Paige’s chest rose and fell with increasing speed. Her pink lips were full and open slightly as she watched me. The bridge of her nose was covered with light freckles, and it worked. All of her separate pieces, they worked really, really well together.
“He’s better on paper,” she said. “That’s what you’re trying to say?”
I nodded. “Yeah. He checks a lot of boxes that I don’t.”
A blanket of quiet fell between us, and I saw the wheels turn behind the bright blue of her eyes.
“What is it that you need, exactly?” she repeated, slowly pulling her hand out of my own.
Her eyes held mine. Turns out, I didn’t even need to say the words or try to figure out the best way to say it. She finally tore her gaze away, and it landed on the ring.
“Ohhhh,” she drawled. “You need a fiancée.”
“Actually,” I said slowly, gauging the finely featured face in front of me, “I need a wife.”
Paige’s face stilled, then the last—absolute fucking last—thing I expected to happen happened.
She smiled.
“Perfect,” she breathed.
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Focused (Molly and Noah)
Faked (Claire and Bauer)
Floored (Lia and Jude)
Author’s Note
When I wrote The Bombshell Effect, and the character of Logan Ward made a comment about how he had four sisters, I never imagined where that one line of dialogue would take me. It wasn’t until just before the release of The Marriage Effect that I decided to write their stories, and even then, I couldn’t have anticipated how my readers would respond to the Wards.
Writing these four books changed my life, and I don’t say that lightly. Even when the books were hard (*clears throat* I’m looking at you, Isabel, because she made me WORK FOR IT), I’ve never felt a connection to my characters like I have to this family.
They feel real, don’t they?
Since the release of Focused, you’ve asked me for more. You’ve begged me to create more siblings out of thin air (I wish I’d given Logan more sisters, trust me!) so that I can stay with this family longer.
So … I’ve decided to.
Not create more siblings, but to stay in this world, because I honestly have no desire to leave. Everything I need to be able to do that is already in the books you’ve read. We have an entire generation of the Washington Wolves that deserve to have their stories told. We have Faith and Lydia Pierson. We have Emmett Ward (he’ll probably have a couple of football playing buddies, because you know he’s destined to play for this team). And now, we have Anya Hennessy and the little sibling yet to be born.
And for those who subscribe to my newsletter, I have an exclusive bonus epilogue of Isabel and Aiden, to tide you over until I can get the next story out.
The next series, tentatively titled Washington Wolves: the Next Generation, will kick off with Luke and Allie’s daughter, Faith, who we met in The Bombshell Effect. Look for that book to come out in the fall of 2021.
I hope you’re as excited about this as I am. It’s the greatest gift of a writer, to create a fictional world that doesn’t just feel like home to me, but to you, too.
Because without you, my dear reader, none of this would be possible.
Thank you for loving them as much as I do.
Karla
Other books by Karla Sorensen available to read with your KU subscription
The Ward Family Series
Focused
Faked
Floored
Forbidden
Washington Wolves
The Bombshell Effect
The Ex Effect
The Marriage Effect
The Three Little Words Series
By Your Side
Light Me Up
Tell Them Lies
The Bachelors of the Ridge Series
Dylan
Garrett
Cole
Michael
Tristan
Published through Smartypants Romance
Baking Me Crazy
Batter of Wits
Steal my Magnolia
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Acknowledgments
This book. Oh goodness, this book. It should not have surprised me that Isabel would be the most difficult sister to write. She did not, in all her stubborn glory, want me to dig around in her fictional head.
And the only way I was able to survive the writing process was the group of author friends who listened to my endless voice messages as I pieced together this story. They get top billing this round, for plotting, feedback, and encouragement the entire way through- Kathryn Andrews, Fiona Cole, Amy Daws, and Brittainy Cherry.
To Kandi Steiner for slipping in as a last minute beta and all around amazing cheerleader.
To Michelle Clay for providing one last set of eyes to make sure I didn’t screw up the story.
To my husband and his endless understanding and support when I ranted and railed about how I’d never get it right, as I locked myself in our bedroom all weekend to write for months.
To Braadyn Penrod for capturing THE MOST PERFECT pictures I could’ve ever imagined for Aiden and Isabel, and Najla Qamber for the stunning cover and continued rock-star status. (And models Anna and Alex for being stunningly gorgeous and REALLY GOOD at posing together.)
To Jenny and Janice for cleaning up the mess of this manuscript.
To Ginelle and Pauline for doing one last read through.
To my reader group and ARC team, for being as excited about this story as anyone in the universe.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9
About the Author
Karla Sorensen is an Amazon top 20 bestselling author who refuses to read or write anything without a happily ever after. When she's not devouring historical romance or avoiding the laundry, you can find her watching football (British AND American), HGTV or listening to Enneagram podcasts so she can psychoanalyze everyone in her life, in no particular order of importance. With a degree in
