Accidental Bride (Beaufort Brides #3) Read online

  “Oh, those flowers are so pretty,” Kelly added, noticing that Julie, the older of the sisters, was carrying a rather motley bunch of blooms she must have picked from the garden out back.

  “Yes, I thought we should bring flowers.” Julie’s eyes shifted earnestly from the bouquet to Kelly’s face. “Isn’t that right?”

  Kelly grabbed her glasses back from Peter and put them on before she leaned over to kiss Julie’s cheek. “That’s exactly right.”

  Jill frowned as she peered up the stairs. “Is Grandmama ever going to come down?” she asked in a stage whisper.

  “Grandmama is here.” The small, familiar figure of Kelly’s grandmother was upright and meticulously dressed, even at such an early hour, as she descended the stairs. “The flowers are lovely, but what are you thinking, Kelly, going into public in such an outfit.”

  Kelly hid her bra strap under the strap of her tank-top. “I spilled coffee on my T-shirt.”

  Grandmama tsked her tongue. “You should learn from your husband. He’s always dressed appropriately.”

  Peter looked surprised and then adorably pleased as he glanced down at his gray T-shirt and beat-up trousers. As the two girls pulled them out of the house in their haste to go see their new brother, Peter whispered to Kelly, “That’s the nicest thing she’s ever said to me.”

  ***

  A couple of hours later, the entire family was gathered in one of the maternity suites in the hospital, taking turns gawking at the new baby.

  Rose and James had named him Robert Beaufort Harwood. Robert had been their father’s name, and everyone was pleased with the appellation, particularly Grandmama, who said it was a fine name for a fine child.

  Rose looked exhausted and a little pale, but she was obviously happy, leaning against James, reaching to hold her son when Peter passed him back over to her.

  Kelly wondered if she would feel that way, look that way, if she and Peter ever had a baby.

  Maybe they would. One day.

  After a brief lull in conversation, James asked, “So how are things going with Eden Manor? Rose said you’re getting ready to start the work.”

  “Yes,” Peter said, with a seemingly casual expression that Kelly knew was disguising how excited and proud he was of their property. “The contractors are scheduled to start next week.”

  “Contractors?” Mitchell asked. He was the only one who hadn’t held the baby, although Deanna had teased him about doing so. “You have more than one?”

  Peter and Kelly exchanged amused and slightly guilty looks. “Uh, yeah,” Peter said. “That’s how it worked out.”

  “Why?”

  “We couldn’t decide,” Kelly explained. “One was really good with the fine craftsmanship. I guess she’s got connections to the best workworkers in the area, and there is some historic restoration and stained glass that we want to make sure we preserve. But the other guy had much better prices for the basic stuff, so we decided to use both of them, splitting the work between them. There aren’t that many good contractors in the area, and they both seemed fine with the arrangement.”

  “So one of the contractors is a woman?” Deanna asked. “That’s great.”

  “Yeah. I liked her a lot.” Kelly cleared her throat. “I, uh, found out later that she really doesn’t like the contractor who’s doing the other work. He seemed like a decent guy to me, but I guess they hate each other.”

  “Oh, my,” Rose said, her eyes wide. She was still holding her new son, but she looked genuinely interested in this conversation, in her sister’s life, a fact that caused affection to tighten in Kelly’s chest.

  “That should be interesting,” Mitchell said with soft chuckle.

  “I’m sure it will be fine,” Peter said, putting an arm around Kelly. “They both seemed like professionals. It’s not like they really have to work together. They just need to do their respective jobs.”

  “I can’t wait to visit,” Deanna said with a grin, “once the place is done.”

  “It’s going to be a while,” Kelly said. “But we’re trying to get the work done as quickly as possible. We’ve got to get someone to do the landscaping and garden too. Then there’s all the furniture and decorating. It’s a huge project.”

  She met Peter’s eyes then and knew he was as excited about the project as she was, no matter how big it was.

  Just then, Robert Beaufort Harwood let out a loud, undignified burp. They all turned their attention back to the baby as Rose wiped a little spit-up from his face.

  “He’s beautiful,” Deanna said with a fond smile.

  Grandmama cleared her throat as she narrowed her eyes at her oldest granddaughter. “You could have a beautiful baby of your own, you know. I don’t expect this fine boy to be my only great-grandchild.”

  Mitchell was visibly startled by this comment, but Deanna just laughed. “We’re pretty happy as we are for the moment.”

  Grandmama just tsked her tongue and turned her gaze over to Peter and Kelly with an unmistakable expression.

  “Not yet,” Kelly said, trying not to grin at the way Peter had stiffened beside her. “One day, for sure, but not yet. We’ve got enough on our plates as it is.”

  “You are still very young,” her grandmother said, with unexpected gentleness. Then her face changed as she slanted a cool look back over to Mitchell. “But not all of my grandsons-in-law are so young. They should be moving forward with their manly duties.”

  Deanna giggled helplessly and gave her husband a little hug. Kelly was trying to hide a smile when Jill leaned over to whisper loudly in her father’s ear, “What are manly duties, Daddy?”

  Peter made a choking sound as he turned his face away, trying to disguise his amusement as he murmured to Kelly, “At least someone else is in the firing line of her disapproval for a while. I’ll take what I can get.”

  Kelly had to bury her face in his shoulder as she laughed silently at his wry tone, at poor Mitchell’s trapped expression, at the way her grandmother was always going to be the same.

  Peter wrapped both of his arms around her, hugging her tightly for a moment, and Kelly came to the sudden, unexpected realization that some things had changed but some things never would.

  And it was good—so good—that her family had grown so much larger than it had been two years ago, when she and her sisters had been hammering down loose boards on the stairs and worrying about how Deanna could escape whatever suitor their grandmother was throwing in her direction.

  They were still her family. They always would be. Even if she and Peter would be driving back to Eden Manor that afternoon.

  “John Archibald Beaufort was a brave hero of the Great War,” Grandmama said. “And he and his lovely wife had fourteen children. Have you heard his story before?”

  Of course, they’d heard his story. All of them had—even little Julie and Jill. But they all listened again to part of the familiar Beaufort history—made up of laughter and sacrifice and commitment and failure and honor.

  And Kelly loved it. It was part of what had made her who she was.

  Peter was another part. And she loved him too.

  ***

  That was the last book of the Beaufort Brides series. Next month, I’ll be releasing a novella series about Eden Manor as a spin-off, so you can be looking for those titles soon.

  If you haven’t already read them, be sure to check out the four Heirs of Damon books, Seducing the Enemy (Harrison’s book), Playing the Playboy (Andrew’s book), and Engaging the Boss (Jonathan’s book), and Stripping the Billionaire (Ben’s book), which are part of the same world as the Beaufort Brides. An excerpt from Seducing the Enemy follows.

  If you’d like to keep up with my new releases and sales, you can sign up for my low-volume newsletter.

  Excerpt from Seducing the Enemy

  Marietta sighed and drooped against the wall. “Yeah. I guess the moment is over. Every time I think I can…I end up…” Her resignation changed back into a smile. “Thanks for danc
ing with me, though. I really had a good time.”

  He realized she thought he’d lost interest—as if such a minor thing would dampen his attraction. If anything, he wanted her even more, her delicacy rousing some sort of latent protective instinct.

  “So that’s it?” he asked lightly. “You’re blowing me off now?”

  Her gaze darted up to meet his. “No, I just thought… I just thought—”

  “You thought I was such an ass that I’d be scared off by an irrelevant aversion?”

  “No. I didn’t think that.” She had the most delicious faintly French accent.

  He leaned in until his lips hovered near hers. “You thought I was such a beer guzzler that I couldn’t stand to spend time with someone who doesn’t love it as much as I do?”

  Surprised laughter rippled out of her and her hands closed around the lapels of his suit jacket.

  Harrison was mesmerized by her lovely face—warm, amused, sincere, utterly real. The urge to kiss her was so overwhelming he no longer resisted.

  He closed the slight distance between their lips, brushing hers gently with his.

  He heard her quick intake of breath, felt her fingers clutch at him even tighter. He kissed her again, lingering against her mouth longer this time.

  She broke the kiss after a few moments but didn’t pull away—just asked against his mouth, “So are you?”

  He tangled his fingers in her hair until he’d cupped the back of her head. “Am I what?” He couldn’t wait for the answer before he closed his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss with his tongue.

  She opened for him, her body melting against his and one of her arms twining around his neck. Her responsiveness intensified his desire.

  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted someone as much as he wanted her.

  When she finally turned her head, she panted out raggedly, “Are you a beer guzzler?”

  He chuckled and murmured, “I prefer Scotch.”

  It was evidently the right thing to say. She wrapped her other arm around him and kissed him with naked passion. Soon he’d hardened again as his tongue tangled with hers. She practically writhed between his body and the wall, and he wrapped one of her legs around his hip to align her groin better with his. She moaned into his mouth while he rocked into her and stroked her bare thigh.

  When his erection started to pulse tightly in his trousers, he knew they needed to stop. He couldn’t take her in the back hallway of a nightclub, no matter how tempted he was.

  He forced himself to release her and step back, still bracing himself with one hand on the wall.

  Her cheeks were deep pink, her hair messy, and her lips swollen. She was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. “Wow,” she said. “Wow.”

  “I agree.”

  “Did you want to…” She ducked her head to hide an inexplicably shy expression.

  “I hope you were going to ask whether I wanted to continue this elsewhere. Because the answer is definitely yes.”

  She raised her eyes, and excitement flickered through her lingering heat. “Really? You don’t have to go back to work?”

  He smiled, privately cursing the damned inspection report he still needed to write. He was never late. His responsibilities as a Damon were always his priority.

  “Work can wait.” He couldn’t miss out spending the night with this beautiful, passionate woman. The report wasn’t urgent, and he could get up early tomorrow to prepare for the settlement meeting.

  She looked surprised when he suggested they go to his hotel, so he wondered if she’d thought he was a local.

  It was nice that she had no idea who he was.

  While she texted her friend, he ducked back into the main room to grab his tablet and tell the floor manager to release his table.

  “By the way, I’m Etta,” she said as they waited for his car.

  “Harri—” he began, then cut himself off. She might not recognize his face—not everyone did—but she could easily recognize his name. And that might change things.

  “You don’t really look like a Harry, but I like it.”

  He’d always hated being called “Harry.” In fact, schoolmates had only used that name when they wanted to annoy him. After hearing Etta say his name with that particular lilt, however, he decided it wasn’t so bad.

  She beamed with an overflow of warm excitement.

  “What did I do to deserve that smile?”

  She flushed and glanced down. “Am I too excited?”

  He almost choked. “Too excited? Who the hell told you that was even possible?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just that the world seems to think being cool is the way to go, and I can never pull it off.”

  He realized that was one of the reasons why she seemed so different, why she seemed so real. There was no pretense about her, and it thrilled him. “Cool is overrated.”

  She peered up at him curiously. “You seem to pull it off very well.”

  “Maybe I’m overrated.”

  “That remains to be seen.”

  ***

  You can find more information about Seducing the Enemy here.

  About Noelle Adams

  Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she writes full time, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

  She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances. For more information, please check out her website: noelle-adams.com.

  Books by Noelle Adams

  Beaufort Brides Series

  Hired Bride

  Substitute Bride

  Accidental Bride

  One Night Novellas

  One Hot Night: Three Contemporary Romance Novellas

  One Night with her Boss

  One Night with her Roommate

  One Night with the Best Man

  Willow Park Series

  Married for Christmas

  A Baby for Easter

  A Family for Christmas

  Reconciled for Easter

  Home for Christmas

  Heirs of Damon Series

  Seducing the Enemy

  Playing the Playboy

  Engaging the Boss

  Stripping the Billionaire

  Standalones

  A Negotiated Marriage

  Listed

  Bittersweet

  Missing

  Revival

  Holiday Heat

  Salvation

  Excavated

  Overexposed

  Road Tripping

  The Protectors Series (co-written with Samantha Chase)

  Duty Bound

  Honor Bound

  Forever Bound

  Home Bound