His Unexpected Twins. Carrie Nichols

Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

       Epilogue

       Extract

       About the Publisher

       Chapter One

      “How about that new guy from—”

      “No.” Ellie Harding paused mid-slice in the sheet cake she was dividing into equal squares to scowl at her friend’s attempts at matchmaking.

      Meg McBride Cooper stood on the opposite side of the rectangular table, a stack of plain white dessert plates cradled against her chest. Ellie and Meg were volunteering at the payment-optional luncheon held weekly in the basement of the whitewashed clapboard church on the town square in Loon Lake, Vermont.

      “I don’t need or want help finding a date,” Ellie said, and considering what she’d survived in her twenty-seven years, going solo to a friend’s wedding shouldn’t even be a blip on her radar. Did her friends think she couldn’t find a date on her own? Memories surfaced of how she’d sometimes been treated after her cancer diagnosis. She knew her friends didn’t pity her, but experiencing being pitied behind her back as well as to her face as a child had made her more sensitive as an adult.

      Ellie pushed aside memories and went back to slicing the chocolate frosted cake with vigorous strokes. Heck, guys called her. Yep. They called all the time. Slice. They called when they needed a shortstop for a pickup softball game or a bowling partner. Slice. One even called last month, asking if she had a phone number for that new X-ray tech. Slice.

      Meg plopped the plates onto the table with a thunk and gnawed on her bottom lip as she gazed at Ellie. Yeah, Meg was feeling guilty and wanted to confess something.

      “Spill it,” Ellie ordered.

      “Now, don’t get mad, but...” Meg sighed. “I asked Riley if he knew anyone who might be interested in being your date for the wedding.”

      “Uh-oh. Is Meg trying to set you up with arrestees...again?” A fellow volunteer, Mary Carter, came to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ellie, another sheet pan clutched in her hands. Mary was the future bride in question and a transplant to their close-knit central Vermont community, but she had jumped into town life and activities with enthusiasm. “Really, Meg, don’t you think Ellie can do better than a felon? I’m sure if I asked, Brody could contact one of his old army buddies. I’ll tell him to only choose ones that have never been arrested.”

      Meg rolled her eyes. “I’m sure asking Brody won’t be necessary, Mary.”

      “Just in case...” Mary set the cake next to the stack of plates. “Ellie, what are your feelings on speeding tickets, because—”

      “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Meg interrupted and made an impatient sound with her tongue.

      Ellie stifled a giggle at their antics but couldn’t decide if she was grateful or annoyed. Now that her two besties had found happily-ever-afters, they seemed to think it their sworn duty to get her settled, too. So what if she hadn’t found Mr. Right yet? Between long shifts as a nurse in the ER and studying for a more advanced degree, she led a full, busy life, thank you very much.

      Mary winked at Ellie. “At least I’m not trying to set her up with someone who’s been arrested.”

      “As I’ve told both of you already, that guy wasn’t under arrest.” Meg planted her hands on her hips. “He just happened to be in the building and Riley recruited him for a police lineup, that’s all there was to it. No crime. No arrest.”

      Ellie continued to slice the cake. “If there was no crime, why was there a police lineup?”

      “I meant he didn’t commit a crime.”

      Mary slanted a look at Ellie. “Please correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the witness identify him?”

      “Mary,” Meg huffed. “You’re not helping.”

      “Sorry,” Mary said, but her grin told a different story.

      Ellie sucked on her cheeks to stifle a laugh, grateful to be off the hot seat, even temporarily. She appreciated her friends’ concern but she wasn’t a project. At times like this, Meg conveniently forgot she hadn’t dated anyone for five years until Riley Cooper came back to town after serving in the marines in Afghanistan. Ellie decided not to point that out because her friends meant well. And she didn’t want to turn their attention—and matchmaking attempts—back to her.

      Meg blew her breath out noisily, disturbing the wisps of curly red hair that had escaped her messy ponytail. “I’ve explained this to you guys like a thousand times already. It was a case of mistaken identity. I swear.”

      “Uh-huh, sure.” Mary laughed and elbowed Ellie. “Ooh, maybe Riley can get the sheriff’s department to start an eligible bachelor catch-and-release program.”

      “You guys are the worst,” Meg grumbled, and began laying out the plates.

      “Yup, the absolute worst, but you love us, anyway.” Ellie grinned as she plated cake slices.

      “Yeah, it’s a good thing—Ooh, Ellie, how about that oh-my-God-he’s-so-gorgeous guy coming down the stairs? If I wasn’t hopelessly in love with Brody...” Mary bumped shoulders with Ellie and motioned with head.

      Ellie’s gaze followed Mary’s and her heart stuttered. Liam McBride. What was he doing at the luncheon? She’d had a serious crush on Meg’s brother since...well, since forever. At four years older, Liam had seen her as an annoying kid and had treated her accordingly. By the time she’d matured enough for him to notice, she’d been “his kid sister’s friend” for so long she doubted it registered that she was a grown woman.

      “What? Who? Where?” Meg whirled around and made a sound with her tongue against her teeth. “That’s Liam.”

      “Liam?” Mary’s eyes widened. “You mean that’s—”

      “Ellie’s date for the wedding.” Meg swiveled back, clapping her hands together, her mouth in a wide smile. “It’s perfect.”

      “What? No.” Ellie took a step back, shaking her head and holding up the knife as if warding off marauding zombies. She could accept matchmaking between friends. Even being relegated to Liam’s friend zone would be acceptable, but begging for a pity date? Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen. No way. “Absolutely not.”

      “No... No?” Mary glanced at Liam again and snapped back to Ellie, looking at her as if she were insane for refusing. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t want—”

      “Because he’s Meg’s brother.” Ellie sneaked another glance at the sexy six-foot-two hunk of firefighter strutting toward them.

      From his chronically disheveled dark brown hair and broad shoulders to his slim hips, long legs and that touch of confident swagger, Liam McBride oozed pheromones. And Ellie longed to answer their alluring call by throwing herself at his feet, but good sense, not to mention strong self-preservation instincts, prevailed. Thank God, because she didn’t