Page 41 of When Love Is Unexpected

Jon and I exchange glances because he and I both remember the hundreds of times Laila walked me to the door when I left.

"You can't blame the man," I say. "He's in love with the most beautiful woman in Cold Spring, and she broke his heart."

The room goes silent.

"What?" I ask.

"I'm sorry to break it to you," says Adam, "but the most beautiful Linder woman is Katie."

"Are you all blind?" asks Aaron, "My wife is eight months pregnant, and with each passing day, she gets more beautiful."

"You're all mad," I say. "As in, insane. Laila, come on. She's gorgeous."

"Katie is perfect from head to toe!" exclaims Adam.

"Loren's eyes are more beautiful than any gem on the planet."

"Boys, boys," says Jon. "Sharon is the most beautiful Linder woman. She's the original. Without Sharon, none of you would be standing here today talking about my daughters. She's the original, the most beautiful, the most perfect, and the one with the most gorgeous green eyes on the planet. Capiche?"

"Capiche," we all say in unison.

I reach for the doorknob, turn around to face them all, and say, "Since Laila looks most like Sharon, the most beautiful one after Sharon is Laila." I promptly exit the room before loud protests erupt behind me.

Chapter 9

Laila

"What in the world?" I ask when we hear the commotion going on in the garage.

"Ladies," says a laughing Sam, walking into the kitchen, "your men are about to throw down in there."

"Why?" asks Mom. "What happened?"

"They're arguing about which of you ladies is the prettiest."

Loren's hand instinctively touches her belly. She smiles shyly and blushes a pretty pink.

"Adam will not back down," says Katherine. "I can tell you that much."

"Did Jon use the 'Sharon is the original' speech?" asks Mom.

"How did you know?" asks Sam.

"These men have been having the same argument for years," says Mom. "You're just the latest one to participate in the discussion."

"And what did you have to say?" I ask Sam.

"Well," he says, "let me just say I'm not one to back down either."

I slip my arm through his and smile because I know he didn't leave the room until he had the last word, and I'm confident the last word was Laila.

"Do you want to go with me to pick up some pizza?" I ask.

"Perfect timing," he says. "Let's go."

Once we're in the car, I lean over and kiss him on the cheek.

"What was that for?" he asks.

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