Accidentally Hitched: An Accidental Marriage Romance Read online

  Accidentally Hitched

  An Accidental Marriage Romance

  Piper Sullivan

  Copyright © 2018 by Piper Sullivan

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Also by Piper Sullivan

  His Takeover: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Boardroom Games 1)

  Sinful Takeover: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Boardroom Games 2)

  Naughty Takeover: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Boardroom Games 3)

  Fake Fiancé Next Door: A Small Town Romance

  Knocked Up By My Best Friend:A Friends to Lovers Romance

  Stranded: A Mountain Man Romance

  Cowboy's Fake Fiancée: A Single Dad & A Virgin Romance

  Cowboy's Barmaid: A Small Town Military Romance

  Seal's Professor: A Military Roommate Romance

  Nanny’s Fake Fiancé: A Single Dad Romance

  Dr. Daddy Next Door: A Single Dad & A Virgin Romance

  Dating the Doctor: A Single Dad Romance

  Single Dad Kisses: A Collection

  Nanny Down Under: A Single Dad & Nanny Box Set

  The Takeover Boxset

  Contents

  1. Viviana

  2. Nash

  3. Viviana

  4. Nash

  5. Viviana

  6. Nash

  7. Viviana

  8. Nash

  9. Vivi

  10. Nash

  11. Vivi

  12. Nash

  13. Vivi

  14. Nash

  15. Vivi

  16. Nash

  17. Vivi

  18. Nash

  19. Vivi

  20. Nash

  21. Vivi

  22. Nash

  23. Vivi

  24. Nash

  25. Vivi

  26. Nash

  27. Vivi

  28. Nash

  29. Vivi

  Epilogue

  Preview: His Takeover

  Preview: Sinful Takeover (Boardroom Games 2)

  Preview: Naughty Takeover

  About Piper Sullivan

  Also by Piper Sullivan

  Viviana

  Being back in my hometown was not at all how I imagined it would be. The one thing that never changed was the unique sound that gave Belle Musique its name. On the outskirts of New Orleans, Belle Musique was named after the melodic sounds of the Mississippi snaking between the tall blades of blue wild rye grass. A fact every child raised in the town learned by the time they reached seven years old. Me included.

  It’s funny how all that information came rushing back as soon as I crossed into town limits. In Chicago, I had no reason to know things like what types of grass grew between the cracks in the sidewalk, because that was the only place I’d really seen grass in all the years I spent there. My attention had been on things like my grad school “friends” stealing and then selling my business from right under me. And then I’d spent all my energy on the five-year legal battle to dissolve the company and have them pay me my fair share.

  The money was nice, but truthfully, I would have been happier to see them have to return the money to the billionaire playboy who’d bought the biz off them. Instead I had to be content with twenty million in the bank. Don’t get me wrong, I was content with the money, it gave me the freedom to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

  It turns out that the rat race wasn’t for me, at all. But writing erotic romance was indeed my jam. Yep, while I was spending a fortune on lawyers who were happy to use every dirty trick in the book to win my case, I wrote three erotic romance novels that became kind of a big deal. But a year after the third one was published, book four still sat on my laptop with a scant fifty pages to it.

  I was blocked.

  And exhausted mentally.

  So I decided to pack up my life in Chicago and bring myself and my brown bunny, Lollipop, back home to Belle Musique to get my mojo back. But a week inside the beautiful yellow plantation-style home with not one, but two wraparound porches, and I had a whopping fifty two pages written. Yep, two whole pages added to my masterpiece.

  Too many years spent in the city meant I concentrated on too many indoor activities, namely, work. That’s why I’d chosen a property on the edge of town with plenty of space between neighbors. There were just two other houses on the block and one was vacant, at least according to the chatty realtor I spoke with over the phone. Now that I was away from Chicago and back in the sticky bayou heat, I planned to do more things outside, like tend to my salsa garden.

  I’d always wanted a garden, and even though my pale skin was beginning to bubble under the New Orleans sun, I was determined to make sure that by the end of summer I could make my own homemade salsa. I probably should have researched to see if June was too late to start a garden, but the seeds and baby plants were in the earth now and it was too late to change it.

  It was kind of soothing, actually, gardening. Digging my fingers in the dirt to create something stimulated another part of my brain, the one that allowed me to start to sketch out more of my novel, Sweeter Nothings.

  But I was tired of thinking of all the things I hadn’t done yet, so I cranked up Aerosmith and focused on my new plants and the flowers planted by the previous owners. It was something I could deal with. Something I could accomplish, and as the minutes ticked by, I started to feel more relaxed. More settled, as I pictured how the yard would look when I finished it. There would be a large tented gazebo that I could sit under and write, with a pitcher of iced tea or hard lemonade at my side, and a solar charger within reach at all times. That way I’d make the most of my yard and the hot sticky Louisiana weather.

  But the weeds, they tended to get the better of amateur gardeners like myself, and I ended up ass deep in fresh soil.

  “Shit!”

  A gasp sounded behind me. “You have a potty mouth!”

  I turned to find a little girl with wild black curls, big blue eyes, and the deepest dimples I’d ever seen. “Yeah? Well, you’re kind of nosy.”

  She giggled and came closer. “I’m Norah.”

  I’d never spent much time around kids before, but she was straightforward and well-mannered. So far. “Nice to meet you, kid. I’m Viviana. Do you live around here?”

  She nodded and pointed vaguely behind her. “Why were you swearing?”

  “Because I was frustrated that those weeds wouldn’t come out of the ground, and swearing made me feel better. Besides, I’m a grown-up. I’m allowed to swear.”

  Her head tilted as she thought about that for a second. “You gotta pull from the roots.”

  “Thanks,” I told her with a grin as I pulled the wretched weeds up. “How’d you know that?”

  “My dad makes me help pull weeds every spring.” Her tone implied she hated it, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that your bunny?”

  “Yep, his name is Lollipop and you don’t have to help me pull weeds, kid. Want some lemonade? I think it’s booze free too!” I poured two tall glasses and set them both on the table that was without a tent or gazebo, but there were chairs. “Have a seat.”

  Norah stared at the brand new cushions on the metal chairs and then down at her dirty cut-off denim shorts. “You sure?”

  “Go ahead, chairs are
for sitting.” My own mother had been obsessed with cleanliness, at least before she ran off to live unencumbered by a needy little girl. “Come on, Norah. If you stand, then I have to stand and I really don’t feel like it.”

  “Okay.” She climbed onto the chair and pulled the glass close, taking a careful sip to taste it and then a bigger, louder gulp. “Why are you wearing beach clothes back here?”

  “Because it’s hot and I can. Shouldn’t you make sure your parents aren’t worried about you?”

  “Nope.” She took another big sip and smacked her lips together. Loudly. “My dad is in the workshop and he won’t notice until he takes a break.”

  I didn’t know if she was lying or not. How did you know when kids were lying if they weren’t your kids? Then again, if she was lying, there would be an angry mom and dad banging on my door soon enough. “Hungry?” I flipped open a red cooler and pulled out two plates, one with a loaded veggie sandwich and the other with carrot chips.

  “Sure.” She was polite and nosy, but she ate like she spent all day working in the fields. “That’s good but you forgot the meat.”

  “Veggies are good for you or didn’t you get the memo?”

  “What’s a memo?” Her nose scrunched up adorably, and I thought I might actually like this kid.

  “It’s a note or document to write down something important. Like the fact that veggies are good for you.” She rolled her eyes and I laughed.

  “I’ve never had carrot chips before.”

  “Me neither, but I found this recipe online, so I decided to try it out. I like trying new things because it’s fun, but also because it helps my writing.”

  She sucked in a breath. “You’re a writer? What kind?”

  “I write books that are completely inappropriate for a girl your age.”

  “You don’t even know how old I am.”

  “Ten,” I said with an authority I didn’t feel.

  “Eight.”

  “Close enough.” I shrugged and finished my sandwich. “And eight is way too young.”

  “Grown-ups always say that when they don’t want to talk about something.”

  She was right. Totally right. “Fine. Do you like kissing boys?”

  “Ew, no!” Her face looked like she’d just sucked a lemon.

  “Well, I write about a lot more than kissing boys on the mouth.”

  “Really?” She looked so excited I knew that my plan had immediately backfired.

  “Yep, and that’s all I have to say about that. The last thing I need is for your mom and dad to think I’m some perverted corruptor of the innocent.”

  “You talk funny.”

  “So do you. Come on, kiddo. Time to get you home before you turn into a pumpkin.”

  “You’re weird.” She giggled as I herded her through the backyard and onto the sidewalk. Lights were on which meant someone might be searching for a raven-haired eight-year-old.

  “If your parents start yelling, I’m totally throwing you under the bus.” The last thing I needed was a bunch of nagging neighbors making it hard to write, especially since I had plenty of other things making it difficult.

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “Good,” I told her as we climbed the steps.

  “But I do know that you still have your bikini top on.” If the sound of her laughter wasn’t so charming, I might have been more upset.

  “Now you tell me. Thanks a lot, Nor.” I wasn’t all that upset but I could imagine how it might look to some suburban mom.

  “Sorry.”

  “I might believe you more if you weren’t smirking.” The door opened and I stared, stunned, at a face I hadn’t seen in almost ten years. Same royal blue eyes, same jet black hair a little longer than it used to be, and same broad shoulders. Only now, with more muscles. “Holy sh-” I looked down at Norah. “Holy crap, Nash Boudreaux! Norah, you didn’t tell me Nash was your old man.”

  “You never asked,” she sang and wrapped an arm around her father.

  He wore a scowl that said I wasn’t welcome here, and I took a step back because I was no longer the girl who didn’t notice things she should.

  “Right. Well, it was nice to meet you, Norah.” I tossed a wave over my shoulder as I jogged down the steps, eager to get away from Nash and the feelings he evoked. Not the crush I had on him for like five seconds back in high school, but the feeling that I got just now, of being someplace you’re not wanted.

  I’d missed it with Claire, Jase, and Thad and it cost me almost a decade of my life. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. No matter what it cost.

  “Sorry, she bothered you.”

  “No bother,” I said and waved again without looking back, pumping my legs in long strides to hurry back to the safety of my own space. And there was plenty of it with two storeys plus an attic and basement, so I could get lost for days without needing to surface.

  But first, I needed a stiff drink. Ice cold.

  And maybe a shrink.

  Nash

  Holy shit. Viviana Stark. I hadn’t seen her since the night of our high school graduation party when she made a move on me, and I let her down as gently as a horny eighteen-year-old could. She’d seemed cool about it, but she’d left for Chicago at the beginning of the summer, instead of the end like the rest of our graduating class. We were friends who traveled in the same circle, but had never been all that close. I was interested in your basic teenage boy things—sports, girls, and video games—but Viviana didn’t have enough curves back then to hold my attention.

  Now though, she had curves in all the right places. And a husky laugh and sleepy eyes that made it look like she just woke up. Fuck me, and she was my neighbor.

  “You know Viviana, Dad? That’s a pretty name. Viviana.”

  “Yeah, Peanut, we were friends in school, but I haven’t seen her since I was a kid.” And now I wouldn’t be able to get away from her, or the sight of her in that damn blue and white striped bikini top. Her tits were perfect, just a bit more than a handful and shaped like a perfect teardrop. Fuck man, I can’t get hard with my kid around.

  “I like her. She’s cool… and different.” That was high praise coming from a girl who had purposely chased off every nanny, babysitter, and caretaker she’d ever had.

  “You hardly know her.” Still, it made me wonder what kind of job she had. A single dad could never have too many willing babysitters.

  “I know that she doesn’t talk to me like I’m a dummy, and she’s a writer. I bet you didn’t know that!”

  “I didn’t. What does she write?” I couldn’t remember what she’d been into in school, only that she’d been at the top of the class every year.

  “Books. She said they weren’t right for a girl my age.” Her tone told me exactly what she thought of that idea, but it made me wonder what dirty fantasies she put on paper. “She also said I could hang out with her anytime.”

  “That was nice of her.” And it didn’t have anything to do with me. I saw the shock on Viviana’s face when she realized it was me. I also saw the heat she didn’t even try to hide.

  “Yeah, but you were kinda rude, so she might take it back.” Having your eight-year-old kid school you on manners was enough to make any parent want to kick his own ass.

  “I wasn’t rude.” Maybe a little gruff, but not rude.

  “Whatever.” Norah stomped into the house and I shook my head wondering what in the world I did in a previous life to have been cursed with a girl. Little girls were moody creatures. Emotional land mines I couldn’t navigate to save my life. And to think, she was only eight. Still a few years away from teenage hormones, and I was already flunking out of parenthood.

  “I made us something.” I knew I shouldn’t hide in my workshop all day, but my woodworking business had picked up over the past few years thanks to a table commissioned by the First Lady of Louisiana, which meant I rarely got to make anything just for me. Or for Norah.

  “Not another bookshelf, Dad.”
r />   “Nope, not another bookshelf,” I told her in a mocking tone that made her laugh. “A coat rack. We still need hooks and knobs, but I figured we could go shopping for them together.”

  “Okay.” She sounded like I just asked her to pave the driveway.

  “What’s wrong, Peanut?”

  She sighed, and I knew I just had to wait her out. Norah couldn’t keep anything to herself. If she was angry, she said it. If she was happy, she laughed and did goofy things to make everyone else happy. When she was sad, which was rare, Norah got quiet.

  “Are you not dating ‘cause of me?”

  “What? No. I’m not dating because of me. I don’t really have the energy to do all that right now.” It had been a couple years since my last real attempt at dating, and it hadn’t gone all that well. The woman I was involved with, Stephanie, was expecting more than I’d been planning to give, and that was that.

  “Pinky swear?”

  With a suppressed smile, I hooked my pinky with hers. “Pinky swear. Let me worry about that, you worry about being a kid.”

  “Fine. But if you wanna date, you can. I don’t mind.”

  “Good to know.” It was the first time she’d mentioned my love life, ever. Which was weird all on its own considering she hadn’t been all that fond of Stephanie, and hadn’t made a secret about it. “What brought this on sweetie?”

  “Becky Foster is spending the summer in California with her mom and her mom’s new boyfriend. He has a house on the beach. And Callie’s dad just got a whole new wife. You’re way handsomer and you have no one!”