Twins For Christmas (Book Two): Twins For Christmas, #2

By Layla Valentine

The most wonderful time of the year just got scandalous.
Two adorable Christmas babies,
For my billionaire boss!

I've never been the biggest fan of Christmas,
So when I was called to volunteer for a last-minute work trip, I jumped at the chance—even if it meant working through the holidays.
Finding out that I'd be flying to Rio with the company's smoking-hot new CEO,
Well, that was just the cherry on top.
One thing led to another, and we had a very merry Christmas indeed.

Flash forward to the next day and he tells me it should never have happened,
And he's willing to pay big bucks if I agree to keep my silence.
Well, it's too late for that—
I'm pregnant, with his twins!
Can we be a beautiful, united family?
Or will our scandalous secret ruin us both?

This is the second book in the Twins For Christmas series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Layla Valentine
• Release date: Mar 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201494131

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

ADAM

Damn that wine.

I’d gotten caught up in everything—the evening, the booze, and, of course, her. And just like I’d had to remind myself over and over again from the moment I’d laid eyes on Isla at the airport, I did my best to keep myself in check. At the very least I’d stopped at two glasses. God only knew how difficult it would be to stay professional if I had a little more wine in me.

So, after chiding myself just enough to get my head straight, the two of us continued on.

The town grew quieter as the shops around us closed one by one, the owners heading home for Christmas. Before too long the hustle and bustle subsided, and there was only us and a handful of other people out, some of them clearly couples in love.

I hope you’ve had a nice night so far, I said.

It’s been great, Isla replied. Exciting and relaxing at the same time.

Part of me wanted to keep the night going, maybe see if there was a cozy little bar still open where she and I could share one more drink and see where the rest of the evening took us.

No, I told myself. Enough’s enough—time for the hotel. You’ve got a whole other day of keeping yourself together tomorrow.

But damn, she was simply so nice to be around. It wasn’t just her beauty—it was everything about her.

Hey! she said, snapping me out of my thoughts. Look at that!

She pointed ahead, and I stopped to see what she was referring to. Further down the road was a small crowd in front of an illuminated building that I recognized right away as a church.

I bet it’s a Christmas service, she said. Want to check it out?

Sure, I said.

We picked up our pace and were soon close enough that I could see that the gathering was in front of a live nativity scene, complete with mules for the wise men.

Wow! Isla said. That’s so cool!

She was right. I’d seen plenty of nativity scenes over the years, but this was something different, something special. Maybe it was the almost out-of-time feeling of the town around us, maybe it was the company.

As I’d done so many other times that day, I glanced over at Isla out of the corner of my eye. An expression of wonder was on her face as she watched the proceedings. Something about the way she looked made me smile without even having to think about it.

The host of the performance stepped out in front and began speaking, the entire crowd watching him in silence.

You getting any of that? Isla asked quietly.

Portuguese isn’t my strong suit, I said. Spanish, French, sure, but not this one.

She appeared impressed that I spoke any language other than English. But her eyes were soon back on the show. I watched right along with her, allowing myself to be caught up in the experience.

As I watched, however, I noticed that one of the mules seemed a bit…restless. The other two were still and well-behaved, but this one shifted where he stood, as if he wanted to be any place other than standing there in the middle of that scene.

I tried to turn my attention back to the speaker, but the mule continued in his bad behavior. In fact, it began to get worse—to the point that other people around us began to notice.

Finally, I couldn’t resist.

What’s up with that mule? I hissed.

Not sure, she said. I’ve been watching him. Whatever’s up, it looks like he’s about to have an old-fashioned mule freak out.

Is that a thing?

It’s a thing, she said.

You sound…very confident about this.

She nodded.

You know when I told you that I got shuffled from family to family back when I was younger?

Of course.

Well, one of those families was more…rural than the others. Learned a thing or two about how to handle animals like that. And what to look out for when they’re going to go off the rails.

What would mean the mule is about to go…off the rails?

She said nothing, her eyes widening slightly.

You see that?

She pointed to the mule, who by this point had begun to buck, the other actors doing their best to calm him down.

That’s what that means.

Is this bad? I asked.

It’s bad, she said.

And then it got crazy. The mule let out a noise that sounded like a bark and a whinny all at once. If anyone had been trying to ignore the animal before then, they couldn’t do it any longer.

One of the wise men tried to grab onto the animal, but it bucked again, its legs kicking back into the air, barely missing the wise man. Then it took off in a run, cutting through the rapidly spreading crowd and out into the street.

Ho-ly shit.

No one seemed to know what to do as the mule run wild—that is, aside from getting the hell out of the way. But I wasn’t about to stand by and not do anything. I’d never tamed a runaway mule before, but I’d always prided myself on my ability to learn anything with a little hands-on experience.

I rolled up my sleeves, my eyes on the crazed animal.

Adam, said Isla. I mean, Mr. Forde.

Adam is fine, I said. Considering the circumstances.

Adam, she said again. What are you going to do?

Grab that thing, I said with a small smile.

Have you ever done anything like this before?

Nah, I said. But how hard can it be?

The mule broke across the street, commotion sounding out around us as no one seemed to know what the hell to do.

Trust me, she said lowly. "A runaway mule’s tougher than it