#1 bestselling author Sophie Love is author of the romantic comedy series THE INN AT SUNSET HARBOR, which includes eight books (and counting), and which begins with FOR NOW AND FOREVER (THE INN AT SUNSET HARBOR – BOOK 1).
Sophie Love is also the author of the debut romantic comedy series, THE ROMANCE CHRONICLES, which begins with LOVE LIKE THIS (THE ROMANCE CHRONICLES – BOOK 1).
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CHAPTER ONE
The windows in the nursery wide open, their lace curtains billowing in the breeze, Emily folded baby clothes, placing them neatly into the chest of drawers. She sighed with contentment. The beautiful weather – unseasonably warm for post–Labor Day – was most welcome.
Feeling a little tired, Emily sat in the nursing chair and rested a protective hand on her belly. Baby Charlotte was squirming around inside.
“Do you like the Indian summer?” Emily asked her. “Ninety degrees at this time of year isn’t the norm. You’ll have to get used to the cold at some point.”
Baby Charlotte was due in December, on the cusp of winter, in just three short months. Emily could hardly believe how quickly the pregnancy had gone, and how fast the time had flown by. The weather they were enjoying at the moment made winter seem very far away, and Emily certainly wanted to keep it that way. Because with each new season that dawned, Emily thought of her father, of the fact that it would be the last time he’d ever experience that particular season.
She’d tried very hard to keep his terminal illness from her mind. Every time she spoke to him – which was daily – he didn’t mention it, instead telling her of all the fun activities he had planned. And the letters were starting to stack up now. They’d promised to write each other a lifetime’s worth of correspondence. Roy wasn’t wallowing in his impending demise, so Emily wasn’t going to either.
The door flew open then and in waltzed Chantelle. She was carrying a packet of diapers in her arms.
“Where should I put these?” she asked.
“On the changing table, please,” Emily said, smiling at her sweet daughter.
She and Daniel were going out of their way to make Chantelle feel included. At the moment, that took the form of her buying a practical item of her choice from the grocery store on each trip. Today it was diapers. Yesterday had been binkies. She’d also purchased bottles, burp cloths, teething rings, and a rattle. Emily loved the way Chantelle found purpose in her task. She took it very seriously.
Chantelle walked over to the changing table and dumped the diapers down. Then she turned and faced Emily.
“Have we had any news yet?” she asked.
Emily knew Chantelle was referring to the island that she and Daniel had put in an offer on. She asked every day.
Emily checked her cell phone for what must have been the millionth time. She saw no missed calls or messages from the real estate agent.
She looked at Chantelle and shook her head. “Not yet.”
Chantelle pouted with disappointment. “When will we find out?” she asked. “Will it be before Charlotte arrives?”
Emily shrugged. “I don’t know, sweetie.” She stroked her soft, blond hair. “You do know we might not definitely get it, right?” She’d been preparing Chantelle for the worst from the get-go but the little girl had a tendency to get carried away at times. She talked about the island as though it were a definite, bringing up in conversation how great it would be once they could go and play on the island, or how pretty it would look once Daniel had finished the construction work there.
“I know,” Chantelle said, a little glumly.
Emily smiled brightly then, seeing that the child needed cheering up. “Come on, let’s go downstairs and have some lunch.”
Chantelle nodded and took her hand. They headed into the kitchen together.
To Emily’s delight, Amy sat at the kitchen island. She’d been in Sunset Harbor for weeks now, staying with her new boyfriend, Harry, dipping her toes in the water of domesticity. Emily loved having her nearby, and Amy was certainly making the most by dropping around whenever she had time between conference calls and remotely managing her business. She was drinking coffee and chatting with Daniel, who was busy putting away the last of the groceries. He kissed Emily as she entered.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he murmured, fix one of his intense looks of love on her.
Emily smiled and stroked a finger along his firm jaw line. She murmured, “Hey.”
Just then, Amy coughed. Emily tore her gaze from Daniel and looked over her shoulder.
“Hi, Ames,” she added to her friend, rolling her eyes jovially.
It still felt unusual for Emily to have Amy so readily accessible. Her temporary move to Sunset Harbor had been wonderful for them both, bringing back the easy friendship they’d shared before Emily disappeared from New York City without telling her. And Amy’s organizational skills were certainly useful when it came to planning the logistics of Charlotte’s birth.
“I didn’t know you were coming over today,” Emily said to her friend.
“I just came to speak to Dan about the checklist,” Amy replied.
Emily took a seat opposite her, frowning with curiosity. “What checklist?”
“Of baby things,” Amy said in a tone that suggested it should have been obvious. “You need your night bag ready for the hospital, a plan for how to get there, where to park, who to call. We’ve written a communication hierarchy, where Dan calls me and I’m responsible for passing it on to Harry, Jayne, your mom, and Lois. Harry does the announcements for Sunset Harbor folk, Lois tells the rest of the staff at the inn, et cetera. Honestly, Emily, I’m shocked you haven’t gotten this stuff down yet.”
Emily laughed. “In my defense, I’m not due for three months!”
“You have to be prepared,” Amy said, knowingly. “If Charlotte felt like coming tomorrow, that’s a very real possibility.”
Chantelle’s eyes widened. “She could come tomorrow?” she asked, looking thrilled at the prospect. “I could have a sister tomorrow?”
Emily touched her stomach protectively, a nagging worry growing in the back of her mind. “I hope not.”
Daniel came and sat next to them. “Don’t give Emily nightmare scenarios to worry about,” he said to Amy. “And don’t get Chantelle’s hopes up, either. She’s desperate to meet her little sister.” He turned to Chantelle. “Charlotte will stay in Mom’s tummy until December. There’s only a very, very small chance she’ll come sooner than that.”
“So you mean she could come on my birthday?” Chantelle asked, grinning from ear to ear at the prospect.
Daniel laughed and shook his head. “Halloween and two birthdays?” he joked. “I don’t think so!”
“It would make it easy to remember,” Amy said with a chuckle.
Just then the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Emily said, wanting a distraction from the thought of Baby Charlotte being born prematurely.
Out in the foyer, the inn was a flurry of activity. The busy summer period was over but there was always plenty to organize, especially now that the dining room