Page 109 of Return of the Bad Girl (Rock Canyon, Idaho 4)

Gabe dropped his forehead to hers. “Yes, you did.” He kissed her softly, tenderly. “I want to take you home,” he said, releasing her face and reaching into his pocket for his keys.

“Okay.”

But instead of a ring with several keys, he pulled out a single key with a wine-bottle charm attached.

“No, I want to take you back to our home,” he said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “It’s not the same there without you.”

Sniffling, she took the key from him and laughed wetly. “We’ll have to rescue Possum and Googlie.”

“Of course, but first,” he said, pulling her into his arms, “I want to take you home and show you how much you mean to me.”

“Yeah? So . . .”

“You should probably call your sister and tell her she’s cat-sitting for the night.”

Epilogue

“As I am tasked with reporting all the gossip, I should like to be the first to inform you that two years from the day of her return to Rock Canyon, Miss Caroline Willis became Mrs. Gabe Moriarty in a small-but-tasteful ceremony.”

—Miss Know It All

GABE MORIARTY HAD never expected to fall in love, get married, or live out his dream in a small town in Idaho, but here he was, coming home from a ten-hour day to find his wife asleep on the couch.

Although they no longer lived in the little two-bedroom apartment above Chloe’s Book Nook, the furniture still looked the same—with the addition of a brown La-Z-Boy chair Caroline had bought him for their one-year anniversary. All of it fit nicely in their three-bedroom house off Oak Avenue, with a quarter-acre lot and a two-car garage. The house was affordable without straining their finances.

Gabe washed his hands at the sink and came back to hover over his wife, who was being guarded by their cats, Googlie and Possum, each fifteen pounds and both lazy as hell. Gabe pulled out his phone and took a picture of Caroline, mouth hanging open, with the cats curled up on her chest and stomach.

Coming around the front of the couch, he shooed the cats off and lifted her into his arms, careful of her stomach. The baby bump was just starting to show, and Caroline had been obsessed with getting a picture of it every day, just to show how much it had grown. He’d tried to tell her they could do it once a month and the change would be more dramatic, but she ignored him.

Cradling her against his chest, he leaned over to kiss her forehead. One of his favorite things about his wife was how soundly she slept, even when he jostled her.

As he carried her back to their master bedroom, he peeked in on the nursery Caroline had been working on over the last month, despite the fact that they still had five to go. He took in the lemon yellow walls covered with pictures of zoo animals and smiled at the progress she’d been making. “Good job, princess.”

She mumbled something softly, and he continued on into their room, where he could lay her down on the bed. Covering her with a blanket, he started to leave, but Caroline grabbed his hand sleepily.

“Stay with me?”

As he climbed in behind her, he placed his mouth beside her ear and whispered, “Always.”

Acknowledgments

WRITING A BOOK can sometimes take a village, and my village rocks! Thank you first to my husband, for his support. My family for cheering me on. My editor, Chelsey, as always, for her feedback and suggestions. The newest team member, my agent, Sarah; how did I live without you? The entire staff at Avon for your savvy style and for keeping us informed. All of the authors from Avon for being such a wonderful support system. For my friends Ellie Macdonald, Candis Terry, Nicole Flockton, and Tina Klinesmith; I adore you! To the ladies of my review crew, for squealing along with me. And thank you to the baristas at my favorite coffee shop, Broadway Java, for keeping me caffeinated on Sundays.

The love doesn’t end here!

Keep reading for a sneak peek at Codi Gary’s next Rock Canyon romance

BAD FOR ME

Coming April 2015 from Avon Impulse

An Excerpt from

BAD FOR ME

“AND THAT WAS John Michael Montgomery, with ‘I Swear,’ ” Callie Jacobsen said into the microphone. “For all you Little Big Town lovers, this one’s for you.”

Turning on the next trac