Unexpected Lovers Box Set by J.B. Heller

Unsurprisingly,we arrive at Storm’s cabin eleven minutes later than we were supposed to. And my sister gives me yet another knowing smirk. “Yeah, yeah,” I mutter. “You don’t have to say it.”

She laughs in my face. “Actually, I do. How many times over the years have you grilled my ass for being anything less than early? And here you are, Mr. I’ve Never Been Late For Anything In My Life, arriving—on my wedding day, no less”—she eyes her watch—“twelve minutes late.”

“Eleven,” I mutter. I can feel Emory’s shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter at my side, and I pointedly ignore them both, choosing to focus on Ever as she twirls in her flower girl dress. “Hey, princess,” I call to her, and she rushes me.

“Bash!” she shouts as I swing her up into the air then into my arms. “You wike my pwetty dwess?”

“I love it,” I tell her seriously. Then Hazel wobbles over, still slightly unsteady on her feet, but a huge, triumphant smile on her adorable face. I bend and catch her as she throws herself at me. With both my girls in my arms, I feel eyes on me. Lifting my gaze, I find Emory watching me.

She smiles at me, and before I make the conscious decision to do it, I’m moving toward her. “Keep looking at me like that, and we’re going to have to come up with an excuse to go back to our cabin,” I whisper into her ear.

Hazel wriggles in my arms, shocking the shit out of me by reaching for Emory. She doesn’t go to just anyone. And even though I knew she liked Em, I didn’t think she’d go to her just yet. I’m irrationally pleased by this, and it must show on my face because Emory arches a brow at me, silently asking what I’m thinking.

I shake my head and hand Hazel over.

Twenty minutes later, we’re all piling into a limo bound for the ceremony, and my nerves rear their ugly head again. My feet drag, and I’m the last one standing outside the vehicle. I swallow hard, squeeze my eyes closed, and attempt to take a deep, calming breath. But my chest is too tight; I can’t.

“Hey.” Emory’s comforting voice penetrates the panic flooding my system. My eyes snap open. She’s gotten back out of the car, and she’s right there with me. She places her palms flat against my chest and smiles up at me. “Breathe,” she urges me. “You got this.”

I don’t know how she does it, but she manages to calm the storm brewing inside of me, then she takes my hand and leads me to the limo.

Sebastian is normally soconfident and self-assured. Seeing him in the shower this morning made my heart ache. He was freaking out, and I knew I had to do something to take his mind away from whatever was worrying him.

It felt good being able to help him. It felt right.

That feeling consumes me once again as I tug him into the limo after me. He’s back to his happy, relaxed self as he slides in beside me, throws his arm around my shoulders, then laces the fingers of his free hand together with mine. My heart squeezes at the way he’s looking at me right now.

If I didn’t know it before, I certainly do now. I am well and truly gone for this man.

Storm watches us closely, a smile curving her lips. She’s practically glowing in her long, ivy gown. It has long, lace-embellished sleeves and a high neckline, and her back is exposed by the deep V cut of it. She is absolutely stunning.

The drive to the ceremony doesn’t take long, and soon, we’re all climbing out at a beautiful spot on a rise above the vineyard. It overlooks the entire property. A round arbor covered in flowers and greenery sits at the crest of the rise. Two sections of chairs create an aisle that leads to a devastatingly handsome Jake as he awaits his bride.

This is quite possibly the loveliest wedding I’ve ever been to.

I take a seat in the back row, but Spence appears out of nowhere and leads me to the front to sit with the rest of the family. From here, I have a prime view of Jake’s face as he watches his daughters walk hand in hand to him. He squats, hugs and kisses them both, then hands them off to Spence, who brings them to sit with us.

Everly climbs into my lap, and I kiss her soft little cheek. Then Storm is walking down the aisle, and I keep my gaze on Jake, catching the moment he sets eyes on her for the first time today. The expression on his face is everything and more.

Their love is the kind that romance novels are written about. And I am so grateful I get to be a part of this moment in their love story.

* * *

I am absolutely beatby the time Sebastian drops me home on Monday. A weekend full of good food, delicious wine, mind-blowing sex, and Jake’s Southern family—not necessarily in that order—is enough to exhaust anyone. Stumbling into my apartment, I head straight for my room where I collapse on my bed and pass out.

The following week, Sebastian stays the night with me not once, not twice, but three times. I’m practically living on cloud nine.

“When do Storm and Jake get back from their honeymoon?” I ask the Saturday after the wedding while Sebastian runs his fingers through the unruly mess that is my hair in the mornings.

“They’re gone for another week, but I’ll have the girls again from Monday. That’s when Jolene and Travis fly home,” he says.

“Cool, cool, cool,” I mumble, snuggling into his side more.

He curls his arm around my back then reaches down to squeeze my ass, sighing contentedly. “I could get used to this,” he says into my hair. “Waking up slowly with you instead of being body-slammed by an energetic almost-five-year-old.”

“Me too,” I agree. “Not that I’ve ever been woken by a body slam... but I imagine it’s unpleasant.”

“Here,” he says, sliding out from beneath me. “Let me show you.” His eyes sparkle with mischief as he stands beside the bed—completely naked—preparing to throw himself on top of me.

I squeal and roll to my side of the mattress, then my bedroom door flies open, and Lennon is standing there, panicked eyes shooting around the room. “Where is the little fucker?” she hollers, and that’s when I notice the baseball bat in her hands.

What the hell?“Umm, Len, babe, what are you doing?”

Sebastian is obviously in some kind of shock, because he hasn’t moved a muscle. He’s frozen, one knee on the edge of the bed, his hands held up as if Lenny is holding him at gunpoint.

Lennon’s eyes are still searching the room—for what, I have no idea.

When her gaze finally locks on mine, she says, “There was a mouse in my room last night. I tried to get the little bastard, but he got away. Isn’t that why you were screaming?”

“Umm, noooo,” I say, my eyes going wide as I try to tell her to get the hell out without having to actually voice the words.

She arches a perfectly sculpted brow, then her gaze drifts over to Sebastian and down his torso to his still-hard dick. He seems to snap out of his trance, and his hands drop to cover his junk.

“Sooo, no mouse then,” Len says, smirking.

“No, Lennon. No mouse,” I grumble, throwing myself back on my pillow and staring up at the ceiling.

My roomie chuckles. “I might have to pop this little mental image in my jill till...”

I sit up and glower at her. “You will not. Now get out, you bat-wielding psycho.”

Her laughter can be heard long after she exits my room, closing the door behind her.

“Jill till?” Sebastian eventually asks.

Sweet baby Jesus, why do you keep letting this stuff happen to me?

Over the pastfew weeks since the wedding, I’ve learned that Emory and her roommates are complete and utter winos and a little bit crazy.

Thankfully, there haven’t been any more incidents that involve baseball bats, but the night Lennon actually did catch that mouse was not pretty. That woman has balls bigger than mine; she literally crushed the little sucker to death with a Doc Marten. She’s straight-up hardcore in my book.

Em was so distraught she burst into tears. And not just the oh-it’s-so-sad-the-little-mouse-is-dead variety of tears. No, she was such a mess you’d have thought that mouse was Em’s soulmate and Lennon was a Deathly Hallow that had devoured it. She wrapped it up in a tissue and made me take her to my place so she could give it a proper burial.

That little Harry Potter reference is thanks to Em making me watch every one of the movies with her over the past few days. We watched the final two last night, and she cried through those too. It’s weird because I never would have pegged her as a crier.

And with that thought, I bolt upright in bed, startling her awake beside me.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, her voice thick with sleep as she rubs at her eyes.

I must look as flustered as I feel because she hurries to sit too, placing her hand on my thigh as concern blankets her features. “Bash?” she asks. “What happened?”

She’s only just started calling me Bash, and as much as I fucking love it, I can’t focus on it right now. Swallowing thickly, I run the numbers over in my head then ask, “Babe, weren’t you supposed to get your period, like, a week ago?”

“What?” she squeaks.

“We’ve been fucking like bunnies since the wedding,” I explain, running a hand through my hair. “That was just over a month ago, and you were on the rag the week before that...”

Emory blinks rapidly as the color drains from her cheeks. “I-I, umm…” she mumbles, her face scrunching and her blue eyes glassing over.

Oh my freaking god. I’m pregnant.

Me, the perpetual hot mess who can’t arrive anywhere on time to save myself, is about to become responsible for another life.

Sebastian sits on my bathroom floor, his big, strong arm holding me close to his side as we stare down at the deceivingly insignificant-looking stick that declares we’re going to be parents.

“I guess we know why I demanded a funeral service for a mouse now,” I mumble.

He presses his lips to the top of my head and chuckles. “I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together then.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I know we’re nowhere near ready for this. We only just started dating; what if we don’t like each other a year from now? What if I’m a terrible mother? I’m flat out behaving like a grown-up as it is. How am I supposed to be a role model for another human being?” My mind fills with all the things that can and probably will go wrong.

“Hey, stop that,” Sebastian says, dragging me over his lap until I’m straddling him. He cups my cheeks and stares into my eyes. “We’ve got this. I’ve spent the last five years of my life as a live-in manny. That makes me more than qualified, and I’ll be there with you every step of the way. You hear me?”

My throat thickens with emotion and tears prick my eyes again. I’m too overwhelmed to speak, so I just nod then press my forehead to his.