dominic glanced down at her, worried. She forced a smile as she looked up at him.

  “I must have moved the wrong way,” she said. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

  Juliette walked down the hall to their bathroom. Once she was inside, she leaned over, bracing her hands on the sink as she tried to stretch out her lower back. Maybe if she could manage to do that, the pain would stop. It was hard to get a good stretch with her belly in the way, but she finally halfway managed. It didn’t really help so she started to straighten back up slowly.

  That was when she felt a sudden gush of liquid. She shot straight up with a gasp. Then she yanked the door open.

  “Dominic!”

  “I know that I might be just a little bit biased,” Dominic said, some ten hours later, as he looked down at the little girl cradled in Juliette’s arms. “But she’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen.”

  “She is,” Juliette agreed unabashedly. She rocked their little girl gently. She hadn’t been able to take her eyes off of her since she’d appeared.

  “There is one thing…” Dominic began.

  “I know,” Juliette murmured. Their daughter was fast approaching two hours old, and they hadn’t yet decided what to name her. At one point, Juliette would have yearned for Tami’s carefully penned lists of names and their meanings, but now, she thought she had finally narrowed her own list down to one.

  “I think we should call her Carmen,” she said softly.

  Dominic looked up at her, a handsome smile of recognition dimpling his cheeks. “After the island?”

  She nodded. “After the island.”

  Dominic laughed and held her closer, as the baby slept in her arms, at their center. “Carmen,” he repeated. “Our daughter, born of breaking the rules. I couldn’t think of anything more perfect.”

  Epilogue

  Six crazy, hectic, blissful months after that day in the hospital, Juliette and Dominic walked down the red carpet at the premiere of the movie Juliette had penned, and Edward Ainsworth had directed.

  People had turned out to the event in droves. Critics had called Juliette’s screenwriting debut “Astonishing,” “Emotionally charged,” and “Honest—the kind of movie that gives a person hope.”

  The past few months had been revelatory in so many ways, and Juliette was now firm in her decision that writing was where her true passion lay. Despite having been inundated with offers in the wake of the release of Sunset Island, she found that writing satisfied a creative urge that acting— reciting words written by another—never truly had. She loved that her newfound craft allowed her to be with Carmen as much as possible, and meant that in future, she would be able to travel with Dominic as much or as little as she chose.

  They stopped in front of the backdrop to allow the press to take their pictures. She waved into the cameras and gave them all a smile as she tried to soak in the moment. This was it. This was everything that she’d ever wanted.

  Though they tended to keep out of the spotlight as much as an A-list couple were able to, they had mutually decided that the premiere of the first film her mother penned would be a suitable occasion to bring their baby along. Dominic had Carmen cradled in one arm, the other arm held snugly around Juliette’s shoulders. Their little girl was sleeping peacefully despite the crowds and the bright lights, and Juliette was incredibly proud of her.

  She started to take a step away and let the next celebrity have their turn, but Dominic tightened his grip on her.

  “Hang on, baby girl,” he said.

  She glanced up at him in confusion. That was when he dropped to one knee and pulled something from his pocket. There were gasps from the crowd, and then shutters began clicking at an even faster rate.

  Juliette barely noticed any of it. All she could focus on was the sparkle of the emerald set in rose gold that Dominic was holding up. Then she noticed the small tremor in his hand and the nervousness behind his smile.

  “Will you marry me, Juliette?” Dominic asked.

  She took him in. Their daughter in one arm. A gorgeous ring in the other hand. Not just any ring, but a ring that he’d known that she would love. What else was there to say but yes? She’d never wanted anything more than she wanted to be with him.

  “Yes, I will, Dominic. Yes!”

  The crowd roared when he stood up again and drew her to him, kissing her in front of everyone on the red carpet and anyone who might be watching the event from home. She clung to him, uncaring about the cameras flashing all around them. T
hey’d be all over the gossip magazines in the morning, but it didn’t matter. She was going to have him every single day for the rest of her life.

  When she drew back from their kiss, she let out a long breath.

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Are you all right, my love?”

  Juliette nodded, dazed. “I am. I just keep thinking that I’m going to wake up any second.”

  He took her hand and pressed it to his cheek. “You’re awake,” he promised her, his voice rough from suppressed tears of joy. “But I'm going to spend the rest of my life making you feel like you’re living your dream.”

  “Oh, Dominic,” Juliette said seriously as she traced his cheek with her thumb. “You already do.”

  The End

  A Baby For Christmas

  Layla Valentine & Holly Rayner

  Copyright 2018, 2019 by Layla Valentine and Holly Rayner

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the explicit written permission of the author.

  All characters depicted in this fictional work are consenting adults, of at least eighteen years of age. Any resemblance to persons living or deceased, particular businesses, events, or exact locations are entirely coincidental.

  Chapter 1

  Shayla

  “Damn, I just love the holidays. Don’t you?” my boss said from the driver’s seat.

  It took all the restraint I had not to grumble. Seated in the passenger’s seat of my boss’s car as we made our way through Brooklyn, I tried not to let the sight of the Christmas decorations festooned all over the brownstone apartments we passed put me in a sour mood. It was a dreary, overcast day, and the sky looked heavy with sleet.