Charity Case - The Complete Series - Piper Rayne Page 0,291

readers, first for wanting to read our stuff early and for posting their reviews.

And of course, all our unicorns. <3 Your excitement and love for our characters keeps new voices popping in our heads! Thank you isn’t even close enough to how we feel about you all!

xo,

Piper & Rayne

Bonus Material

Thanksgiving – Bonus Scene

Hannah and Roarke

2 weeks before Thanksgiving…

Hannah

My conversation with Roarke this morning weighs heavily on my mind the entire ride into the office. Victoria’s already on the phone by the time I arrive at work. Giving her a quick wave and dropping my bags into my office, I head to the kitchen hoping I’ll find Chelsea. She spends most of her days eating now. Not that I blame her. It’s probably the silver lining to carrying a bowling ball around inside you all day.

Just as I assumed, she’s got her phone in front of her on the table with a bowl of candy corn resting on her belly.

“Hitting the sugar already?” I make a beeline over to the coffee since I was too nauseous after Roarke’s newfound revelation to drink the gourmet hazelnut blend he ground fresh this morning.

“You sound testy. And you’re drinking our coffee. Where’s your super posh coffee Roarke lovingly prepares for you every morning?” She clicks her America’s Got Talent video clip off her screen.

I sit down at the table positive today is going to be unproductive for all of us. Most of my day will be spent online scouring.

“Hey ladies,” Victoria says when she enters. “Can you believe Pete wants Jade for Thanksgiving?” She steals a piece of candy corn from Chelsea’s bowl and sits down at the table.

“Hey, unless you have another bag stashed somewhere in your desk get your grubby hands off my fix. You girls get your coffee, I get my candy corn.” Picking up two pieces she places them in her mouth with a flourish.

Chelsea’s flawless face of make-up and cute maternity outfits still amaze me. If I were ever to get pregnant, I’d live in muumuus for the entire nine months and probably well after.

“I’ll bring you a bag tomorrow,” Victoria says.

“Don’t bother.” She drops the bowl on the table, offering to share. “This kid will have a new craving by then.”

Sometimes her cravings change by the hour. She made us go half way across town for the best Rueben sandwiches for lunch one day only to say she really wanted pizza from the other side of town after we paid our Uber. We’re like two months away from baby Bennett’s arrival and Victoria and I might be just as relieved as his or her parents.

She cracks her neck. “What’s the deal?” Her eyes focus on me.

“What?” Victoria asks, her eyes shifting to the coffee mug as I raise it to my lips “Oh, yeah, what is the deal?”

I lower the mug. “What? I drink coffee from here all the time.”

Chelsea and Victoria share a look.

“But not out of that.” Chelsea points.

My eyes follow her vision to the white mug with green script stating, ‘I didn’t fart, my ass blew you a kiss’. I push it away from me.

“I didn’t even notice.”

Victoria picks it up and pours the coffee in the unicorn mug with ‘I’m fucking magical’ written on it and places the one Dean gave Chelsea as a joke in the sink.

“Man, I should’ve snapped a picture.” Chelsea smiles sweetly over to me, but we both know she wouldn’t have done it.

“Dean really is a funny guy.” Victoria sits back down.

Chelsea rolls her eyes. “He came home yesterday and told me that he thinks we should try a natural childbirth.”

“He must have been joking,” I say.

She straightens her back, pulling down her shirt to make sure it covers her belly. “No. He even printed off research facts about pain medicine and the effects on the baby. Sat me down and was one minute away from giving me a power point presentation. I freaked all night because I bow down to the ladies who can do it naturally, but I know that’s not for me. Then as we’re getting into bed and he’s massaging my back, he tells me he was just kidding.”

“Did you laugh?”

“After I beat him with a pillow. Yes,” she says, sheepishly.

Victoria shoots her a pointed look. Chelsea nods. “I know. I know. He has a dry sense of humor and I fear this little one will inherit that same gene.” Her hands caress her stomach.

Victoria reaches out and runs her hand over Chelsea’s belly, too.

“Enough