Forbidden Kiss (Carson Cove Scandals 1)

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if you saw it coming.” My mother walked into the room—followed by Anna—and someone else…

“Dad!?” I nearly fell over in shock.

“I couldn’t propose without talking to your family.” Bryant squeezed my hand. “I’m a bit old-fashioned, I suppose.”

“How are you?” I pulled away from Bryant and hugged my father. “Wait—is this okay?”

I don’t think my parents have been in the same room with each other since he left…

“We had a lot to discuss.” My mother nodded. “But he’s still your dad.”

Both of my parents knew about Bryant. I came clean with my mother shortly after the ordeal with Alexis. She was surprised, but after we talked about it, she said she would support me. Bryant and I visited my dad in the city a few weeks later, and he was hesitant to accept the re

lationship, but he knew Bryant was a good man. Apparently, something had happened between that visit and Bryant’s proposal, because they were both smiling—and demanding to see my ring.

“Hold on, let me get a look at it first.” Anna pulled my hand towards her and grinned. “Wow, it’s beautiful!”

“Victoria helped me pick it out—she said her best friend deserved the best.” Bryant chuckled. “Obviously, I agree with that…”

We were officially engaged, which meant that a wedding was in our future, and I had a lot of planning to do before graduation. Somewhere between finishing school and making plans for my wedding, I had to find time to paint. My art show was a resounding success—and I didn’t think I was going to have enough paintings to meet the demand for my work—especially if Bryant kept snatching up the good ones.

“So, are you actually going to be able to take time off for the honeymoon?” I tilted my head inquisitively towards Bryant.

“Yes, I think Benson Enterprises can manage for a few days.” He laughed and nodded.

“A few days…” I shook my head back and forth. “Could we try for a week?”

“I’ll have to see if Cassie can fit something in…” He pulled me in for another hug. “I’m sure we can figure something out. Things are back to normal now, and most of my old employees have returned—they should be able to survive for a week without me.”

I peeked at my engagement ring over Bryant’s shoulder while he hugged me. I never imagined our relationship would ever make it that far when we were sneaking around, but things had worked out quite well for us after we got past the challenges. I was looking forward to my life with him—there was no doubt in my mind that we would be happy. We had even discussed adding to the Benson family down the road, and that was going to be on the horizon sooner than I realized.

Hopefully he still remembers how to change diapers…

Daddy’s Best Friend: Sneak Peek

Chrissy

“Are you…” The man in front of me looked down at his sign, which had my name written on it with a black marker. “Christina Banks?”

“Yes.” I nodded and tilted my head slightly. “Are you—Mr. Foster?”

He doesn’t look like the guy my mother described—but it’s been a while I guess…

“No. My name is John.” He shook his head back and forth. “I’m just here to pick you up. I’ll take your bags.”

“Thank you.” I handed him the duffel bag that was hanging on my shoulder and took a step back so that he could pick up my luggage.

I didn’t have much with me. I certainly didn’t pack eighteen years of my life into a suitcase and a duffel bag. I brought the essentials, and the rest of my things were supposed to arrive in a few days. I still wasn’t bringing everything that I owned from Chicago to Los Angeles, but I hoped I would have enough to make it through my first semester of college at the University of Southern California. It was my father’s alma mater, and I had been planning to spend my college years there since I was a little girl—I just didn’t expect to run into the complications that arose after I got a scholarship for everything except room and board.

“How far is it to Mr. Foster’s house?” I followed John outside and waited as he loaded my things into the trunk of a black sedan parked by the curb.

“In this traffic?” He slammed the trunk and put his hands on his hips. “It’ll take us about an hour to get there.”

“Okay.” I nodded and walked around to the side of the car.

John opened the back door and closed it once I was seated. The car was really nice. I had never been driven before—by an actual driver. My mother said that Mr. Foster was well off, which was why he was in a position to help, but she didn’t tell me that he was rich enough to have his own driver. I hoped he was as nice as she said because I was still nervous about living with someone I didn’t know. It was a temporary arrangement, and she vouched for him, but he was still a stranger to me. I knew him by name—and vaguely remembered him stopping by when I was younger—but I didn’t really know him.

“So, have you been working for Mr. Foster very long?” I leaned forward and tried to make conversation once the car pulled onto the highway.