You’re next. I don’t care if you have to shove sperm up your hoo-ha. Make it happen,” I order. “Now that I’ve experienced giving birth, I’ve been scarred for life. You need to experience it.”
“And what makes you think I wanna go through that?” Kenzie grimaces. “I’ll just adopt. It’s not like I’m going to find a man who doesn’t annoy the hell out of me. And on the off chance I do, I’ll be fifty, and my eggs will be dried up.”
Chuckles fill the room because we know she’s referring to Grayson even though she’d deny it.
“You’re so dramatic,” Maize tells her, and Kenzie rolls her eyes.
They stay for a bit longer, and as they leave, Ethan finally shows up with Harper, of course.
“Hey, brother. About time,” I scold.
“Sorry, I had some errands to run and lost track of time,” he admits, running his fingers through his hair. Visiting hours end in thirty minutes, so he won’t be able to stay very long. “Good thing you had her before I leave next weekend.”
Where’re you goin’?” I ask.
“Harper and I have a trip out of town planned.”
I furrow my brows, confused by what he means. “Where?”
“Don’t worry about it, nosy.”
I roll my eyes. I’ll get it out of him before he goes.
“Can I see her?” Harper leans over with a smile, changing the subject.
“Of course. Let me just get her off the boob.”
Ethan turns with a red face.
Just as I’m fixing Elisa’s blanket to hand her over, I notice Harper’s wearing a diamond ring on her left ring finger.
“Um…is that an engagement ring?” I blurt out.
Ethan spins around as Harper’s face turns crimson.
“Oh my gosh, how embarrassing. I meant to take that off.” Harper quickly shoves it into her pocket and doesn’t offer any more details. As she takes Elisa, Ethan comes over and admires the baby too.
I’m dying to know what the hell these two are up to, but there’s no way he’ll tell me. At least not in front of Harper.
Right as Harper hands the baby to Ethan, her phone goes off. After excusing herself, she steps into the hallway, giving me the perfect opportunity to interrogate Ethan.
“You have thirty seconds to tell me what’s goin’ on,” I demand. “And don’t bullshit me.”
He rolls his eyes, giving Elisa to Connor, who’s silently watching us.
“If I tell you, there’s no telling Mom and Dad.”
“Fine,” I say to appease him. As long as it’s nothing illegal or stupid, I can keep that promise.
Ethan stalls, then finally blurts it out. “We did an engagement photo shoot tonight. That’s why we were late, and that’s why she’s wearing a ring. But it’s fake.”
I narrow my eyes, completely baffled. “A fake engagement shoot? What—”
“I’m pretending to be her fiancé to help her out with something. It’s a long story, and I’ll tell you before we leave next weekend but until then, keep your mouth shut.”
“Are you sure about this? Pretending to be engaged to your best friend, who you’re secretly in love with, sounds like a bad idea.”
He shakes his head, denying it. “It’ll be fine.”
Doubtful.
“Though you’re a pain in my ass most days, I still love you and don’t want you to get hurt. The longer you guys keep up the façade, the longer you risk your heart.”
“Don’t worry, sis. I’ve got it under control. Trust me.”
Before I can say another word, Harper returns and apologizes for stepping out. She’s too sweet for her own good, and I don’t understand why she’d need to fake an engagement.
Before long, it’s time for them to go, and when I hug Ethan goodbye, I make him promise to text me later. He says he will, but I have my doubts. When it comes to Harper, he keeps his feelings locked away.
“Wow, what a day…” I sigh, finally relaxing for the first time in hours. Elisa’s asleep in the bassinet, and Connor looks like he’s about to pass out.
“One of the best,” he says, reaching over and threading his fingers through mine.
“Thank you for giving me one of the most incredible gifts ever.” He brings my hand to his lips as kisses my knuckles. “And though we’re about to be elbow deep in midnight feedings and dirty diapers, I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
His sweet confession has my eyes watering, and if it wasn’t for these stupid hormones making me extra emotional, I’d tell him how much that means to me.
“Don’t cry.” Connor tilts up my chin before pressing a soft kiss to my lips.
“I’m a mess,” I say between laughter. “Hope you still love me now that you’ve seen me in a diaper.”
Connor chuckles as if he’s used to my mood swings. “Would it make you feel better if I was wearing one?”
The visual causes me to burst into laughter.
“And that’s why I married you.”
I pull him in for a hot, passionate kiss, remembering all the times I dreamed about his lips on mine and how I have him any time I want.
“I love you,” he whispers against my mouth.
“I love you more, Cowboy.”
We hope you enjoyed Connor & Elizabeth’s story! There’s a lot more to come in the Circle B Ranch series, featuring the Bishop’s and finding their happily ever afters. Even though this can be read as a stand-alone, some of the characters will interconnect to the next one, so we hope you’ll join us for Ethan & Harper’s story in Kissing the Cowboy.
If you haven’t started at the beginning, make sure to read Riley and Zoey’s story in Hitching the Cowboy, Diesel and Rowan’s story in Catching the Cowboy, and Gavin and Maize’s story in Wrangling the Cowboy.
Stay tuned for more Bishops in the next installment, featuring Ethan and Harper in Kissing the Cowboy
Painfully single Harper lies to her frenemy about being engaged. She thinks nothing of it until she’s invited on a couples-only getaway out of town. Needing a fake fiancé, Harper goes to the only man who’s ever cared about her—her best friend—and asks for a favor.
She can pretend she’s not in love with him, but her heart knows the truth.
Ethan Bishop’s too stubborn for his own good and will do anything for Harper, even if it means risking his heart. Pretending to be engaged to the woman he’s always loved proves to be more difficult than he expected. Especially when his repressed feelings bubble to the surface.
He can act like they’re only friends, but everyone sees through their façade.
While they’ve agreed that none of it is real, it’s hard to keep up the act when their kisses become more passionate. Rules are broken and lines blurred when they fall between the sheets.
Though they’ll deny their true feelings, one thing is certain—there’s no going back now.
Find it here
Each book in the Bishop Brothers World can read as standalones but if you wish to read the others, here’s our suggested reading order.
BISHOP BROTHERS SERIES
Original Bishop Family
Taming Him
Needing Him
Chasing Him
Keeping Him
SPIN-OFF’S
Friends of the Bishops
Make Me Stay
Roping the Cowboy
CIRCLE B RANCH SERIES
Bishop Family Second Generation
Hitching the Cowboy
Catching the Cowboy
Wrangling the Cowboy
Bossing the Cowboy
Kissing the Cowboy
Winning the Cowboy
…and more to come!
Brooke Cumberland and Lyra Parish are a duo of romance authors who teamed up under the USA Today pseudonym, Kennedy Fox. They share a love of Hallmark movies, overpriced coffee, and making TikToks. When they aren’t bonding over romantic comedies, they like to brainstorm new book ideas. One day in 2016, they decided to collaborate under a pseudonym and have some fun creating new characters that’ll make you blush and your heart melt. Happily ever afters guaranteed!
Find us on our website:
kennedyfoxbooks.com
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CHECKMATE DUET SERIES
BISHOP BROTHERS SERIES
MAKE ME SERIES
ROOMMATE DUET SERIES
CIRCLE B RANCH SERIES
EX-CON DUET SERIES
LOVE IN ISOLATION SERIES
Find the entire Kennedy Fox reading order at
Kennedyfoxbooks.com/reading-order
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