Six months later…
“…Congratulations,” the judge said with a warm smile.
Karen could barely contain her joy—this was it, the moment she officially became Isabelle’s adoptive mother!
She and Brian turned to each other and hugged. Then she turned to hug her sister. She’d been ecstatic Tamara was able to make the court date and show her support for them this way.
The four of them were a family unit now—legally, since four months ago when she and Brian tied the knot.
Around that time, he’d reminded her that she didn’t have to go through this whole process—that she was already officially Isabelle’s stepmother now—and she’d told him that the word felt insufficient to her, flashing him a wink.
“Besides,” she’d said, “you really want to risk Isabelle ending up in the hands of anyone else should—God forbid—something happen to you? Deidre’s relatives, for example?”
He’d gotten the adoption papers drawn up quickly.
Tamara had even become a willing babysitter, happy to watch the baby when the two of them wanted time to themselves.
In fact, not long after they’d gotten Isabelle back, Tamara had delivered on her promise to help neutralize Deidre as a threat—in addition to finding out the unstable woman had a bit of a rap sheet for shoplifting, Tamara had managed to dig up other unsavory things about her.
“We probably won’t even need them, but I found some character witnesses and things aren’t looking good for dear old Deidre. And with her initial abandonment and eventual kidnapping, plus the fact that she had drugs in her system when they caught her, she won’t be a problem for you guys for at least about ten years,” she’d said confidently.
And she’d been right: Deidre had been found guilty of several offenses, including a felony, so she’d definitely end up in prison for a while.
Her sentencing was coming up soon, and they all planned to be there.
“Izzy has no idea what’s going, but she’s been in a good mood all day, so no complaints!” Brian said as they entered their house.
“I’m sure she can tell we’re both stoked,” Karen said, lifting Isabelle up and bringing her down to her chest a few times, causing her to show her new teeth as she giggled and drooled.
Karen stopped lifting her and held her against her shoulder, rocking her a little.
“Think she’ll be happy about being a big sister?” Brian said as he wrapped his arms around her and rested his hands on her slightly protruding belly.
“I think she will,” Karen said sincerely. “I’m certainly overjoyed to be doing it all again soon.”
“Are you kidding me? So am I. Who knew having babies around could be so... revitalizing? I promise you we’ll plan the next one, though.”
“Well, goodness—how many do you want?”
“As many as you can handle, baby.”
He moved from behind her and smiled before leaning his head to take her lips with his while their daughter watched curiously.
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Excerpt from Playing with Fire up next!
SYNOPSIS: Janet Cooper has a small problem: dumping her unfaithful fiancé has made him obsessed with her, turning him into a stalker continually begging for her forgiveness. Janet soon realizes her troubles are just beginning—especially since her new coworker, Eric, is an irresistible hunk and she has promised herself a three-month hiatus from sex since her breakup.
Eric Anderson has a small problem: he has been hired to infiltrate Cooper Investment, Inc. via its heir apparent, Janet, but once he sets his eyes on the beauty, it’s no longer just the business he wants to infiltrate.
As Janet’s ex-fiancé gets more and more aggressive in his pursuit of her, she turns to Eric for strength and friendship, sending her ex into jealous rages and her hormones into overdrive! Soon, the least of her worries is resisting sexual urges as the men in her life begin showing their true colors, and she sees that playing with fire could leave her scarred for life.