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ago—eight years or more. And he hadn’t given her so much as a second look. When August rolled around, he told her flat-out that he wasn’t remotely interested and she’d better quit stalking him or he was going to the police.
    The police threat came—understandable enough—after she’d spied on him with another woman, but his unequivocal rejection had done significant damage to Noelle’s ego.
    “Why are you smiling?” Noelle snapped.
    Olivia sobered. “I guess I still don’t understand why you’re upset.”
    Noelle grabbed her arm. “I’m upset because you’re doing this on purpose! You’re trying to ruin my wedding!”
    “What?” Olivia jerked loose. “I’ve been planning your wedding— for free ! Not only have I donated hours and hours of my time, I’ve called in favors from all the vendors I’ve ever worked with.”
    “For Mom and Dad. Not for me.”
    Olivia couldn’t argue with that.
    “This is your revenge,” she continued. “This is how you think you’ll get the last laugh.”
    “What are you talking about?” Noelle had liked a lot of boys over the years. She couldn’t claim proprietary interest in all of them. Besides, after that summer she’d never had a nice thing to say about Kyle’s stepbrother.
    “I’m talking about you sleeping with Brandon!”
    So Kyle had shared that information. “I don’t see why my being with Brandon would bother you. You’re in love with Kyle, right? You’re having his baby. And because of that baby, he’s marrying you.”
    “Not because of the baby!” she cried, stamping her foot. “Because he loves me! I knew you’d try to cheapen it, try to convince yourself that he’s still in love with you. But he’s not. He hates that the two of you were ever together!”
    When they talked on the phone for the last time, Kyle had said the two years they’d spent together were the best of his life, but Olivia didn’t give him away. His feelings had probably already changed.
    “Fine. He hates that we were together. He hates me. I don’t care. He’s all yours now. You got exactly what you wanted. So enjoy him and leave me alone.”
    “I didn’t get pregnant on purpose. I know you think I did.”
    “At this point, it doesn’t matter what I think.” She turned to go but Noelle wasn’t finished yet.
    “Does Brandon know?”
    Olivia hesitated with her hand on the doorknob. “Know what?”
    “That I’m pregnant?”
    Why would he care? “Of course he does. Everyone in town knows.”
    “Your relationship with Brandon won’t last,” she said suddenly, changing tactics. “He isn’t the marrying kind.”
    “Fortunately, after what I’ve been through in the past few months, I’m only looking for some fun.” Unable to resist, she lowered her voice. “And, God, can he provide it!”
    * * *
    Kyle had the hardest time keeping his eyes from gravitating to Olivia. She looked better than ever—tall, tan, hair streaked from the sun. But, despite her shapely legs—which happened to be his favorite part of the female anatomy—her appearance had nothing to do with how he felt. She’d always been beautiful to him, the only woman he’d ever loved. Just seeing her made his determination falter.
    How had he gotten into such a terrible mess? These days, he constantly asked himself that. But he had no answer—except the obvious. He’d been an idiot, foolish enough to make the kind of mistake that would change his life forever.
    He wished he could stop time, demand everyone back up and let him start over. But he’d seen the results of the pregnancy test. With a baby coming, there were no second chances.
    “ Honey , you have to put three hugs and three kisses in each box,” Noelle said.
    He blinked at the foil-wrapped chocolate candies. Wasn’t that what he’d been doing? He opened the last wedding favor he’d assembled. She was right. He’d put in five kisses and only one hug. He’d thought, as long as they each included six pieces, it