Lori Sullivan-Tyler wasn’t looking for trouble.

Actually, that wasn’t true. She was trouble in high heels—a master at causing the maximum amount of havoc in the minimum amount of time. Even at eight months pregnant, as she and her husband, Grayson, walked up the path to her mother’s front door for their baby shower, she was itching to be naughty.

Naughty was her nickname, after all.

When she was a little girl, her brother, Chase, had nicknamed Lori Naughty and her twin sister, Sophie, Nice. The names fit them perfectly…at least until you dived beneath the surface.

Sophie was a textbook librarian —quiet, neat as a pin, and soft-spoken. But she was a tiger underneath.

As for Lori? Well, she certainly was naughty. But she had plenty of nice in
her too.

Especially when it came to her husband.

Mmmm, Grayson.

Everything about him made her smile—and heat up all over. He could be grumpy, bossy, domineering…and also crazy, wicked hot. There were few things she loved more than her husband growling at her in bed, while his big, strong hands touched her in all the right places.

They were halfway up the front walk when she stumbled over a crack. Of course Grayson was right there when she needed him, sliding his arm around her waist to steady her and the baby.

“Are you okay?”

She smiled up into his beautiful brown eyes, so full of concern. It never ceased to amaze her that he was hers—that a man so honorable, so trustworthy, so caring and strong loved her as much as she loved him. “I’m perfect.”

Her response erased the worried look on his face. He bent to kiss her at the same moment that she went onto her tippy-toes to press her lips to his. She would have been happy to keep kissing him forever had her mother not opened the front door a few breathless kisses later.

“Lori, Grayson! I’m so happy to see you both.”

Mary Sullivan’s hugs were legendary for their warmth and comfort. Her smile was huge as she kissed them each on the cheek, then ushered them inside.

Mary had raised eight children single-handedly after Lori’s dad passed away unexpectedly at forty-two. Thinking back on her behavior as a teenager, Lori didn’t know how her mother hadn’t chucked her out of the house on those days when she’d been mouthing off and acting like a know-it-all jerk. More than a decade later, Lori marveled at just how amazing her mom was. Putting a hand over her baby bump, she couldn’t wait to be as good a mother to her own daughter.

From the delicious-looking spread set out across every flat surface, Lori figured her mother must have been cooking and baking for days. Lori and Grayson had offered to hire catering and servers for the party, but Mary had insisted that she was more than happy to take care of the food and drinks, just as she always did.

No question about it, Lori’s mom knew better than anyone how to feed a huge family. Not only would Lori’s siblings and their fiancés and wives and children all be here today, but plenty of her cousins had also decided the baby shower was the perfect opportunity to take a California vacation. Though there had already been several Sullivan weddings, birthdays, and her Uncle William’s gallery unveiling in Alexandria Bay, New York, this year, Lori couldn’t wait to see everyone again.

The house and backyard were beautifully decorated, the party
setting both elegant and festive with pink, magenta, and purple accents. Knowing mass chaos would descend once the kids arrived and started running around, Lori pulled out her phone to take some pictures while everything was still pristine and perfect.

“You’re looking great, honey,” Mary said to Lori. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel incredible.” Lori wasn’t just saying it to keep her mother from worrying. She had buckets of energy. Especially when it came to seducing her husband. For the past handful of months, her libido had been brimming over. “My biggest problem is how impatient I am to meet the baby. I wish we didn’t have to wait three and a half more weeks. Maybe even up to five weeks, if I go past my due date like you did when you had Marcus.”

“In my experience,” her mother replied as she stroked Lori’s hair just as she always had, “babies come exactly when they’re supposed to. Although I have a feeling it won’t be too long until this little one makes an appearance.” Mary’s eyes were warm as she turned to Grayson.

“And how are you feeling?”

“As long as Lori feels good, I’m good.”

He drew Lori to him, and she snuggled against his broad chest. Grayson had never been a man of many words. He’d always spoken more with actions, with a touch and a smile.

“He’s been the best husband ever. Lots of foot rubs, grilling us feasts for dinner, and he’s been feeding the chickens so I can take more time with the pigs. Which is the only place I’ve had to draw the line—they seem so sad when I don’t personally muck out their stalls and feed them.”

“You agreed that you’d stop going into the pigpen if your balance started to go.” A frown line appeared between his brows.

“My balance is great. In fact, I could still do a pirouette on a tightrope.” She moved into the center of the kitchen to demonstrate and was halfway through her spin when Summer’s poodle darted past and knocked into her. Mary had been watching the dog this past week while Lori’s brother Gabe, his wife, Megan, and their children, Summer and Logan, were on vacation.

Grayson caught Lori before she could so much as stumble. “My hero,” Lori said, putting her hand on his cheek.

Though she was obviously unharmed, his frown had gone even deeper. And she knew why—her husband was innately protective, and as soon as they’d found out that she was pregnant, his need to keep her safe had gone into overdrive.

Though fiercely independent, Lori loved her husband for exactly who he was. Lord knew he could be difficult sometimes—an immovable boulder of a man, in fact. Had she been a woman who had trouble speaking up for herself, their relationship would surely never have worked.

Fortunately, she had no problem whatsoever pushing back if she ever felt constrained or misunderstood. Granted, sometimes that pushback took the form of sassy comments or stormy behavior. At the same time, Lori’s mother had raised her well, teaching her not only to apologize when she was wrong, but also to ask for forgiveness when she took things a step —or a dozen steps—too far.

Good thing Lori knew exactly how to put her husband at ease. Their guests wouldn’t be arriving for at least fifteen minutes. It wasn’t a ton of time to put Operation Relax Grayson into action, but she was positive that the time she had to take his mind off his worries would definitely be worth it.

Before she could whisk him out of the kitchen, however, he asked her mother, “What can we help you with, Mary?”

Her mother waved away his offer. “You know me—I had everything ready by seven o’clock this morning. Why don’t the two of you get a drink and relax for a bit before everyone arrives?”

“Thanks, Mom, will do,” Lori said. “First, though, there’s something I need to show Grayson in my old bedroom.”

“Take as much time as you need together before you come out to greet the masses.” As Mary picked up two bottles of white wine and headed into the backyard to chill them in a bucket of ice, Lori wondered if her mother had guessed her plan. Though her mom obviously wasn’t a virgin—not with eight kids—the thought of her having sexy-times with her father still made Lori blush.

“Are you sure there isn’t something we could help your mother with?” Grayson looked out the window to the backyard, where Mary was tying down a corner of a tablecloth that had blown free in the breeze.

“My mom could throw a brilliant party for one hundred people with five minutes’ notice and both hands tied behind her back—and she truly does like taking care of the details herself. Besides, before the party starts, you really need to see what’s in my old bedroom.”

Grayson looked adorably suspicious. “What could you possibly have to show me that you haven’t shown me before?”

“You’ll see.” She took his hand and led him through the dining and living rooms, toward the bedrooms.

Apart from a remodeled kitchen and bathrooms, and some new
upholstery on the couch, the house was the same as it had been when Lori and her siblings were growing up. As the youngest of the group alongside her twin, Lori had only ever known a home that was loud and crazy and
full of love. LoudCrazyLove was her default setting, she thought with a grin. Whereas Grayson had grown up as the only child in a perfectly pristine New York City brownstone, where polite and well-mannered was the order of the day.

Were it not for a twist of fate, Lori and Grayson might never have met. Several years ago, when she had learned that her then boyfriend was a lying, cheating scum, she had fled Chicago, where she had been choreographing a show, and ended up in Pescadero, a wild and remote farm town on the Northern California coast. She’d stopped in at the local general store for a sandwich and found a FARMHAND NEEDED sign. Though she made her living as a dancer and
choreographer, she was so hell-bent on leaving her past behind that she hadn’t thought twice before applying for the job. After all, what could be more different and strange and divergent from the life she’d always lived than working on a thousand-acre farm? There, she had planned to kick all men to the curb forever.

But she hadn’t counted on meeting her tall, gorgeous, reserved, and extremely loving cowboy.

Though she and Grayson had been oil and water at first—every word out of his mouth had been a challenge she couldn’t back away from—he was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Not to mention the most shockingly sexy. Two hundred pounds of tanned muscle, his square jaw dusted with dark stubble—every time she looked into his eyes, butterflies flew inside her belly.

It wasn’t long before she’d learned about his tragic past and the grief and guilt that he carried inside himself. She had been determined to help him find the joy in life again the only way she knew how—with laughter, fun, adventure, and love.

Plus lots and lots of hot, sticky, sweaty, breath-stealing sex, of course.

She had been so happy when he’d finally started to climb out of the darkness. What she hadn’t realized was that she would rise up too, when his love and support had helped her rediscover her love of dancing.

As soon as they were inside her old bedroom, Lori reached around Grayson to lock the door, then immediately started unbuckling his belt.

He gave her one of his dark looks as he covered her hands with his much bigger ones, his callused skin giving her the best kind of shivers. His voice was gruff as he said, “You’re not planning what I think you’re planning, are you?”

She laughed. How could she not when he was everything she’d ever dreamed of, and then some? “How about you tell me what you think I’m planning—or better yet, show me—and then I’ll tell you if you’re right.”

Though she could tell that he wanted nothing more than to do just that, he reminded her, “Your uncles, aunts, sister, cousins—and brothers who will surely want to beat me to a pulp if they suspect I’m so much as looking at you sideways
—will be arriving any minute. And your mother is just down the hall.”

“First of all, my mom has eight kids. So I’m pretty sure she was down for plenty of hijinks when my dad was still around. And my brothers won’t want to beat you up. They think you’re great.”

“Only when they can fool themselves into believing that I’ve left you as pure as the driven snow.”

She looked down at her very rounded stomach, showcased by the soft red fabric of her dress. “It’s pretty clear that horse is out of the barn.”

“You’d be surprised at how many lies a guy can tell himself. Especially when it comes to wanting to take care of someone he loves.”

She had to kiss him then, this wonderful man who would protect her with his dying breath. “I’ll be quiet.” She could barely get out such a fib. Certainly couldn’t keep her eyes from twinkling as she spoke.

“You’re never quiet.”

“You have only yourself to blame for that.” She pressed her breasts—which had increased by two cup sizes during her pregnancy, much to Grayson’s delight—against his chest. “If you weren’t such an incredible lover, I would be able to stay quiet as a mouse.”

At last, he gave in and pulled her closer, putting his hands on her hips and groaning into her hair. “You drive me crazy.”

She wound her arms around his neck. “I love you too.”